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 421.24 - Adoption with subsidy

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a)
Definitions.
(1)
Child
means a person under the age of 21 years whose
			 guardianship and custody have been committed to a social services official or a
			 voluntary authorized agency, or whose guardianship and custody have been
			 committed to a certified or approved foster parent pursuant to a court order
			 prior to such person's 18th birthday, except as provided in section 384-b (3)(g)  of the Social
			 Services Law and section 631  of the Family Court Act, or a person under the age
			 of 21 whose care and custody have been transferred prior to such person's 18th
			 birthday to a social services official or a voluntary authorized agency
			 pursuant to section 1055  of the Family Court Act or section 384-a  of
			 the Social Services Law, whose parents are deceased or where one parent is
			 deceased and the other parent is not a person entitled to notice of an adoption
			 pursuant to sections 111 and 111-a  of the Domestic Relations Law, and where
			 such official or agency consents to the adoption of such person in accordance
			 with section 113  of
			 the Domestic Relations Law.
(2)
Handicapped child
means a child who possesses a specific
			 physical, mental or emotional condition or disability of such severity or kind
			 which, in the opinion of the department, would constitute a significant
			 obstacle to the child's adoption. Such conditions include, but are not limited
			 to:
(i) any medical or dental condition which
			 will require repeated or frequent hospitalization, treatment or follow-up
			 care;
(ii) any physical handicap,
			 by reason of physical defect or deformity, whether congenital or acquired by
			 accident, injury or disease, which makes or may be expected to make a child
			 totally or partially incapacitated for education or for remunerative
			 occupation, as described in sections 1002 and 4001  of the Education Law; or
			 makes or may be expected to make a child handicapped, as described in section 2581  of the
			 Public Health Law;
(iii) any
			 substantial disfigurement, such as the loss or deformation of facial features,
			 torso or extremities;
(iv) a
			 diagnosed personality or behavioral problem, psychiatric disorder, serious
			 intellectual incapacity or brain injury that seriously affects the child's
			 ability to relate to their peers and/or authority figures, including
			 intellectual or developmental disability; or
(v) the child was determined to need an
			 extraordinary level of care in accordance with paragraph (1) of subdivision (f)
			 of section
			 427.6  of this
			 Title.
(3)
Hard-to-place child
means a child, other than a handicapped
			 child:
(i) who has not been placed for
			 adoption within six months from the date his or her guardianship and custody
			 were committed to the social services official or the voluntary authorized
			 agency; or
(ii) who has not been
			 placed for adoption within six months from the date a previous adoption
			 placement terminated and the child was returned to the care of the social
			 services official or the voluntary authorized agency; or
(iii) who meets any of the conditions listed
			 in clauses (
a
) through (
f
) of this
			 subparagraph, which the Office of Children and Family Services has identified
			 as constituting a significant obstacle to a child's adoption, notwithstanding
			 that the child has been in the guardianship and custody of the social services
			 official or the voluntary authorized agency for less than six months:
(a) the child is one of a group of two
			 siblings (including half-siblings) who are free for adoption and it is
			 considered necessary that the group be placed together pursuant to sections
			 421.2(e) and
			 421.18(d)  of this
			 Part; and
(1) at least one of the children is
			 five years old or older; or
(2) at
			 least one of the children is a member of a minority group which is
			 substantially overrepresented in New York State foster care in relation to the
			 percentage of that group to the State's total population; or
(3) at least one of the children is otherwise
			 eligible for subsidy in accordance with the provisions of this
			 subdivision;
(b) the
			 child is the sibling or half-sibling of a child already adopted and it is
			 considered necessary that such children be placed together pursuant to sections
			 421.2(e) and
			 421.18(d)  of this
			 Part; and
(1) the child to be adopted is five
			 years old or older; or
(2) the
			 child is a member of a minority group which is substantially overrepresented in
			 New York State foster care in relation to the percentage of that group to the
			 State's total population; or
(3)
			 the sibling or half-sibling already adopted is eligible for subsidy or would
			 have been eligible for subsidy if application had been made at the time of or
			 prior to the adoption;
(c) the child is one of a group of three or
			 more siblings (including half-siblings) who are free for adoption and it is
			 considered necessary that the group be placed together pursuant to sections
			 421.2(e) and
			 421.18(d)  of this
			 Part; or
(d) the child is eight
			 years old or older and is a member of a minority group which is substantially
			 overrepresented in New York State foster care in relation to the percentage of
			 that group to the State's total population; or
(e) the child is 10 years old or older;
			 or
(f) the child is hard to place
			 with parent(s) other than his/her present foster parent(s) because he/she has
			 been in care with the same foster parent(s) for 12 months or more prior to the
			 signing of the adoption placement agreement by such foster parent(s) and has
			 developed a strong attachment to his/her foster parent(s) while in such care
			 and separation from the foster parent(s) would adversely affect the child's
			 development.
