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Massachusetts State Subsidy Profile Updated July 2008 State Subsidy Contact Person Ronald A Seletsky, M.Ed, L.S.W, L.M.H.C., Subsidy Manager NACAC Subsidy Representative (parent/volunteer) Theresa E. McNulty 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. Adoption Resources on the Web: Massachusetts’s state-specific medical assistance: Massachusetts’s adoption assistance: General Laws of Massachusetts, Chapter 18B: Section 21, Adoption subsidy program. Massachusetts’ regulations are available by contacting Ronald Seletsky’s office or NACAC.
A child with special needs is defined as a child that has at least one of the following needs or circumstances that may be a barrier to placement or adoption without financial assistance:
Note: Children must be legally free for adoption and placed in a pre-adoptive home to be eligible for adoption assistance. 2. What are the eligibility criteria for the State-funded adoption assistance program? In order to be eligible for state-funded adoption assistance a child must be a special needs child as defined above, legally free for adoption, in the custody of the Department, and the Department must sponsor the adoption. State funded adoption assistance considers the resources of the family in determining the amount of assistance. 3. The maximum basic monthly adoption assistance maintenance payment in Massachusetts is:
PACT (Parent and Children Together) allows an hourly rate of $7.50 to be paid for certain medical and/or mental health (behavioral) services for parents who provide such services to an adopted child that are above and beyond the routine care of a child. All PACT hours must be documented by a professional provider. 4. Specialized rates are based on the extraordinary needs of the child, and/or the additional parenting skill needed to raise the child. If Massachusetts offers these rates, the criteria used to define them are as follows: Specialized rates (PACT rates) may be paid for tasks or extenuating circumstances that necessitate additional service hours. Each request must be pre-approved and must specify the frequency with which the task must be performed, and the type of intervention required. 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. Requests for nonrecurring expenses are for children, whose goal is adoption, and are defined as having special needs. All requests for nonrecurring adoption expenses must be made and the agreements completed before the child’s adoption is finalized. Payment will be made after the finalization of the adoption. Court documentation, recording the date of legalization should be forwarded to the subsidy manager. Nonrecurring adoption expenses include reasonable and necessary adoption fees, court costs, attorneys fees and other costs directly related to the adoption and which are not incurred in violation of law, but shall not include out-of-pocket expenses for which the family may be, or has been, reimbursed by other sources. The maximum amount paid for nonrecurring adoption expenses is $400. 6. What Medicaid services are available in Massachusetts? Contact the Medicaid Helpline at 800-841-2900. 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 inMassachusetts. Below is information on the Medicaid benefits available for state-funded children. Children with state-funded subsidies receive Medicaid benefits issued through Masshealth Operations. 8. What mental health services are provided by your State? Public mental health services for children in Massachusetts are administered by the Division of Medical Assistance. The program, known as MassHealth, covers a number of services, currently including rehabilitation and therapeutic services, behavioral health, inpatient and outpatient hospital services, prescription drugs, pharmacy services, and physician services. Massachusetts does not fund specific services, but provides health insurance through the MassHealth program. Massachusetts Medicaid/MassHealth Information and Covered Services: http://www.cms.gov/medicaid/, andMassachusetts Medicaid Helpline: 800-841-2900 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? Massachusetts offers what is known as Supplemental Reimbursements. If parents request payments for supplemental reimbursement in addition to the standard adoption assistance payment rate, the adoption social worker provides relevant documentation describing ongoing, additional expenses that are paid above the current foster care rate and which are not expected to be absorbed by other resources, services, or third party payments following the final decree of adoption. Need must be documented in the adoption assistance agreement. Massachusetts also offers a Clothing Allowance. Quarterly clothing allowances may be paid in addition to the standard adoption assistance rate. Parents are directed to contact their adoption assistance worker at 800-835-0838. 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 Massachusetts are funded by the Department of Social Services and are provided through Adoption Journeys in Massachusetts, formerly known as Adoption Crossroads. Services are available to all adopted children in Massachusetts and include the following:
Contact Adoption Journeys in Massachusetts, phone: 800-972-2734. Many private organizations offer a variety of respite options. See the ARCH National Respite Network Respite Locator Service, search by state to locate Massachusetts’s respite programs, link: http://www.respitelocator.org/. Note: Not all services may be available in all cases. Contact your adoption assistance worker or post adoption services specialist 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? Yes. 12. How are residential treatment costs covered (if at all) for adoptive families? What procedures must a family follow to receive these services? Families contact the DSS office that covers their city by requesting voluntary services. If a child is placed out of the home, both the family and the placement social workers are expected to inform the subsidy unit. All Title IV-E subsidies will be re-negotiated at that time. State-funded subsidies are usually suspended until the adopted child or a child in the guardianship subsidy program returns to the home. 13. A deferred adoption assistance agreement is one in which the initial monthly maintenance amount is $0. Does Massachusetts offer such agreements? Yes. Massachusetts offers deferred adoption assistance. Massachusetts requires that an adoption assistance application be submitted for every child being adopted through the Department of Social Services. In reviewing the application, the Subsidy Unit may determine that a deferred subsidy is the appropriate benefit given the circumstances of the child. The adoptive family is notified of the Subsidy Units determination and if the child is eligible for the federal adoption assistance program (Title IV-E), DSS and the parents will negotiate the terms of the adoption assistance agreement. State funded adoption assistance terms are set by DSS and are not open to negotiation. 14. Does Massachusetts operate a subsidized guardianship program? Yes. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts provides a state funded guardianship subsidy for children who are placed with an approved resource, in the custody of the Department and sponsored by The Department of Social Services. The program is administered through the Adoption Subsidy Unit. The child must be under the age of 18, continue to reside with the guardian that was sponsored by the Department. Annual re-evaluations are sent to the approved family. These forms must be sent back prior to the annual renewal date indicated on the form. The amount of the subsidy is based on the needs of the child and cannot be more than the child would have received in family-based foster care. Health insurance is provided through the MassHealth program for children residing in Massachusetts. There are no transferable provisions for healthcare insurance should the family move out of state.
