Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 18 - HUMAN SERVICES › Part 6 - Division of Family and Children's Services › Chapter 1 - DFCS Policy Manual › Section 18-6-1-G - Adoption Policy › ADOPTION ASSISTANCE › Section 18-6-1-G-V - IV-E ADOPTION ASSISTANCE (FAS)

Current through June 25, 2024
IV-E Adoption Assistance utilizes Title IV-E funds
						matched with State funds. A recipient of Federal Adoption Assistance
						must:
1. Be determined at
					 initial entry into foster care to have been eligible or would have been
					 eligible for IV-E Foster Care, OR
2. Meet all of the requirements of Title XVI
					 with respect to eligibility for SSI benefits in the month in which the adoption
					 is finalized. OR
3. Effective
					 Federal Fiscal Year (FY) 2010, which started October 1, 2009, children who have
					 been in foster care for at least 60 consecutive months and/or who meet age
					 requirements are eligible for IV-E adoption assistance as long as they meet the
					 definition of a special needs child and are not eligible for IV-E foster care
					 due to the birth parent's income - but meet all other IV-E requirements.
					 Siblings to any child who meet these criteria and are being adopted by the same
					 family are also eligible.
Children become eligible if they turn the listed age any
						time during the fiscal year.
Federal Fiscal Year
Age of Eligibility
Date of Birth
2012 [10/01/11-09/30/12]
12 and older
Prior to October 1, 2000
2013 [10/01/12-09/30/13]
10 and older
Prior to October 1, 2003
2014 [10/01/13-09/30/14]
8 and older
Prior to October 1, 2006
2015 [10/01/14-09/30/15]
6 and older
Prior to October 1, 2009
2016 [10/01/15-09/30/16]
4 and older
Prior to October 1, 2012
2017 [10/01/16-09/30/17]
2 and older
Prior to October 1, 2015
2018 [10/01/17-09/30/18]
All children
4. The child is a child of a minor parent who
					 is in foster care and received IV-E foster care payments that covered both the
					 minor parent and the child, and the child meets the definition of a child with
					 special needs.
5. The child
					 previously was eligible for IV-E Adoption Assistance and meets the definition
					 of a child with special needs. In the situation of a child who was adopted and
					 received IV-E adoption assistance, but the adoption dissolved or the adoptive
					 parents died, the child continues to be eligible for IV-E adoption assistance
					 in a subsequent adoption. The only determination that must be made is whether
					 the child is a child with special needs. Because IV-E adoption assistance
					 eligibility does not have to be re-established for subsequent adoptions, the
					 manner of a child's removal from the adoptive home, including whether the child
					 is voluntarily relinquished to an individual or a private agency, is
					 irrelevant.
Each child in DFCS custody who is legally freed for
						adoption must have his/her case reviewed for determination of eligibility for
						IV-E Adoption Assistance. If eligible, this information will be shared with
						DFCS staff and with interested prospective adoptive parent(s).
A.
Establishing Child's Eligibility for
					 IV-E Adoption Assistance
The Adoption Specialist is responsible for compiling the
						information needed to determine a child's eligibility for IV-E Adoption
						Assistance. The child must be determined eligible for Adoption Assistance by
						the Adoption Assistance Supervisor and approved by the Director of the Adoption
						Unit as requiring Adoption Assistance to assure adoption. Each of the following
						conditions must be met and documented in the child's case record which is
						maintained in the State Office Adoption Unit:
1. The child must be legally free for
					 adoption.
2. The child must be in
					 the legal custody of MDHS or a licensed child-placing Agency in Mississippi.
3. The child must be determined to
					 have been initially eligible or would have been eligible for IV-E Foster Care
					 as set out in Volume IV or must meet all of the requirements of Title XVI with
					 respect to eligibility for SSI benefits in the month in which the Adoption
					 Decree is granted.
