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Adoption Tax Credit Summary
The North American Council on Adoptable Children sponsored a webinar recently on the federal adoption tax credit and some key aspects of the webinar relating to adopting children from foster care have been provided below. If you are interested in attending the webinar (next one is February 1), please visit https://www.nacac.org/secure/webinarregistration.html for more information. The cost of the webinar is $20 or $15 for NACAC members.
How do I know if my child is considered a child with special needs for the adoption tax credit?
- The definition of special needs for the tax credit is almost identical to the definition for federal adoption subsidy. Therefore, if you adopted a child from foster care who receives adoption subsidy, your child should be considered a child with special needs.
Why does it matter if my child is special needs?
- If you adopted a child with special needs, you qualify for the maximum amount of the adoption tax credit, even if you did not pay anything for the adoption.
The single most important thing you need to know is that a child with special needs qualifies for the full amount of the credit regardless of expenses paid for the adoption.
- If your tax preparer does not believe you, show him or her the instructions for IRS Form 8839, line 5. The instructions are very clear (except for 2003 to 2006 but the rules were the same for these years).
If you finalized a domestic adoption in 2010 or are now amending previous years' returns to claim the credit for an earlier adoption, you must provide the following documentation with your return:
- For special needs adoptions, you need proof that the state has determined that the child has special needs. Your adoption assistance agreement (adoption subsidy agreement) is the proof.
Adoptive Parent Bill of Rights Draft
Here's your chance to voice your opinion and have it count. FSFAPA has drafted an Adoptive Parent Bill of Rights (attached here) and your feedback is important in completing this document. To date, we have received very little response. Please take a moment and review the document and provide feedback to Chris Goncalo at cgoncalo@msn.com.
FSFAPA Quarterly Meeting
The next FSFAPA Quarterly Meeting will be held Feb. 12, 2011 in West Palm Beach. All foster/adoptive parents are invited to attend. The schedule is listed below:
Saturday, Feb. 12:
10 a.m. - noon.: President's Council -- Open to all local association presidents or representatives
10 a.m. - noon: F.A.S.T. Training -- Open to anyone interested in attending
1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.: Quarterly Membership Meeting (Topic: Advocacy and Awareness Day in April; Lindsay Baach, Florida Youth SHINE Youth Coordinator, also will be on hand to share some insight on issues facing our teens)
6 p.m. - 9 p.m.: FSFAPA Board Meeting
Meeting Location:
Foster Adoptive Parent Association of Palm Beach County
4100 Okeechobee Blvd.
West Palm Beach, FL
Hotel accommodations can be acquired at:
Holiday Inn Palm Beach Airport
1301 Belvedere Road
West Palm Beach, FL 3340
Rate is $99/night
Contact your CBC or provider representative to discuss mileage and/or hotel reimbursement for attending FSFAPA's Quarterly Meeting as there are training hours available.
If you are in need of child care, please contact Trudy Petkovich at petkovij@me.com.
Monthly Conference Call (February)
Please join us for our monthly conference call on Monday, Feb. 7, 2011 at 8:30 p.m.
Guest Speaker -- Judith Karim
Topic -- Independent Living Rollout
Here's how to access the conference call:
Dial 1.888.808.6959
Punch in the PIN 9229094# when prompted
You're in!
FSFAPA Open Positions
FSFAPA has the following volunteer positions available: Fund Development and Webmaster. Please e-mail President Kimberly Hernandez at kimh@fsfapa.org for more information or a list of duties for the positions.
Q&A with FSFAPA
Have you ever wanted to know something about the foster or adoptive care process but didn't feel comfortable asking? Send us your questions (fsfapanewsletter@gmail.com) and we'll try to get them answered. To help others who might have the same questions/concerns, we'll post the question and answer in our next e-mail newsletter. (Note: No names or identifying information will be used.)
Current Issues Here are a few current issues that have been brought to our attention: - The elimination of the state and county employee benefit for adopting special needs children and can it be reinstated
- How adoptive parents can get more support regarding subsidy increases
- How to navigate the Medicaid system to get help with special needs children
- Understanding how CBCs differentiate board payments for regular homes and therapeutic homes
Send Us Your News FSFAPA would like to share your news with the state. Send any news and/or photos of events happening in your area to fsfapanewsletter@gmail.com. | 
