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 421.4 - Services to biological parent or legal guardian

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
Authorized agencies shall:
(a) take diligent steps to provide immediate
			 services, either directly or by referral, to any biological parent or legal
			 guardian coming to the agency including medical, social and casework services.
			 Such medical, social and casework services shall include discussion of
			 alternatives to adoption in making the best plan for the child and parent such
			 as day care, job training and housing resources. There shall be referral to
			 other agencies when indicated;
(b)
			 offer services with the recognition of each person's inherent dignity,
			 integrity and right to privacy and with the assurance that records will be kept
			 confidential pursuant to the provisions of section 114  of the Domestic Relations Law, sections 4138-c, 4138-d and 4138-e  of the Public Health Law and sections 136, 373-a and
			 409-f  of the Social Services law;
(c) respect the right and responsibility of
			 the biological parent or legal guardian to establish a plan for the child. The
			 biological parent and legal guardian must be advised of the guardianship and
			 custody provisions of section 383-c or
			 384  of the Social Services Law, as
			 applicable, of the provisions for periodic family court review under article 3,
			 7 or 10-A of the Family Court Act, as applicable, and of the provisions for
			 permanent neglect proceedings under part 1 of article 6 of the Family Court Act
			 and section 384-b  of the Social Services
			 Law;
(d) give definite regular
			 appointments to biological parent or legal guardian at reasonably frequent
			 intervals. If an appointment is not kept, the caseworker shall endeavor to
			 contact the biological parent or legal guardian immediately, making a home
			 visit when appropriate, and recording as a permanent part of the record the
			 reason why the appointment was not kept, when known;
(e) if a biological parent or legal guardian
			 is referred to another community resource for service, ascertain the outcome of
			 the referral as soon as practicable. When a report from a medical or
			 psychiatric resource indicates the biological parent or legal guardian failed
			 to keep the appointment or failed to contact the community resource, the agency
			 shall make a diligent effort to reach the biological parent or legal guardian
			 to determine the current situation, the reason for failing to contact the
			 resource and the need for further agency service; and
(f) take diligent steps to identify the
			 biological father of a child, whether born in or out of wedlock and determine
			 as early as possible whether he seeks and can play a role in planning for the
			 child, and explore the position of any putative father in accordance with
			 section 111 (1)(d) and (e)  of the
			 Domestic Relations Law and section
			 421.5 
			 of this Part.
(g) inform each
			 biological parent of the right of an adopted person 18 years of age or older,
			 or if the adopted person is deceased, the adopted person's direct line
			 descendants, or the lawful representative of such adopted person or the lawful
			 representative of such deceased adopted person's direct line descendants, as
			 the case may be, either to receive from the commissioner of the New York State
			 Department of Health, the commissioner of Health and Mental Hygiene of the City
			 of New York, the applicable local registrar or any person so authorized by such
			 commissioner or local registrar a certified copy of the adopted person's
			 original long form birth certificate, including any change attached to that
			 certificate by a biological parent or parents and any information provided to
			 the such commissioner or local registrar in accordance with state law or, where
			 it is impossible for such commissioner or local registrar to provide a copy of
			 the original long form birth certificate of a person adopted in this state and
			 such certificate is not part of the records of such commissioner or local
			 registrar, to receive from an authorized agency, as defined in paragraphs (a)
			 and (b) of subdivision 10 of section 371  of the Social Services Law, identifying
			 information regarding the adopted person and the adopted person's biological
			 parents that would otherwise appear on an original long form birth certificate
			 in this state. Biological parents may also be informed of the Adoption
			 Information Registry and the Mutual Consent Voluntary Adoption Registry
			 pursuant to sections 4138-c and 4138-d  of the Public Health Law where an
			 adopted person, the biological siblings or the birth parents may register with
			 either registry to obtain more information about the
			 adoption.