Adoption Assistance: An Introduction – Clearinghouse Review Article

“Adoption Assistance: An Introduction” by Alice Bussiere has been published in the July-August, 2011 issue of Clearinghouse Review. Bussiere writes that adoption assistance programs provide crucial support for families adopting children with special needs. However, such federal and state programs can be difficult for both parents and their advocates to navigate. Adoption advocates need to […]

Mark A. v. Wilson Stipulated Judgment

Mark A. v. Wilson was filed in January 1998 alleging that the State’s administration of the Adoption Assistance Program, a federally funded program that provides families with financial support when they adopt hard to place foster children, requires parents to provide extensive financial data before they can be considered for the program and discourages families […]

Mark A. v. Wilson First Amended Complaint

Mark A. v. Wilson was filed in January 1998 alleging that the State’s administration of the Adoption Assistance Program, a federally funded program that provides families with financial support when they adopt hard to place foster children, requires parents to provide extensive financial data before they can be considered for the program and discourages families […]

A.S.W. v. Mink Ninth Circuit Opinion

A.S.W. v. Mink, a class action lawsuit, challenged the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) actions to unilaterally reduce and, in some cases, end Adoption Assistance Program (AAP) payments for children with special needs and deny families the right to an administrative fair hearing to contest DHS’s actions. Oregon implemented a unilateral across the board […]

A.S.W. v. Mink Complaint

A.S.W. v. Mink, a class action lawsuit, challenged the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) actions to unilaterally reduce and, in some cases, end Adoption Assistance Program (AAP) payments for children with special needs and deny families the right to an administrative fair hearing to contest DHS’s actions. Oregon implemented a unilateral across the board […]

Overpayments – YLC Fact Sheet

This fact sheet describes what overpayments are and what the rules are if the overpayments occur in the following programs: Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC-FC) (Foster Care), Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payments (Kin-GAP) and Adoption Assistance Program (AAP).

AB 47 Fact Sheet

Assembly Bill 47 will adjust a tax credit that is currently available to offset the cost of adoption of older foster youth or youth who were in a group home.

AB 154 Fact Sheet

AB 154 would increase the incentives of to promote the adoption of children in foster care, particularly those with special needs and older youth.

Update: “Fostering Connections to Success: Extending a Social Safety Net for Youths Facing Homelessness and Poverty”

The Clearinghouse Review has published an update on The Fostering Connections Act written by YLC staff attorneys Jennifer Rodriguez and Alice Bussiere with Jennifer Pokempner, a supervising attorney at the Juvenile Law Center. The News and Notes item, available at 44 Clearinghouse Review 582-584 (March-April 2011), discusses policy guidance on the extension of foster care […]