INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -
Nearly 2,000 Indiana families who adopted special needs children will soon
receive shares of a $15.1 million settlement of allegations that the state
reneged on promised payments.
LaPorte resident
Debra Moss had sued the Indiana Department of Child Services in June,
claiming the agency failed to pay promised adoption subsidies while
returning roughly $240 million to state coffers since 2009. State officials
announced in August that the subsidies for children with special needs would
be funded for the current fiscal year, which started July 1.
Lawyers for the
adoptive families and DCS then reached an agreement in September to make
lump-sum retroactive payments to about 1,800 families who had been on the
adoption subsidy wait list from 2009 through June 30, 2014.
Lynn Toops, an
attorney with law firm Cohen and Malad who represents those families, said
the payments in the settlement should be mailed to families within the next
few days, giving them additional financial support.
“We’re very excited
about this positive result and very excited the checks will be going out
right around Christmas time,” Toops told The Indianapolis Star.
She said the
average retroactive payment will be about $5,000. About 400 families will
receive a check for more than $10,000, with the largest of those checks
totaling more than $25,000.
Toops said many
families will receive multiple checks, one for each adoptive child. She said
many adoptive families also will receive ongoing financial support from the
state.
To date, 673
families have signed up and are receiving monthly payments for their
adoptive children with special needs. DCS spokesman James Wide said about
250 other families haven’t returned paperwork that will help the state know
whether they are eligible for such funds.
DCS officials have
asked Indiana lawmakers to allow them to continue to fund those subsidies
through 2017.
West Lafayette
resident Mike Northacker, who with his wife, Maureen, adopted their three
grandchildren in late 2011, said the subsidies will help them pay for
medical expenses not covered by insurance and for the youngsters’ other
needs.
“The subsidies are
very important because raising a child is more expensive than it’s ever
been,” he said. “We want to help these kids in their time of need."