This article should be known and may be cited as the 'Alabama Subsidized Adoption Act.'

The purpose of this article is to supplement the Alabama adoption statutes by making possible through public financial subsidy the most appropriate adoption of each child certified by the State Department of Human Resources as requiring a subsidy to assure adoption.

As used in this article, except as otherwise required by the context, 'child' means a child or a minor as defined by Alabama statute, who is (a) in the permanent custody of a public or voluntary licensed child-placing agency, (b) legally free for adoption and (c) in special circumstances because he is not likely to be adopted by reason of one or more conditions, such as:

(1) Physical or mental disability,

(2) Emotional disturbance,

(3) Recognized high risk of physical or mental disease,

(4) Age,

(5) Sibling relationship,

(6) Racial or ethnic factors,

(7) Potential danger to the child in severance of his emotional ties with the prospective adoptive parents, or

(8) Any combination of these conditions.

The State Department of Human Resources shall establish and administer an ongoing program of subsidized adoption. Subsidies and services for children under this program shall be provided out of funds appropriated to the State Department of Human Resources for the maintenance of children in foster care or made available to it from other sources.

When foster parents are the prospective adoptive parents, certification of the child's eligibility for a subsidy shall be conditioned upon his adoption by the said prospective adoptive parents under applicable Alabama adoption policies, procedures and statutes.

In all other cases, after reasonable efforts have been made and no appropriate adoptive family without the use of subsidy has been found for a child, the State Department of Human Resources shall certify the child as eligible for a subsidy in the event of adoption.

If the child is in the permanent custody of a voluntary licensed child-placing agency, that agency shall present to the State Department of Human Resources (a) evidence to support the existence of potential danger to the child in severing his emotional ties with his foster parents who are the prospective adoptive parents, or (b) evidence of inability to place the child for adoption due to any of the other conditions specified in Section 26-10-22. In the latter case, the agency shall present evidence that reasonable efforts have been made to place the child without subsidy, such as recruitment of potential parents, use of adoption resource exchanges and referral to appropriate specialized adoption agencies.

The decision concerning certification of the child for subsidy shall be made by the State Department of Human Resources. Evidence submitted by the voluntary licensed child-placing agency shall serve as a basis for the decision and the State Department of Human Resources may request and receive from the voluntary licensed child-placing agency additional information which the State Department of Human Resources considers necessary to the decision.

If the State Department of Human Resources approves the subsidy plan, it will draft and sign jointly with the adoptive parents the subsidy agreement. The State Department of Human Resources will be the administrator of the subsidy agreement according to its regulations and the terms of this article.

The voluntary licensed child-placing agency shall continue supervisory responsibility for the child and the family until after the final adoption decree has been issued.

When parents are found and approved for adoption of a child certified as eligible for subsidy, and before the final decree of adoption is issued, there must be a written agreement between the State Department of Human Resources and the adopting family as to the terms and conditions of the subsidy. Adoption subsidies in individual cases may commence at any time after the adoption placement or at the appropriate time after the adoption decree, and will vary with the needs of the child as well as the availability of other resources to meet the child's needs. The subsidy may be for special services only, or for money payments, and either for a limited period, or for a long term, or for any combination of the foregoing. The amount of the time-limited or long-term subsidy may in no case exceed that which would be allowable from time to time for such child in foster care, or, in the case of special service, the reasonable fee for the service rendered.

When subsidies are for more than one year, the adoptive parents shall present an annual sworn certification that the adopted child remains under their care and that the condition(s) that caused the child to be certified continue(s) to exist. The subsidy agreement shall be continued in accordance with its terms but only as long as the adopted child is the legal dependent of the adoptive parents and the child's condition continues, except that, in the absence of other appropriate resources provided by law and in accordance with Alabama regulations, it may be continued after the adopted child reaches majority, provided he is in school or in training in a program, the purpose of which is to aid him toward self-support. If the child certified for subsidy was in permanent custody of a voluntary licensed child-placing agency, that agency shall, upon request, furnish the State Department of Human Resources additional information which may be needed to assure that the condition(s) that caused the child to be certified continue(s) to exist. The subsidy agreement may be modified only with approval of the State Department of Human Resources. The adoptive parents may request termination of the subsidy agreement at any time.

A child who is a resident of Alabama when eligibility for subsidy is certified shall remain eligible and receive subsidy, if necessary for adoption, regardless of the domicile or residence of the adopting parents at the time of application for adoption, placement, legal decree of adoption or thereafter.

All records regarding subsidized adoption shall be confidential and may be disclosed only in accordance with Sections 26-10A-31, 26-10A-32, 38-2-6(8) and 38-7-13.

Any subsidy decision by the State Department of Human Resources which the placement agency or the adoptive parents deem adverse to the child is reviewable by the State Department of Human Resources.

The State Department of Human Resources shall promulgate regulations consistent with this article within 120 days of its enactment.

(a) The State Department of Human Resources shall charge and collect a fee in the amount of $300.00 for investigation services they perform in cases involving adoption, provided, however, that in those adoption proceedings in which an investigation is specifically not required by statute because the petitioner is a stepfather, stepmother or closely related relative, no fee shall be charged for investigation services. This fee shall not apply to investigation services for cases in which a child was placed for adoption by the State Department of Human Resources, in cases in which a child was placed for adoption as a result of or pursuant to a court order in which parental rights in the child were terminated or in cases in which the investigative services were performed by a licensed child-placing agency.

The Department of Human Resources may waive this fee in the case of an indigent and for other good cause shown.

(b) All investigation services fees received pursuant to this section shall be received by the State Department of Human Resources and shall be deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of the state general fund.