Adoption
Subsidy

Texas State Subsidy Profile

Updated July 2006

NACAC Subsidy Representatives (parent/volunteer)

Bruce Edwards
6435 Crestway Drive #276
San Antonio, TX 78239
Cell Phone: 210-639-0779
Home: 210-599-7396
E-mail: buce@satx.rr.com

Daphine Reeves
2016 Country Brook Lane
Allen, TX 75002
Phone: 972-529-9868
E-mail: jtsa2@yahoo.com

State Subsidy Contact Person

Max Villarreal
Dept. of Family and Protective Services (DFPS)
PO Box 149030, Mail Code Y-934
Austin, TX 78714-9030
Phone: 512-919-7968; Fax: 512-339-5927
E-mail: max.villarreal@dfps.state.tx.us

Adoption subsidies are available for children with special needs. Federal subsidies were created by Congress (through Public Law 96-272—the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980) to encourage the adoption of special needs children and remove the financial disincentives to adoption for the families. Children may receive a federally funded subsidy under Title IV-E or a state-funded subsidy as per state guidelines. Below we have outlined information related to definitions of special needs, benefits available, and procedures in your state. Answers to select questions were made available by the Association of Administrators of the Interstate Compact on Adoption and Medical Assistance (AAICAMA) through the Child Welfare Information Gateway (www.childwelfare.gov). Profiles for each state’s subsidy program are available on our web site at www.nacac.org. If you have additional questions, please call the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC) at 651-644-3036 or our subsidy help line at 800-470-6665, or e-mail us at adoption.assistance@nacac.org. If you have state-specific questions, please call your State Subsidy Contact Person or the NACAC Subsidy Representative (listed above) for more information.

For All Agreements Signed After September 1, 2003:

4. Specialized rates are based on the extraordinary needs of the child, and/or the additional parenting skill needed to raise the child. If Texas offers these rates, the criteria used to define them are as follows:

Both the basic and specialized payment ceilings are based upon the child’s service needs at the time of adoptive placement.

5. Parents can receive payment or reimbursement for certain nonrecurring adoption expenses directly related to the finalization of an adoption. Below are the allowed expenses and the limit per child.

Nonrecurring adoption expenses include: reasonable and necessary adoption fees, court costs, attorney fees, and other expenses that are directly related to legal completion of the adoption not incurred in violation of state or federal law. These other expenses may include costs associated with required health and psychological evaluations, and the reasonable costs of transportation, lodging, and food for the adoptive parent and/or child when necessary to complete the placement or the adoption process.      

The reimbursement limit is $1,500 per child

Note: Expenses incurred in stepparent adoptions are not reimbursable.  Reimbursement is available to special needs children adopted internationally, if all eligibility requirements are met.

6. What Medicaid services are available in Texas?

• Chiropractic Services
• Day Activity Health Services
• Dentists' Services
• Family Planning Services
• Home Health Care
• Hospice Program
• Medical Transportation
• Nurse-midwife Services
• Pharmacy
• Physicians' Services
• Primary Home Care Services
• Renal Disease Services
• Ambulance Services
• Abortion—if a doctor decides the pregnancy would endanger the mother's life.
• Children's Services (EPSDT)—for clients younger than 21 years old for medical exams and dental services from enrolled Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) providers. Some items, such as medical equipment, braces, artificial limbs, and extra prescriptions not normally covered by Medicaid, may be covered under the EPSDT/Comprehensive Care Program if they are medically necessary and required to diagnose or treat a medical condition.
• Hospital Services—for medically necessary inpatient hospital services up to 30 days. The 30-day limit does not apply to children younger than 1 when they go into any hospital (or younger than 6 in certain hospitals).
• Long-term Care in a Nursing Facility—Care in facilities for the mentally retarded is also covered.
• Psychiatric Services—Provided by a psychiatrist or psychologist in a doctor's office or clinic (limited to $312.50 per year).
• Vision Care Services (Eyeglasses and Examinations)—People younger than 21 can get one eye exam during September through August; one pair of glasses every 24 months; and repairs and replacements if glasses are broken or lost.

