RELATES TO:
KRS
199.500(1),
199.502,
199.555,
199.557,
Chapter 625,
45
C.F.R. 1356.40(b),
1356.41,
42 U.S.C.
673,
675(3),
1382c(a)(3)
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
KRS
194A.050(1) requires the
secretary to promulgate administrative regulations necessary to operate the
programs and fulfill the responsibilities vested in the cabinet.
KRS
199.557(4) requires the
cabinet to implement federal Title IV-E adoption assistance payments in
accordance with the administrative regulations promulgated by the cabinet. This
administrative regulation establishes guidelines for the implementation of the
federal Title IV-E adoption assistance program for children who may otherwise
grow up in foster care.
Section 1.
Definitions.
(1) "Adoption assistance
agreement" is defined by
42
U.S.C.
675(3).
(2) "Adoption subsidy" means a payment for a
special needs child placed for adoption when an adoption assistance agreement
is complete.
(3) "Federal Title
IV-E adoption assistance" is defined by
KRS
199.557(1).
(4) "Nonrecurring adoption expenses" is
defined by
42 U.S.C.
673(a)(6).
(5) "Relative" means the father, mother,
grandfather, grandmother, brother, sister, stepfather, stepmother, stepbrother,
stepsister, uncle, aunt, first cousin, nephew, niece, great grandmother, great
grandfather, great aunt, or great uncle of the child.
Section 2. Adoption Assistance Eligibility
Criteria.
(1) A child shall be determined by
the cabinet as a special needs child in accordance with
42 U.S.C.
673(c), if:
(a) The child is available for adoption in
accordance with:
1.
KRS
199.500(1);
2.
KRS
199.502; or
3. KRS Chapter 625;
(b) The child has a specific factor or
condition described by
KRS
199.555(1) that makes the
child difficult to place for adoption without adoption assistance;
and
(c) Effort has been made to
place the child with an appropriate adoptive parent without providing adoption
assistance.
(2) If the
child has a strong emotional tie with the prospective adoptive parent while in
the care of the prospective adoptive parent as a foster child, an exception to
subsection (1)(c) of this section shall be made.
(3) A special needs child shall:
(a) Meet the eligibility criteria established
in
42 U.S.C.
673 when the adoption proceedings are
initiated including:
1. Eligibility for Aid
to Families with Dependent Children effective on July 16, 1996, upon the
child's removal from the home of a relative;
2. Eligibility for Supplemental Security
Income;
3. Status as a child:
a. Born to a minor parent who is receiving
Title IV-E foster care maintenance; and
b. Who has received Title IV-E foster care
maintenance;
4. Having
been in foster care for sixty (60) consecutive months on or after October 1,
2009; or
5. Status as a sibling of
a child described in subparagraph 1. or 4. of this paragraph to be placed in
the same adoption placement as the child; and
(b) Not have a parent with custody or legal
claim to the child.
(4)
Eligibility for Aid for Families with Dependent Children specified in
subsection (3)(a)1. of this section shall not apply to a child in accordance
with
42 U.S.C.
673(e).
(5) If an adoption assistance agreement is
terminated in accordance with Section 7 of this administrative regulation or
renegotiated for a period of time in accordance with 922 KAR
1:530, a child
previously eligible for federal Title IV-E adoption assistance shall be treated
as having the same financial circumstances as the child had when originally
adopted.
Section 3.
Parental Standards. A parent receiving a child eligible for adoption assistance
shall meet the same standards as those applied to other adoptive applicants in
accordance with:
Section 4. Adoption Placement
Agreement.
(1) Prior to a prospective
adoptive parent receiving an adoption subsidy, the prospective adoptive parent
and a cabinet representative shall review and sign the adoption placement
agreement.
(2) The adoption
placement agreement shall advise the prospective adoptive parent of the:
(a) Special needs of the child;
(b) Cabinet's expectations; and
(c) Services offered by the cabinet to assist
the prospective adoptive parent in the adoption process.
Section 5. Adoption Assistance
Agreement.
(1) At the time of or prior to
finalization of the adoption, an adoptive parent and the cabinet shall
negotiate and sign an adoption assistance agreement that shall:
(b) Determine the nature and amount of the
adoption subsidy; and
(c) Remain in
effect until terminated, even if the adoptive parent moves out of the
Commonwealth of Kentucky.
(2) If an adoption is finalized, the cabinet
shall pay nonrecurring adoption expenses incurred by an adoptive parent during
the adoption of a special needs child pursuant to
45 C.F.R.
1356.41.
(3) If a child is eligible for adoption
assistance under
42 U.S.C.
673(a)(2)(A)(ii)(I)(bb), the
requirement of Section 4(1) of this administrative regulation shall be
waived.
(4) An adoption assistance
payment shall begin on the date that the adoption assistance agreement is
signed by the adoptive parent.
