Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow PP, are you having a bad day? OP just asked a simple question - LISS in DC or no LISS. Thank goodness there is nice people like OP who adopt SN kids.

We did adopt a SN child. We pay for all needs, no stipend, no help as that is our child. It greatly concerns me when I hear people in the adoption process seeking out money in the way that OP is. She (or he) is getting a stipend, medicaid and can ask the social work for additional funding. It always concern me when people target the SN kids as they get higher stipend and lots of other perks. Some use it as income.

How did you adopt a SN child with no stipend? Why didn't you fight for what is legally your child's? Every penny of ours goes to something he needs, we're not lining our pockets on the back of our kid.

Anonymous wrote:Wow PP, are you having a bad day? OP just asked a simple question - LISS in DC or no LISS. Thank goodness there is nice people like OP who adopt SN kids.

New person. This was really not a yes or no question. It was posted with the assumption that Marylanders are simply handed LISS funds to pay for things like camp. That is so far from the truth.

Our family has NEVER gotten any LISS money, ever, via the LISS lottery.

Maryland, which is a wealthy state, made a choice not to fund Medicaid/SSDI for kids. So that's why Maryland gives out (if you could call it that) LISS funds. If we had SSDI for our child, we could devote the massive monthly amounts of money we pay toward therapies to paying for camp, and we wouldn't have to enter some stupid #@&#^! lottery twice a year to try to pay for camp.
Can you imagine this is an effective way to run a social service system?

Anonymous wrote:Wow PP, are you having a bad day? OP just asked a simple question - LISS in DC or no LISS. Thank goodness there is nice people like OP who adopt SN kids.

We did adopt a SN child. We pay for all needs, no stipend, no help as that is our child. It greatly concerns me when I hear people in the adoption process seeking out money in the way that OP is. She (or he) is getting a stipend, medicaid and can ask the social work for additional funding. It always concern me when people target the SN kids as they get higher stipend and lots of other perks. Some use it as income.

Wow PP, are you having a bad day? OP just asked a simple question - LISS in DC or no LISS. Thank goodness there is nice people like OP who adopt SN kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What monthly stipend are you talking about?? Who gets a monthly stipend.

Confused. I'm an DC and pay for all my own camps and therapies. Don't think we qualify for medicaid.

OP here. People who adopt kids with special needs from foster care can get a monthly subsidy until the kid is 18 or 21, depending on the state. The state we're adopting from doesn't pay a subsidy until the adoption is finalized, which will be many months from now (after summer camp or, very possibly, hiring a summer nanny with special ed experience), and it's not very large. We will be ok without LISS, but with the therapies Medicaid won't cover (or have loooong waitlists for the few providers that accept it), more expensive childcare (he can't make it in the school's aftercare right now), time off work, etc. I figured if LISS was an option I'd try for it. Thanks for letting me know it doesn't exist in DC--if I ever hear otherwise I'll let other folks know!

Your post makes no sense. The state you are adopting from should be providing a foster care stipend. Medicaid covers Ot, PT, and speech with in network providers. If you want fancy other "therapies" yes, you pay or you ask the social worker is there funding to pay. If the medicaid is held in another state, you can go into DC and apply for the child and get DC Medicaid. LISS is a lottery. Its hit or miss and no guarantee. You have resources through the agency available. Sometimes there are pots of money to pay for extras. As parents, yes, we pay for the big ticket items, only difference is you are going into your adoption knowing you are adopting a SN child out of choice and you should have known there were extra expenses involved. Either pay or reconsider if you are the right family for this child.

Anonymous wrote:What monthly stipend are you talking about?? Who gets a monthly stipend.

Confused. I'm an DC and pay for all my own camps and therapies. Don't think we qualify for medicaid.

OP here. People who adopt kids with special needs from foster care can get a monthly subsidy until the kid is 18 or 21, depending on the state. The state we're adopting from doesn't pay a subsidy until the adoption is finalized, which will be many months from now (after summer camp or, very possibly, hiring a summer nanny with special ed experience), and it's not very large. We will be ok without LISS, but with the therapies Medicaid won't cover (or have loooong waitlists for the few providers that accept it), more expensive childcare (he can't make it in the school's aftercare right now), time off work, etc. I figured if LISS was an option I'd try for it. Thanks for letting me know it doesn't exist in DC--if I ever hear otherwise I'll let other folks know!

What monthly stipend are you talking about?? Who gets a monthly stipend.

Confused. I'm an DC and pay for all my own camps and therapies. Don't think we qualify for medicaid.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reason that LISS exists in Maryland is that Maryland chooses not to fund Medicaid fully for disabled children under 18. LISS is all we have. DC does have Medicaid funding so there is no need for LISS.

But LISS can be used for things like camp, which Medicaid cannot. Plus LISS is available for a wider range of disabilities than medicaid.

But having a monthly stipend would help Maryland parents pay for camp --- with the $$$$$ we pay for therapies.

Anonymous wrote:The reason that LISS exists in Maryland is that Maryland chooses not to fund Medicaid fully for disabled children under 18. LISS is all we have. DC does have Medicaid funding so there is no need for LISS.

But LISS can be used for things like camp, which Medicaid cannot. Plus LISS is available for a wider range of disabilities than medicaid.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've never heard of it in DC and I've never met anyone who gets it. It's a bummer seeing friends in MD pay for things with LISS money that I have to budget for or not have.

Are you kidding me? This is all we get and its given away by LOTTERY. This is what you want??

That seems better than the nothing people in DC get.

Anonymous wrote:I've never heard of it in DC and I've never met anyone who gets it. It's a bummer seeing friends in MD pay for things with LISS money that I have to budget for or not have.

Are you kidding me? This is all we get and its given away by LOTTERY. This is what you want??

The reason that LISS exists in Maryland is that Maryland chooses not to fund Medicaid fully for disabled children under 18. LISS is all we have. DC does have Medicaid funding so there is no need for LISS.

It's in MD only. If you are adopting, most likely you get to keep Medicaid and the adoption subsidy plus your personal contribution. That is far more than the little Lisa pays.

I've never heard of it in DC and I've never met anyone who gets it. It's a bummer seeing friends in MD pay for things with LISS money that I have to budget for or not have.

How can one apply for it? Should I just contact the Department of Disability Services?

I'm new to the special needs world--adopting a kid from foster care--so please be gentle. Our worker mentioned LISS but she really only knows about Maryland, not DC.