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 421.15 - Adoption study process

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
Authorized agencies operating an adoption program
			   shall:
(a) Conduct an adoption study
			 process in groups, individually, or in any combination thereof. Such adoption
			 study shall include at least one visit to the applicant's home.
(b) In at least one session in any study
			 process containing two or more group sessions, include the participation of
			 parents who have adopted a child.
(c)Inform applicants at the first appointment
			 or meeting that the following will be required prior to the conclusion of the
			 adoption study:
(1) report from a physician
			 about the health of each member of the household;
(2) references from at least three persons,
			 only one of which may be related to the applicant(s) who can attest to the
			 character, habits, reputation and personal qualifications of the applicant(s)
			 and their suitability for caring for a child;
(3) if married, proof of marriage;
(4) if married and living separate and apart
			 from their spouse:
(i) proof that the
			 separation is based upon a legally recognizable separation agreement or decree
			 of separation; or
(ii) an affidavit
			 executed by the prospective adoptive parent attesting that he or she has been
			 or will be living separate and apart from his or her spouse for a period of
			 three years or more prior to the commencement of the adoption
			 proceeding;
(5) if
			 previously married, proof of dissolution of marriage by death or
			 divorce;
(6) evidence of employment
			 and salary, such as W-2 form or pay stub for each employed applicant;
(7)
(i) a
			 response to an agency inquiry to the Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse
			 and Maltreatment indicating whether the applicant(s) and/or any other person
			 over the age of 18 who resides in the home of the applicant(s) are the
			 subject(s) of an indicated child abuse or maltreatment report and, if the
			 applicant(s) or any other person over the age of 18 who resides in the home of
			 the applicant(s) resided in another state at any time during the five years
			 preceding the application for approval as adoptive parent(s) made in accordance
			 with this Part, the response from the child abuse and maltreatment registry of
			 the applicable child welfare agency in each such state of previous residence;
			 and
(ii) a response to an agency
			 inquiry to the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs
			 whether the applicant(s) and/or any other person over the age of 18 who resides
			 in the home of the applicant(s) are listed on the register of substantiated
			 category one cases of abuse or neglect maintained by the Justice Center for the
			 Protection of People with Special Needs.
(8) a response from the Office of Children
			 and Family Services to the Federal and State criminal history record checks of
			 the applicant and any other person over the age of 18 currently residing in the
			 home of such applicant in accordance with section
			 421.27 
			 of this Part. If a prospective adoptive parent is approved or if the approval
			 of an approved adoptive parent is not revoked, notwithstanding that the agency
			 is notified by the Office of Children and Family Services that the prospective
			 or approved adoptive parent or any other person over the age of 18 who is
			 currently residing in the home of the prospective or approved adoptive parent
			 has a criminal history record of a discretionary disqualifying crime, a record
			 of the reasons why the prospective or approved adoptive parent was determined
			 to be appropriate and acceptable to be approved adoptive parent, provided,
			 however, the agency may not grant or continue approval where the prospective or
			 approved adoptive parent has been convicted of a mandatory disqualifying crime
			 or where an authorized agency, as defined in section 371 (10)(a) or (c)  of the
			 Social Services Law, has been directed by the Office of Children and Family
			 Services to deny such application or to hold such application in abeyance
			 because of the results of the Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history
			 record check conducted in accordance with section
			 421.27 
			 of this Part; and
(9) a sworn
			 statement from each applicant, indicating whether to the best of such
			 applicant's knowledge, such applicant or any person over the age of 18
			 currently residing in the home has ever been convicted of a crime in New York
			 State or any other jurisdiction. If an applicant discloses in the sworn
			 statement furnished in accordance with this paragraph that he/she or any other
			 person over the age of 18 currently residing in the home has been convicted of
			 a crime, the agency must determine, in accordance with guidelines developed and
			 disseminated by the Office of Children and Family Services to the extent
			 consistent with section
			 421.27 
			 of this Part, whether to approve the applicant to be an adoptive parent. If the
			 agency determines it will approve the applicant, the agency must maintain a
			 written record, as part of the application file or home study, of the reason(s)
			 why the applicant was determined to be appropriate and acceptable to receive an
			 adoptive placement.