Adoption Support   

From the WA State Legislature Web site: http://www.leg.wa.gov

The Washington State Adoption Support Program encourages the adoption of special needs children in the legal custody of the state of Washington, who may not be adopted if support for the child was not available.  

An Adoption Support Agreement is a written contract between the adoptive parent(s) and the department identifying specific support available to the adoptive parent(s).

An Adoption Support Cash Payment is a negotiated monthly cash payments paid pursuant to an agreement between the adoptive parent(s) and the department after the child's adoption.               

            RCW 74.13.031.  WAC 388-27-0125  

Who is eligible? 

The department provides adoption services to any child in the department's custody  

v     with a permanent plan of adoption 

v     or when the department considers adoption as an alternate permanent plan, and the child is in supervised out-of-home care; or the child's birth parent(s) requests adoption as a permanent plan prior to the child's placement in out-of-home care. 

v     An Adoption Support Agreement must be finalized before the child is legally adopted.  Once the adoption is final, adoption support can not be requested.

            RCW 74.13.031.  WAC 388-27-0015