Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024
(a)
Authorized agencies operating an adoption program shall maintain separate lists
of first, second and third priority applicants waiting for adoption
study.
(b) Each such waiting list
shall contain the name of each such applicant, the date the completed
application was received by the agency and the characteristics of the child the
applicant seeks to adopt. Authorized agencies shall:
(1) offer first priority applicants an
adoption study to start within 30 days of receipt of a completed application
and be completed within six months of receipt of the completed
application;
(2) offer second
priority applicants an adoption study to be completed within six months of
receipt of completed application; and
(3) give priority to first priority
applicants in the initiation of adoption studies, the assignment of staff, the
scheduling of individual and group appointments, and of conferences to review
studies and make decisions.
(c) Authorized agencies shall contact
applicants on the third priority waiting list at least once a year, invite them
to a meeting to discuss the characteristics of waiting children, and ascertain
continued interest in remaining on the waiting list.
(d) Authorized agencies shall maintain
separate waiting lists for each priority group of families whose studies have
been completed and approved.
(e)
Authorized agencies shall invite all approved families on waiting lists to an
orientation meeting at least every six months at which the kinds of children
waiting, the kinds of families given priority and these families' preferences
shall be discussed.
(f) Authorized
agencies shall permit families to change the information on their expression of
interest at any time and adjust their priority group using the date of the
change as the date of new application.
(g) Notwithstanding the standards set forth
in subdivisions (a) and (b) of this section, the following standards apply when
the Office of Children and Family Services, through the Interstate Compact on
the Placement of Children, receives a request to conduct a home study for the
approval of a person or persons in New York as adoptive parent(s) for the
placement of a child or children from another state:
(1) Upon the receipt of such request, the
Office of Children and Family Services will forthwith forward the request to
the social services district in which the prospective adoptive parent(s) reside
for the purpose of conducting a home study and approving the prospective
adoptive parent(s) in accordance with the standards of this Part.
(2) The social services district must conduct
and complete a home study of the prospective adoptive parent(s) in accordance
with the standards set forth in sections
421.15 and
421.16 of
this Part and as defined in paragraph (5) of this subdivision. The social
services district may conduct the study directly or may use a voluntary
authorized agency under contract with the social services district or a
voluntary authorized agency under contract with the Office of Children and
Family Services to conduct the home study. If the social services district uses
a voluntary authorized agency under contract with the Office of Children and
Family Services to conduct the home study, the costs of the home study will be
charged back to the social services district in which the prospective adoptive
parent(s) reside and such costs are subject to State reimbursement as an
adoption service.
(3) The social
services district or the voluntary authorized agency must complete the home
study and simultaneously return such home study to the Office of Children and
Family Services and to the State or local agency that submitted the request
within 60 days of the receipt of the request by the Office of Children and
Family Services. Provided, however, for requests made on or before September
30, 2008, if the social services district or voluntary authorized agency is not
able to complete the home study within 60 days of the receipt of the request
because of circumstances beyond its control, including, but not limited to, the
failure to receive documentation of background checks or to receive medical
forms and if the social services district or voluntary authorized agency
requested such documentation at least 45 days before the end of the above
referenced 60-day period, the social services district or voluntary authorized
agency will have 75 days from the date of the receipt of the request to
complete and forward the home study as noted above.
(4) Nothing herein requires that the
prospective adoptive parent(s) complete the education or training requirements
of this Part for the completion of the home study. Nothing herein requires that
the complete approval process otherwise required by this Part be concluded
within the timeframes set forth in paragraph (3) of this subdivision.
(5) The term home study
means an assessment of the safety and suitability of placing the child in the
home of the prospective adoptive parent(s) based on an evaluation of a home
environment conducted in accordance with applicable requirements of this Part
to determine whether the proposed placement would meet the individual needs of
the child, including the child's safety; permanency; health; well-being; and
mental, emotional, and physical development.
(h) Where a social services district proposes
to place a foster child or children with prospective adoptive parent(s) in
another state, the social services district must treat a home study received
from the other state, an Indian tribe or a private agency under contract with
the other state as meeting the requirements imposed by New York for the
completion of a home study before placing the child or children in the home,
unless within 14 days of the receipt of the home study, the social services
district determines, based on the content of the home study, that making a
decision in reliance on the home study would be contrary to the welfare of the
child or children.
(i)
(1) Where a social services district proposes
to place a foster child with prospective adoptive parent(s) who reside in
another social services district, the prospective adoptive parent(s) may apply
to the social services district in which the prospective adoptive parent(s)
reside for approval as adoptive parent(s) in accordance with this Part. The
social services district in which the prospective adoptive parent(s) reside is
responsible for processing the application and performing the home study in
accordance with sections
421.15 and
421.16 of
this Part. The social services district may conduct the home study directly or
may use a voluntary authorized agency under contract with the Social Services
district or a voluntary authorized agency under contract with the Office of
Children and Family Services to conduct the home study. If the social services
district uses a voluntary authorized agency under contract with the Office of
Children and Family Services to conduct the home study, the costs of the home
study will be charged back to the social services district in which the
prospective adoptive parent(s) reside and such costs are subject to State
reimbursement as an adoption service.
(2) The social services district in which the
prospective adoptive parent(s) reside or voluntary authorized agency must
complete the home study within 60 days of the receipt of the application for
approval to be adoptive parent(s). Provided, however, for requests made on or
before September 30, 2008, if the social services district or voluntary
authorized agency is not able to complete the home study within 60 days of the
receipt of the request because of circumstances beyond its control, including,
but not limited to, the failure to receive documentation of background checks
or to receive medical forms and if the social services district or voluntary
authorized agency requested such documentation at least 45 days before the end
of the above referenced 60-day period, the social services district or
voluntary authorized agency will have 75 days from the date of the receipt of
the request to complete and forward the home study as noted above.
(3) A social services district or a voluntary
authorized agency may not refuse to provide an application or delay or deny a
home study to a person seeking approval as an adoptive parent on the basis that
the child such person is seeking to adopt is in the custody of another
authorized agency.
