1. Adoption allowances
An adoption allowance can be paid by the local authority or adoption agency to adoptive parents or to someone with whom a child has been placed for adoption if:1Reg 10 ASSA(S) Regs •it is needed to ensure that the adopter(s) can look after the child; or
•the child needs special care, involving extra expense, because of illness, disability, emotional or behavioural difficulties, or the continuing consequences of past abuse or neglect; or
•the adoption agency has to make special arrangements to aid the placement or adoption of the child because of their age or ethnic origin or the desirability of placing them with either a sibling or with a child with whom they have previously lived; or
•it is needed to meet recurring costs of travel to allow visits between the child and a relative; or
•the adoption agency considers it appropriate to make a contribution to meet:
◦the legal costs in relation to the adoption; or
◦expenses relating to introducing the child to the adopter; or
◦expenses needed for the accommodation and maintenance of the child, including the provision of furniture and domestic equipment, alterations and adaptations to the home, transport and clothing, toys and other items necessary to look after the child.
An adoption allowance can be paid from the date of the placement for adoption or from a later date.2Reg 10(1) ASSA(S) Regs In deciding how much, if any, adoption allowance to pay, the local authority or adoption agency must take into account any other grant, benefit, allowance or resource which is available to you as a result of the adoption.
In addition, the local authority or adoption agency must normally take account of:3Reg 13 ASSA(S) Regs •your financial resources, including any benefits or tax credits that would be available to you if the child lived with you; and
•your reasonable outgoings and commitments; and
•the financial needs of the child.
However, the local authority or adoption agency must disregard the factors listed in the three bullet points above if the allowance is for legal costs or to cover the costs involved in introducing you to the child. These factors may be disregarded if the allowance is for:
•the initial costs of accommodating the child; or
•recurring travel costs for the child to visit a relative; or
•a child who needs special care because of illness, disability, emotional or behavioural difficulties, or the continuing consequences of past abuse or neglect; or
•special arrangements that have to be made to aid the placement of a child because of their age, ethnic origin, disability or the desirability of placing them with either a sibling or a child with whom they have previously lived.
An adoption allowance stops if:4Reg 14 ASSA(S) Regs •the adoptive child no longer lives with you (unless the local authority or adoption agency considers it necessary to continue to pay because of the needs of the child or other exceptional circumstances); or
•the child stops full-time education or training and starts work; or
•the child qualifies for universal credit, income support or jobseeker’s allowance in their own right; or
•the child reaches 18, unless still in full-time education or training, in which case the allowance may continue to the end of the course/training; or
•the period agreed between you and the local authority or adoption agency for payment of the allowance has expired.