adoption tax credit

You may be able to take a tax credit for expenses paid to adopt a child. The credit generally applies to the year the adoption is finalized in court. Obviously the adoption credit is not available for any expenses that have already been reimbursed to you by the agency or state. In addition to the credit, certain amounts reimbursed by your employer may qualify for an exclusion. For both the credit or the exclusion, qualifying expenses include adoption fees, court costs, attorney fees, traveling expenses (including amounts spent for meals and lodging while away from home), and other expenses directly related to the adoption of a child. Under certain circumstances, the amount of your qualified adoption expenses may be increased if you adopted a child with special needs. The credit and exclusion both have a dollar limit and an income limit.

If your adoption is finalized and you have questions about this tax credit, please contact us at 1-888-200-4005.

adoption subsidy

If a child is described as having special needs (determined by these factors: ethnic background, age, part of a sibling group, medical conditions or physical, mental, or emotional disabilities) he may qualify for adoption assistance (also called "adoption subsidy"). This financial assistance is intended to help you provide for the child's ongoing therapy, treatment, or special support. There are two major funding sources for adoption assistance: the Federal title IV-E program under the Social Security Act and State specified programs. The amount of subsidy that you receive for caring for your child will be determined by the cost of living in the state that the child is coming from (the "placing state") and the level of the child's needs. There are three different types of subsidy. First (this is the one most often referenced when people speak of ‘subsidy’) is the monthly maintenance amount paid to the family. This monthly amount cannot be more than the foster care rate the child would qualify for in the placing state. The second type of subsidy is non-recurring expenses or one time only money for expenses related to the adoption. The cap on this is usually $2000 for each placement. The third type of subsidy is medical subsidy which includes a medical assistance card for the child and perhaps additional funds for extraordinary medical expenses. These subsidies are a great benefit for families but are not meant to cover all the expenses associated with raising a child. The specifics of each child’s placement will determine the subsidy amount.

If you have questions about adoption subsidy, please contact us at 1-888-200-4005.

foster care and adoption in your state

You asked for it and we got it! We now have state-specific information on the next steps for adoption and foster care. It's on our website adoptuskids.org. Each of our state Recruitment Response Teams provided the information for their state - so we know it's accurate and current! To see this new feature on our site, click here:
http://www.adoptuskids.org/resourceCenter/rrtPackets/chooseState.aspx. If you have trouble accessing this interactive map, please call us at 1-888-200-4005.

Do you have any information about the licensing and homestudy process in your state? Tell us!

accessing information on adoptuskids.org

Is your homestudy compete and current? Does it approve you to adopt children from U.S. foster care? Are you interested in children who are photolisted on AdoptUsKids.org? If you answered yes to all of these questions, you can register with AdoptUsKids.org to be able to contact children's case workers. To register, go to http://www.adoptuskids.org/family/FamilyCaseRegistration.aspx. Wait three business days after completing the website registration form. Then, come back to http://www.adoptuskids.org/ with your User ID and password and log in. Registered families who have logged in can view the contact information for children's workers and much more!

the child narrative and photo

Sometimes you don't feel like enough information is written in a child's narrative. Here's why . . . the goal of a narrative (with photo) is to introduce the child, not tell the child’s entire story. Caseworkers must maintain a balance between confidentiality and disclosure when writing these narratives. The information that is on adoptuskids.org is written by those who have worked closely with the children they are describing. The narratives are intended to be a highlight of the child and do not contain every detail. These additional details and history are shared with you when you are matched with the child. In fact, full disclosure is legally required at that time. State and federal laws require that certain information be treated as confidential - a child’s last name, the name of his foster family, or the name of the group or residential placement facility where he is living should never be disclosed in a photolisting description. When done well, photolistings personalize the child through an engaging picture, an individualized description, and information on “next steps” for you - the potential adoptive family. Because photolistings reach the general public, they may generate the interest of several families - that is why you often wait to hear back from the caseworker. Always keep in mind that this information sharing is a process that occurs over time. Try to stay patient and positive!

If you have questions about a child's narrative that is listed on adoptuskids.org, call us at 1-888-200-4005.

open, semi-open, and closed adoption

If a caseworker suggests that a child's adoption will be open, semi-open or closed, what does that mean? Most times, it will be required in an open or semi-open adoption that the child maintains contact with a specified member of the birthfamily. The guidelines for contact are varied and will be determined on a case by case basis (ex. sending letters/email or having face to face contact). If a 3rd party is required to monitor this approved birth family contact, it's called a semi-open adoption. Those who support openness in adoption believe that this continuity of relationships will minimize the child's losses. A closed adoption requires absolute confidentiality and most often the adoption records are sealed. Those who advocate for closed adoption state that not only are the on-going birth family relationships not in the child's best interests but access to the child's own adoption history should be limited or denied entirely.

Have you had an experience with an open, semi-open, or closed adoption?

To talk with an AdoptUsKids staff member, please call 1-888-200-4005.