Post-Adoption Support in Maine: What Families Are Entitled to After Finalization

The legal work of adoption ends at the dispositional hearing. The work of raising a child — and often the financial and bureaucratic work of supporting that child's needs — continues long afterward. Maine offers some of the most comprehensive post-adoption support structures in the country for families who adopt from the foster care system, including ongoing financial assistance, healthcare coverage, and access to specialized services. Understanding what you are entitled to, and how to access it, can make a significant difference in your family's ability to meet a child's long-term needs.

Maine Adoption Assistance Program

Maine's Adoption Assistance Program (AAP) is authorized under Title 18-C, Section 9-401. It provides ongoing financial support to families who adopt children with special needs from the foster care system. Funding comes from both state sources and federal Title IV-E funds.

Who Qualifies

A child is eligible for adoption assistance in Maine if they are in the custody of DHHS or a licensed non-profit agency and meet the definition of "special needs." Maine's definition of special needs is intentionally broad and includes:

• Children age 5 or older
• Sibling groups being adopted together
• Children with physical, mental, or emotional disabilities
• Children with high-risk factors in their medical or social background (including prenatal substance exposure)

The vast majority of children adopted from Maine's foster care system qualify under at least one of these criteria. If you are adopting a child through DHHS, ask your caseworker explicitly whether the child qualifies — do not assume the agency will raise the topic proactively.

Adoption Assistance Daily Rates (2025)

Adoption assistance is negotiated based on the child's specific level of need, but rates are generally aligned with Maine's foster care room-and-board rates, updated annually by OCFS:

These rates reflect the child's care needs at the time of the adoption agreement. If a child's needs increase significantly after finalization, the agreement can be renegotiated with OCFS — this is an important provision that many families do not know about.

Non-Recurring Adoption Expenses

Maine also reimburses up to $2,000 in one-time adoption costs, including legal fees and home study fees. These non-recurring expense reimbursements are separate from the ongoing monthly subsidy and do not require the child to meet the special needs threshold.

MaineCare (Medicaid) Continuation

Children adopted from Maine's foster care system typically retain eligibility for MaineCare — Maine's Medicaid program — until age 18. In some cases, coverage extends to age 21. This coverage applies regardless of the adoptive family's income and ensures access to medical care, mental health services, dental care, and prescription medications. Given the complex trauma histories that many foster care adoptees bring into their new families, this coverage is often one of the most valuable post-adoption benefits.

Federal Adoption Tax Credit

The federal adoption tax credit is available to families who adopt children with special needs from foster care, as well as families who incur qualifying adoption expenses in private adoptions. For 2025, the credit is estimated at over $15,000 per child. This is a dollar-for-dollar reduction in federal tax liability, not just a deduction.

Key points:

• For special needs adoptions from foster care, the full credit amount is available even if the family incurred no adoption expenses. The fact that the child qualifies as special needs is sufficient to claim the credit.
• For private adoptions, the credit is based on actual qualifying expenses (home study, legal fees, agency fees, court costs).
• The credit is nonrefundable, meaning it can reduce your tax liability to zero but does not result in a refund if the credit exceeds your tax bill. However, unused portions can be carried forward for up to five years.
• Form 8839 is the IRS form used to claim the credit. You will need the child's adoption date and the finalization date from the adoption decree.

Maine does not have a separate state adoption tax credit, but the federal credit applies to all Maine residents.

Employer Adoption Benefits

Major Maine employers offer adoption benefits that can significantly offset private adoption costs. Unum, headquartered in Portland, provides up to $25,000 in adoption assistance and paid bonding leave for employees. IDEXX Laboratories, based in Scarborough, also offers financial support and bonding time. Checking your employer's HR benefits package before assuming your adoption costs are fully out-of-pocket is always worth doing.

Post-Adoption Services

Maine DHHS OCFS, along with community organizations including Adoptive and Foster Families of Maine (AFFM), provides post-adoption support services. These include:

Therapeutic services. Children adopted from foster care have high rates of complex trauma, attachment disorders, and developmental delays. Maine offers specialized therapeutic placements and therapist referral networks, and children covered by MaineCare can access mental health services without income-based restrictions.

Support groups. AFFM operates regional support groups and kinship navigator programs that serve families statewide, including in rural counties where in-person services are limited. These groups provide peer connection, resource sharing, and advocacy.

Respite care. Families who adopt children with high needs can access respite care through OCFS and community partners. Scheduled respite gives primary caregivers a break while ensuring the child is in a safe, familiar environment.

Post-adoption counseling. Both birth parents and adoptive families can access counseling referrals through adoption agencies. For families who have navigated a long, contested foster care case, transition counseling can be important for all family members.

New Birth Certificate After Adoption in Maine

Following the entry of the final adoption decree, the Probate Court notifies the Office of Data, Research and Vital Statistics (Maine's vital records office). The Office then issues a new birth certificate listing the adoptive parents as the child's legal parents.

Key facts about the new birth certificate:

• It is a full replacement, not an annotation of the original. The original birth certificate is sealed.
• The new certificate reflects the child's new legal name if a name change was included in the adoption decree.
• It is issued automatically based on the court's notification — families do not need to separately request it immediately after finalization, but they should confirm receipt with the vital records office if it does not arrive within 8-12 weeks.
• A certified copy of the new birth certificate (not just the court decree) is required for Social Security updates, school enrollment, passport applications, and other official purposes.

To obtain a certified copy after it has been issued, contact the Maine Office of Data, Research and Vital Statistics. Requests can typically be submitted by mail or in person. There is a small fee per certified copy.

Adoption Name Change in Maine

A name change for the adopted child is included as part of the final adoption decree. If you want to change the child's name — whether the first name, last name, or both — you request this in the adoption petition itself. The judge includes the new name in the decree, and the new birth certificate reflects it.

You do not need a separate legal name change proceeding if the name change is included in the adoption petition. This is one of the advantages of handling it at finalization.

After the new birth certificate is issued, update the child's name in the following order:

1. Social Security Administration (file Form SS-5 with the new birth certificate)
2. Health insurance coverage (notify your insurer with the new birth certificate and SSA card)
3. School enrollment records
4. Passport (if the child travels internationally)

There is no fee for the Social Security name update, and the SSA processes name change requests for children relatively quickly.

What If the Adoption Assistance Agreement Was Not Negotiated Before Finalization?

In some cases — particularly kinship adoptions where DHHS involvement was limited, or adoptions finalized before families understood what they were entitled to — adoption assistance agreements are signed close to or at finalization without full negotiation. It is better to negotiate before finalization than after, because some subsidy terms are harder to renegotiate once the decree is entered.

If you are approaching finalization and have not had a clear conversation with your DHHS caseworker about the adoption assistance agreement, do it now. Bring a written list of the child's needs, medical history, and any diagnoses. The rate set in the agreement becomes the baseline, and while it can be increased later, it requires initiating a new process.

The Maine Adoption Process Guide includes a detailed section on negotiating adoption assistance agreements, post-adoption service access, and the full documentation checklist for everything that needs updating after finalization.

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