DSS director outlines Special Children Adoption Incentive Fund; county asked to consider participation

Social services staff described the Special Children Adoption (SCA) incentive program Feb. 3 and invited the Alexander County Board of Commissioners to consider opting in to allow payments to adoptive families for children with exceptional care needs.

Carrie Gerald, director of the Alexander County Department of Social Services, told the board that the program provides additional payments to families adopting children who meet a state'defined list of special-needs criteria. "The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services makes monthly payments of SCA funding to eligible families who complete adoption of qualifying children and invoices the county for 50% share of the cost," Gerald said. She told the board the program is funded through the Social Services Block Grant and that counties may opt to cap participation or negotiate payment amounts with families.

Paul Kelly, a foster parent who said he has cared for a child from Alexander County for 16 months and sought to adopt, urged the board to approve SCA participation. "I'm here today to talk to you about setting up SCA funding for children like our child," Kelly said, describing additional diagnoses discovered after entering foster care and the added cost and services that adoptive families may need.

Taneal Howman, district administrator for the guardian ad litem program in Alexander and Iredell counties, told the commissioners that financial barriers are preventing some adoptive placements. "We have over 50 kids in custody," Howman said, and she described vacancies on the county foster-care team that she called a crisis. Howman and Kelly said SCA payments while children remain in foster care could reduce long-term costs and help place children more quickly.

Gerald said participation requires the county to notify a state SCA coordinator and that county staff would prepare and submit applications; the state makes final eligibility determinations. She cautioned that projected fiscal impact is uncertain: "There is no true ceiling to potential program cost and future budgetary impacts," Gerald told the board. She said staff could return with more detailed estimates if commissioners requested specific questions be posed to the state.

Commissioners asked clarifying questions about the state's special-needs definition, program eligibility, and whether payments would continue until a child turns 18; speakers confirmed payments continue until age 18 for qualifying children. The board did not take a vote at the meeting; staff offered to follow up with the state and provide requested information to the board.