Section 17-1620-8 - Eligibility requirements for federally funded adoption assistance(a) To establish eligibility for federally funded (Title IV-E) adoption assistance for a child who is NOT an "applicable child"., the criteria of sections 17-1620-7(a) and (b) (1) through (5) shall be met and the following additional eligibility requirements shall be met prior to the finalization of the adoption: (1) The child is eligible for AFDC (as was in effect July 16, 1996) pursuant to the following: (A) For children whose adoptions were finalized on or after October 1, 2005, the child is AFDC eligible at the time of removal from the home of a specified relative; and(B) The child shall have been removed from the home of a specified relative as a result of: (i) A judicial order. There shall be a judicial determination that continuation in the home would be contrary to the welfare of the child. For children removed from the home prior to January 23, 2001, this judicial determination shall have been made in any court order up to the time of the initiation of the adoption proceedings. For children removed from the home on or after January 23, 2001, this judicial determination shall have been made at the first court hearing sanctioning removal of the child; or(ii) Relinquishment to the department or a licensed, private, nonprofit child-placing organization provided that a petition has been filed with the court to remove the child from his or her home within six months of the time the child lived with the specified relative and there is a subsequent judicial determination to the effect that remaining in the home would be contrary to the welfare of the child. The voluntary relinquishment must be signed by a parent(s) or a legal guardian(s) who is a specified relative to the child; or(iii) A valid voluntary foster custody agreement signed by the child's legal custodian and the department which leads to a physical or constructive removal of the child, and there must have been a Title IV-E foster care maintenance payment paid on the child's behalf under the agreement. In addition, the child shall be under the care and custody of the department; and(C) The child shall have been living with the specified relative from whom removed within six months prior to the month in which a voluntary foster custody agreement was entered into or court proceedings were initiated leading to the removal of the child from the home as a result of a determination that remaining in the home would be contrary to the welfare of the child; or(2) The child meets the requirements for Title XVI Supplemental Security Income (SSI) prior to the finalization of the adoption; or(3) The child is a child of a minor parent who is in foster care and receiving federally funded foster care maintenance payments that cover both the minor parent and the child; or(4) The child received Title IV-E adoption assistance in a prior adoption that is dissolved or both adoptive parents died, and the child is subsequently adopted, and the conditions of section 17-1620-7(b)(1), (b)(3), (b)(4), (b)(5), and (b)(6) are met; and(5) The child is a U.S. citizen or a qualified alien under section 431 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 (PRWORA); and (A) The child must have lived in the United States (U.S.) for five years if the child entered the U.S. on or after August 22,1996 and is placed with an unqualified alien; or(B) The child is exempt from the five year residency requirement because the child is adopted by a U.S. citizen or qualified alien; or the child is a member of the exception groups pursuant to 8 U.S.C. section 1612(b): refugees, asylees, aliens whose deportation is withheld, veterans and those on active duty (as well as the spouse and unmarried dependent children of that person), Cuban or Haitian entrants, and Amerasians from Vietnam; and(6) The prospective adoptive parent's home, and all adult members residing in the household, is an approved adoptive home that has met the following background checks: (A) The fingerprint-based FBI clearances for adult household members shall be completed in accordance with federal and state statutes and departmental procedures prior to approving the adoptive home.(B) The check of the state's child abuse and neglect registry for all adult household members, including the registries in States where an adult resided within the preceding 5 years, shall be completed in accordance with federal and state statutes and departmental procedures prior to approving the adoptive home.(b) Effective October l, 2009, to establish eligibility for federally-funded (Title IV-E) adoption assistance for a child who is an "applicable child", the criteria of section 17-1620-7(a) and (b) (1)-(5), 17-1620-8(a) (5) &(6), and the following additional eligibility requirements shall be met prior to the finalization of the adoption: (1) At the time of the initiation of adoption proceedings the child was in the care of a public or licensed private child placement agency by way of a voluntary placement, voluntary re-linquishment, or a court-ordered removal with a judicial determination that remaining at home would be contrary to the child's welfare; or(2) Meets all disability or medical requirements of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program; or(3) Was residing in a resource family home or child care institution with the child's minor parent and the child's minor parent was in foster care pursuant to a voluntary placement, voluntary relinquishment or court-ordered removal with a judicial determination that remaining at home would be contrary to the child's welfare; or(4) Was eligible for federal adoption assistance in a previous adoption (or would have been found eligible had the adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 been in effect at the time of the previous adoption) in which the adoptive parents have died or had their parental rights terminated.(c) Children who have special needs but who are not citizens or resident of the U.S. and were either adopted in another country or brought to this country for the purpose of adoption are categorically ineligible for adoption assistance, except if the child meets the eligibility criteria after the disruption of the international adoption.(d) In determining whether a child receiving Federally-funded kinship guardianship assistance is eligible for federally-funded adoption assistance, the child's placement with the relative guardian and any kinship guardianship payments made on behalf of the child shall be considered never to have been made. This applies where the guardianship is dissolved and the child is later placed for adoption with the relative guardian or another individual.(e) The state shall spend an amount equal to any savings in state expenditures under title IV-E as a result of applying the new program rules to applicable children for a fiscal year for services permitted under title IV-B or IV-E.[Eff DEC 09 2010] (Auth: HRS § 346-14) (Imp: HRS § 346-14; 42 U.S.C. § 673, 45 C.F.R. §§ 233.10, 233.20, 233.40, 233.50 ; 45 C.F.R. §§ 1356.21(c), 1356.22, 1356.30, 1356.40, 1356.41; Pub. L. No. 104-193; Pub. L. No. 105-33; ACYF-CB-PA-01-01, Pub. L. No. 109-171 )