We are aware of several issues that occurred at the same time in July, all related to the processing of payments.
If you normally receive your adoption subsidy stipend by direct deposit but received a paper check, there are a few reasons this may have occurred:
Your address is not up to date
You changed banks
You have an outstanding debt with a government entity
To make sure your address is up to date, contact your HHS Adoption Subsidy Worker.
If you changed banks, it will take 30 days to update, then your payments will go back to direct deposit.
To see if you have any outstanding debts, call the Iowa Department of Revenue at 833-825-0800 or email idr-setoffs@iowa.gov.
If you are expecting direct deposit and receive a paper check for the month of August, please cash/deposit this check. Reach out to your HHS Adoption Subsidy Worker to see if your direct deposit needs updated.
Resources
List items for Adoption Subsidy Resources
Adoption Respite is a program available to adoptive and subsidized guardianship families for their subsidized adopted/sub guard children under the age of 18 (21 if the subsidy is extended). Each child who receives a subsidy is eligible to receive up to ten (10) days of respite care each fiscal year (July 1-June 30) at a rate of $20 per day. Adoption respite can be provided by anyone the family trusts who is over the age of 18. Below is the link for the current adoption respite form that is submitted to Four Oaks for reimbursement.
Contact your HHS adoption subsidy specialist to set up direct deposit.
Age Increases
Please email your worker to request age increases at those special birthdays 6, 12, and 16. Simply send your worker an email that your child had a birthday including their full name and birthdate. Age increases are not done automatically. It is important to note, there is NO BACK PAY.
The original agreement states:
Adjustments to the daily adoption subsidy maintenance rate due to the child's age must be requested by the parents. The rate is not automatically changed.
Any changes to the daily adoption subsidy maintenance rate become effective the first day of the month following the change.
If you are moving, please be sure to update your HHS adoption subsidy specialist as soon as possible.
Payment
Notifying your Four Oaks Caseworker or MCO of the change, will not change the address where your adoption subsidy check is mailed. Even if you receive direct deposit, it is important to inform your HHS adoption subsidy specialist of your new address.
Communication
HHS adoption subsidy specialists use your address to send out information like letters about applying to extend adoption subsidy and Medicaid coverage until age 21. These letters are mailed when teens are 17.5 years old. If you do not receive the letter because HHS did not have the correct address, there is unfortunately nothing that can be done.
Out of State
If you are moving out of state, your worker can help switch Medicaid coverage to the new state.
