Alaska State Adoption Assistance Program

https://dfcs.alaska.gov/ocs/Pages/adoptions/default.aspx

Alaska’s state-specific medical assistance information:
https://health.alaska.gov/dpa/Pages/medicaid/default.aspx

Alaska’s adoption assistance information:
https://dfcs.alaska.gov/ocs/Pages/adoptions/aboutsubsidies.aspx

Who is Eligible for Adoption Assistance or Subsidy?

1. How does Alaska define special needs to determine eligibility?

In Alaska a child is determined to have special needs if there is a specific factor or condition that makes it reasonable to conclude that the child cannot be placed for adoption without adoption assistance. Such factors or conditions may include:

• ethnic background
• age
• membership in a minority or sibling group
• the presence of factors such as medical conditions or physical, mental, or emotional disabilities
• high risk of the above facts (for example, due to alcohol or cocaine being present when the child was born or mental illness of the child’s parent(s)), this will qualify a child for a $0 subsidy with Medicaid.

Monthly Payments

Subsidies are individually negotiated starting at $0 and are based on the youth’s needs and family circumstances. Maximum rates differ from region to region, with the per diem rates ranging from $26.03 to $47.19 per day. Alaska has high special needs difficulty of care augmentation in it’s foster care program, which can be reflected in the subsidy program. Augmented rates are available on a case-by-case basis and depend on the child’s documented special needs.

Adoption and guardianship assistance payments end when a child reaches 18.

Post-adoption support services are available to any adoptive/guardianship parent who resides in Alaska. The services are provided on a statewide basis, through the nonprofit, Alaska Center for Resource Families (ACRF). ACRF has offices in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau, and Mat-Su, as well as online information, services and supports at www.acrf.org.

Federal (Title IV-E) Guardianship Subsidies provide Medicaid while State Guardianships do not.

Alaska places a high value on maintaining cultural connections for children who have been adopted. Subsidies can be negotiated to include meeting the individual child’s special need for assistance with maintaining existing connections with birth relatives and with their culture.

Alaska Legal Sources

Alaska Statute: AS 25.23.190 – 25.23.230
https://www.akleg.gov/basis/statutes.asp
Click on TOC and navigate to the section
Alaska Administrative Code: 7 AAC 53.200 – 7 AAC 53.299
https://www.akleg.gov/basis/aac.asp
Click on Index (TOC) and navigate to the section