U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Administration for Children and Families

Administration on Children, Youth and Families

Children’s Bureau

Child Welfare Information Gateway

Children’s Bureau/ACYF

1250 Maryland Avenue, SW

Eighth Floor

Washington, DC 20024

800.394.3366

Email: info@childwelfare.gov

www.childwelfare.gov

FACTSHEET 

FOR FAMILIES

February 2011

Disponible en español

www.childwelfare.gov/

pubs/sp_subsid.cfm

Adoption Assistance 

for Children Adopted 

From Foster Care 

What’s Inside:

• Federal Title IV-E Adoption Assistance

• State adoption assistance 

• Arranging adoption assistance

In every State, children with special needs are 

waiting in foster care for adoptive families. The 

most recent data suggest that an estimated 115,000 

children are available to be adopted from foster 

care.1 In the past, the costs of care and services 

were major obstacles to parents who would 

1	 This figure is from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting

System (AFCARS) data for 2009. See www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_

research/afcars/tar/report17.htm
Adoption Assistance for Children Adopted From Foster Care www.childwelfare.gov

2 This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child

Welfare Information Gateway. Available online at www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_subsid.cfm

otherwise adopt and be suitable parents for 

children from foster care, and many foster 

children were not placed for adoption due 

to this barrier. 

The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare 

Act of 19802 provided the first Federal 

subsidies to encourage the adoption of 

children from the nation’s foster care 

system. These subsidies, known as adoption 

assistance, serve to minimize the financial 

obstacles to adoption. In addition, other 

types of assistance often are available to 

help with medical care or other services. 

Adoption assistance serves to remove 

barriers and contribute to an increase in 

adoption of children with special needs.

Federal Title IV-E 

Adoption Assistance

Adoption assistance from the Federal Government is administered under the Federal 

Title IV-E Adoption Assistance Program. 

Payments to the adoptive parents of an 

eligible child with special needs can take 

two forms:

• One-time (nonrecurring) adoption 

assistance and/or 

• Ongoing (recurring) adoption assistance 

These funds may be available through State 

and private agencies for eligible children 

being adopted from foster care. 

2	 See Information Gateway’s website for more information

on this Act: www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/

federal/index.cfm?event=federalLegislation.viewLegis&id=22

The term “special needs” has a broad 

meaning in adoption. To learn more, 

read Information Gateway’s “Special 

Needs” Adoption: What Does It Mean? at 

www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/

specialneeds

Eligibility for Federal IV-E Adoption 

Assistance

With the passage of the Fostering 

Connections to Success and Increasing 

Adoptions Act of 2008, States and Tribes 

are required to have two sets of program 

eligibility criteria for the Title IV-E Adoption 

Assistance Program. One set of criteria 

applies to a child who is considered an 

“applicable child” due to the child’s age, 

length of time in care, or as a sibling of an 

applicable child. The other criteria are for a 

child who is considered “not an applicable 

child” and who, in order to receive Title 

IV-E Adoption Assistance, must meet the 

former eligibility requirements.3 The criteria 

for a child who is not an applicable child 

will be phased out by 2018. At that point, 

all children will be considered “applicable.” 

It is important to understand that figuring 

out whether or not a child is an applicable 

or not an applicable child is only the first 

step to determining whether the child is 

eligible for title IV-E adoption assistance. 

Being an applicable child does not mean 

that a child automatically is eligible for Title 

IV-E Adoption Assistance. 

3	 Former eligibility requirements are available in the online

Child Welfare Policy Manual at www.acf.hhs.gov/cwpm/

programs/cb/laws_policies/laws/cwpm/policy_dsp.jsp?citID=32
Adoption Assistance for Children Adopted From Foster Care www.childwelfare.gov

3 This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child

Welfare Information Gateway. Available online at www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_subsid.cfm

The title IV-E agency will examine many 

factors when determining whether a child 

is eligible to receive Federal adoption 

assistance. The information below provides 

an overview of the eligibility criteria for the 

Federal adoption assistance program. The 

title IV-E agency can explain the eligibility 

details. The factors the title IV-E agency will 

consider include:

1. Whether the child is considered to be 

an “applicable child” whose eligibility 

is determined by the revised eligibility 

criteria, or whether the child is 

considered to be “not an applicable 

child” whose eligibility is determined 

based on the eligibility rules that were 

in place prior to October 1, 2009

2. Whether the child meets the title IV-E 

agency’s criteria for special needs

3. Whether the child meets specific 

eligibility criteria that provide the 

child a “pathway” into the adoption 

assistance program. Depending on 

several factors, the title IV-E agency 

may examine any of the following:

a. The legal and financial 

circumstances under which the 

child was removed from home 

b. The manner of removal from the 

child’s home

c. Whether the child is a child of a 

minor parent who is in title IV-E 

foster care

d. Whether the child was eligible for 

Title IV-E Adoption Assistance in a 

prior adoption

e. Whether the child meets some 

or all of the criteria to receive 

Supplemental Security Income 

(SSI), which is a program 

administered by the Social Security

Administration

4. Whether the child meets certain 

citizenship and immigration status 

requirements

5. Whether the prospective adoptive 

parents have passed a Federal criminal 

records check

State Adoption 

Assistance

State adoption assistance programs provide 

assistance for children with special needs 

who are not eligible under the Federal IV-E 

adoption assistance program. This assistance 

is funded by State and/or county dollars 

and is designed for children who are neither 

TANF- nor SSI-eligible prior to adoption.4

Eligibility criteria for these programs vary 

by State, but State adoption assistance 

programs generally fall into three categories:

Medical assistance covers some or all 

of the costs related to a child’s specific 

medical condition that are not covered 

by the family’s health insurance, as well 

as associated therapy, rehabilitation, and 

special education. (Most States call this 

type of assistance Medicaid.) 

