Senate Bill No. 571
(By Senator Wiedebusch)
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[Introduced March 22, 1993; referred to the Committee
on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend article two, chapter forty-nine of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
eighteen, relating to payment of nonrecurring adoption
expenses; definitions; application procedure; reimbursement
agreement; reimbursement and filing limitations; and
nonrecurring adoption expenses not subject to reimbursement.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article two, chapter forty-nine of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
eighteen, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. STATE RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE PROTECTION AND CARE
OF CHILDREN.
§49-2-18. Nonrecurring adoption expenses.
(a) As used in this section:
(1) "Child" means a person under the age of eighteen yearswho is adopted in this state or placed for adoption from this
state.
(2) "Department" means the department of health and human
resources.
(3) "Nonrecurring adoption expenses" means reasonable and
necessary adoption fees, court costs, attorney fees and expenses
which are directly related to the legal process of adoption of a
child of special circumstances including costs relating to the
adoption study, health and psychological examinations,
supervision of the placement before the adoption, transportation
and reasonable costs of lodging and food for the child or
adoptive parents which are incurred to complete the adoption
process, meet federal requirements and are not reimbursed by
other sources.
(4) "Special circumstances" means that the child has
established emotional ties with prospective adoptive parents
while in their care, or is not likely to be adopted by reason of
one or more of the following conditions:
(A) The child has a physical or mental disability; or
(B) The child is emotionally disturbed; or
(C) The child is older in age; or
(D) The child is part of a sibling group; or
(E) The child is a member of a racial or ethnic minority; or
(F) The child has any combination of these conditions.
(b) The department shall establish and administer a program
of payment for nonrecurring adoption expenses. Nonrecurringadoption expenses shall be provided from moneys appropriated to
the department or made available to it from other sources.
(c) An adoptive parent involved in the adoption of a child
of special circumstances may apply to the department for
reimbursement of nonrecurring adoption expenses directly
associated with that adoption.
(d) To be eligible for reimbursement, the application shall
document the following:
(1) The child cannot or should not be returned to the home
of his or her parents;
(2) The needs of the child require financial assistance in
order to place that child with the adoptive parents; and
(3) Except where it would be against the best interest of
the child, previous adoption attempts have been made without
assistance and were unsuccessful.
(e) Upon approval of the application, the department and the
prospective adoptive parents shall enter into an agreement
regarding the reimbursement of nonrecurring adoption expenses.
The agreement shall be signed by both parties prior to the final
adoption decree: Provided, That the signature of both parties
shall not be required if the final decree was entered between the
first day of January, one thousand nine hundred eighty-seven, and
the thirtieth day of September, one thousand nine hundred ninety-
two, or was entered before the first day of January, one thousand
nine hundred eighty-seven, but nonrecurring adoption expenses
were paid after the first day of January, one thousand ninehundred eighty-seven.
(f) Reimbursement for nonrecurring adoption expenses is
limited to a maximum of two thousand dollars for reasonable and
necessary costs actually incurred that are not reimbursable from
another source.
(g) Adoptive parents shall file all claims for nonrecurring
adoption expenses within nine months of the final adoption
decree: Provided, That all claims shall be filed no later than
the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine hundred ninety-four,
for cases in which the final decree was entered between the first
day of January, one thousand nine hundred eighty-seven and the
thirtieth day of September, one thousand nine hundred ninety-two,
or was entered before the first day of January, one thousand nine
hundred eighty-seven, but nonrecurring adoption expenses were
paid after the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred
eighty-seven.
(h) Nonrecurring adoption expenses not subject to
reimbursement include, but are not limited to, family counseling
received prior to the final decree or one-time cost associated
with physical remodeling, renovation or alteration of the
adoptive parents' home or property.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish procedures
relating to the reimbursement of nonrecurring adoption expenses.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.