adoption subsidy

A new bill in Arizona would speed up the process for caregivers to begin receiving subsidies for the children in their care before a permanent guardianship has been finalized. The bill also allows guardians who subsequently adopt to apply for adoption subsidies, which they currently cannot do.

She has to be under the age of 5. Otherwise, I don’t want her. I have been working with children, youth and families for over 30 years. During the past three decades, there’s nothing that pierces my heart more than comments like this — knowing that once children reach a certain age, they are no longer wanted.

Lawrence Booker had been living apart from his adoptive family for around two years when he learned that his adoptive mother might still be receiving money for his care — money that could have gone a long way toward helping him instead.

This is the second of two columns focusing on adoption subsidies. In the first column, I focused on the general need for more scrutiny on recipients of adoption subsidies. In this column I discuss the need to prevent abuse of adopted children who are removed from school.

Under New York state law, adoptive parents have the opportunity to apply for and receive support called an “adoption subsidy.” The subsidy is a monthly payment adoptive parents receive until the child turns 21 for basic necessities, like food, clothing, housing and medical expenses.

Youth Services Insider has predicted that Adoption Subsidies Could Become a Hot Topic in Child Welfare. There is good reason to take another look at these subsidies. Most adopted parents are loving and generous people who spend much more on their children than they receive in subsidies.

When adoptions from foster care fall apart, youth often end up back in foster care, with a biological relative, or on the streets. But in most cases, the government still provides financial assistance to the adoptive parents.

The Imprint is highlighting each of the policy recommendations made this summer by the participants of the Foster Youth Internship Program (FYI), a group of 12 former foster youths who have completed congressional internships.