{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-10-10-7510-3.2","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 10, § 10-7510-3.2","heading":"Compact on Adoption and Medical Assistance","body":"This Compact on Adoption and Medical Assistance, hereinafter\n\ncalled \"the compact\", is hereby enacted into law and entered into\n\nwith all other jurisdictions legally joining therein in the form\n\nsubstantially as follows:\n\nARTICLE I. FINDINGS\n\nThe party states find that:\n\n(1) In order to obtain adoptive families for children with\n\nspecial needs, prospective adoptive parents must be assured of\n\nsubstantial assistance (usually on a continuing basis) in meeting\n\nthe high costs of supporting and providing for the special needs and\n\nservices required by such children.\n\n(2) The states have a fundamental interest in promoting\n\nadoption for children with special needs because the care, emotional\n\nstability and general support and encouragement required by such\n\nchildren to surmount their physical, mental or emotional conditions\n\ncan be best, and often only, obtained in family homes with a normal\n\nparent-child relationship.\n\n(3) The states obtain advantages from providing adoption\n\nassistance because the customary alternative is for the state to\n\ndefray the entire cost of meeting all the needs of such children.\n\n(4) The special needs involved are for the emotional, physical\n\nmaintenance of the child, and medical support and services.\n\n(5) The necessary assurance of adoption assistance for children\n\nwith special needs, in those instances where children and adoptive\n\nparents are in states other than the one undertaking to provide the\n\nassistance, is to establish and maintain suitable substantive\n\nguarantees and workable procedures for interstate payments to assist\n\nwith the necessary child maintenance, procurement of services, and\n\nmedical assistance.\n\nARTICLE II. PURPOSES\n\nThe purposes of this compact are to:\n\n(1) Strengthen protections for the interest of the children\n\nwith special needs on behalf of whom adoption assistance is\n\ncommitted to be paid, when such children are in or move to states\n\nother than the one committed to make adoption assistance payments.\n\n(2) Provide substantive assurances and procedures which will\n\npromote the delivery of medical and other services on an interstate\n\nbasis to children through programs of adoption assistance\n\nestablished by the laws of the party states.\n\nARTICLE III. DEFINITIONS\n\nAs used in this compact, unless the context clearly requires a\n\ndifferent construction:\n\n(1) \"Child with special needs\" means a minor who has not yet\n\nattained the age at which the state normally discontinues children's\n\nservices or twenty-one (21) years, where the state determines that\n\nthe child's mental or physical handicaps warrant the continuation of\n\nassistance, for whom the state has determined the following:\n\n(A) That the child cannot or should not be returned to the home\n\nof his or her parents;\n\n(B) That there exists with respect to the child a specific\n\nfactor or condition (such as his or her ethnic background, age, or\n\nmembership in a minority or sibling group, or the presence of\n\nfactors such as medical condition or physical, mental, or emotional\n\nhandicaps) because of which it is reasonable to conclude that such\n\nchild cannot be placed with adoptive parents without providing\n\nadoption assistance.\n\n(C) That, except where it would be against the best interests\n\nof the child because of such factors as the existence of significant\n\nemotional ties with prospective adoptive parents while in the care\n\nof such parents as a foster child, a reasonable, but unsuccessful,\n\neffort has been made to place the child with appropriate adoptive\n\nparents without providing adoption assistance payments.\n\n(2) \"Adoption assistance\" means the payment or payments for\n\nmaintenance of a child, which payment or payments are made or\n\ncommitted to be made pursuant to the adoption assistance program\n\nestablished by the laws of a party state.\nster child, a reasonable, but unsuccessful,\n\neffort has been made to place the child with appropriate adoptive\n\nparents without providing adoption assistance payments.\n\n(2) \"Adoption assistance\" means the payment or payments for\n\nmaintenance of a child, which payment or payments are made or\n\ncommitted to be made pursuant to the adoption assistance program\n\nestablished by the laws of a party state.\n\n(3) \"State\" means a state of the United States, the District of\n\nColumbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam,\n\nthe Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or a Territory or\n\nPossession of the United States.\n\n(4) \"Adoption assistance state\" means the state that is\n\nsignatory to an adoption assistance agreement in a particular case.