Adopting a Child With Special Needs From Indiana Foster Care

By: Grant Kirsh

Many of the children waiting for permanent families in Indiana’s foster care system have special needs, physical, developmental, emotional, or behavioral. These are children who need homes just as much as any other child, sometimes more. And Indiana provides meaningful financial support to families who adopt them.

At Kirsh & Kirsh, P.C., we have handled nearly 3,000 foster care adoptions in Indiana. We serve families across Marion County, Lake County, Allen County, Hamilton County, Tippecanoe County, St. Joseph County, Hendricks County, Elkhart County, Johnson County, Delaware County, Vanderburgh County, Porter County, Madison County, Vigo County, Monroe County, and the rest of Indiana. Here is what you need to know about adopting a child with special needs.

What Qualifies as Special Needs?

In Indiana foster care, “special needs” is a broad category. It can include children with physical disabilities, developmental delays, emotional or behavioral disorders, chronic medical conditions, or histories of significant trauma. It can also include older children, children who are part of a sibling group, and children from specific minority backgrounds for whom finding an adoptive home is more difficult.

The designation matters because it determines eligibility for enhanced adoption subsidies and services.

Enhanced Financial Support

Nearly every child adopted from Indiana foster care automatically qualifies for adoption subsidies. But children with special needs may qualify for higher levels of support.

The three standard subsidies are: a recurring daily subsidy equal to the foster care per diem rate (which can range from $20 per day to over $100 per day for children with extreme special needs), Medicaid through age 18, and a non-recurring adoption expense of $2,000 for legal fees. All three can be extended to age 21 in certain situations. It is important that if your child is therapeutic plus that you work with an experienced adoption attorney so that they are able to secure your increased per diem as the recurring subsidy. This is not something that DCS is going to just give you. You need to have the right attorney that knows how to ask for it.

For children with the most significant needs, the daily subsidy rate is at the higher end of that range, or even above if therapeutic plus. This is negotiated before finalization, and an experienced adoption attorney will make sure you receive every dollar your family is entitled to.

Getting the Right Services

Children with special needs often require ongoing therapeutic, educational, or medical services. Indiana offers post-adoption support services that can help connect families with appropriate resources. Medicaid coverage through the adoption subsidy program helps cover medical and therapeutic costs.

Ask your DCS case manager and your adoption attorney about what services are available for your child specifically. Do not wait until after finalization to start these conversations.

These Children Need Families

The children with the most significant needs are often the ones who wait the longest for permanent families. They are overlooked, not because they are less deserving of love, but because prospective families are unsure about what they are taking on.

At Kirsh & Kirsh, P.C., we have seen families adopt children with significant special needs and build beautiful, meaningful lives together. It takes commitment, patience, and real support. But the families who do it consistently describe it as one of the most important things they have ever done.

Call us at 317-575-5555. Visit us at DCSAdoptions.com.

For a complete overview of the foster care adoption process, read our Complete Guide to Adopting from Indiana Foster Care.

About the Author
Grant Kirsh is a second-generation adoption attorney and owner of Kirsh & Kirsh, P.C., a family law firm in Indianapolis, Indiana that has been serving Indiana families since 1981. Grant graduated from Indiana University McKinney School of Law in 2013 and has personally handled nearly 3,000 foster care adoptions and his law firm has handled over 5,000 private newborn adoptions. He practices all forms of domestic adoption, with a deep personal commitment to expectant mothers considering adoption in Indiana and Indiana’s foster care system and the families and children it serves.