New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 18 - DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES › Chapter II - Regulations of the Department of Social Services › Subchapter C - Social Services › Article 2 - Family and Children's Services › Part 421 - Standards of Practice for Adoption Services › Section 421.27 - Criminal history record check

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a) An authorized agency must perform a
			 criminal history record check with the Division of Criminal Justice Services
			 and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in accordance with subdivision (c) of
			 this section regarding any prospective adoptive parent and each person over the
			 age of 18 who is currently residing in the home of such prospective adoptive
			 parent before the adoptive parent is finally approved for the placement of a
			 child.
(b) Except for the
			 requirement that a criminal history record check must be completed by the
			 Federal Bureau of Investigation, the provisions of this section also apply to
			 persons who were approved as adoptive parents on or before February 11, 1999
			 but have not completed the adoption process.
(c)
(1) The
			 authorized agency must obtain fingerprints of the prospective adoptive parent
			 and each other person over the age of 18 who currently resides in the home of
			 such prospective adoptive parent in the form prescribed by the Office of
			 Children and Family Services and such other information as is required by the
			 Office of Children and Family Services, the Division of Criminal Justice
			 Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(2) The authorized agency must provide to the
			 prospective adoptive parent sufficient blank fingerprint cards and a
			 description of how the completed fingerprint cards will be used upon submission
			 to the authorized agency.
(3) The
			 authorized agency or its designee must promptly transmit such fingerprint cards
			 to the Office of Children and Family Services.
(4) The Office of Children and Family
			 Services will promptly submit the fingerprint cards to the Division of Criminal
			 Justice Services for its full search and retain processing in regard to the
			 State criminal history record check and for the forwarding of the fingerprints
			 to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Office of Children and Family
			 Services will also include the applicable fee imposed by the Division of
			 Criminal Justices Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(5) No part of the fee imposed for the
			 processing of the fingerprints with the Division of Criminal Justice Services
			 or the Federal Bureau of Investigation will be charged to the prospective
			 adoptive parent or any person over the age of 18 who currently resides in the
			 home of such prospective adoptive parents who submitted fingerprints pursuant
			 to this subdivision.
(6) The
			 Division of Criminal Justice Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
			 will promptly provide the Office of Children and Family Services with a
			 criminal history record, if any, on such person(s).
(7)
(i) The
			 Office of Children and Family Services will review the criminal history record
			 information provided by the Division of Criminal Justice Services and the
			 Federal Bureau of Investigation and promptly provide the authorized agency, as
			 defined in section 371 (10)(b)  of the Social
			 Services Law, with a summary of the criminal history record and notify the
			 authorized agency of the actions that it must take regarding the person as set
			 forth in subdivisions (d), (e), and (f) of this section.
(ii) The Office of Children and Family
			 Services will review the criminal history record information provided by the
			 Division of Criminal Justice Services and promptly provide the authorized
			 agency, as defined in section 371 (10)(a) or (c)  of the
			 Social Services Law, with a summary of the criminal history record and notify
			 the authorized agency of the actions it must take regarding the person as set
			 forth in subdivisions (d), (e) and (f) of this section.
(iii) The Office of Children and Family
			 Services will review the criminal history record information provided by the
			 Federal Bureau of Investigation regarding an application for approval made to
			 an authorized agency, as defined in section 371 (10)(a) or (c)  of the
			 Social Services Law, and evaluate such results in accordance with the standards
			 set forth in paragraph (d) of this section. The Office of Children and Family
			 Services will inform the authorized agency that the application for approval of
			 the prospective adoptive parent either:
(a)
			 must be denied;
(b) must be held in
			 abeyance pending subsequent notification from the Office of Children and Family
			 Services; or
(c) that the Office of
			 Children and Family Services has no objection, solely based on the Federal
			 Bureau of Investigation record check, for the authorized agency to proceed with
			 a determination on such application based on the standards for approval of a
			 prospective adoptive parent, as set forth in this Part.