Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 12, March 26, 2025
(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.
