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DSS updates adoption subsidy and medical-assistance definitions to reflect 2023 changes
Summary
DSS presented updates to rules on supplemental benefits for adoptions and medical assistance to align regulatory language with statutory changes made in 2023, including revised definitions of "special needs child" and preservation of federal tax-credit eligibility.
The Department of Social Services proposed regulatory updates to rules governing supplemental benefits and medical assistance for families who adopt children from the state’s custody, aligning regulation text with statutory changes enacted in 2023.
Conley Ann Ragley said the 2023 adoption bill revised the statutory definition of "special needs child," removing language that had been deemed offensive and ensuring continued eligibility for federal tax credits and adoption subsidies where applicable. The proposed regulation (tied to earlier sections of Title 63) would preserve necessary definitions so families can continue to access federal benefits and adoption subsidies while eliminating obsolete or inappropriate phrasing.
Ragley told the committee the department seeks to modernize the regulatory language without expanding benefits beyond the existing statutory scheme and that the changes would not create additional fiscal impact. The subcommittee voted to carry the regulation to the full committee by voice vote.
Ragley credited prior legislative work (including efforts by former Senator Katrina Shealy) in 2023 to update statutory language and said the regulation revisions are intended to conform administrative rules to the revised statute.
