1997 Minnesota Statutes

     259.85 Postadoption service grants program. 

    Subdivision 1.    Purpose.  The commissioner of human 
 services shall establish and supervise a postadoption service 
 grants program to be administered by local social service 
 agencies for the purpose of preserving and strengthening 
 adoptive families.  The program will provide financial 
 assistance to adoptive parents to meet the special needs of an 
 adopted child that cannot be met by other resources available to 
 the family.  

    Subd. 2.    Eligibility criteria.  A child may be 
 certified by the local social service agency as eligible for a 
 postadoption service grant after a final decree of adoption and 
 before the child's 18th birthday if: 

    (a) The child was a ward of the commissioner or a Minnesota 
 licensed child-placing agency before adoption; 

    (b) The child had special needs at the time of adoption.  
 For the purposes of this section, "special needs" means a child 
 who had a physical, mental, emotional, or behavioral disability 
 at the time of an adoption or has a preadoption background to 
 which the current development of such disabilities can be 
 attributed; and 

    (c) The adoptive parents have exhausted all other available 
 resources.  Available resources include public income support 
 programs, medical assistance, health insurance coverage, 
 services available through community resources, and any other 
 private or public benefits or resources available to the family 
 or to the child to meet the child's special needs.  

    Subd. 3.    Certification statement.  The local social 
 service agency shall certify a child's eligibility for a 
 postadoption service grant in writing to the commissioner.  The 
 certification statement shall include:  

    (1) a description and history of the special needs upon 
 which eligibility is based; and 

    (2) applicable supporting documentation including: 

    (i) the child's individual service plan; 

    (ii) medical, psychological, or special education 
 evaluations; 

    (iii) documentation that all other resources have been 
 exhausted; and 

    (iv) an estimate of the costs necessary to meet the special 
 needs of the child.  

    Subd. 4.    Commissioner review.  The commissioner shall 
 review the facts upon which eligibility is based and shall award 
 postadoption service grants to eligible adoptive parents to the 
 extent funds are appropriated consistent with subdivision 5.  

    Subd. 5.    Grant payments.  The amount of the 
 postadoption service grant payment shall be based on the special 
 needs of the child and the determination that other resources to 
 meet those special needs are not available.  The amount of any 
 grant payments shall be based on the severity of the child's 
 disability and the effect of the disability on the family and 
 must not exceed $10,000 annually.  

    Permissible expenses that may be paid from grants shall be 
 limited to:  

    (1) medical expenses not covered by the family's health 
 insurance or medical assistance; 

    (2) therapeutic expenses, including individual and family 
 therapy; and 

    (3) nonmedical services, items, or equipment required to 
 meet the special needs of the child.  

    The grants under this section shall not be used for 
 maintenance for out-of-home placement of the child in substitute 
 care. 

    HIST: 1989 c 282 art 2 s 166; 1994 c 631 s 31