This week, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) announced incentive payment awards to states that have seen an increase in adoptions over previous performance.  The awards ranged from a low of $14,172 in Virginia to a high of $7,468,475 in Texas.  The states received $4,000 for every child adopted beyond the base year, plus a payment of $8,000 for every child age 9 and older and $4,000 for every special needs child adopted.  The Adoption Incentive Award may be used for any activity that is either Title IV-B or IV-E eligible, which allows states some flexibility with how the additional funds can be used.  This award is given each year and has a double benefit for states financially, but, more importantly, provides children with permanency and a family, which every child deserves.   States that did not receive incentive payments because of no increases in adoptions from the base year included:  California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Iowa, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Tennessee, Vermont and Washington. 

About Kay Casey

Kay Casey has over 20 years of experience in federal and state child welfare policy and programs, having worked for the federal Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the Florida Department of Children and Families prior to joining PCG. She is responsible for the review and assessment of fiscal processing systems that impact a state’s ability to identify, document, and report expenditures for federal reporting purposes accompanied with the programmatic impact on the state’s system of care.

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