Age	Rate
0-11 mos.	$361
1-4	$369
5-8	$384
9-11	$410
12-20	$445

Children receive the rate they received in foster care or would have received if they had been in foster care.

Intensive rates:
Specialized rates are determined based on a special rate that would have been established for the child in foster care

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

Specialized rates relate to the individual needs of the child.  Decisions are made on a case-by-case, agency-by-agency basis.  However, to qualify for specialized rates, children must generally have multiple medical needs. Rates are established while the child is in foster care.

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.

Payment for nonrecurring costs are available to any family who adopts a child who qualifies as having special needs. Reimbursements can cover expenses related to the following: adoption fees, court costs, attorney fees, travel expenses related to preplacement visits, health and psychological examinations, and any other costs associated with the adoption finalization.           

Families must apply for reimbursement prior to adoption finalization.

The reimbursement limit is $1500 per child.

6. What Medicaid services are available in Illinois?

Services include:      

• Physician
• Chiropractic
• Audiology
• Podiatry
• Pharmacies—drugs/prescriptions
• Independent Laboratory
• Physical rehabilitation
• Psychological tests
• Nursing
• Psychiatric care
• Dental—Payment is made for those services essential to prevent dental disease and to restore and maintain adequate dental function to assure good bodily health of the patient.
• Optician and optometrist—Covered services include the provision of glasses and other materials which are required to restore and conserve vision. Only one pair of glasses will be provided in a 12-month period.
• Therapy providers include physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech therapists/pathologists.
• Medical equipment/supplies—A written recommendation of patient care plan authorized by the individual's physician is required in the provision of medical supplies and equipment. Medical items/services covered are: a) non-durable medical supplies, b) durable medical equipment, c) prosthesis and orthoses, d) respiratory equipment/supplies and e) repair, alteration, and maintenance of necessary durable medical equipment, prosthesis and orthoses.
• Medical transportation services—If the transportation is not available without charge.
• Inpatient hospital—Providers include general hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, and physical rehabilitation hospitals. General inpatient hospital services include medical, surgical, pediatric orthopedic, maternity and intensive care services. Inpatient psychiatric hospital enrolled with DPA for this category of service. Inpatient psychiatric services provided by psychiatric hospitals are covered services for recipients under age 21. Regardless of where inpatient psychiatric services are provided, Medicaid coverage is limited to a maximum of twenty (20) days per admission and forty-five (45) days in any calendar year.
• Outpatient hospital—General outpatient hospital services include referred services (physician referral) for lab tests, x-rays, etc., and emergency services.
• Clinic—Included are general clinic services, psychiatric clinic services and physical rehabilitation clinic services.
  (NOTE: Services may change.)

NACAC’s Subsidy Representative Judy Pence (217-787-7367 or 217-557-5677) can provide a current listing of regional Medicaid liaisons upon request.

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 inIllinois.  Below is information on the Medicaid benefits available for state-funded children.

Every child adopted with adoption assistance (state or federal) receives a Medicaid card. As such, all children have access to identical medical coverage.       

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

Public mental health services for children Illinois are administered through the Department of Public Aid and include the following examples: psychological testing, psychiatric care, inpatient psychiatric hospitalization, psychiatric clinic services, and drug prescription.

Please note that services may change and that all recipients are not eligible for all services.  Contact your county Medicaid specialist to determine eligibility, availability and duration of services.  Illinois’s Department of Public Aid’s Children’s Mental Health: http://www.hfs.illinois.gov/cmh/ and Medical Assistance Programs: http://www.hfs.illinois.gov/medical/

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?

Health Care Payments—In addition to the medical card, the Department assumes responsibility for any medical services related to a child's pre-existing condition(s) when such services are not covered by another funding source (i.e., family's insurance, or other public resources.)

Additional medical services are provided if they are identified in the child's individual subsidy agreement.  However, amendments may be made to the original agreement to add services that relate to a pre-existing condition if not known at the time of the initial Adoption Assistance Agreement. 

