PROMOTION OF ADOPTION OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS.

SEC. 402. PROMOTION OF ADOPTION OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS. Section 473 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 673), as amended by section 101(b) of this Act, is amended—(1) in subsection (a)—(A) in paragraph (2)—(i) in subparagraph (A)—(I) by redesignating items (aa) and (bb) of clause (i)(I) as subitems (AA) and (BB), respectively;(II) in subitem (BB) of clause (i)(I) (as so redesignated), by striking “item (aa) of this subclause” and inserting “subitem (AA) of this item”;(III) by redesignating subclauses (I) through (III) of clause (i) as items (aa) through (cc), respectively;(IV) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as subclauses (I) and (II), respectively;122 STAT. 3976(V) by realigning the margins of the items, subclauses, and clauses redesignated by subclauses (I) through (IV) accordingly;(VI) by striking “if the child—” and inserting “if—“(i) in the case of a child who is not an applicable child for the fiscal year (as defined in subsection (e)), the child—”;(VII) in subclause (II) of clause (i) (as so redesignated)—(aa) by striking “(c)” and inserting “(c)(1)”; and(bb) by striking the period at the end and inserting “; or”; and(VIII) by adding at the end the following:“(ii) in the case of a child who is an applicable child for the fiscal year (as so defined), the child—“(I)(aa) at the time of initiation of adoption proceedings was in the care of a public or licensed private child placement agency or Indian tribal organization pursuant to—“(AA) an involuntary removal of the child from the home in accordance with a judicial determination to the effect that continuation in the home would be contrary to the welfare of the child; or“(BB) a voluntary placement agreement or voluntary relinquishment;“(bb) meets all medical or disability requirements of title XVI with respect to eligibility for supplemental security income benefits; or“(cc) was residing in a foster family home or child care institution with the child’s minor parent, and the child’s minor parent was in such foster family home or child care institution pursuant to—“(AA) an involuntary removal of the child from the home in accordance with a judicial determination to the effect that continuation in the home would be contrary to the welfare of the child; or“(BB) a voluntary placement agreement or voluntary relinquishment; and“(II) has been determined by the State, pursuant to subsection (c)(2), to be a child with special needs.”; and(ii) in subparagraph (C)—(I) by redesignating subclauses (I) and (II) of clause (iii) as items (aa) and (bb), respectively;(II) by redesignating subclauses (I) and (II) of clause (iv) as items (aa) and (bb), respectively;(III) by redesignating clauses (i) through (iv) as subclauses (I) through (IV), respectively;(IV) by realigning the margins of the subclauses and clauses redesignated by subclauses (I) through (III) accordingly;(V) by striking “if the child—” and inserting “if—“(i) in the case of a child who is not an applicable child for the fiscal year (as defined in subsection (e)), the child—”;122 STAT. 3977(VI) in clause (i)(I) (as so redesignated), by striking “(A)(ii)” and inserting “(A)(i)(II)”;(VII) in clause (i)(IV) (as so redesignated)—(aa) in the matter preceding item (aa), by striking “(A)” and inserting “(A)(i)”; and(bb) by striking the period at the end and inserting “; or”; and(VIII) by adding at the end the following:“(ii) in the case of a child who is an applicable child for the fiscal year (as so defined), the child meets the requirements of subparagraph (A)(ii)(II), is determined eligible for adoption assistance payments under this part with respect to a prior adoption (or who would have been determined eligible for such payments had the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 been in effect at the time that such determination would have been made), and is available for adoption because the prior adoption has been dissolved and the parental rights of the adoptive parents have been terminated or because the child’s adoptive parents have died.”; and(B) by adding at the end the following:“(7)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection, no payment may be made to parents with respect to any applicable child for a fiscal year that—“(i) would be considered a child with special needs under subsection (c)(2);“(ii) is not a citizen or resident of the United States; and“(iii) was adopted outside of the United States or was brought into the United States for the purpose of being adopted.“(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not be construed as prohibiting payments under this part for an applicable child described in subparagraph (A) that is placed in foster care subsequent to the failure, as determined by the State, of the initial adoption of the child by the parents described in subparagraph (A).“(8) A State shall spend an amount equal to the amount of savings (if any) in State expenditures under this part resulting from the application of paragraph (2)(A)(ii) to all applicable children for a fiscal year to provide to children or families any service (including post-adoption services) that may be provided under this part or part B.”;(2) in subsection (c)—(A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and realigning the margins accordingly;(B) by striking “this section, a child shall not be considered a child with special needs unless” and inserting “this section—“(1) in the case of a child who is not an applicable child for a fiscal year, the child shall not be considered a child with special needs unless”; and(C) in paragraph (1)(B), as so redesignated, by striking the period at the end and inserting “; or”; and(D) by adding at the end the following:“(2) in the case of a child who is an applicable child for a fiscal year, the child shall not be considered a child with special needs unless—122 STAT. 3978 “(A) the State has determined, pursuant to a criterion or criteria established by the State, that the child cannot or should not be returned to the home of his parents;“(B)(i) the State has determined that there exists with respect to the child a specific factor or condition (such as ethnic background, age, or membership in a minority or sibling group, or the presence of factors such as medical conditions or physical, mental, or emotional handicaps) because of which it is reasonable to conclude that the child cannot be placed with adoptive parents without providing adoption assistance under this section and medical assistance under title XIX; or“(ii) the child meets all medical or disability requirements of title XVI with respect to eligibility for supplemental security income benefits; and“(C) the State has determined that, except where it would be against the best interests of the child because of such factors as the existence of significant emotional ties with prospective adoptive parents while in the care of the parents as a foster child, a reasonable, but unsuccessful, effort has been made to place the child with appropriate adoptive parents without providing adoption assistance under this section or medical assistance under title XIX.”; and(3) by adding at the end the following:“(e) Applicable Child Defined.—“(1) On the basis of age.—“(A) In general.—Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), in this section, the term ‘applicable child’ means a child for whom an adoption assistance agreement is entered into under this section during any fiscal year described in subparagraph (B) if the child attained the applicable age for that fiscal year before the end of that fiscal year.“(B) Applicable age.—For purposes of subparagraph (A), the applicable age for a fiscal year is as follows: “In the case of fiscal year:The applicable age is: 201016 201114 201212 201310 20148 20156 20164 20172 2018 or thereafterany age. “(2) Exception for duration in care.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this subsection, beginning with fiscal year 2010, such term shall include a child of any age on the date on which an adoption assistance agreement is entered into on behalf of the child under this section if the child—122 STAT. 3979 “(A) has been in foster care under the responsibility of the State for at least 60 consecutive months; and“(B) meets the requirements of subsection (a)(2)(A)(ii).“(3) Exception for member of a sibling group.—Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection, beginning with fiscal year 2010, such term shall include a child of any age on the date on which an adoption assistance agreement is entered into on behalf of the child under this section without regard to whether the child is described in paragraph (2)(A) of this subsection if the child—“(A) is a sibling of a child who is an applicable child for the fiscal year under paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection;“(B) is to be placed in the same adoption placement as an applicable child for the fiscal year who is their sibling; and“(C) meets the requirements of subsection (a)(2)(A)(ii).”.