Bill 1251

                    Current Status

Bill Number:               1251
Ratification Number:       660
Act Number                 539
Introducing Body:          Senate
Subject:                   Supplemental benefits; adoption of
                           special-needs children

(A539, R660, S1251)

AN ACT TO AMEND SUBARTICLE 9, ARTICLE 11, CHAPTER 7, TITLE 20, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO SUPPLEMENTAL BENEFITS TO ASSURE ADOPTION, AND TO ADD SECTIONS 20-7-1955, 20-7-1958, AND 20-7-1965 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR SUPPLEMENTAL BENEFITS TO ASSURE ADOPTION OF SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN, FOR THE ADOPTED CHILDREN WHO MAY RECEIVE PAYMENTS FOR TREATMENT, FOR NOTIFICATION TO PROSPECTIVE ADOPTIVE PARENTS, AND FOR THE CONTINUATION OF SUPPLEMENTAL BENEFITS, TO REVISE APPLICABLE DEFINITIONS, AND TO DELETE REFERENCES TO A STUDY OF SERVICES FOR BIRTH PARENTS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR REGULATIONS; AND TO REPEAL SECTION 43-7-40 RELATING TO MEDICAL BENEFITS FOR ADOPTED CHILDREN.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Supplemental benefits; adoption of special-needs children

SECTION 1. Subarticle 9, Article 11, Chapter 7, Title 20 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

Section 20-7-1900. The purpose of this subarticle is to supplement the South Carolina adoption law by making possible through public supplemental benefits the most appropriate adoption of each child certified by the Department of Social Services as requiring a supplemental benefit to assure adoption.

Section 20-7-1910. This subarticle may be cited as the 'South Carolina Adoption Supplemental Benefits Act'.

Section 20-7-1920. As used in this article:

(1) 'Child' means an individual up to twenty-one years of age;

(2) 'Supplemental benefits' means payments made by the State Department of Social Services to provide services, including medical subsidies for payment for treatment pursuant to Section 20-7-1955, for children who without these services may not have been adopted;

(3) 'Department' means the Department of Social Services.

Section 20-7-1925. In order for a child to be eligible for supplemental benefits the department shall determine that the child legally is free for adoption, the child has been placed for adoption by the department, and one of the following provisions applies to the child:

(1) is a special needs child pursuant to Section 20-7-1650(j);

(2) is at high risk of developing a physical, mental, or emotional disability;

(3) is one for whom other factors, as determined by the department, interfere with the child's ability to be placed for adoption;

(4) has established significant emotional ties with prospective adoptive parents while in their care as a foster child, and it is considered by the agency to be in the best interest of the child to be adopted by the foster parents.

Section 20-7-1930. The department shall establish and administer an ongoing program of supplemental benefits for adoption. Supplemental benefits and services for children under this program must be provided out of funds appropriated to the department for these purposes.

Section 20-7-1940. A child meeting criteria specified in Section 20-7-1925 for whom the department believes supplemental benefits are necessary to improve opportunities for adoption is eligible for the program. The agency shall document that reasonable efforts have been made to place the child in adoption without supplemental benefits through the use of adoption resource exchanges, recruitment, and referral to appropriate specialized adoption agencies.

Section 20-7-1950. (A) When the department determines that a child is eligible for supplemental benefits, a written agreement must be executed between the parents and the department.

(B) In individual cases supplemental benefits may begin with the adoptive placement or at the appropriate time after the adoption decree and will vary with the needs of the child as well as the availability of other resources to meet the child's needs.

(C) The supplemental benefits may be for special services only, or for money payments, and either for a limited period, for a long term, or for a combination of them. The amount of time-limited, long-term supplemental benefits may not exceed that which currently would be allowable for the child under foster family care or, in the case of a special service, the reasonable fee for the service rendered.

(D) When supplemental benefits last for more than one year the adoptive parents shall certify that the child remains under the parents' care and that the child's need for supplemental benefits continues. Based on the certification and investigation by the agency and available funds, the agency may approve continued supplemental benefits. These benefits may be extended so long as the continuing need of the child is verified and the child is the legal dependent of the adoptive parents.

(E) A child who is certified as eligible for supplemental benefits remains eligible and shall receive supplemental benefits, if necessary for adoption, regardless of the domicile or residence of the adopting parents at the time of application for adoption, placement, legal decree of adoption, or after adoption.

Section 20-7-1955. Only certain children who have been certified as eligible for supplemental benefits may receive payments for medical, rehabilitative, or other treatment services under their supplemental benefits certification. To receive these payments, a child shall fall into one of the following categories:

(1) receiving payments for medical, rehabilitative, or other treatment services immediately before adoption for a physical, mental, or emotional condition;

(2) identified before adoption as being at a high risk for developing a physical, mental, or emotional condition in the future; or

(3) with a physical, mental, or emotional condition diagnosed after adoption if the condition existed before adoption but was not recognized or if substantial risk factors for the condition existed before adoption but were not recognized.

Section 20-7-1958. At the time of placement for adoption, the department shall inform in writing the prospective adoptive parents of the:

(1) availability of supplemental benefits;

(2) conditions for which the supplemental benefits are available;

(3) procedure for application for supplemental benefits.

Section 20-7-1960. A decision concerning supplemental benefits by the department which the adoptive parents consider adverse to the child is reviewable according to department regulations.

Section 20-7-1965. Supplemental benefits may not end solely because the death or disability of the adoptive parents requires placement of the adopted child with another caregiver. The caregiver of the adopted child has the rights and duties imposed on the adoptive parents in this subarticle.

Section 20-7-1970. The department shall promulgate regulations to carry out the provisions of this subarticle."

Repeal

SECTION 2. Section 43-7-40 of the 1976 Code is repealed.

Time effective

SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

Approved the 6th day of June, 1990.