(4)
Board rate
means the
			 board rate paid to the boarding family including any rate increases in room and
			 board rates and clothing replacement allowances as a result of, but not limited
			 to cost of living adjustments and a change in the age of the child. Such rate
			 includes board, clothing replacement allowance, child's allowance, and any
			 other routine cash payments made to the boarding family for this child, or that
			 would have been made for this child if boarded out, which rate was established
			 pursuant to section 398-a  of
			 the Social Services Law as implemented by Part 427 of this Title. In the case
			 of a minor parent who is adopted, such rate also includes amounts as may be
			 necessary to cover the costs associated with the care and maintenance of the
			 child or children of such minor parent who remain(s) with the minor parent
			 following adoption.
(5)
Applicable board rate
means:
(i) in the case of a child in the
			 guardianship and custody of a social services official and placed out for
			 adoption, the board rate of the social services district placing the child for
			 adoption or of the social services district in which the adoptive parent(s)
			 reside(s), at the discretion of the placing district; or
(ii) in the case of a child in the
			 guardianship and custody of a social services official and adopted by parent(s)
			 residing outside the State, the board rate governing in the social services
			 district which had custody of the child; or
(iii) in the case of a child in the
			 guardianship and custody of a voluntary authorized agency and placed out for
			 adoption with adoptive parent(s) residing in the same district, the board rate
			 of such district; or
(iv) in the
			 case of a child in the guardianship and custody of a voluntary authorized
			 agency placed out for adoption with adoptive parent(s) residing in another
			 district, the board rate of such other district; or
(v) in the case of a child in the
			 guardianship and custody of a voluntary authorized agency and adopted by
			 parent(s) residing outside the State, the board rate of the district where the
			 voluntary authorized agency has its principal office or business.
(6)
Maximum rate of
			 reimbursement for applicable board rates
means the maximum rate of
			 payment for care provided in a foster boarding home, as determined by the
			 department pursuant to section 398-a  of
			 the Social Services Law, as implemented by Part 427 of this Title and the
			 annual appropriation set forth in the State's aid to localities budget. State
			 reimbursement may not exceed the maximum rates. For adoptions where the initial
			 approval of the adoption subsidy agreement was made on or after September 1,
			 2023, the maximum rate of reimbursement for the applicable board rate shall be
			 equal to the applicable board rate.
(7)
Voluntary authorized
			 agency
means an authorized agency as defined in paragraphs (a) and (c)
			 of section 371 (10)  of the Social
			 Services Law.
(8)
State
			 income standard
means the most recent Federal income official poverty
			 line (as defined and annually revised by the Federal Office of Management and
			 Budget) updated by the department for a family size of four and adjusted by the
			 department for family size.
(9)
Applicable State income standard
means 275 percent of the
			 State income standard.
(10)
Social services official
means a county commissioner of social
			 services, a city commissioner of social services, or an Indian tribe with which
			 the department has entered into an agreement to provide adoption
			 services.
(11)
Appropriate
			 social services official
means the social services official with
			 guardianship and custody of the child, or for a child in the guardianship and
			 custody of a voluntary authorized agency and placed out for adoption, the
			 social services official of the district where the prospective adoptive
			 parent(s) resides.