Direct payment assistance refers to direct 

payments to the adoptive family in order 

to help meet the special physical, mental, 

or emotional needs of the child.

4	 Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) replaced Aid

to Families With Dependent Children (AFDC).
Adoption Assistance for Children Adopted From Foster Care www.childwelfare.gov

4 This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child

Welfare Information Gateway. Available online at www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_subsid.cfm

Supplemental adoption assistance varies 

greatly by State. Some States cover a 

child’s emergency or extraordinary need; 

less often, assistance consists of repeated 

payments for services not covered by 

the medical or direct payments. Each 

State determines what is an allowable 

cost. Some States make this available for 

months, others for 6 months, while still 

others provide one-time coverage for a 

specific service.

Information Gateway’s website can help you 

find adoption assistance by State through its 

annually updated database: 

www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/

adopt_assistance 

Eligibility for State Adoption 

Assistance and Other Assistance 

States sometimes consider the prospective 

adoptive family’s income and resources 

to determine if the family meets State 

eligibility requirements, which vary but are 

linked to:

• Determination of special needs from the 

Federal adoption assistance law

• Unique aspects of the State adoption 

assistance program

Arranging Adoption 

Assistance

When a State agency has determined that an 

adoptive child has special needs (as defined 

by that State), the possibility of adoption 

assistance is discussed with the prospective 

adoptive parents. States are responsible for 

telling prospective adoptive parents about 

the availability of adoption assistance and 

eligibility for an adoption tax credit.5 Most 

children registered with agencies as having 

special needs have already been classified as 

eligible for adoption assistance.

Once a petition for adoption has been filed, 

the State makes a final determination of 

the child’s eligibility under title IV-E or the 

State program. The family applies for the 

adoption assistance to the State agency 

through the local office. If approved, an 

adoption assistance agreement is drawn 

up between the public agency and the 

prospective parents, specifying the types of 

adoption assistance to be provided. This is 

usually done around the time of placement 

and must be done before finalization of the 

adoption. Each State has its own regulations 

for arranging a State-only subsidy, and 

each State establishes its own procedures 

to achieve compliance with the Federal 

title IV-E program in arranging this type of 

assistance.

Deferred Adoption Assistance 

In some States, it is possible for adoptive 

parents to defer adoption assistance until it 

is needed to meet the needs of the adopted 

child. In these cases, parents can elect to 

receive a Medicaid card only and sign the 

agreement with the payment level of $0, 

which can be raised to meet the needs of 

the child at a future date if needed. The 

adoption assistance agreement between the 

parents and the public agency is written to 

clearly identify what event(s) would trigger 

services. For example, a young child with 

5	 Read more about the Fostering Connections to Success and

Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008: www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/

cb/laws_policies/implementation_foster.htm
Adoption Assistance for Children Adopted From Foster Care

5 This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child

Welfare Information Gateway. Available online at www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_subsid.cfm

www.childwelfare.gov

a history of abuse and neglect or prenatal 

substance exposure may not need services at 

the time of adoption; however, an assistance 

agreement may be written to allow for 

services (with documentation from required 

professionals) if and when significant issues 

arise and the child needs intensive therapy 

or perhaps even residential care during the 

school-age or adolescent years.

Often, psychiatric reports and other 

documentation are necessary to justify the 

potential need for a future subsidy.

Appealing an Adoption Assistance 

Decision 

Adoptive parents may appeal the State 

agency’s decision regarding adoption 

assistance or the adoption assistance 

amount by using the State’s fair hearing and 

appeals process. If the family is appealing 

a decision regarding a title IV-E subsidy, 

the family files an appeal through the local 

agency that administers title IV-E assistance. 

The local agency must inform the family 

about steps in the State fair hearing process. 

During the process, some families choose 

to hire an attorney or seek the advice of 

advocacy organizations for children with 

special needs. If a family wishes to appeal a 

decision regarding State adoption assistance, 

the family may consult with the local 

agency adoption assistance representative 

about the steps in the State appeals (or “fair 

hearing”) process. Find more information 

about the fair hearing process on the 

Information Gateway website: 

www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/adopt_

assistance/questions.cfm?quest_id=10

Conclusion 

Adoption assistance exists to help parents 

afford the costs associated with raising a 

child adopted from foster care. By providing 

financial assistance to these families, 

the State and Federal subsidy programs 

minimize the financial barriers to adopting a 

child from foster care so that more children 

in care are placed in permanent homes and 

families.

Adoption assistance payments are not the 

only type of financial assistance available 

to adoptive parents. Prospective adoptive 

parents should explore all potential 

resources to help make adoption an 

affordable option. 

Information Gateway offers several 

factsheets that provide this type of 

information. For example:

• Information on finding out about tax 

benefits and reimbursement for one-time 

adoption costs is in Costs of Adopting: 

www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/s_cost/index.

cfm

• Information on employer benefits is in 

Employer-Provided Adoption Benefits: 

www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_benefi.cfm

Suggested Citation:

Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2011). 

Adoption assistance for children adopted 

from foster care. Washington, DC: U.S. 

Departments of Health and Human 

Services, Children’s Bureau.