Prior to January 1, 2025, an Indian child who was adopted from tribal jurisdiction was not eligible for Adoption Assistance Program (AAP) benefits. This was because tribal courts generally do not terminate parental rights as part of the adoption process.
Effective January 1, 2025, an Indian child whose case is transferred from state court jurisdiction to tribal court jurisdiction can be eligible for AAP because a final order of adoption from the tribal court now meets the criteria for AAP eligibility.
In these cases, the county of state court dependency jurisdiction is the responsible county and responsible public agency for AAP.
A tribe does not need to have a Title IV-E agreement with the state or federal government to be eligible for AAP payments.
In these cases, the tribe will need to communicate to the responsible county that there is a plan of adoption, and will need to help the adoptive parents with the AAP application. (ACL 25-20, March 18, 2025.)