I guess I can't lurk any longer. I have been reading the Billings Murder forum with great interest as my husband and I are the parents of 15. Twelve of our children are adopted (almost all with myriad special needs). I worked for 15 years as the Oregon and Far Northern California Representative for the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC). My specialty was post adoptive services and subsidies. I was an authorized legal representative for families in fair hearings with the State and SSA. I retired in 2005 due to sudden and severe disability and am bedbound. Maybe I can clear up a few issues concerning adoption assistance.
The issue of prior felony arrests and approval for adoption homestudy has come up. I would refer you to this info:
"The Adoption and Safe Families Act and Title IV-E of the Social Security Act bans potential adoptive and foster parents who have a felony conviction for child abuse or neglect ; spousal abuse; crime against children; or violent crime (excluding felony assault or battery). Potential adoptive and foster parents are also barred if, within the last five years, they've had a felony conviction for physical assault, battery or drug-related offenses."
I'm certain that the state of Florida (just as every state) must follow the federal mandate on this issue. No adoption is exempt as all adoptions require an approved homestudy and a period of licensed supervision for a child--usually 6 months to 12 months--before a legal adoption can take place. After an adoption is completed, the child has the same legal standing as a biological child and the birth certificate is modifed to reflect that fact. Thank you to those posters who have been kind and appropriate about recognizing this fact.
A recent poster brought up the issue of shuffling special needs children from adoptive home to adoptive home. Interestingly enough, Florida has had a great deal of problem with this. Families who adopt a particular child and receive federal or state assistance have been noted to re-place the child elsewhere and privately pay for the child's care. This is often not found to be legal. However, I don't see this as an issue in this case.
In reading carefully through each and every post, I would agree that it seems as if the Billings have privately adopted most of their children. Just to be clear, this does not preclude the receipt of adoption assistance. Federal IV-E adoption assistance as set forth in the Child Welfare Act of 1980 is linked to the birth family's income and possible receipt of welfare funds at the time of the child's birth. Therefore, even privately adopted children can be found eligible for AAP. It is just not the norm. To access these funds, an adoptive family would need to appeal to the state and request a fair hearing on the issue. This was my specialty. I have no doubt that the Billings were tireless advocates for their children.
Adoption assistance is a very touchy subject with the general public. Most have no true grasp on the actual funding required to raise a special needs child. The US government recognized the barriers and disincentives to adoptions such as these and set forth a type of entitlement program for these children with monthly subsidies and full medical coverage through the age of 21 (18 in some states).
For a child with Spectrum Disorders (autism) or Down Syndrome, that subsidy can be any amount between approximately $500-3000/month (Please note: this is my approximation) depending on the state and the level of advocacy for that child. AAP can be equal to but never more than the appropriate level of foster care subsidy for a child. The money is paid to the parents for the extraordinary care (specialized respite, property repair and replacement, "eyes-on supervision) required by the child and the medical card and the educational component would be the source of all medical care, pharmaceuticals, and therapies, etc.
Any adoptive family, or those close to adoptive families, know and understand these facts. The general public, however, gets stuck on the issue of "paying a parent to love a child". For this reason, any wise and experienced adoptive family is very cautious about allowing this information into print. Let me assure you, there are thousands of fabulous adoptive families raising large and vibrant groups of children with love and compassion. AAP is an incentive to placement and a facilitator of success. Money does not by love.
I have no reason to doubt that the Billings family had private wealth and therefore was able to adopt without funding. I have to say, though, that I am shocked that they would have had a homestudy approved after the adoption fraud issue. My point is that if they had pursued funding, they could have been eligible to receive AAP in excess of $10,000/month (and possibly much more) for nine special needs children. That would not be unusual in the special needs adoption world. The funding is usually directly deposited in a bank account and no audit allowed of how that funding is spent (per federal law--see links below). Once the initial negotiations are completed, the AAP continues unabated unless the parent requests a change in payment, is no longer financially responsible for the child or the child enters the military or marries. Due to changes in the law about 7 years ago, the AAP can be reassigned upon a parent's death to a family member. Interestingly enough, Florida's law is contrary to the federal law in stating that the assistance is re-negotiated every year. The federal law states that it is "re-certified" each year.
I am touched by the fact that Mom23gr8kids has posted. My sincerest condolences go out to you in your time of loss. I certainly know how teachers and therapists become part of the team and community of raising, educating, and loving special needs children. The children are fortunate to have you in their lives. However, I respectfully disagree with your comment:
"Melanie and I discussed this many times. She told me specifically that the children adopted via private adoption did not receive SSI, however they had negotiated that they would receive Medicaid as part of the private adoption, since the children were uninsurable because of so many health issues."
The federal Medicaid program is not one which can be negotiated. A child either has an eligibility factor or they don't. It is entirely possible that the children were found categorically eligible for SSI but ineligible to receive payments due to the Billings' reported income. In a small number of cases, however, they would have been able to receive a medical card.
I hope this clears up a few questions. Please know that the adoption world, especially those of us with large and special needs families, is reeling with pain over this horrific crime.
If you have any further questions, please ask. I also suggest that you peruse my council's website concerning any other issues of adoption or subsidies. It is:
www.nacac.org
The federal Children's Bureau website concerning laws and regulations on adoption, homestudies, and subsidies can be found here:
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/fri/index.htm
May I commend you on incredibly creative and tireless sleuthing!!