15. Who makes the final determination of a child's subsidy eligibility in Massachusetts? What roles, if any, do workers and administrators at the county, district, or regional level play in eligibility determination and/or assistance negotiation? The final determination is made by the Subsidy Administrator. The subsidy unit is managed by the Subsidy Manager under the direction of the Director of Adoption Support Services and the Assistant Commissioner for Adoption and Foster Care Services. 16. Will Massachusetts consider my family income to determine my child's eligibility for an adoption subsidy? Eligibility for adoption assistance is based solely on the special needs of the child, without regard to the income of the adopting family. 17. When do subsidy payments begin? Adoption assistance payments and benefits may begin in Massachusetts at adoption finalization. 18. Do children adopted from private agencies in Massachusetts receive the same subsidies as those children adopted from public agencies? Massachusetts residents, who have children with special needs, who are Title IV-E eligible, and in the care of a licensed private adoption agency, are eligible to apply for adoption assistance. All applications must be made to the Subsidy Manager prior to the legalization date. 19. When my child turns 18, which benefits, if any, are available to our family? All subsidies end at age 18. However, subsidy benefits may be continued if the child continues to have a documented special need(s) or is in a recognized full-time educational program. Subsidy benefits approved beyond the child’s 18th birthday will end upon the child’s 22nd birthday or upon the time the child is no longer eligible for the subsidy program. 20. A child's adoption assistance agreement may be periodically reviewed by the state. What is the typical process used in Massachusetts? All adoption subsidies are subject to periodic review by the Subsidy Unit, starting no later than one year after the subsidy is initiated. The Subsidy Unit will provide the family with the annual notification letter at least 30 days prior to the end date. Subsidy payments may be delayed if the family does not complete, sign, and return the re-evaluation form by the expiration date noted in the letter. 21. Can adoption assistance agreements be modified if requested by adoptive parents? Adoptive parents may request a change in the adoption assistance agreement at any time. Requests must be made in writing to the Subsidy Manager and supported by documentation of a significant change in the child's special need. The significant change must be based on the current needs of the child and documented by a professional qualified to make the diagnosis. If the change in the special need would have resulted in a different rate if the child were in a home based foster care situation, the adoption assistance payment may be increased. The Subsidy Manager will review the request and the documentation provided to support it. The family will be provided with a written decision within a reasonable period of time. The Department of Social Services must provide written notice prior to any proposed change in the adoption assistance agreement, unless there is reason to believe that the family is no longer providing any support for the child. 22. What are the exact steps a family must go through to access the fair hearing/appeal process in Massachusetts? Adoptive parents can request a fair hearing when they disagree with a DSS decision that affects their child’s adoption assistance benefits. Requests must be in writing. If adoption assistance has been denied or an existing adoption assistance benefit has been reduced or terminated, the Subsidy Administrator notifies applicants in writing of the denial or approval at a lesser rate. A statement of reasons for denial is included, with notice that the applicants have a right to request a fair hearing to appeal the decision. Send requests for fair hearing to the following address: Director of the Fair Hearing Unit 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, in writing: Ronald A Seletsky, Subsidy Manager System Operation and Program Funding 24. How is the subsidy program operated and funded in Massachusetts? The program is state supervised/state administered. This means that both policy and eligibility decisions are made by personnel at the state child welfare office. The federal contribution to Title IV-E-eligible children is 50.00% in Massachusetts. 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 Massachusetts's adoption assistance program from others around the country. On June 22, 2000, the Board of Higher Education voted to provide a tuition waiver for children adopted through the Department of Social Services. Any child adopted by a resident of Massachusetts or an employee of the Commonwealth is eligible and will have 100% of the tuition for state-supported undergraduate courses waiver until the person reaches their 25th birthday. This benefit applies to all state colleges and universities, as well as community colleges. A copy of the person’s birth certificate must accompany the request. The waiver is also available to any child who was in the care of the Department under a Care and Protection petition for 12 consecutive months, and was neither adopted nor returned home. This includes children who were placed in guardianships. Eligible persons can request certification from the Adolescent Specialist at the address below. A letter from the Adoptive Parent (if the child is under age 18) / Adoptive Child (age 18+) requesting a waiver along with a copy of the child’s amended birth certificate is required. Eligible persons must request certification by writing to: Massachusetts Department of Social Services Educational and Training Voucher Program— Provides up to $5,000 per academic year for post secondary educational or vocational training programs, including colleges and trade schools and related costs of attendance (tuition, fees, room and board, books, transportation, day care) as defined in the Higher Education Act of 1965. Eligibility for the program includes:
To find out more about the specific eligibility requirements, contact your caseworker or: |
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North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC)
970 Raymond Avenue, Suite 106
St. Paul, MN 55114
phone: 651-644-3036
fax: 651-644-9848
e-mail: info@nacac.org
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