Vol. 1, No. 2 • Summer 1997
Foster Parents Ask DSS
Responses by Esther High and Elsie RoaneQuestion: We are about to adopt our foster child. Are there programs to provide for the special needs of our children after the adoption is finalized? Is so, who will provide us information about them?
Response: You are wise to raise these issues before your adoption is finalized. Since you refer to your child as "special needs," the child may be eligible for adoption assistance benefits. Eligibility for adoption assistance must be established prior to the issuance of the Decree of Adoption. Also, in order to receive these benefits, you must sign an adoption assistance agreement before the adoption is finalized.
North Carolina offers assistance in these categories for special needs children: monthly cash benefits, vendor payments to medical or therapeutic providers, Medicaid, and social services benefits. Your child may be eligible for some or all of these benefits. As the adopting parent of a special needs child, you are eligible for reimbursement of nonrecurring costs of the adoption. These expenses, which cannot exceed $2,000 for a child, may be used to reimburse you for attorney fees, physicals, or other expenses directly related to the legal adoption of your child.
Please discuss your concerns with your adoption social worker. It is her or his responsibility to explain these benefits and make sure that your child receives all that he is entitled to as a special needs child. Also, a big THANK YOU for adopting. Please share this information with others, as we believe many more children would be adopted if families were aware of these benefits.
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Question: Why can't I be licensed by DSS and by Mental Health at the same time? There are too few foster parents available for these two competing agencies to make such proprietary restrictions. After all, shouldn't the needs of the children be the foremost consideration?
Response: Thank you for your question about licensing. Under North Carolina law, placements of children into family foster homes may only be made by child-placing agencies duly authorized by law. These agencies, then, are held legally responsible for not only the foster home and the child-placing activities, but the services provided in the home by the foster care provided. It is easy to see, then, that if a foster parent provided services for two agencies, it would be impossible to hold just one agency legally responsible.
Which brings me to the point you mentioned: Yes, you are right, often there are competing needs between DSS and Mental Health and for this reason, too, it is very important for only one agency to be supervising the home. Conflicts of interest could easily arise due to differing mandates, goals, etc. In such cases, foster care providers could find themselves in a dilemma trying to decide which agency's rules it should follow.
So, for these reasons, I believe children are best served by foster care providers who work exclusively for just one agency. I hope this information answers your question. Thanks for writing.
The first question was answered by Esther High, Special Needs Adoption Coordinator, NC Division of Social Services. The second question was answered by Elsie Roane, a Financial Resources Coordinator for the Children's Services Section of the NC Division of Social Services.
Do You Have Questions for DSS?
If you have questions about your training, your role in your foster child's life, or any other aspect of foster parenting, please send them to Fostering Perspectives, c/o John McMahon, Editor, Jordan Institute for Families, UNC School of Social Work, Campus Box #3550, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3550 or e-mail: [email protected].
Copyright � 2000 Jordan Institute for Families
