TAPLINK

Support for
Pennsylvania
Adoptive & Foster Families

OCYF Bulletin 3140-99-01
Adoption Assistance Questions
Financial Issues

37. May the Domestic Relations Section (DRS) assess financial liability to a family receiving adoption assistance if their adopted child enters placement?

Yes, adoptive parents, like birth parents, are legally responsible for their children.

38. A child receiving adoption assistance benefits is removed from his/her adoptive family i!y and re-enters out-of-home placement. The county agency accepts child custody. Can the assessment of parent financial liability as determined by the DRS be limited to the amount that the family receives in adoption assistance payments?

Federal law allows deviation from the presumptive support payments, which are routinely determined pursuant to State child support guidelines under Title IV-D. According to guidance received from the Administration of Children, Youth and Families in ACYF-CB-PIQ-98-02, it is permitted for states to deviate from the presumptive payment amounts as required by Title IV-D guidelines. The PIQ permits the Title lV-E agency to avoid referral for support to the Title IV-D agency "on an individual basis, considering the best interests of the child and the circumstances of the family."

The federal PIQ further states that the Title IV-E agency and the Title IV-D agency should review and recommend criteria when best interests of the child would make a referral for support to the Title IV-D agency unnecessary. The following Pennsylvania criteria have been reviewed and agreed upon by the Office of Children, Youth and Families and the Office of Income Maintenance.

IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO REFER A FAMILY RECEIVING ADOPTION ASSISTANCE TO THE OFFICE OF DOMESTIC RELATIONS FOR CHILD SUPPORT

ENFORCEMENT WHEN ALL OF THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA ARE MET:

1. A county children and youth agency has accepted custody of the child and determined that placement is necessary to protect the best interests of the child.
2. The adoptive parents continue to accept a level of financial responsibility on behalf of the child.
3. Referral to the Domestic Relations Section could impede the adoptive family's ability to reunify with the child in a timely manner.
4. The adoptive family is agreeable to pay to the county, which accepts custody of the child, an amount not greater than the amount of the monthly adoption assistance, which the family receives, on the child's behalf. This parent payment is intended to help offset child placement costs. The agreed upon amount should consider that adoptive families will continue to incur child related expenses during the period of placement. Such expenses may include costs associated with visiting or personal incidentals that a child may continue to need.

CAUTION: When a family receiving adoption assistance is referred to Domestic Relations for a determination of support payments, all obligations in accordance to the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure, Chapter 1910, Actions for Support, Rule 1910.16-1, will be applied to the adoption assistance family. Referral to Domestic Relations could mean that the adoptive parents could be assessed an amount greater than their adoption assistance payment.

39. A child enters a residential program from a pre-adoptive home and the child's family is receiving adoption assistance for the child. Is the pre-adoptive parent liability for support different than if the adoption had been finalized?

Yes. If the adoption were not finalized, the preadoptive family would have no financial liability and the situation should not be referred to the DRS for support action against the adoptive parents. The agency would retain full legal responsibility for the child in such a situation.