Subsidy Modification
Modification of an Adoption Assistance (subsidy) agreement is permitted under Chapter 14, Section 9 of the Indiana Child Welfare Policies. The process is fairly easy and can certainly be done without hiring an attorney. Subsidy modifications are allowed every twelve (12) months if the family’s financial circumstances have changed (expenses have gone up and/or income has gone down).
Below is a step-by-step process to request a subsidy modification in Indiana:
Adoptive parents complete, sign, and date a Request for Modification of Adoption Assistance Agreement Form (SF 56660).
Adoptive parents submit the modification request form to the Centralized Eligibility Unit (CEU) via email address Centralized.Eligibility@dcs.
If the CEU determines no modification has been requested in the previous 12 months and the family’s financial circumstances have changed negatively and/or the cost of the child’s needs have increased, then the CEU will communicate with Adoptive parents about what will be needed to process a modification.
If a modification is approved, then CEU will send adoptive parents a new adoption subsidy agreement reflecting the new amount.
The adoptive parents and CEU then sign an agreement amendment if a new subsidy amount is reached.
The negotiator sends a copy of the fully signed amendment to CEU to process the new payment amount. This ends the process.