A child under the age of 18 who requires a level of care over and above the norm for his/her age
Child welfare workers sometimes use this term to refer to a child who faces challenges that may make it harder to find the child a permanent family if reunification or kinship care is not possible. Special needs children often include those over the age of 5, members of a minority racial group or sibling group, and/or a child with a physical, mental or emotional disability. Children with special needs generally are eligible for additional services as well as financial assistance if they are adopted from foster care.
In terms of adoption, this includes a child who meets one or more of the following criteria: 1. A child with a specific physical, medical, mental or emotional handicapping condition 2. An "older child", usually over age 5 3. Siblings (2 or more children) who must be placed together (the placement of twin infants is not generally considered special needs, however)
adoption] —“is a child who is a ward of the commissioner of children and families or is to be placed by a licensed child-placing agency and is difficult to place in adoption because of one or more conditions including, but not limited to, physical or mental disability, serious emotional maladjustment, a recognized high risk or physical or mental disability, age or racial or ethnic factors which present a barrier to adoption or is a member of a sibling group which should be placed together, or because the child has established significant emotional ties with prospective adoptive parents while in their care as a foster child and has been certified as a special needs child by the commissioner of children and families.” CONN. GEN. STATS. §17a-116.
a child who requires a level of care over and above the norm for their age due to a physical, behavioral or mental disability
a child with a physical, intellectual, emotional, communicative or behavioral impairment and who requires additional support services because of that impairment
an individual that requires certain and specific interventions, care and maintenance to accomplish the tasks of everyday living
An individual under the age of 18 who has any condition that may require additional care or attention in areas of daily living skills, education, or behavioral concerns. Common conditions include attachment disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), developmental disabilities, fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), learning disabilities, and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD).
A child with medical, mental, emotional, behavioral, or educational needs that could require extra on-going attention.
child who may be physically, mentally and emotionally challenged. Also refers to older children, sibling groups, children of a different race or who may have been exposed to drugs or alcohol.
Refers to children who are physically, developmentally or emotional disabled, a sibling group and all others who might remain in foster care should no adoptive family be available.
A child whose permanent custody has been awarded to the Department of Children and Families or a licensed child placing agency, and Who has established significant emotional ties with his foster parents; or Is not likely to be adopted because he is: Eight years of age or older Mentally retarded Physically or emotionally handicapped Of Black or racially parentage A member of a sibling group of any age, provided two are more members of the group remain together for purposes of adoption
(child care): A person under the age of nineteen who is eligible for special services in accordance with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 plan and who is not safely capable to care for himself/herself; or (b) A person who is age 13 or older who has a documented physical, emotional, or behavioral condition that precludes the person from providing self care or being left unsupervised, as verified by the written report from a physician, licensed psychologist, or court record.
For the adoption credit, a child determined by the state to be difficult to adopt due to factors such as racial or ethnic background, age, a condition that requires special care, or whether the child has siblings. A special needs child must be a U.S. citizen.