Foster Care and Adoption Services Program

Foster Care and Adoption Services Program is sponsored by Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Provides funding to organizations offering services to children in foster care and those awaiting adoption.

Ohio State Adoption Assistance Profile - Families Rising Ohio State Adoption Assistance Profile Ohio Department of Children and Youth 246 N High Street, Columbus OH Ohio Kinship and Adoption Navigator (Ohio KAN): 844-644-6526 or https://ohiokan. jfs. ohio.

gov/ Adoption Resources on the Web Ohio Department of Job & Family Services: https://jfs. ohio. gov/child-and-adult-protection-foster-and-adoption/foster-care-and-adoption Ohio’s state-specific medical assistance links: https://medicaid.

ohio. gov/ Opens in a new tab Ohio’s adoption assistance links: https://fosterandadopt. jfs.

ohio. gov/wps/portal/gov/ofc/ohio-childcare-needs/resources Opens in a new tab (See the ODJFS Factsheet on Adoption, Supporting Families after Finalization, Adoption Subsidies) Ohio Revised Code 5153. 163 http://codes.

ohio. gov/orc/5153. 163 Opens in a new tab Ohio’s Administrative Code 5101:2-44 and 5101:2-49 http://codes.

ohio. gov/oac/5101%3A2 Opens in a new tab In Ohio the special needs determination for adoption assistance eligibility must be made before adoption finalization by the public children services agency (PCSA). The PCSA must determine that: The child cannot or should not be returned home to his or her parent(s).

Reasonable, but unsuccessful, efforts have been made to place the child without adoption assistance. There are exceptions when it is contrary to the best interest of the child.

If the child meets both criteria above, then the PCSA shall determine if the child has one or more of the following factors or conditions that make it difficult to place the child without adoption assistance or medical assistance: The child is six years of age or older. The child is at least one year old and is a member of a minority racial or ethnic group that makes it difficult to place the child for adoption.

The child is part of a sibling group being adopted together or is being placed in the same adoptive placement of a sibling previously adopted. The child has been diagnosed by a qualified professional with a developmental disability, developmental delay, mental illness, or medical condition. The child has been in the permanent custody of a PCSA or private child-placing agency (PCPA) for more than one year before an adoptive placement.

The child experienced a previous adoption disruption or multiple placements while in the custody of a PCSA or PCPA.

The child has been placed in foster care in the home of his or her prospective adoptive parent(s) for at least six consecutive months directly preceding the adoptive placement, and the child would experience severe separation and loss if placed in another setting due to his or her significant emotional ties with these foster parent(s) as documented by a qualified mental health professional.

The child has a social or medical history or the biological family’s social or medical history that may place the child at risk of acquiring a medical condition, a physical, mental or developmental disability, or an emotional disorder. For children who only meet this criteria will receive a $0 agreement with Medicaid.

Foster care maintenance rates, upon which adoption assistance rates are based, vary from county to county and from child to child based on the child’s needs. Children with the same needs may receive a different foster care or adoption assistance payment because of the differences between the counties.

The maximum amount a child qualifies for in adoption assistance is the foster care maintenance rate for the child, but counties negotiate the rate and is often lower than the foster care rate. Payments end when a child turns 18 unless the child has been diagnosed by a qualified professional to have a mental or physical disability, in which case payments would continue until that person is 21.

However if the youth was adopted on or after their 16 th birthday, they may qualify for extension to age 21 if they meet certain criteria. Ohio offers a program known as Post Adoption Special Services Subsidy (PASSS). PASSS is available to all adoptive families in Ohio, except those who completed stepparent adoptions, regardless of the type of adoption (international, attorney, public or private agency).

PASSS is negotiated after adoption finalization and provides funding to families to cover the reasonable costs of allowable services to address the child’s physical or developmental disability or mental or emotional condition.

To be covered the child’s condition must have existed before the adoption petition was filed or have developed after the adoption petition was filed and be attributed to factors in the child’s pre-adoption background or medical history or the biological family’s background or medical history. Funding is available only when the assistance sought exceeds the adoptive family’s private resources.

There are limits on the availability of state funding. An adoptive family may access up to $10,000 per year in PASSS funding. An additional $5,000 is accessible only under extraordinary circumstances.

Applications for assistance are reviewed by a Review Committee and can be approved in whole or in part, based on the child’s needs and the family’s circumstances.

PASSS funds may be used for the following: psychological/psychiatric therapy, individual or family counseling, speech therapy customized physical equipment/devices, medical supplies, rehabilitative services, medical/mental health respite, residential treatment facility, and surgical costs. The program had been administered at the state level, but now is administered as part of the OhioKAN program.

For more information, including application, visit https://ohiokan. jfs. ohio.

gov/passs/ Opens in a new tab Last Updated: December 3, 2024