\n\n(5) \"Residence state\" means the state of which the child is a\n\nresident by virtue of the residence of the adoptive parents.\n\n(6) \"Parents\" means either the singular or plural of the word\n\n\"parent\".\n\nARTICLE IV. ADOPTION ASSISTANCE\n\n(1) Each state shall determine the amounts of adoption\n\nassistance and other aid which it will give to children with special\n\nneeds and their adoptive parents in accordance with its own laws and\n\nprograms. The adoption assistance and other aid may be made subject\n\nto periodic re-evaluation of eligibility by the adoption assistance\n\nstate in accordance with its laws. The provisions of this article\n\nand of Article V are subject to the limitation set forth in this\n\nparagraph.\n\n(2) The adoption assistance and medical assistance services and\n\nbenefits to which this compact applies are those provided to\n\nchildren with special needs and their adoptive parents from the time\n\nof the final decree of adoption or the interlocutory decree of\n\nadoption, as the case may be, pursuant to the laws of the adoptive\n\nassistance state. In addition to the content required by subsequent\n\nprovisions of this article for adoption assistance agreements, each\n\nsuch agreement shall state whether the initial adoption assistance\n\nperiod thereunder begins with the final or interlocutory decree of\n\nadoption. Aid provided by party states to children with special\n\nneeds during the preadoptive placement period or earlier shall be\n\nunder the foster care or other programs of the states and, except as\n\nprovided in paragraph 3 of this article, shall not be governed by\n\nthe provisions of this compact.\n\n(3) Every case of adoption assistance shall include an adoption\n\nassistance agreement between the adoptive parents and the agency of\n\nthe state undertaking to provide the adoption assistance. Every such\n\nagreement shall contain provisions for the fixing of actual or\n\npotential interstate aspects of the adoption assistance, as follows:\n\n(A) An express commitment that the adoption assistance shall be\n\npayable without regard for the state of residence of the adoptive\n\nparents, both at the outset of the agreement period and at all times\n\nduring its continuance.\n\n(B) A provision setting forth with particularity the types of\n\nchild care and services toward which the adoption assistance state\n\nwill make payments.\n\n(C) A commitment to make medical assistance available to the\n\nchild in accordance with Article V of this compact.\n\n(D) An express declaration that the agreement is for the\n\nbenefit of the child, the adoptive parents and the state and that it\n\nis enforceable by any or all of them.\nth particularity the types of\n\nchild care and services toward which the adoption assistance state\n\nwill make payments.\n\n(C) A commitment to make medical assistance available to the\n\nchild in accordance with Article V of this compact.\n\n(D) An express declaration that the agreement is for the\n\nbenefit of the child, the adoptive parents and the state and that it\n\nis enforceable by any or all of them.\n\n(4) Any services or benefits provided by the residence state\n\nand the adoption assistance state for a child may be facilitated by\n\nthe party states on each other's behalf. To this end, the personnel\n\nof the child welfare agencies of the party states will assist each\n\nother and beneficiaries of adoption assistance agreements with other\n\nparty states in implementing benefits expressly included in adoption\n\nassistance agreements. However, it is recognized and agreed that in\n\ngeneral children to whom adoption assistance agreements apply are\n\neligible for benefits under the child welfare, education,\n\nrehabilitation, mental health and other programs of their state of\n\nresidence on the same basis as other resident children.\n\n(5) Adoption assistance payments, when made on behalf of a\n\nchild who is subject to the jurisdiction of this state but residing\n\nin another state, shall be made on the same basis and in the same\n\namounts as they would be made if the child were residing in this\n\nstate; provided, however, adoption assistance agreements with\n\nfamilies residing in other states signed before October 1, 2009, may\n\nbe continued.\n\n(6) Effective July 1, 2010, for good cause shown, the Director\n\nof the Department of Human Services or designee may approve adoption\n\nassistance payments on behalf of a child subject to the jurisdiction\n\nof this state but residing in another state, up to the maximum\n\nfoster care reimbursement allowable in the state of residence.