What is the Special Needs Adoption Program (SNAP)?

SNAP’s objective is to recruit, train and prepare adoptive families for children who have been referred to us by the foster care system. All of the children that we place for adoption have been removed from their birth parents due to some type of abuse or neglect. Most children have lived in foster homes, although, some of them have lived in residential facilities. Most of our children have some emotional, psychological, educational or physical challenges, resulting from this abuse or neglect. We place children of all ages (from 9 months to 17 years), races and sibling group sizes.

Services Offered

The Special Needs Adoption Program provides free training, family assessments, placement assistance (including all of the legal paperwork) and post placement supervision to any family who is adopting a special needs child.

There are orientation sessions available on a monthly basis to any family who is interested in foster care or adoption. Get the newest orientation dates here. Any family who adopts through the Special Needs Adoption Program is required to attend our training sessions. The program has a series of seven classes (one being optional) that are on Tuesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The series is offered three times a year. The goal of the training is to provide prospective adoptive parents with a realistic, yet hopeful perspective of what these children’s needs are and what they might be able to expect in the future.

Once a family is assigned to an individual social worker in the Special Needs Adoption Program, they will have to provide information and specific paperwork in order for the family assessment to be written. The agency also asks for criminal and Protective Services background checks. Generally a minimum of six interviews are required, as well as a home visit.

If the family is approved by the Special Needs Adoption Program, the agency will discuss possible children to be matched with the adoptive family, as they become available for adoption. The length of time that an adoptive family can wait depends of the available children, as well as what type of child the family has been approved for. The wait can last anywhere from six months to three years. The adoptive family will be given all available information on the child(ren) and will also be given an opportunity to talk with people who know the child well, including foster care workers, foster parents, teachers, counselors etc. Before a child moves into the home of an adoptive family, visits are generally scheduled so the child can interact with the adoptive family and prepare for their transition into their new home.

After the placement, the Special Needs Adoption staff will provide adoption supervision, in the family’s home, for a minimum of three to six months. If additional counseling or other services are needed for the child, referrals can be made. After the adoption is finalized, the adoption staff at D.A. Blodgett Services is always available for questions or referrals.

Requirements

The Special Needs Adoption Program tries to find families that can meet a specific child’s needs. Applicants can be single, married or divorced. Applicants can also live in an apartment or a home. There is no specific income requirement. The agency looks at all of the available information regarding the family (including criminal history, living arrangements, income, family relationships and general health) and will make a recommendation decision based on the individual family’s information. The Special Needs Adoption Program is most interested in adoptive parents who are realistic, who have a sense of humor and who are committed to establishing a “forever family” for children.

Costs

For every child that is adopted, there is a court filing fee of $160. Some of the other costs that may be involved are paying for a local police check (generally around three dollars), paying for driving records (eight dollars per person) and paying for physicals. There is also a $40 charge for every child’s new birth certificate, with additional copies costing $12 each. Generally, the court filing fee and the birth certificate cost can be refunded by the State of Michigan. However, this is not always the case.

Some of the children that are placed for adoption qualify for adoption support subsidy and adoption medical subsidy. Adoption support subsidy is a monthly payment, sent to the adoptive family, that is equal to the amount of the monthly payment that the foster parents received for the child. This subsidy is solely based on the child’s qualification, not on the parents’ income. Adoption medical subsidy is a type of insurance program, which can help defray some of the medical or counseling expenses that a family may incur throughout the life of the child. Children are approved for medical subsidy based on conditions that pre-existed the adoption.