Art. 1602.  Findings

The party states find that:

(1)  In order to obtain adoptive families for children with special needs, prospective adoptive parents must be assured of substantial assistance, usually on a continuing basis, in meeting the high costs of supporting and providing for the special needs and services required by such children.

(2)  The states have a fundamental interest in promoting adoption for children with special needs because the care, emotional stability, and general support and encouragement required by such children to surmount their physical, mental, or emotional conditions can be best, and often only, obtained in family homes with a normal parent-child relationship.

(3)  The states obtain advantages from providing adoption assistance because the customary alternative is for the state to defray the entire cost of meeting all the needs of such children.

(4)  The special needs involved are for the emotional, physical maintenance of the child, and medical support and services.

(5)  The necessary assurances of adoption assistance for children with special needs, in those instances where children and adoptive parents are in states other than the one undertaking to provide the assistance, is to establish and maintain suitable substantive guarantees and workable procedures for interstate payments to assist with the necessary child maintenance, procurement of services, and medical assistance.

Acts 1991, No. 235, §16, eff. Jan. 1, 1992.