New Jersey State Adoption Assistance Program

https://www.nj.gov/njfosteradopt/adoption/
http://www.njarch.org

New Jersey state-specific medical assistance infomation:
https://www.nj.gov/humanservices/dmahs/clients/medicaid/

New Jersey’s adoption assistance information:
http://www.nj.gov/njfosteradopt/services/support/index.html 

https://www.nj.gov/njfosteradopt/adoption/AdoptSubsidyEng.pdf

New Jersey’s Child Protection & Permanency, Vol. IV- Out of Home Placement, Chapter C – Adoption, Subchapter 8 – Adoption Subsidy:
https://dcfpolicy.nj.gov/

In New Jersey a child with special needs is one who has at least one of the following needs or circumstances that may be a barrier to adoption without financial assistance:

1. A medical or dental condition that will require repeated or frequent hospitalization or treatment.
2. The Child has any physical handicap which makes the child totally or partially incapacitated for education or the potential to earn income.
3. A substantial disfigurement.
4. A professionally diagnosed emotional, mental health, and/or behavioral problem, psychiatric disorder, serious intellectual incapacity, or brain damage that seriously affects the child’s ability to relate to his or her peers or authority figures. This includes, but is not limited to, a developmental disability.
5. The child is one of a group of three or more siblings (including half-siblings) and it is considered necessary that the group be placed together, or the child is the third (or additional) sibling placed in the same home, even though his or her siblings do not receive adoption subsidy.
6. The child is one of two siblings (including half siblings), one of whom meets any other special needs criteria and it is considered most appropriate that the children be placed together, or the child is an additional sibling being placed in the same home with a sibling receiving subsidy.
7. The child is 10 years old or older.
8. The child is a member of an ethnic or minority group for whom adoptive homes are not readily available.
9. The child experienced abuse or neglect that resulted in an out-of-home placement by CP&P.  
10. Any other condition of a specific child that may be approved by the CP&P director or designee that is not contrary to federal or state statute and regulations. These conditions may include, but are not limited to:
    • Child is at high risk of developmental, educational, or emotional problems secondary to prenatal drug exposure.
    • Child has a high risk of genetic predisposition to mental illness due to parental mental health history.
    • Child is placed with relative or kin who will not adopt without adoption subsidy.

Basic rates based on age:

The adoption subsidy is designed to cover only a portion of the cost of raising a child; it is not intended to cover all of the adoptive family’s costs.

The child’s case manager and prospective adoptive parents together assess the child’s characteristics using a rate assessment tool to help determine any specialized rates that may be provided. Specialized rates must be approved by the office manager and are based on the number of hours the parent has to provide additional or special care for a child based on the child’s needs above and beyond what is typically expected for a child of the same age.

CP&P can continue to pay adoption assistance until the child turns 18 years of age or has completed high school, whichever occurs last.

Post Adoption Child Care (PACC) is available for subsidy-eligible preschool children whose adoptions were finalized after January 1, 2005. The benefit is administered and provided by the Division of Family Development (DFD), not CP&P, and is not part of the adoption subsidy program.  To read more about the program and contact information for referrals visit

https://www.nj.gov/njfosteradopt/subsidy/childcare/

Post-adoption services in New Jersey are administered by CP&P’s Office of Adoption Operations through contracted, nonprofit agencies.   This guide covers the various services and contacts, https://www.nj.gov/njfosteradopt/adoption/A.Guide.To.Post.Adoption.Resources.pdf

Post Adoption Counseling Services (PACs) — PACs provide counseling, respite care, or both to the adopted child, the adoptive parents, and any other children in the adoptive family when any of those parties are having difficulty in personal or social adjustment related to the adoption. 

New Jersey also funds New Jersey ARCH, a post-adoption clearinghouse that provides referral, advocacy, support programs, and other information about adoption. Parents can contact ARCH at http://www.njarch.org, or 877-427-2465.

Residential treatment may be accessed through Division of Children’s System of Care, just as a birth family would.

New Jersey’s Kinship Legal Guardianship Subsidy Program (KLG), approved caregivers may receive a financial subsidy when they are granted KLG.  For more information visit, https://www.nj.gov/njfosteradopt/kinship/

New Jersey offers a college tuition waiver or college scholarship program for foster and adopted youth. Children adopted at age 12 or older are eligible for the New Jersey Foster Care (NJFC) Scholars Program, which is managed by Embrella. The NJFC Scholars Program offers assistance with tuition and fees (not room and board) at a public New Jersey college, university, or vocational school.

Parents or youth can contact at 800-222-0047 or read their brochure about various options, https://www.embrella.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/NJFC-Flyer-2023-English-and-Spanish.pdf

When an adoptive parent(s) dies, adoption assistance payments will be transferred to a new caregiver if the new caregiver demonstrates that he or she has legal responsibility for the child by:

• Being named guardian in the adoptive parent’s will or
• Having obtained custody of the child through a court order.

When notified that an original adoptive parent has died, staff from the CP&P Adoption Subsidy Unit take the following action:

• If two parents adopted the child, change the payment support service to the surviving parent‘s name, or
• If the sole adoptive parent dies, and the child is being cared for by a relative or friend, make a child welfare service referral. The SCR Screener assesses the safety and welfare of the adopted child and background checks on all members of the proposed household who are age 14 and older.