Determine Eligibility for IV-E Adoption Assistance

When you receive a completed application for a IV-E Adoption Assistance (AA) subsidy, you use Ohio SACWIS to determine whether the child is eligible to receive the subsidy. When the system determines a child's eligibility, it checks to see that certain criteria are met. Payments under this type of subsidy are managed in the system as a recurring payment.

You cannot add a new AA subsidy request when:

• A pending or approved AA request currently exists on the child's case.

• A denied request for an AA subsidy exists on the child's case and the adoptive parents have not changed.

• A pending or approved or State Adoption Maintenance Subsidy (SAMS) request exists on the case

Determine a child's eligibility for an AA subsidy as follows:

1. From the Home screen, click the Financial tab.

2. Click the Eligibility tab.

3. Click the Adoption Subsidy link in the menu on the left. The Adoption Subsidy Program screen appears.

4. Click Person Search and locate and select the child whose subsidy history you want to view. The system searches for the child's adoptive case first. If there is no adoptive case, the system searches for any case in which the child is a participant.

OR

5. Enter the child's person ID and click Go.
   
   When you select the child from the search results, the system returns you to the Adoption Subsidy Program screen. It displays the child's original person ID number, as well as the child's name, age, and case ID number.
   
   The Subsidy History table displays the records of any subsidies. The Review History table displays the records of any subsidy reviews.

6. Click Provider Search and locate and select the adoptive parents. You must select a provider before you can add a subsidy request.

7. Select AA in the Subsidy Type field.

8. Click Add Subsidy. The system displays the Adoption Assistance Subsidy screen.

9. Complete these date fields:
   
   Application Received Date
   Social/Med Date
   
   The system automatically fills in the Home Study Date field.

10. Click the Special Needs Criteria link and indicate any special needs the child may have.

    1. From the Special Needs Criteria screen, click the check box next to each special need description that applies to this child.
       
       (The TPR, or termination of parental rights, information is drawn from the legal records.)

    2. Click Save. You are returned to the Adoption Assistance Subsidy screen.

11. Click the Eligibility Requirements link and indicate any qualifications, including ADC relatedness determination.

    1. From the Eligibility Requirements screen, click the check boxes next to each qualification statement that applies to this child.
       
       The system displays a pending ADC relatedness determination record for any child who has been assessed for IV-E eligibility. The system pre-fills the record based on the IV-E eligibility record. You only need only to determine eligibility based on ADC relatedness criteria.

    2. Click the edit link next to the record to update an existing ADC relatedness determination record.
       
       Click Add ADC Relatedness Determination if the child has no IV-E eligibility record in Ohio SACWIS.
       
       The ADC Relatedness Eligibility screen appears.

    3.  In the Eligibility Month field, enter the month for which eligibility is being determined.

    4. To view the requirements from the child's IV-E eligibility record, click the Requirements 1-6 or Requirements 7-9 link.

    5. To determine eligibility, click Determine Eligibility. The system calculates or recalculates requirements 1-6 and 7-9 and displays the summary responses on the Initial Program Eligibility screen.

    6. Click Save to save any updates to the child's eligibility record. (Click Cancel if you do not want to save any recalculations.) You are returned to the Eligibility Requirements screen. If you created a new ADC relatedness determination record, it appears in the table.

12. Click Save. You are returned to the Adoption Assistance screen. If the system was able to validate the subsidy request, it appears in the Subsidy History table.

13. Click Determine Eligibility. The system determines the child's eligibility and responds with a determination decision and date on the screen above this button.

14. If the child is determined to be eligible, complete these fields to initiate the subsidy:
    
    AA Agreement Date
    Subsidy Effective Date
    Subsidy Amount
    
    The projected end date of the subsidy is the child's 18th birthday. The adoption finalization date is drawn from the child's legal record.

15. Click Save to save the eligibility determination and return to the Adoption Subsidy Program screen. Once you save the eligibility determination, no further edits may be made to the subsidy record.
    
    Click Cancel if you do not want to save this eligibility determination record. The subsidy record remains in "Pending" status and can be edited until you save the eligibility determination.