Library: Policy

340:75-15-128.2. Title IV-E adoption assistance eligibility requirements

Revised 9-15-22

(a) The child. The requirements for a child to be eligible for Title IV-E adoption assistance are outlined in this subsection.

(1) To be considered for adoption assistance, the child is:

(A) determined to have special needs, per Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC) 340:75-15-128.4, prior to the adoption finalization; and

(B) by way of a voluntary placement, voluntary relinquishment, or a court-ordered removal with a judicial determination that remaining in the home would be contrary to the child’s welfare, is at the time of initiation of adoption proceedings, in the care and control of:

(i) Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS);

(ii) a federally-recognized Indian tribe; or

(iii) a licensed, private child-placing agency, effective October 1, 2009.

(2) To be eligible for adoption assistance the child:

(A) is Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) eligible at the time of removal, per OAC 340:75-13-13;

(B) attained the age listed in (i) through (ix) of this subparagraph in the federal fiscal year (FFY) phased in from October 1, 2009, through October 1, 2017, and an adoption assistance agreement is entered into during that FFY. The schedule for phasing in based on the child's applicable age that decreases by two years each subsequent FFY, is:

(i) FFY 2010 16 years of age;

(ii) FFY 2011 14 years of age;

(iii) FFY 2012 12 years of age;

(iv) FFY 2013 10 years of age;

(v) FFY 2014 8 years of age;

(vi) FFY 2015 6 years of age;

(vii) FFY 2016 4 years of age;

(viii) FFY 2017 through 2023 2 years of age;

(ix) FFY 2024 2 years of age or in the case of a child for whom an adoption assistance agreement is entered into under this section on or after July 1, 2024, any age; or

(x) FFY 2025 or thereafter any age;

(D) is residing with a minor parent in foster care and the minor parent was placed in foster care by way of a voluntary placement agreement, voluntary relinquishment, or court-ordered removal;

(E) was eligible for Title IV-E adoption assistance in a previous adoption when the child’s adoptive parents died or their parental rights were voluntarily or involuntarily terminated; or

(F) beginning October 1, 2009, is a child of any age for which an adoption assistance agreement is entered into, when the child:

(i) was in foster care for 60-consecutive months; and

(ii) is a sibling to a child who is eligible due to age or length in foster care and is placed in the same adoptive placement.

(b) Kinship guardianship assistance payment not considered when determining adoption assistance eligibility. To determine eligibility for adoption assistance payments of a child OKDHS placed for adoption who was previously in a legal guardianship arrangement, per Section 473(a)(1)(d) of Title IV-E, both the child's placement with the relative guardian involved and any kinship guardianship assistance payments made on behalf of the child are considered never to have occurred.

(c) The adoptive parent. There is no means test for the prospective adoptive parent to determine eligibility for adoption assistance. Title IV-E adoption assistance benefits are not available when a prospective adoptive parent has a felony conviction for:

(1) physical assault, battery, or a drug-related offense when the conviction occurs within the five-year period preceding the application date;

(2) child abuse or neglect;

(3) domestic abuse;

(4) a crime against a child including, but not limited to, child pornography; or

(5) a crime involving violence including, but not limited to, rape, sexual assault, or homicide, but excluding those crimes specified in (1) of this paragraph. Per Section 16 of Title 18 of the United States Code, a crime involving violence means an offense that:

(A) has as an element of the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another; or

(B) by its nature, involves a substantial risk that physical force against the person or property of another may be used in the course of committing the offense.

(d) School enrollment. The prospective adoptive parent written verification at the time he or she applies for adoption assistance and annually thereafter that each child, who is the minimum age for compulsory school attendance under state law is:

(1) enrolled in an institution that provides elementary or secondary education as determined under the law of the state or other jurisdiction in which the institution is located;

(2) instructed in elementary or secondary education at home in accordance with a home school law or other jurisdiction in which the home is located;

(3) in an independent study elementary or secondary education program in accordance with the law of the state or other jurisdiction in which the program is located that is administered by the local school or school district; or

(4) incapable of attending school on a full-time basis due to a documented medical condition supported by regular updates.

(e) Adoption of child not a United States (U.S.) citizen. A child who has special needs:

(1) but is not a U.S. citizen; and

(2) was adopted in another country or brought to the U.S. for the purpose of adoption is categorically ineligible for Title IV-E adoption assistance, when the child meets the eligibility criteria after the dissolution of the international adoption.