Other Services covered by Medicaid in certain situations:

• Laboratory, X-ray, and radiation therapy
• In-home respiratory therapy
• Outpatient counseling for chemical dependency
• Diagnostic services for people with potential of mental retardation
• Rehabilitative services for people with mental illness
• Podiatry services
• Case management for people with mental illness or mental retardation
• Services provided by a physical therapist
• Services provided by a licensed psychologist.

List is subject to change.

The Medicaid Director is Jason Cooke, and the Medicaid hotline is 800-252-8263.

7. Children who have federally funded (Title IV-E) subsidy are automatically eligible for Medicaid benefits.  However, it is the state's decision whether state-funded (non-Title IV-E) children are eligible for Medicaid benefits inTexas.  Below is information on the Medicaid benefits available for state-funded children.

Both IV-E and non-IV-E eligible children receive the same Medicaid benefits (in accordance with the Title XIX State Plan for Texas).

8. What mental health services are provided by your State?

Public mental health services for children in Texas are administered through the Health and Human Services Commission and includes the following examples: psychiatric/psychological/behavioral health services, outpatient counseling for chemical dependency, in-patient hospital services, rehabilitative services and case management for mental illness, and prescription/pharmacy services.

Texas Medicaid Program overview: http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/medicaid/med_info.html

Clients and Benefits: http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/medicaid/reports/PB/pb_pdf/Chapter4.pdf

and contact information: http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/medicaid/contacts.html.

Texas Medicaid hotline: 800-252-8263.

Note: Not all services may be available in all cases. Contact your adoption assistance worker or medical assistance specialist for information regarding process, eligibility, availability, and duration of services.

9. Does your State provide additional finances or services for medical or therapeutic needs not covered under your State medical plan to children receiving adoption assistance?

Texas does not have a specific program to provide additional finances or services for medical or therapeutic needs not covered under the state medical plan. Additional services may be available through their Post Adoption Service Program- see Question #10 for information on post adoption services in Texas.

Note: Not all services may be available in all cases. Contact your adoption assistance worker or post adoption services contact for process, eligibility, availability, and duration of services.

10. What types of post adoption services are available in your State and how do you find out more about them?

Post adoption services in Texas are overseen by the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services through contracts with outside agencies. DFPS post adoption services include the following:

1. Case work/case management
2. Outpatient therapy
3. Parent training
4. Residential treatment (limited)
5. Support groups
6. Respite
7. Information and referral

Access to post adoption services is made through referral. DFPS workers provide the post adoption provider/contractor’s name, address, and/or telephone number in the adoptive family’s region and are usually no longer involved after referral. The Post Adoption Program is contracted by region.

Contact DFPS:
https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Contact_Us/counties.asp.

See the Texas Foster Care and Adoption links for Helpful Resources:
http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Adoption_and_Foster_Care/
Helpful_Resources/default.asp

Voluntary Adoption Registry:
http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Adoption_and_Foster_Care/
Adoption_Registry/default.asp

Many organizations offer a variety of respite options. See the ARCH National Respite Network Respite Locator Service, search by state to locate Texas’s respite programs: http://www.respitelocator.org/.

Note: Not all services may be available in all cases. Contact your adoption assistance worker or post adoption services contact for information regarding process, eligibility, availability, and duration of services.

11. If the additional assistance (listed above in questions #8 -10) is to cover specific services (e.g., counseling/mental health services, respite care, etc.), must these services be explicitly identified in the adoption assistance agreement?

No.

12. How are residential treatment costs covered (if at all) for adoptive families? What procedures must a family follow to receive these services?

In limited situations, the post-adoption services program can assist with short-term residential services.  Families should contact their local adoption unit or post-adoption services provider to inquire about services.

13.  A deferred adoption assistance agreement is one in which the initial monthly maintenance amount is $0. Does Texas offer such agreements?

Yes, Texas offers deferred adoption assistance.

14. Does Texas operate a subsidized guardianship program?

No.

