Article 10.  Subsidized Adoption Act

10 O.S. 7510 - 1.1 .
This part shall be known and may be cited as the "Subsidized Adoption Act".

10 O.S. 7510-1.2.
As used in the Subsidized Adoption Act: "Child" means a minor who is:
1. In the court-ordered custody of a public or licensed private
nonprofit child-placing agency or federally recognized Indian tribe, as
defined by the federal Indian Child Welfare Act;
2. Legally free for adoption; and
3. In special circumstances because the child is not likely to be
adopted by reason of one or more of the following conditions:
a. physical or mental disability,
b. emotional disturbance,
c. recognized high risk of physical or mental disease,
d. age,
e. sibling relationship,
f. racial or ethnic factors, or
g. any combination of these conditions.

10 O.S. 7510-1.3
A. The Department of Human Services shall establish and administer an
ongoing program of subsidized adoption.  Subsidies and services for children
who are in the permanent custody of the Department of Human Services under
this program shall be provided out of funds appropriated to the Department of
Human Services for the maintenance of children in foster care or made
available to it from other sources.
B. Children who are in the court-ordered custody of a licensed private
nonprofit child-placing agency or federally recognized Indian tribe, as
defined by the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, shall receive subsidies and
services from funds appropriated by the Legislature.

10 O.S. 7510 - 1.4.
A. Whenever significant emotional ties have been established between a child
and his foster parent or parents, and the foster parent or parents seek to
adopt the child, the child may be certified as  eligible for an adoption
maintenance subsidy conditioned upon adoption of the child under applicable
adoption procedures by the foster parent or parents.
B. In all other cases, after reasonable efforts have been made and no
appropriate adoptive family without the use of subsidy has been found for a
child, the Department of Human Services shall certify the child as eligible
for a subsidy in the event of adoption.
C. If the child is in the court-ordered custody of a child-placing agency or
federally recognized Indian tribe as defined by the federal Indian Child
Welfare Act, that agency or tribe shall present to the Department of Human
Services:
  1. Evidence of significant emotional ties between the child and the
foster parent or parents of the child; or
   2. Evidence of inability to place the child for adoption due to any of
the conditions specified in Section 7510-1.2 of this title. The agency or
tribe shall present evidence that reasonable efforts have been made to place
the child without subsidy, such as recruitment of a potential  parent or
parents, use of adoption resource exchanges, referral to appropriate
specialized adoption agencies and efforts to place the child in a Department
of Human Services nonsubsidy adoptive home.

10. O.S. 7510-1.5
A. When a parent or parents are found and approved for adoption of a child
certified as eligible for subsidy, and before the final decree of adoption is
issued, there must be a written agreement between the family entering into
the subsidized adoption and the Department of Human Services.  Adoption
subsidies in individual cases may commence with the adoption placement or at
the appropriate time after the adoption decree, and shall be based on the
needs of the child as well as the availability of other resources to meet the
child's needs.  The subsidy may be for special services only, or for money
payments, and either for a limited period, or for a long term, or for any
combination of the foregoing.  The amount of the time-limited or long-term
subsidy may in no case exceed that which would be allowable from time to time
for such child under foster family care, or in the case of a special service,
the reasonable fee for service rendered.
B. When a child is determined to have a causative, preexisting condition
which was not identified or known prior to the legal adoption and which has
resulted in a severe medical or psychiatric condition that requires extensive
treatment, hospitalization, or institutionalization, an adoption subsidy may
be approved.  Upon the approval of the subsidy, the adoptive parents shall
also be entitled to receive retroactive subsidy payments for the two (2)
months prior to the date such subsidy was approved.
C. Any child who met the requirements of the provisions of Section 7510-1.2
of this title, and was determined eligible for Oklahoma adoption assistance
payments with respect to a prior adoption, and is available for adoption
because the prior adoption has been dissolved and the parental rights of the
adoptive parents have been terminated or because the child's adoptive parents
have died, shall be eligible for Oklahoma adoption assistance payments with
respect to any subsequent adoption.
D. When subsidies are for more than one (1) year, the adoptive parent or
parents shall present an annual sworn certification that the adopted child
remains under their care and that the conditions that caused the child to be
certified continue to exist.  The adoptive parent or parents shall at all
times keep the Department of Human Services informed of circumstances which
would make them ineligible for such assistance payments or eligible for
assistance payments in a different amount.  The Department of Human Services
is authorized and directed to make a review of each subsidy annually to
assure that the parents are fulfilling their contract obligations.  No
payment may be made to any parents with respect to any child who has attained
the age of eighteen (18) years, except where the state determines that the
child has a physical or mental handicap which warrants the continuation of
assistance until the child reaches the age of twenty-one (21) years.  
Termination or modification of the subsidy agreement may be requested by the
adoptive parent or parents at any time.  No payment may be made to adoptive
parents if the Department determines that the parents are no longer legally
responsible for the support of the child or that the child is no longer
receiving any support from such parents.
E. A child who is a resident of this state when eligibility for subsidy is
certified shall remain eligible and receive subsidy, if necessary for
adoption, regardless of the domicile or residence of the adopting parent or
parents at the time of application for adoption, placement, legal decree of
adoption or thereafter.
F. All records regarding subsidized adoption shall be confidential and may
be disclosed only in accordance with the provisions of the Oklahoma Adoption
Code.

10-7510-1.6.
Any subsidy decision by the Department of Human Services, which the placement
agency or the adoptive parent or parents deem adverse to the child, shall be
reviewable before a Subsidized Adoption Review Committee established by the
Department of Human Services. The committee shall consist of five (5) members
with two of the members being representatives of private, nonprofit
child-placing agencies not party to the appeal.



