Getting the Right Adoption Subsidy: Do Not Leave Support on the Table

By: Grant Kirsh

Here is a hard truth I have learned across nearly 3,000 Indiana foster care adoptions: families with therapeutic plus children routinely leave subsidy money on the table, not because they are careless, but because nobody told them the rules of the negotiation. And once the adoption is finalized, fixing it is very difficult.

At Kirsh & Kirsh, P.C., making sure families receive every dollar their child is entitled to is part of the job. Here is what every Indiana foster family needs to know before finalization, whether your case is in Marion, Lake, Allen, Hamilton, Tippecanoe, St. Joseph, Hendricks, Elkhart, Johnson, Delaware, Vanderburgh, Porter, Madison, Vigo, or Monroe County.

The Three Subsidies Nearly Every Child Gets

Most every child adopted from Indiana foster care automatically qualifies for three forms of assistance. Indiana used to require a child to be at least two years old, but that is no longer the case.

First, a recurring daily subsidy equal to the daily per diem rate paid to licensed foster parents. This ranges from as little as $20 per day to over $100 per day for children with extreme special needs, and it is paid through age 18.

Second, Medicaid for the child through age 18, which covers medical and therapeutic care.

Third, a non-recurring adoption expense, called the NRAE, of $2,000 toward the legal fees for your adoption attorney.

The recurring subsidy and Medicaid can be extended to age 21 in certain situations. And an important point many families miss: you do not need to be a licensed foster parent to receive adoption subsidies. Kinship caregivers, including the neighbors, teachers, and family friends who count as kinship in Indiana, qualify too.

Title IV-E: Support That Travels

Most children adopted from Indiana foster care qualify for federal Title IV-E adoption assistance, which provides ongoing monthly support and Medicaid that follow the child even if your family later moves to another state. Confirming IV-E eligibility and getting the paperwork right is part of doing this properly.

The Therapeutic Plus Rate: You Have to Fight for It

This is where experienced counsel earns its keep. Children with the most significant needs may qualify for a therapeutic plus per diem, the higher end of that daily range. DCS will not simply hand this over. Securing the increased rate takes documentation of the child’s needs, knowledge of how the system evaluates these requests, and an attorney who has done it before. If your child has significant medical, developmental, or behavioral needs, do not accept the standard rate without a real evaluation of what your child actually qualifies for.

The Golden Rule: Everything Before Finalization

Subsidy agreements must be negotiated and signed before the adoption is finalized. After finalization, modifying the terms becomes very difficult. This is why we start subsidy work early in every case, not the week before the hearing. The judge will happily finalize your adoption either way. Whether your child’s support is right for the next 18 years depends on what was signed before you walked into that courtroom.

This Money Is for Your Child

Some families feel awkward negotiating subsidies, as if it cheapens the adoption. Please let that go. These subsidies exist because children from foster care carry real needs, therapy, tutoring, medical care, and the daily costs of healing. Securing them is not greed. It is providing for your child, which is the whole point of everything you are doing.

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

For the full journey, read our guide: From Foster Parent to Adoptive Parent in Indiana.

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.