Gruzinski v. Department of Public Welfare

In Gruzinski v. Department of Public Welfare, 731 A.2d 246 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1999) the Court adopted the federal guideline for establishing extenuating circumstances to justify granting a subsidy subsequent to the entry of a final adoption decree, i.e., when there is a "failure to advise adoptive parents of the availability of adoption assistance." Id., 731 A.2d at 256. This requirement to inform is consistent with 55 Pa. Code 3130.36(b)(2), which mandates the county agency to actively seek ways to promote the assistance program. Accordingly, an extenuating circumstance exists in this case to justify the children's eligibility for subsidies after their final adoption decrees were entered due to ARC's failure to properly advise Petitioners of the availability of adoption assistance..