10 O.S. 7510-2.1
A. The Department of Human Services, as funds become available for such
purposes, shall contract with or join the Oklahoma Children's Adoptive
Resources Exchange or any other instate or out-of-state or national adoption
exchange for purposes of increasing and promoting the placement and adoption
of children who are in the custody of the Department of Human Services and in
child placing agencies.
B. Upon contracting with or  joining the Oklahoma Children's Adoption
Resources Exchange or any instate or out-of-state or national adoption
exchange, the Department and all child-placing agencies shall be required to
provide certain information to the Oklahoma Children's Adoption Resource
Exchange or any other instate, out-of state, or national adoption exchange
specified by the Department.
C. For purposes of the Subsidized Adoption Act:
1. "Adoption exchange" shall include only those exchanges which provide
monthly updated system, containing a photograph or description of each child
whose parental rights have been terminated and is legally available for
adoption; and
2. "Oklahoma Children's Adoption Resource Exchange" is a private
nonprofit corporation incorporated in this state whose membership is composed
of child-placing agencies which operates under the direction of a board of
directors selected in accordance with the bylaws of the corporation.

10 O.S. 7510 - 2.2.   
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 60.31 of this title, the Department of
Human Services and all child-placing agencies shall be required to provide to
the Oklahoma Children's Adoption Resource Exchange or any other instate,
out-of-state or national adoption exchange specified by the Department, a
recent photograph and description of each child who is legally available for
adoption and for whom no adoptive home has been found. Requirements of this
section must be completed within ninety (90) days of the date a child has
become legally available for adoption or as otherwise required by the
adoption exchange.

10 O.S. 7510 - 2.3
The following persons are exempt from the provisions of Sections 7510-2.1
through 7510-2.5 of this title:
1. Children age twelve (12) years or older who do not choose to be
adopted pursuant to the Oklahoma Adoption Act;
2. Children for whom permanent placement plans have been made that do
not include adoption; for example, permanent placement with relatives or
long-term foster care;
3. Children who, because of medical or psychological reasons as
determined by a licensed psychiatrist , psychologist or physician, are not
ready for adoption;
4. Children who are runaways and whose present location is unknown; and
5. Children who are currently in an adoptive placement, pursuant to
Section 7505-6.3 of this title.

10 O.S. 7510 - 2.4.
Any change in the status of a child listed by the Oklahoma Children's
Adoption Resource Exchange or any other instate, out-of-state or national
adoption exchange specified by the Department shall be reported by the
Department of Human Services or child-placing agency having legal custody of
that child to the Oklahoma Children's Adoption Resource Exchange or any other
instate, out-of-state or national adoption exchange specified by the
Department. The report shall be completed within twenty (20) working days
after the change occurs.

10 O.S. 7510 - 2.5.
A child registered with the Oklahoma Children's Adoption Resource Exchange or
any other instate, out-of-state or national adoption exchange as legally
adoptable shall be withdrawn from the register when the exchange receives
written notification from the agency having legal custody that the child has
been placed in an adoptive home.

10 O.S. 7510 - 3.1
This part may be known and may be cited as the "Compact on Adoption and
Medical Assistance".


10-7510-3.2.
This Compact on Adoption and Medical Assistance, hereinafter called "the
compact", is hereby enacted into law and entered into with all  other
jurisdictions legally joining therein in the form substantially as follows:
  
ARTICLE I. FINDINGS
                                     
The party states find that:
  
(1) In order to obtain adoptive families for children with special  
needs, prospective adoptive parents must be assured of substantial assistance
(usually on a continuing basis) in meeting the high costs of supporting and
providing for the special needs and services required by such children.
  
(2) The states have a fundamental interest in promoting adoption for
children with special needs because the care, emotional stability and general
support and encouragement required by such children to surmount their
physical, mental or emotional conditions can be best, and often only,
obtained in family homes with a normal parent-child relationship.
  
(3) The states obtain advantages from providing adoption assistance
because the customary alternative is for the state to defray the entire cost
of meeting all the needs of such children.
  
(4) The special needs involved are for the emotional, physical
maintenance of the child, and medical support and services.
  
(5) The necessary assurance of adoption assistance for children with
special needs, in those instances where children and adoptive parents are in
states other than the one undertaking to provide the assistance, is to
establish and maintain suitable substantive guarantees and workable
procedures for interstate payments to assist  with the necessary child
maintenance, procurement of services, and medical assistance.
  
ARTICLE II. PURPOSES
                                     
The purposes of this compact are to:
  
(1) Strengthen protections for the interest of the children with special
needs on behalf of whom adoption assistance is committed to be paid, when
such children are in or move to states other than the one committed to make
adoption assistance payments.
  
(2) Provide substantive assurances and procedures which will promote the
delivery of medical and other services on an interstate basis to children
through programs of adoption assistance established by the laws of the party
states.
  
ARTICLE III. DEFINITIONS
                                     
As used in this compact, unless the context clearly requires a different
construction:
  
(1) "Child with special needs" means a minor who has not yet attained the
age at which the state normally discontinues children's services or
twenty-one (21) years, where the state determines that the child's mental or
physical handicaps warrant the continuation of assistance, for whom the state
has determined the following:
  
(A) That the child cannot or should not be returned to the home of his  
parents;
(B) That there exists with respect to the child a specific factor or
condition (such as his ethnic background, age, or membership in a minority or
sibling group, or the presence of factors such as medical.

[ Back ]