Other Special Services—Illinois provides the additional adoption assistance payments through a program known as Needs Not Payable Through Other Sources.  Funds are available for physical, emotional and mental health needs not payable through insurance or public resources that are associated with or result from a condition whose onset has been established as occurring prior to the entry of the final order of adoption. Payment for these services requires prior approval.  Illinois offers these Health Care Payments in addition to the state medical card.  Illinois also offers Other Special Services.  Services include counseling services for the child and the adoptive family following adoption finalization, regular day care for any child up to age three if the parent is working or in school, and therapeutic daycare.

Note: Not all services may be available in all cases.  Contact your adoption assistance worker for information regarding 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 Illinois are administered by the Department of Children and Family Services and through several state funded, state contracted and family organizations. DCFS post adoption services include the following examples:

1.    Support groups
2.    Educational advocacy
3.    Mental health services
4.    Community-based services
5.    Crisis intervention
6.    Assessment
7.    Therapeutic intervention
8.    Case management/advocacy
9.    Respite Care
10. Adoption registry

Note: Not all services are always available.  Families should contact their adoption assistance worker, local or regional Illinois Department of Child and Family Services’ (DCFS) office, or the statewide Post Adoption and Guardianship administrator for information.

Illinois’s post adoption: http://www.state.il.us/dcfs/library/com_communications_postadopt.shtml

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?

All services should be identified in the original agreement.  However, amendments may be made to the original agreement to add services that relate to a pre-existing condition.     

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

The Department’s Adoption Assistance does not include a provision for the payment of residential care.  Families of children adopted through the Department of Children and Family Services who later request residential care are assisted in exploring funding resources for such residential care.  The Adoption Preservation Programs and the Clinical Division of the Department help the family explore funding options such as an Individual Care Grant through the school system, funding through Local Area Networks (LANS) and any other sources.  If funding is not located through these sources, assistance is provided in working with the Residential Services Authority that negotiates funding between the Department of Mental Health, the Department of Children and Family Services, and the Board of Education.

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

Effective 1/1/04, Illinois no longer provided deferred adoption assistance for new adoptions since the eligible age for children to receive subsidy was reduced to one year of age.

14. Does Illinois operate a subsidized guardianship program?

Yes, subsidized guardianship is available upon the recommendation of the child’s caseworker for those children who meet the following criteria:

1)   For a child to qualify for subsidized guardianship, the following criteria must be met:

A)   the child is not a member of the control group; and

B)   the child has been in the custody of the State for one year or more immediately prior to establishing subsidized guardianship and is likely to remain in care, and the parent has consented to the subsidized guardianship arrangement or the Department has good cause to seek a private guardian without consent and will give notice to the parent of the guardianship hearing; and

C)   the child has a strong attachment to the potential guardian and the guardian has a strong commitment to the child; and

D)   the permanency goals of return home and adoption have been ruled out for this child and documented in the case record.

2)   In addition to the above requirements, in order for a child to qualify for subsidized guardianship, at least one of the following criteria must be met:

A)   the child has lived with a relative for at least one year immediately prior to establishing subsidized guardianship; or

B)   the child is 12 years of age or older and has lived with a non-relative for at least one year immediately prior to establishing subsidized guardianship; or

C)   the child is a member of a sibling group for whom guardianship will be transferred together, of which at least one child has resided with the prospective subsidized guardian for at least one year and meets all subsidized guardianship criteria; or

D)   the guardianship of the child will be transferred to a prospective guardian who has previously taken subsidized guardianship of another child born of the same mother or father; or

E)   the child is under 12 years of age, is living with a non-relative, and has no older sibling for whom subsidized guardianship is being considered but is eligible due to the fact that:

i) subsidized guardianship has been determined to be in the child's best interests; and

ii) the basis for the decision is documented and approved by the Department Guardianship Administrator or designee; or

F)   the child was previously in subsidized guardianship, but the guardian has died; or

G)   the child was previously in subsidized guardianship, but due to the mental or physical incapacity of the guardian, the guardian can no longer discharge the responsibilities necessary to protect and care for the child, and guardianship was or will be vacated; or

H)   the child who had been adopted who was eligible for subsidized guardianship prior to the adoption, continues to be eligible for subsidized guardianship in the event his or her adoptive parent is unable to care for him or her due to the death or total mental or physical incapacity of the adoptive parent.