This letter details the changes to the eligibility determination for Title IV-E adoption assistance (AA) for children under age two (2).

Public Law 115-123, known as the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) was signed into law on February 9, 2018. ACFY-CB-PI-18-07 on July 9, 2018 instructed states to revise rules regarding the Title IV-E adoption assistance eligibility requirements for children under age 2. Before P.L. 115-123, all children were considered an “applicable child” for determining eligibility for the Title IV-E adoption assistance. FFPSA revised the program eligibility rules to delay phasing in the “applicable child” requirements based on the age of the child that was implemented in the Administrative Code rule 5101:2-49-02 “Adoption Assistance Eligibility Criteria” effective on July 1, 2014. Effective January 1, 2018 until June 30, 2024, the “applicable child” requirements apply only to children who will be age two or older by the end of the fiscal year their adoption assistance agreement was entered into.

We will issue a transmittal letter and a new rule by September 2018 regarding the delayed phasing in of the “applicable child” requirements for children under age two (2). In the interim, please follow the “non-applicable child” requirements in paragraph (D) of rule 5101:2-49-02 of the Administrative Code.

INSTRUCTIONS:

The following chart depicts what materials should be deleted from the Family, Children and Adult Services Manual (FCASM) and what materials are to be inserted in the FCASM.