\n\nARTICLE V. MEDICAL ASSISTANCE\n\n(1) Children for whom a party state is committed in accordance\n\nwith the terms of an adoption assistance agreement to make adoption\n\nassistance payments are eligible for medical assistance during the\n\nentire period for which such payments are to be provided. Upon\n\napplication therefor by the adoptive parents of a child on whose\n\nbehalf a party state's duly constituted authorities have entered\n\ninto an adoption assistance agreement, the adoptive parents shall\n\nreceive a medical assistance identification made out in the child's\n\nname. The identification shall be issued by the medical assistance\n\nprogram of the residence state and shall entitle the child to the\n\nsame benefits, pursuant to the same procedures, as any other child\n\nwho is a resident of the state and covered by medical assistance,\n\nwhether or not the adoptive parents are eligible for medical\n\nassistance.\n\n(2) The identification shall bear no indication that an\n\nadoption assistance agreement with another state is the basis for\n\nissuance. However, if the identification is issued on account of an\n\noutstanding adoption assistance agreement to which another state is\n\na signatory, the records of the issuing state and the adoption\n\nassistance state shall show the fact, shall contain a copy of the\n\nadoption assistance agreement and any amendment or replacement\n\ntherefor, and all other pertinent information. The adoption\n\nassistance and medical assistance programs of the adoption\n\nassistance state shall be notified of the identification issuance.\n\n(3) A state which has issued a medical assistance\n\nidentification pursuant to this compact, which identification is\n\nvalid and currently in force, shall accept, process and pay medical\n\nassistance claims thereon as on any other medical assistance\n\neligibilities of residents.\nistance and medical assistance programs of the adoption\n\nassistance state shall be notified of the identification issuance.\n\n(3) A state which has issued a medical assistance\n\nidentification pursuant to this compact, which identification is\n\nvalid and currently in force, shall accept, process and pay medical\n\nassistance claims thereon as on any other medical assistance\n\neligibilities of residents.\n\n(4) An adoption assistance state which provides medical\n\nservices or benefits to children covered by its adoption assistance\n\nagreements, which services or benefits are not provided for those\n\nchildren under the medical assistance program of the residence\n\nstate, may enter into cooperative arrangements with the residence\n\nstate to facilitate the delivery and administration of such services\n\nand benefits. However, any such arrangements shall not be\n\ninconsistent with this compact nor shall they relieve the residence\n\nstate of any obligation to provide medical assistance in accordance\n\nwith its laws and this compact.\n\n(5) A child whose residence is changed from one party state to\n\nanother party state shall be eligible for medical assistance under\n\nthe medical assistance program of the new state of residence.\n\nARTICLE VI. JOINDER AND WITHDRAWAL\n\n(1) This compact shall be open to joinder by any state. It\n\nshall enter into force as to a state when its duly constituted and\n\nempowered authority has executed it.\n\n(2) In order that the provisions of this compact may be\n\naccessible to and known by the general public and so that its status\n\nas law in each of the party states may be fully implemented, the\n\nfull text of the compact, together with a notice of its execution,\n\nshall be caused to be published by the authority which has executed\n\nit in each party state. Copies of the compact shall be made\n\navailable upon request made of the executing authority in any state.\n\n(3) Withdrawal from this compact shall be by written notice\n\nsent by the authority which executed it to the appropriate officials\n\nof all other party states, but no such notice shall take effect\n\nuntil one (1) year after it is given in accordance with the\n\nrequirements of this paragraph.\n\n(4) All adoption assistance agreements outstanding and to which\n\na party state is signatory at the time when its withdrawal from this\n\ncompact takes effect shall continue to have the effects given to\n\nthem pursuant to this compact, until they expire or are terminated\n\nin accordance with their provisions. Until such expiration or\n\ntermination, all beneficiaries of the agreements involved shall\n\ncontinue to have all rights and obligations conferred or imposed by\n\nthis compact and the withdrawing state shall continue to administer\n\nthe compact to the extent necessary to accord and implement fully\n\nthe rights and protections preserved thereby.","path":["OK Code","Title 10"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os10.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"5f0bf50e787b78c8ebf9e80c37bb2cb6eb97e99e28e4f54cdeec2f059f96a100","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-10-10-7510-3.1","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-10-10-7510-3.3"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}