CDSS has issued a clarification regarding Adoption Assistance Program (AAP) eligibility. Starting October 1, 2016, children are eligible for federal AAP if they age 2 or older. Federal AAP requires the placing agency to have a Title IV-E agreement with the state of California. This means that children placed by public agencies or Indian tribes can be eligible for federal AAP if the placing agency has a Title IV-E agreement. However, children placed through a private agency cannot be eligible for federal AAP.
Please note that children placed by private agencies can be eligible for state AAP. (See ACL 16-38, summarized here.) ACIN I-82-16 (November 16, 2016).