AI-assisted research summary: The department must run an adoption assistance program and may subsidize adoptions. It must pay a $150 monthly health-benefits subsidy for qualifying adopted children when funds are available, and the commissioner must adopt rules for how the subsidy works.
Sec. 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, 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 (c) Repealed by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 944 , Sec. 86(3), eff.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 (d) Repealed by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 944 , Sec. 86(3), eff.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 (e) Repealed by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 944 , Sec. 86(3), eff.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 (f) Repealed by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1022 (H.B. 72), Sec. 3, eff.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, 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. Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, Sec. 1, eff. April 20, 1995. Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 412, Sec. 4, eff. Aug. 28, 1995. Amended by: Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 268 (S.B. 6), Sec. 1.09, eff. September 1, 2005. Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 267 (H.B. 2702), Sec. 2(a), eff. September 1, 2007. Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1406 (S.B. 758), Sec. 4(a), eff. September 1, 2007. Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 87 (S.B. 1969), Sec. 27.001(15), eff. September 1, 2009. Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 359 (S.B. 32), Sec. 11, eff. January 1, 2012. Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 944 (S.B. 206), Sec. 16, eff. September 1, 2015. Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 944 (S.B. 206), Sec. 86(3), eff. September 1, 2015. Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 316 (H.B. 5), Sec. 8, eff. September 1, 2017. Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1022 (H.B. 72), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2019. Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1022 (H.B. 72), Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2019.