As states have been implementing the changes to Title IV-E Adoption Assistance required as part of the Fostering Connections Legislation, a number of questions have come up. On May 5, 2011 the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) published its responses in the Child Welfare Policy Manual (CWPM) for Adoptions Assistance Program related to various issues surrounding Title IV-E eligibility. The Title IV-E sections updated include:
- Sections 8.2B Title IV-E, Adoption Assistance Program, Eligibility is updated with correcting and new information related to general information, expansion of eligibility to older youth ages 19, 20, and 21, child of a minor parent, and special needs.
- Section 8.4B Title IV-E, General Title IV-E Requirements, Aliens/Immigrants updated a question related to establishing U.S. citizenship by a Tribal enrollment card used by many federally recognized Tribe to establish membership.
- Section 8.5B Guardianship Assistance Program, Eligibility addresses that when a state extends Title IV-E programs to older youth ages 19, 20, and 21 it is inclusive of the guardianship assistance program.
- Additional updates to the CWPM were made in Section 7 Title IV-B and Section 9 Tribes/Indian Tribal Organizations:
- Section 7.3 Title IV-B, Programmatic Requirements asks if video conferencing between a child in foster care and his/her caseworker can meet the statutory provision for monthly caseworker visits. The response is no, that the monthly visit to a foster child must be face-to-face and held in person.
- Section 9.2 Tribes/Indian Tribal Organizations, Application of Title IV-E Eligibility Requirements permits affidavits and nunc pro tunc documents may be used during the first 12 months of a tribal Title IV-E plan to verify reasonable efforts and contrary to the welfare may be signed by a judge other than the judge who made the original determinations.
- The expansive questions and answers for the updates and new information to the CWPM can be reviewed following this link: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/cwpm/programs/cb/laws_policies/laws/cwpm/updates_add.jsp
