How to Find a Child to Adopt and Negotiate an Adoption Subsidy

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By Julia Fuller
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Older Child Adoption

You want to adopt a child but you think you are you too poor or too old to adopt, think again. If you have a current approved adoption homestudy that says you can adopt special needs children then you are ready to get started. Did you know that not all children listed as special needs really have special needs? Special needs status is achieved in most states by the age, or sibling group status, of the child, available for adoption. Children who have this special needs status are eligible for a monthly adoption subsidy paid by the state placing the child. Some states negotiate the rate, other states have fixed rates for adoption subsidy.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Approved Adoptive Homestudy for Special Needs
Willingness to travel

Step 1

look at state websites

Look on state adoption websites, national adoption websites, and special needs adoption websites for children to adopt. Look for children who are older, or have special needs, or are part of a sibling group. See the links in the resource section for some websites. Every state in the U.S.A. has their children posted on a website. You can find the link to children available in your state by going to your state's homepage and clicking on adoption.
Step 2

Visit www.nacac.org

Visit the NACAC.org website, National American Council on Adoptable Children. This website has adoption subsidy information on every state. It will tell you the subsidy rates for each state. It will tell you how much the state will reimburse you for traveling there to pick up your new child. It will also tell the age a child must be to be considered special needs to qualify for an adoption subsidy. The age varies by state, some states qualify children as special needs at age 3 other states age 6. NACAC will also tell you the size of a sibling group to qualify. If there are three siblings, most states will pay a subsidy on all three, regardless of the ages to keep them together. Younger children, including babies, also qualify for subsidy if they have special needs such as Cerebral Palsy, Blind, Deaf, Failure to Thrive, Autism, speech impaired, to name a few.
Step 3

Call DHS

Call your local DHS, Department of Human Services, and tell them you have an approved homestudy. Tell them the age, gender, sibling group size, and special needs you are willing to consider. Ask if they have any children currently available for adoption. Ask if you can send them your homestudy. Don't be afraid to call other counties, especially metropolitan areas.
Step 4

Have your homestudy sent to many agencies

Submit inquiries on children you see who fit the age and gender you are looking for on the internet. Email or call your adoption worker and ask for your homestudy to be delivered to the agency that has the child listed.
Step 5

Look through the information

Look through the child information sent to you once you are selected as the adoptive family. There will be details of the child's life in foster care, special needs, services needed, educational, and emotional issues. Some states have fixed subsidy rates that cannot be negotiated. You will find this information on nacac.org. Some states automatically give the adoptive parent the foster care rate that the foster parents receive. Other states negotiate rates based on caring for the child's needs that are above and beyond the care that a "normal" child would need. For example, is the child fed by a G-tube, is the child still in diapers at five-years-old, will you need to take the child to regular physical therapy for a muscular disorder. Do some research about the state your new child is coming from so you are prepared.

Comments

stefanie720 said

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on 2/9/2009 amazing article. thanks for writing!! 5*

FrazzledNanny said

on 1/9/2009 We adopted three of our four daughters. We have been talking about adopting again. Thanks for the information. Our three daughters we already adopted were through foster care (my husband and I were foster parents for almost 13 years).