Programmatic Procedures

15. Who makes the final determination of a child's subsidy eligibility in Texas? What roles, if any, do workers and administrators at the county, district, or regional level play in eligibility determination and/or assistance negotiation?

Eligibility is determined by the regional adoption subsidy eligibility specialist based on rule and policy developed by the state office.

16. Will Texas consider my family income to determine my child's eligibility for an adoption subsidy?

Income scales and guidelines are not used in Texas.

17. When do subsidy payments begin?

Adoption assistance payments and benefits may begin the first month after the month of adoption placement.

18. Do children adopted from private agencies in Texas receive the same subsidies as those children adopted from public agencies?

Yes—for IV-E eligible children.  No—for state-funded adoption assistance.  Very few private agency children qualify for adoption assistance because there is no judicial removal of the child from the home.  Private agency children who receive SSI benefits do qualify for adoption assistance.

19. When my child turns 18, which benefits, if any, are available to our family?

A child may receive a subsidy through the month of his/her 18th birthday.  At this time, assistance is not available once the child turns age 18.

20. A child's adoption assistance agreement may be periodically reviewed by the state. What is the typical process used in Texas?

Eligibility must be re-certified at least every five years.  Adoptive families must certify that the adoption still qualifies for assistance.      

21. Can adoption assistance agreements be modified if requested by adoptive parents?

22. What are the exact steps a family must go through to access the fair hearing/appeal process in Texas?

Adoptive families have the right to request a far hearing any time they experience a delay, denial, suspension, reduction, or termination affecting the adoption assistance agreement.  A fair hearing is also available if it is believed that the processing of the adoption assistance application is unreasonably delayed.  A request for fair hearing must be made to the adoption assistance worker in writing within ninety days of the effective date of the delay, denial, suspension, reduction, or termination action.  Families can represent themselves or have another person, including an attorney, represent them at the fair hearing. Please note that there is no right to appeal the decision to provide all available benefits, including the maximum allowable monthly payment.

Contact DFPS: http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Contact_Us/default.asp

23. Families may request a subsidy after the finalization of an adoption under certain circumstances. Below is the process by which families access a subsidy after finalization.

Families should contact the TDFPS office or agency that placed the child and supervised the adoption to obtain an application. In order to receive benefits after the finalization of an adoption, the following must take place.

1. You must request a hearing and show that there is good reason to excuse your failure to have a signed agreement.  Some good reasons that provide for a hearing are:
   
   1. We placed your child for adoption but did not inform you of the adoption assistance program before the adoption was final.
   2. We or the licensed child placing agency (LCPA), whichever placed the child, knew facts relevant to the child’s eligibility for adoption assistance but did not disclose them to you before the adoption.
   3. The child’s physical, mental, emotional handicapping condition could not be diagnosed before the adoption, but was later diagnosed by an appropriately qualified professional as having existed at the time of the adoptive placement.
   4. We made an error in determining that your child was not eligible before the adoption was final.
   5. We denied you assistance because of a means test.
      
2. In the hearing, you have the burden to prove both;
   
   1. your reason for not having a signed agreement before the adoption, and
   2. that your child met all eligibility requirements before the adoption.
      
3. If we agree that your child was eligible before the adoption and your failure to have a signed agreement should be excused, we can sign an agreed order with you and avoid having a hearing.  The hearing officer must approve the agreed order, and you must sign an agreement consistent with its provision, before you can receive benefits.
   

System Operation and Program Funding

24. How is the subsidy program operated and funded in Texas?

The program is state administered. The application and approval process is handled at the regional level in accordance with established statewide policy and procedures.

The federal contribution to Title IV-E-eligible children is approximately 60.78% in Texas. This is known as the Federal Financial Participation (FFP) rate. The remaining cost of the program is funded entirely with state funds.

25. Below are other programs that may delineate Texas's adoption assistance program from others around the country.

Adopted children who were adopted and were the subject of an adoption assistance agreement qualify for tuition and fees waiver if the youth attends a state supported and funded college or university in Texas.  Youth who age out of foster care also qualify for the tuition and fee waiver program.  Contact the schools financial aid office of the school the youth in planning to attend for additional information.