§ 108A-50.2. Special Children Adoption Fund. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 108A‑50.2.  SpecialChildren Adoption Fund.

(a)        Funds appropriatedby the General Assembly to the Department of Health and Human Services,Division of Social Services, for the Special Children Adoption Fund shall beused as provided in this section. The Division of Social Services of theDepartment of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the NorthCarolina Association of County Directors of Social Services and representativesof licensed private adoption agencies, shall develop guidelines for theawarding of funds to licensed public and private adoption agencies upon theadoption of children described in G.S. 108A‑50 and in foster care.Payments received from the Special Children Adoption Fund by participatingagencies shall be used exclusively to enhance the adoption services. No localmatch shall be required as a condition for receipt of these funds. Inaccordance with State rules for allowable costs, the Special Children AdoptionFund may be used for post‑adoption services for families whose incomeexceeds two hundred percent (200%) of the federal poverty level.

(b)        Of the total fundsappropriated for the Special Children Adoption Fund each year, twenty percent(20%) of the total funds available shall be reserved for payment toparticipating private adoption agencies. If the funds reserved in thissubsection for payments to private agencies have not been spent on or beforeMarch 31 of each State fiscal year, the Division of Social Services mayreallocate those funds, in accordance with this section, to other participatingadoption agencies.

(c)        The Division ofSocial Services shall monitor the total expenditures in the Special ChildrenAdoption Fund and redistribute unspent funds to ensure that the funds are usedin accordance with the guidelines established in subsection (a) of thissection.  (2009‑451,s. 10.48.)