Tex.
Fam. Code Section 162.304
Financial and Medical Assistance
(a)
The department shall administer a program to provide adoption assistance for eligible children and enter into adoption assistance agreements with the adoptive parents of a child as authorized by Part E of Title IV of the federal Social Security Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. Section 673).(b)
The adoption of a child may be subsidized by the department. The need for and amount of the subsidy shall be determined by the department under its rules.(b-1)
Subject to the availability of funds, the department shall pay a $150 subsidy each month for the premiums for health benefits coverage for a child with respect to whom a court has entered a final order of adoption if the child:(1)
was in the conservatorship of the department at the time of the child’s adoptive placement;(2)
after the adoption, is not receiving medical assistance under Chapter 32 (Medical Assistance Program), Human Resources Code; and(3)
is younger than 18 years of age.(b-2)
The commissioner of the department shall adopt rules necessary to implement Subsection (b-1), including rules that:(1)
limit eligibility for the subsidy under that subsection to a child whose adoptive family income is less than 300 percent of the federal poverty level;(2)
provide for the manner in which the department shall pay the subsidy under that subsection; and(3)
specify any documentation required to be provided by an adoptive parent as proof that the subsidy is used to obtain and maintain health benefits coverage for the adopted child.(c)
Repealed by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 944 , Sec. 86(3), eff. September 1, 2015.(d)
Repealed by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 944 , Sec. 86(3), eff. September 1, 2015.(e)
Repealed by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 944 , Sec. 86(3), eff. September 1, 2015.(f)
Repealed by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1022 (H.B. 72), Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2019.(g)
The commissioner of the department by rule shall provide that the maximum amount of the subsidy under Subsection (b) that may be paid to an adoptive parent of a child under an adoption assistance agreement is an amount that is equal to the amount that would have been paid to the foster parent of the child, based on the child’s foster care service level on the date the department and the adoptive parent enter into the adoption assistance agreement. This subsection applies only to a child who, based on factors specified in rules of the department, the department determines would otherwise have been expected to remain in foster care until the child’s 18th birthday and for whom this state would have made foster care payments for that care. Factors the department may consider in determining whether a child is eligible for the amount of the subsidy authorized by this subsection include the following:(1)
the child’s mental or physical disability, age, and membership in a sibling group; and(2)
the number of prior placement disruptions the child has experienced.(h)
In determining the amount that would have been paid to a foster parent for purposes of Subsection (g), the department:(1)
shall use the minimum amount required to be paid to a foster parent for a child assigned the same service level as the child who is the subject of the adoption assistance agreement; and(2)
may not include any amount that a child-placing agency is entitled to retain under the foster care rate structure in effect on the date the department and the adoptive parent enter into the agreement.(i)
A child for whom a subsidy is provided under Subsection (b-1) for premiums for health benefits coverage and who does not receive any other subsidy under this section is not considered to be the subject of an adoption assistance agreement for any other purpose, including for determining eligibility for the exemption from payment of tuition and fees for higher education under Section 54.367 (Exemptions for Adopted Students Formerly in Foster or Other Residential Care), Education Code.(j)
The department shall keep records necessary to evaluate the adoption assistance program’s effectiveness in encouraging and promoting the adoption of children.(1)
the first day of the month of the child’s 21st birthday if the department determines, as provided by department rules, that:(A)
the child has a mental or physical disability that warrants the continuation of that assistance;(B)
the child, or the child’s adoptive parent on behalf of the child, has applied for federal benefits under the supplemental security income program (42 U.S.C. Section 1381 et seq.), as amended; and(C)
the child’s adoptive parents are providing the child’s financial support; or(2)
if the child does not meet the requirements of Subdivision (1), the earlier of:(A)
the date the child ceases to regularly attend high school or a vocational or technical program;(B)
the date the child obtains a high school diploma or high school equivalency certificate;(C)
the date the child’s adoptive parents stop providing financial support to the child; or(D)
the first day of the month of the child’s 19th birthday.(a-1)
Notwithstanding Subsection (a), if the department first entered into an adoption assistance agreement with a child’s adoptive parents after the child’s 16th birthday, the department shall, in accordance with rules adopted by the commissioner of the department, offer adoption assistance after the child’s 18th birthday to the child’s adoptive parents under an existing adoption agreement until the last day of the month of the child’s 21st birthday, provided the child is:(1)
regularly attending high school or enrolled in a program leading toward a high school diploma or high school equivalency certificate;(2)
regularly attending an institution of higher education or a postsecondary vocational or technical program;(3)
participating in a program or activity that promotes, or removes barriers to, employment;(4)
employed for at least 80 hours a month; or(5)
incapable of doing any of the activities described by Subdivisions (1)-(4) due to a documented medical condition.(b)
In determining whether a child meets the requirements of Subdivision (a)(1), the department may conduct an assessment of the child’s mental or physical disability or may contract for the assessment to be conducted.(c)
The department and any person with whom the department contracts to conduct an assessment under Subsection (b) shall:(1)
inform the adoptive parents of the child for whom the assessment is conducted of the application requirement under Subsection (a)(1)(B) for federal benefits for the child under the supplemental security income program (42 U.S.C. Section 1381 et seq.), as amended;(2)
provide assistance to the adoptive parents and the child in preparing an application for benefits under that program; and(3)
provide ongoing consultation and guidance to the adoptive parents and the child throughout the eligibility determination process for benefits under that program.(d)
The department is not required to provide adoption assistance benefits under Subsection (a) or (a-1) unless funds are appropriated to the department specifically for purposes of those subsections. If the legislature does not appropriate sufficient money to provide adoption assistance to the adoptive parents of all children described by Subsection (a), the department shall provide adoption assistance only to the adoptive parents of children described by Subsection (a)(1).
Source:
Section 162.304 — Financial and Medical Assistance, https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/FA/htm/FA.162.htm#162.304 (accessed Jun. 5, 2024).