(5)
(a) The amount of federal Title IV-E adoption
assistance shall not exceed the amount that would be paid for foster care
maintenance for the same child, in accordance with
42 U.S.C.
673(a)(3), including
medically-fragile, specialized medically-fragile, and care plus foster care per
diem reimbursements established by the Department for Community Based
Services.
(b) A child placed in
therapeutic foster care, as described in 922 KAR
1:310, shall not be eligible
to receive adoption assistance in excess of:
1. A care plus foster care per diem
reimbursement established by the Department for Community Based Services;
or
2. The therapeutic foster care
per diem reimbursed by the child-placing agency on behalf of the child if the:
a. Dollar amount is necessary to meet the
child's needs; and
b. Commissioner
or designee approves.
Section 6. Federal Title IV-E Adoption
Assistance.
(1) Federal Title IV-E adoption
assistance shall continue in accordance with
KRS
199.557 and
42 U.S.C.
673(a)(4) until the child
reaches age:
(a) Eighteen (18); or
(b) Twenty-one (21), if the child is
determined to have a disability in accordance with subsection (2) of this
section.
(2) Disability
determination.
(a) In accordance with
KRS
199.557 and
42 U.S.C.
673(a)(4), an adopted
special needs child shall have a disability that warrants continuation of the
child's federal Title IV-E adoption assistance if the child has been determined
to meet the definition of permanent or total disability pursuant to
42
U.S.C.
1382c(a)(3) by either
the:
1. Social Security Administration;
or
2. Medical review team of the
cabinet.
(b) In making a
child's disability determination, the medical review team shall consider:
1. The child's medical history and subjective
complaint regarding an alleged physical or mental disability, illness, or
impairment; and
2. Competent
medical testimony relevant to whether:
a. A
physical or mental disability, illness, or impairment exists; and
b. The disability, illness, or impairment is
sufficient to reduce the child's ability to gain full-time employment or pursue
opportunities in a state or federal education program.
(c) Other factors to be considered
by the medical review team in making a determination shall include the child's:
1. Age;
2. Employment history;
3. Educational background; and
4. Subjective complaint regarding the alleged
effect of the physical or mental condition on the child's ability to support
and care for self.
(d)
The child shall be referred, if necessary, for further appraisal of his or her
abilities.
(e) If the medical
review team makes the disability determination, the medical review team shall
provide a written report of the determination under this subsection to the
cabinet and the:
1. Child, if the child is
age eighteen (18) or older; or
2.
Adoptive parent, if the child is under age eighteen (18).
(3) Federal Title IV-E adoption
assistance may include:
(a) Nonrecurring
adoption expenses not to exceed $1,000 incurred in the adoption of a special
needs child; and
(b) An adoption
subsidy.
Section
7. Termination of Adoption Assistance Payments. In accordance with
KRS
199.557 and
42 U.S.C.
673(a)(4), federal Title
IV-E adoption assistance payments shall be terminated.
(1) The adoptive parent requests;
(2) The child reaches age:
(a) Eighteen (18); or
(b) Twenty-one (21), if the child is
determined to have a disability in accordance with Section 6(2) of this
administrative regulation;
(3) The cabinet determines that the:
(a) Adoptive parent is no longer legally
responsible for the support of the child; or
(b) Child is no longer receiving support from
the adoptive parent; or
(4) No adoptive parent who signed the
adoption assistance agreement remains living.
Section 8. Adoption Assistance Renegotiation.
(1) Renegotiation of an adoption assistance
agreement may be requested by the adoptive parent before or after the adoption
is finalized in accordance with
42 U.S.C.
673 or 922 KAR
1:530.
(2) The renegotiated amount of federal Title
IV-E adoption assistance payments shall be agreed upon by the:
(a) Adoptive parent; and
(b) Cabinet.
(3) If the adoption assistance payment is
renegotiated in accordance with subsections (1) and (2) of this section, the
cabinet and adoptive parent shall sign a new adoption assistance
agreement.
(4) Federal Title IV-E
adoption assistance payments shall not be changed by a move of the adoptive
parents out of the state or country.
Section 9. Service Appeal. An applicant for
adoption assistance payments or an adoptive family aggrieved by a cabinet
action shall be granted an administrative hearing in accordance with 922 KAR
1:320.
Section 10. Notice of
Change.
(1) Cabinet staff shall provide notice
of termination of adoption assistance payments:
(a) Ten (10) calendar days in advance;
and
(b) In accordance with 922 KAR
1:320, Section 6.
(2) In
accordance with
42 U.S.C.
673, an adoptive parent shall notify the
cabinet of any change in circumstance that would make the adoptive parent
ineligible for adoption assistance payments or change the amount of the
adoption assistance payment.
Section
11. Extraordinary Medical Expenses. In accordance with
KRS
199.555(6) or 922 KAR
1:050,
an adoptive child shall be eligible for assistance with extraordinary medical
expenses.