5881 Adoption Circumstance Information
For AFCARS element 41- 42, the "Child Ever Adopted" field and "Prior Adoption Finalized Date" field must be completed on all children who have been in state custody at least 30 days regardless of goal type. On the "Child Ever Adopted" field on ADOP, enter a value of "Y" (Yes), "N" (No) or "U" (Unable to Determine) within 30 days of custody start date. If there have been any previous finalized adoptions for the child, enter "Y" in the "Child Ever Adopted" field and the finalization date of the previous adoption in the "Prior Adoption Finalized Date" field. If there has not been a previous finalized adoption, enter "N" and leave the "Prior Adoption Finalized Date" field blank. Enter "U" in the "Child Ever Adopted" field only if the child has been abandoned or the child's parents are otherwise not available to provide the information. All children in the custody of DCF at the time the adoption is finalized shall be coded as placed by a public agency (PUA). Indicate from where the adoption was received. Most adoptions of children in DCF custody will be received from within the state (WIS); however, if a child in DCF custody was ever previously adopted from another country or another state, use the code for another country (ANC) or for another state (ANS) regardless of most recent custody locale. If a child has been adopted before, enter the prior finalization date on ADOP. Enter the relationship of the adoptive parent to the child as indicated: stepparent “S”, relative “R”, non-related kin “K”, foster parent “F”. If the relationship is both a foster parent and relative, indicate both “B”. If the relationship is both a stepparent and relative, indicate “C”.
Per AFCARS element 186, indicate the number of siblings who are in the same adoptive home as the child. A sibling to the child is his or her brother or sister by biological, legal, or marital connection. If the child does not have siblings, enter 99. If the child has siblings, but none are in the adoptive home, enter 0. Do not include siblings who have been or will be acquired through the adoption process.
Verify accuracy of the parental rights termination dates that migrate from MACL. Father and mother's year of birth and mother's marital status at the time of the child's birth are AFCARS requirements and must be completed. If one or both parents are unknown, leave the appropriate year of birth field blank.
Indicate "Y" or "N" in the adoption subsidy indicator regarding whether or not the adoptive parent receives a cash subsidy. Indicate "Y" or "N" whether that cash subsidy is funded through Title IV-E. Do not enter adoption reimbursement amounts until information regarding the adoption is finalized.
If a child is identified to have special needs related to the adoption, enter all applicable codes for these special needs onto ADOP with the primary special need listed first. Information regarding these special needs, including the primary special need, can be located on the PPS 6115 Eligibility for Adoption Subsidy form. When special needs related to adoption involve a diagnosed disability, these disabilities shall be entered onto the child's MAC2 screen. Specifically, the special needs from ADOP that require a disability be entered on MAC2 are: Emotional disability (EMD; Medical Condition (MEC); Mental disability (MED); or Physical Disability (PHD). For the special need of Guarded Prognosis, use the special needs code of GRD. For the special need of Developmental Disability use the special needs code of MEC.
If a child is released from DCF custody by the judge to facilitate a private adoption, on the RESP screen end the placement with a responsibility status closure code of "CM", reason of "AP" and the date of discharge from DCF custody. The placement responsibility that the discharge reason code is entered on, SHALL be the last responsibility on the RESP screen that has data entry. On the ADOP screen, the finalization date will be the same as the date of discharge. If there has not been an adoptive placement agreement the date will be the same as the date of discharge. For adoption placed by, enter PRA for private agency to assure no public adoption is recorded for AFCARS.
States are required to report private adoptions in AFCARS for each child not in state custody who receive adoption assistance from the state. This plan type affects AFCARS requirements. Enter a private adoption plan type (PA) for children not in state custody and for whom the agency is providing adoption assistance in the form of either non-recurring expenses or ongoing subsidy. Open the case with adoptive parents and child(ren) with an event and presenting situation code as NCN. Establish relationships on RELS and open an initial (INIT) PA plan type on each child receiving subsidy. The relationship of adoptive parent (AM) and adopted child (AC) shall be recorded. Do not enter a review date. The Plan Start date is the date on the adoption assistance agreement. Initiate a AO05(N/P) service action code per PPM 6320, depending on type of subsidy. On RESP, link a provider type of ADH to the AO05(N/P) service action code. If a court case number is available, it may be entered. If not, ADOP can be accessed by selecting (S) the court case on the screen, and flowing directly to ADOP. On ADOP, enter adoption information.
When Kansas is the receiving state in an adoption from another state and DCF's sole responsibility as an agency is to issue a medical card, no FACTS is established.