Sep 6, 2021
Many children need a loving family to take care of them. According to Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS), 3,109 children were waiting for adoption in July 2021. The number of children in need of a family is high, which is why the government supports adoptive parents in many ways.
The government helps adoptive parents with many resources to make it easier for them to take care of their child. These resources include assistance with the child’s medical, education and overall care expenses. Some of the benefits that adoptive parents can receive are:
Nonrecurring adoption expenses
The process for adoption involves attorney’s and court’s fees. However, parents who want to adopt do not need to pay all fees on their own. In Kentucky, prospective parents can receive $1,000 to cover those costs.
Medical expenses
Adoptive parents can get a medical card from Medicaid to cover their new child’s medical expenses. The state of Kentucky also offers adoptive parents reimbursement for all services and equipment that the medical card does not cover. That way, adoptive parents can ensure that all their child’s medical needs will be satisfied.
Tax credit
The prospective parents can also ask for a tax credit with the Internal Revenue Service to make the adoption process easier for them. This credit has a maximum amount of $14,300. Adoptive parents can use it to pay for the adoption and court fees, traveling, and other expenses related to the child’s legal adoption.
Educational benefits
People who adopt a child with special needs are eligible to get a tuition waiver if their child decides to attend a public college or university in the future. If the child doesn’t have special needs, but were adopted when they were over 16 years old, they are eligible for the Education and Training Voucher (ETV) Program. Those enrolled in the ETV program will receive $5,000 a year to attend college or another vocational program.
Apart from these benefits and resources, the CHFS will pay new parents a monthly subsidy if they adopt a child with special needs. Also, if adoptive parents exhaust all available resources, but still have financial problems, they can place their child for a maximum of 90 days in a residential facility while they stabilize.
Adopting a child is a beautiful process that the government encourages with the mentioned resources. To adopt a child, you will need to meet specific requirements and complete a training program. You will also need to submit specific paperwork, and an experienced family law attorney can help you with it. Usually, the process takes from six to nine months, depending on the case.
