12 2 STA T .3978PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 3 5 1 —O CT. 7 , 2008 ‘ ‘ (A)theS t a te ha sd ete rmin ed ,pu rsuant t o a c riterion or criteria esta bl ished b y the State, that the child cannot or should not be returned to the home o f his parents
‘‘( B )(i) the State has determined that there e x ists w ith respect to the child a specific factor or condition (such as ethnic bac kg round, age, or membership in a minority or sibling group, or the presence of factors such as medical conditions or physical, mental, or emotional handicaps) because of which it is reasonable to conclude that the child cannot be placed with adopti v e parents without pro - viding adoption assistance under this section and medical assistance under title XI X; or ‘‘(ii) the child meets all medical or disability re q uire- ments of title X V I with respect to eligibility for supple- mental security income benefits; and ‘‘( C ) the State has determined that, except where it would be against the best interests of the child because of such factors as the existence of significant emotional ties with prospective adoptive parents while in the care of the parents as a foster child, a reasonable, but unsuccess- ful, effort has been made to place the child with appropriate adoptive parents without providing adoption assistance under this section or medical assistance under title XIX .’ ’; and ( 3 ) by adding at the end the following
‘‘(e) A P P LICAB L E C H IL DD E F I N ED. — ‘‘( 1 ) O N T HE BA S IS O FA G E.— ‘‘(A) IN GENE R AL.—Sub j ect to paragraphs ( 2 ) and (3), in this section, the term ‘applicable child’ means a child for whom an adoption assistance agreement is entered into under this section during any fiscal year described in subparagraph (B) if the child attained the applicable age for that fiscal year before the end of that fiscal year. ‘‘(B) APPLICABLE AGE.— F or purposes of subparagraph (A), the applicable age for a fiscal year is as follows: ‘‘In the case of fiscal year: T he applicable age is: 2 0 10 ................................................................ 1 6 2011 ................................................................ 1 4 2012 ................................................................ 12 2013 ................................................................ 10 2014 ................................................................ 8 201 5 ................................................................ 6 2016 ................................................................ 4 201 7 ................................................................ 2 2018 or thereafter .......................................... any age. ‘‘(2) EX CEPTION FOR D U RATION IN CARE.— N otwithstanding paragraph (1) of this subsection, beginning with fiscal year 2010, such term shall include a child of any age on the date on which an adoption assistance agreement is entered into on behalf of the child under this section if the child— Ef f ectiv e da te .
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