In order for a child to be considered a special needs
						child for the purposes of the adoption assistance program, all of the following
						criteria must be met and documented in the child's file and in MACWIS:
a. The Youth Court Judge determined that the
					 child cannot or should not be returned to the home of his parents. This must be
					 stated in a Court Order issued within 180 days of a custody order or Voluntary
					 Surrender.
b. The child must be
					 determined by the Agency to be a child with one or more special needs as
					 follows:
i. Physical disability
ii. Mental disability (I.Q. of 70 or less)
iii. Developmental disability
iv. Emotional disturbance
v. Age (must be Six (6) years old
					 or older)
vi. Membership in a
					 sibling group (or fictive sibling group) of two (2) or more children being
					 placed together - fictive sibling is defined as unrelated children who have
					 resided in the same home for at least 6 months and who have developed
					 significant emotional ties to each other.
vii. Medical conditions
viii. Factors in the child's or biological
					 family's medical history or background place the child at risk to acquire a
					 medical condition, a physical, mental, or developmental disability or an
					 emotional disorder. Current information is required to document the above risk
					 factors. Documentation of an unknown medical history may also be a risk factor.
Children who are determined to have special needs will
						be further assessed for their level of special needs. There are 6 levels:
1.
Deferred -
Includes
					 children under the age of 6 who have documented risk factors for special needs
					 in their background, but currently have no known special needs. This would
					 include documented mental or medical health issues in the family, unknown
					 background, history of abuse or neglect, or risk factors documented by the
					 child's birth records.
2.
Basic Special Needs -
Includes age, sibling group membership, a
					 single developmental, mental health or medical diagnosis not serious in nature,
					 i.e. Eczema, speech delays, allergies, etc.
3.
Special Needs I
- When a
					 child has ongoing medical conditions requiring frequent medical attention or
					 daily medications or interventions and the SSI application is either pending or
					 been denied
4.
Special Needs
					 II -
When a child is receiving SSI benefits at the time of adoption.
5.
Therapeutic Rate
-
					 When a child has multiple diagnoses (either mental health or medical conditions
					 or a combination) for which he/she continues to receive therapeutic
					 intervention.
OR
The adoptee has a single diagnosis which is causing
						significant impairment in multiple settings (home, school, peers, etc.).
6.
Medically Fragile
					 Rate
- When an adoptee has a medical condition or multiple medical
					 diagnoses which :
a) Are life threatening in
					 nature, or
b) Require specialized
					 medical care in the home, or
c)
					 Will require corrective major surgery / recurrent surgeries, or
d) The prognosis for full recovery is
					 negligible and the child is not expected to ever live independently.
Must be in Child's Adoption Assistance File
Deferred
$0 payment
								Medicaid only
Documentation of all risk factors which may
								include no known background information, documentation of mental or medical
								history of birth family, documentation of risk factors in birth records,
								documentation of Abuse or neglect.
Basic Rate
Payment
								Cannot Exceed:
Must be in Child's Adoption Assistance
								File
0 - 3
$325
Birth certificate,
								developmental assessment/Early Intervention Assessment pertinent birth records,
								TPR documentation
4 - 5
$335
Birth certificate,
								developmental assessment/Early Intervention Assessment pertinent birth records,
								TPR documentation
6 - 9
$355
Birth certificate,
								developmental assessment/n Assessment, Psychological Evaluation. School Records
								pertinent birth records, TPR documentation
10-12
$375
Birth certificate,
								developmental assessment/n Assessment, Psychological Evaluation. School Records
								pertinent birth records, TPR documentation
13-15
$390
Birth certificate,
								developmental assessment/n Assessment, Psychological Evaluation. School Records
								pertinent birth records, TPR documentation
16-21
$400
Birth certificate,
								developmental assessment/n Assessment, Psychological Evaluation. School Records
								pertinent birth records, TPR documentation
Special Needs I Any age
$440
Birth certificate, developmental assessment/n Assessment, Psychological
								Evaluation. School Records pertinent birth records, TPR documentation, medical
								documentation of ongoing medical conditions
Special Needs II Any age
$500
Birth certificate, developmental assessment/ Psychological Evaluation. School
								Records pertinent birth records, TPR documentation, medical documentation of
								ongoing medical conditions, copy of most recent SSI letter
Therapeutic Any age
$700
Birth
								certificate, developmental assessment/ Psychological Evaluation which shows
								multiple diagnoses or significant impairment in multiple settings, medical
								records, School Records, pertinent birth records, TPR documentation, medical
								documentation of ongoing medical conditions
Medically Fragile Any age
$900
Birth certificate, developmental assessment/ Psychological Evaluation which
								shows multiple diagnoses or significant impairment in multiple settings,
								medical records which show multiple diagnose and level of care required, School
								Records, pertinent birth records, TPR documentation, medical documentation of
								ongoing medical conditions