HOUSE BILL NO. 1772 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE AMATO.
4258H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT To repeal section 453.073, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to adoption subsidies.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 453.073, RSMo, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu 2 thereof, to be known as section 453.073, to read as follows: 453.073. 1. The children's division is authorized to grant a subsidy to a child in one 2 of the forms of allotment defined in section 453.065. Determination of the amount of 3 monetary need is to be made by the division at the time of placement, if practicable, and in 4 reference to the needs of the child, including consideration of the physical and mental 5 condition, and age of the child in each case; provided, however, that the subsidy amount shall 6 not exceed the expenses of foster care and medical care for foster children paid under the 7 homeless, dependent and neglected foster care program. 8 2. Beginning January 1, 2015, subsidy agreements entered into under this section 9 shall include a provision allowing for the suspension or redirection of subsidy payments in the 10 event that the child has been: 11 (1) Adjudicated dependent and made a ward of the court under subdivision (1) of 12 subsection 1 of section 211.031; and 13 (2) Removed from the physical or legal custody of the parent or parents by a court of 14 competent jurisdiction. 15 3. The subsidy shall be paid for children who have been in the care and custody of the 16 children's division under the homeless, dependent and neglected foster care program. In the 17 case of a child who has been in the care and custody of a private child-caring or child-placing
EXPLANATION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is intended to be omitted from the law. Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language. HB 1772 2
18 agency or in the care and custody of the division of youth services or the department of 19 mental health, a subsidy shall be available from the children's division subsidy program in the 20 same manner and under the same circumstances and conditions as provided for a child who 21 has been in the care and custody of the children's division. 22 4. Within thirty days after the authorization for the grant of a subsidy by the children's 23 division, a written agreement shall be entered into by the division and the parents. The 24 agreement shall set forth the following terms and conditions: 25 (1) The type of allotment; 26 (2) The amount of assistance payments; 27 (3) The services to be provided; 28 (4) The time period for which the subsidy is granted, if such period is reasonably 29 ascertainable; 30 (5) The obligation of the parents to inform the division when they are no longer 31 providing support to the child or when events affect the subsidy eligibility of the child; 32 (6) The eligibility of the child for Medicaid; and 33 (7) That the children's division may suspend or redirect subsidy payments under 34 subsection 2 of this section. 35 5. Beginning January 1, 2027, and a for a period of five years thereafter, the 36 children's division shall make the grants provided for under subsection 1 of section 37 453.073 available to be paid toward the legal expenses incurred by the prospective 38 adoptive parent or parents upon the successful completion of such adoption proceedings 39 including, but not limited to, attorney's fees, filing fees, publication fees, and fees 40 associated with the submission of a certificate of decree of adoption to amend the minor 41 child's birth records. Such grant shall be specified in a written agreement entered into 42 by the children's division and the prospective adoptive parent or parents. Such grant 43 shall not exceed two thousand five hundred dollars for uncontested adoptions and four 44 thousand dollars for contested adoptions, billed at the rate of one hundred seventy-five 45 dollars per hour of legal services provided by an attorney licensed to practice law in the 46 state of Missouri, together with actual expenses incurred in prosecuting the petition for 47 adoption. A separate grant for guardian ad litem fees shall be made available and shall 48 not exceed five hundred dollars billed at the rate of one hundred seventy-five dollars per 49 hour of legal services provided by an attorney licensed to practice law in the state of 50 Missouri. ✔
Statutes affected: