Skip to main navigation Skip to main content

G3.12 Title IV-E Adoption Assistance

Legal Authority

42 USC 673 Adoption and guardianship assistance program. ...

Introduction

Title IV-E adoption assistance is provided to families with an adoptive child(ren) who meet both the special needs and title IV-E eligibility criteria, as a support to better meet their needs and maintain their adoptive placement. Adoption assistance may include one (1) or more of the following options:

Monthly subsidy;
Non-recurring expenses; and
Extraordinary medical expenses.

The monthly subsidy is a rate established by the Cabinet for Health Family Services (Cabinet/CHFS) and shall not exceed the amount paid for foster care maintenance for the same child (including those rates designated as medically complex and care plus).

Practice Guidance

To be eligible for title IV-E adoption assistance, the following criteria must be met:

The child is under the age of eighteen (18); or
The child is over age eighteen (18) and less than twenty-one (21) years of age, and meets one of the criteria to continue receiving the subsidy; and
The child has a relationship to the Aid for Dependent Children (AFDC) program or the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.

Beginning in fiscal year 2010, title IV-E eligibility requires the child:

Enter an adoption assistance agreement under section 473 of the title IV-E plan (section 473(e)(1)(B)) during any fiscal year the child attained the applicable age for that fiscal year before the end of the fiscal year;
Enters an adoption assistance agreement, at any age, when the child:

Is a sibling of a child who is an applicable child for the fiscal year under paragraphs 473(e)(1) or (2); and
Is to be placed in the same adoption placement as their sibling who is an applicable child for the fiscal year; and
Meets the requirements of section 473(a)(2)(A)(ii); or

Enters an adoption assistance agreement, at any age, if the child has been in foster care under the responsibility of the Cabinet, for at least sixty (60) consecutive months and meets requirements of the title IV-E plan (473(a)(2)(A)(ii))
The child maintains eligibility as long as the ongoing criteria of age and legal responsibility are met.

There is no income eligibility requirement (means test) for the adoptive parents in determining eligibility for adoption assistance payments.
A written adoption assistance agreement between the state agency and the prospective parent(s) of a minor child is in effect when all signatures are obtained on the agreement with the prospective adoptive parent(s).
The agreement must be signed before the finalization of the adoption.
A copy of the signed agreement is given to each party.
The agreement, at a minimum, specifies:

The duration of the agreement;
The nature and amount of payment, services, and assistance;
The child’s eligibility for Medicaid services under title XIX and social services under title XX (effective October 1, 1983);
The agreement will remain in effect regardless of the state in which the child is a resident at any given time (if made on or after October 1, 1983); and
Kentucky’s obligation to remain financially responsible for any medical and social services agreed to under the terms of the agreement, if the child moves to another state, and such services are not available in the receiving state (if the agreement was entered into after October 1, 1983).

The child meets special needs criteria if:

The state determines that the child cannot or may not be returned to the home of the child’s parents (e.g., parental rights are terminated);
The child has a specific special need that indicates that the child cannot be placed with adoptive parents without providing adoption assistance. Such problems may include ethnic background, age, or the presence of factors such as medical conditions, physical, mental, or emotional disabilities, a sibling group of three (3)or more, or a child who has experienced severe, physical or sexual abuse or whose background includes mental illness; and
A reasonable, but unsuccessful, effort was made to place the child with appropriate adoptive parents without providing adoption assistance. This criteria need not be met if the state can show that such a placement effort is not in the best interests of the child, because of the existence of significant emotional ties with prospective parents while in their care as a foster child.

No payments may be made if the adoptive parents are no longer legally and financially responsible for the support of the child, or if the child is no longer receiving any support from the parents.
In cases where the child is eligible for both SSI and title IV-E and there is concurrent receipt of payments from both programs, "the child's SSI payment will be reduced dollar for dollar without application of any exclusion", thus decreasing the SSI benefit by the amount of the title IV-E payment (SSI Program Operations Manual). To reiterate, concurrent receipt is subject to the SSI rule that the SSI payment will be reduced by the amount of the foster care payment.
Once the adoption is finalized, the adoptive parent’s income is taken into consideration when determining the child’s continuing eligibility for SSI.
Children with special needs adopted after October 1, 1997, who were initially eligible for title IV-E adoption assistance and whose adoptions were dissolved, will be able to continue their title IV-E eligibility when adopted again.
Title IV-E adoption assistance can be received over age eighteen (18) and less than twenty-one (21) in accordance with SOP 13.46.1, Continuation of Title IV-E Adoption Assistance After Age 18 , if:

The child/youth has been determined to be permanently and totally disabled by a medical review team (MRT) or;
The child has a signed adoption assistance agreement on or after the youth’s sixteenth (16th) birthday and is:

Completing secondary education or a program leading to an equivalent credential;
Enrolled in an institution that provides post-secondary or vocational education;
Participating in a program or activity designed to promote or remove barriers to employment; or
Employed for at least eighty (80) hours per month.

Procedure

The CBW:

Assures that the necessary documents for eligibility are submitted in accordance to SOP G3.2 Title IV-E Eligibility and Reimbursability;
Notifies the SSW regarding the child’s title IV-E eligibility status within five (5) working days of the determination;
Maintains a title IV-E adoption assistance case record that contains documentation to support a child’s eligibility;
Contacts the SSW to verify the age and legal responsibility of the child to redetermine ongoing eligibility in accordance with SOP G3.5 Reimbursability and Annual Redetermination Under Title IV-E Foster Care on the anniversary of the approval date of the title IV-E adoption assistance;
Accepts and processes the applications for Medicaid, Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), and Interstate Compact on Adoption and Medical Assistance (ICAMA) coverage from adoptive parents who have moved to Kentucky from other states;
Discontinues title IV-E adoption assistance when notified by the SSW in accordance with SOP G3.2 Title IV-E Eligibility and Reimbursability.

Documents

SSA RELEASE FORM FOR ADOPTIVE PARENTS...

Revisions

5/8/2025

Title IV-E adoption assistance is provided to families with an adoptive child(ren) who meet both the special needs and IV-E eligibility criteria, as a support to better meet their needs and maintain their adoptive placement. Adoption assistance may include one (1) or more of the following options:

Monthly subsidy;
Non-recurring expenses; and
Extraordinary medical expenses.

The child is over age eighteen (18) and less than twenty-one (21) years of age, and meets one of the criteria to continue receiving a subsidy. and has been determined to be permanently and totally disabled by a medical review team (MRT); and

Title IV-E adoption assistance can be received over age eighteen (18) and less than twenty-one (21) in accordance with SOP 13.46.1, Continuation of Title IV-E Adoption Assistance After Age 18 , if:

The child/youth has been determined to be permanently and totally disabled by a medical review team (MRT) or;
The child has a signed adoption assistance agreement on or after the youth’s sixteenth (16th) birthday and is:

Completing secondary education or a program leading to an equivalent credential;
Enrolled in an institution that provides post-secondary or vocational education;
Participating in a program or activity designed to promote or remove barriers to employment; or
Employed for at least eighty (80) hours per month.