Authority: IC 31-19-26.5-12; IC 31-25-2-18

Affected: IC 31-9-2-17.8; IC 31-19-26.5; IC 31-25-2-7

Sec. 26. (a) The funds available to the department to pay for Title IV-E adoption assistance, state adoption subsidies, and nonrecurring adoption expenses shall be determined periodically on the basis of amounts:

1. (1) appropriated by statute for adoption assistance payments; or
2. (2) placed in the adoption assistance account.

(b) Funds in the adoption assistance account or otherwise available for adoption assistance payments shall be applied in the following order of priority for the current state fiscal year:

1. (1) Payments due under all Title IV-E adoption assistance agreements.
2. (2) Payments due under agreements signed or court orders entered before January 1, 2009.
3. (3) Payment of any obligations for nonrecurring adoption expenses.
4. (4) Payments due under all state adoption subsidy agreements.

(c) After all obligations described in subsection (b) have been paid or committed, sufficient funds shall be obligated for payments identified in subsection (b) that will become due during any subsequent state fiscal year for which appropriations have been enacted.

(Department of Child Services; 465 IAC 4-1-26; filed Dec 14, 2016, 12:05 p.m.: 20170111-IR-465160216FRA; readopted filed Apr 8, 2022, 2:22 p.m.: 20220504-IR-465220018RFA)