§ 115-D — Petition for certification

§ 115-d. Petition for certification. 1. Except as provided for in\nsubdivision eight of this section, a person or persons petitioning for\ncertification as a qualified adoptive parent or parents shall upon a\nform, promulgated by the chief administrator of the courts, provide to\nthe court:\n (a) the applicant's name or applicants' names, residential address and\ntelephone number;\n (b) a statement by the applicant or applicants that they are seeking\ncertification by the court as a person or persons qualified to take\nphysical custody of an infant prior to or contemporaneous with the\nfiling of a private-placement adoption petition;\n (c) a statement by the applicant or applicants as to whether such\napplicant or applicants have been the subject of an indicated report of\nchild abuse or maltreatment, pursuant to title six of article six of the\nsocial services law; and\n (d) a statement that a pre-placement investigation will be undertaken\nby a disinterested person, as such term is defined in subdivision four\nof this section, and that a written report of such investigation will be\nfurnished directly to the court by such disinterested person with a copy\nof such report to be delivered simultaneously to the applicant or\napplicants. Such disinterested person shall certify to the court that he\nor she is a disinterested person and has no interest in the outcome of\nthe party's or parties' application. Such disinterested person shall\nfurther disclose to the court any fee paid or to be paid to such person\nfor services rendered in connection with the pre-placement\ninvestigation.\n Such petition shall also require information regarding:\n (i) the marital and family status and history of the adoptive parent\nor parents;\n (ii) the physical and mental health of the adoptive parent or parents;\n (iii) the property owned by and the income of adoptive parent or\nparents;\n (iv) whether the adoptive parent or either of the adoptive parents has\never been a respondent in any proceeding concerning allegedly abused,\nneglected, abandoned or delinquent children; and\n (v) whether the applicant or applicants have made any prior\napplication for certification as a qualified adoptive parent or parents\nand, if so, the disposition of such application for certification.\n 2. In any case where the applicant or applicants do not intend to\ncause a pre-placement investigation to be undertaken pursuant to the\nprovisions of paragraph (d) of subdivision one of this section, such\napplicant or applicants shall request the court to appoint a\ndisinterested person to conduct such pre-placement investigation. The\ninvestigative written report shall be submitted to the judge or\nsurrogate within thirty days, unless for good cause shown the judge or\nsurrogate shall grant a reasonable extension of such period.\n 3. Such applicant or applicants shall be financially responsible for\nthe costs of any pre-placement investigation conducted pursuant to\nsubdivision one or two of this section.\n 3-a. (a) The court shall submit fingerprint cards and order a report\nfrom the division of criminal justice services setting forth any\nexisting criminal history record of the applicant for certification as a\nqualified adoptive parent.\n (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a\npetition for certification as a qualified adoptive parent shall be\ndenied where a criminal history record of the applicant reveals a\nconviction for (i) a felony conviction at any time involving: (1) child\nabuse or neglect; (2) spousal abuse; (3) a crime against a child,\nincluding child pornography; or (4) a crime involving violence,\nincluding rape, sexual assault, or homicide, other than a crime\ninvolving physical assault or battery; or (ii) a felony conviction\nwithin the past five years for physical assault, battery, or a\ndrug-related offense.\n (c) For the purposes of this subdivision, "spousal abuse" is an\noffense defined in section 120.05, 120.10, 121.12, or 121.13 of the\npenal law where the victim of such offense was the defendant's spouse;\nprovided, however, spousal abuse shall not include a crime in which the\napplicant was the defendant, and the court finds in accordance with this\nsubdivision that he or she was the victim of physical, sexual or\npsychological abuse by the victim of such offense and such abuse was a\nfactor in causing the applicant to commit such offense.\n 4. A pre-placement investigation conducted pursuant to the provisions\nof this section shall be made by a disinterested person who in the\nopinion of the judge or surrogate is qualified by training and\nexperience to examine into the allegations set forth in the application\nand any other factors which may be relevant to the suitability of the\napplicant or applicants as a qualified adoptive parent or parents. For\nthe purposes of this section, a disinterested person shall also include\na licensed master social worker, licensed clinical social worker, the\nprobation service of the family court or an authorized agency\nspecifically designated by the court to conduct pre-placement\ninvestigations.\n 5. Such disinterested person shall file with the court a written\nreport of his or her investigation into the truth and accuracy of the\nallegations set forth in the application and his or her investigation of\nthe various factors which may be relevant to the suitability of the\napplicant or applicants as qualified adoptive parents. Such\ninvestigation shall include, but not be limited to, a personal interview\nand visit at the applicant's or applicants' home and an investigation of\nany other facts relating to the familial, social, religious, emotional\nand financial circumstances of the adoptive parent or parents which may\nbe relevant to certification as a qualified adoptive parent or parents.\n 6. Certification and provisional certification. If after consideration\nof the report submitted by the disinterested person, and all other\nrelevant and material factors, the court grants the application, the\napplicant or applicants may accept physical custody of a child for the\npurposes of adoption, either prior to or contemporaneous with the filing\nof an adoption petition. The order granting the petition shall be valid\nfor a period not to exceed eighteen months and shall be accepted as\nproof of certification by any court of competent jurisdiction within the\nstate. The court may in its discretion grant a conditional order of\ncertification upon satisfactory completion and submission of a petition\nwherein the prospective adoptive parent or parents indicate no prior\ncriminal convictions or founded findings of child abuse or neglect, and\nafter completion of a disinterested person investigation provided for in\nthis section, pending completion of any further reports, investigations\nor inquiries ordered by the court or required by any other statute or\ncourt rule. A conditional order of certification shall be valid and\nremain in force and effect until replaced by an order of certification\nor by an order denying the petition, whichever shall first occur, but in\nno event shall such provisional certification continue beyond one\nhundred eighty days from the date of original issuance. If the court\ndenies the petition, the reasons for such denial shall be stated on the\nrecord or in the order.\n 7. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to waive, limit or restrict\nthe provisions of any other law requiring any inquiry, disinterested\nperson investigation or court review of any persons seeking to adopt a\nchild under any provision of law.\n 8. The provisions of this section shall not apply to petitions brought\nby a step-parent for the adoption of a step-child where the step-child\nhas resided with the birth parent and the step-parent for a continuous\nperiod of at least one year.\n 9. Extension of certification. When a petition for adoption is filed\nby a qualified parent or parents previously certified and the balance of\nthe time period remaining under such certification in accordance with\nsubdivision six of this section is less than one year, the court may on\nits own motion or on the motion of the petitioners extend the time\nperiod of the original certification to a date eighteen months from the\ndate of filing of the adoption petition. When a petition for adoption is\nfiled by a qualified parent or parents who have previously been\ncertified by an order which has expired within a year preceding the date\nof the adoption petition, the court may extend the termination date of\nthe earlier certification until eighteen months from the filing of such\npetition, provided the petitioner apply for such extension and set forth\nany change of circumstances of the qualified parent or parents since\nissuance and expiration of the last certification which may be relevant\nand material to the extension of such certification and affix thereto\nwritten verification of any such changed circumstance or lack thereof by\na disinterested person as defined in subdivision four of this section.\nExcept as is provided for by this subdivision, the court shall not\nextend a previously expired order of certification. Any further\ncertification shall require the filing of a new petition for\ncertification in accordance with subdivision six of this section.\n In any instance when the court determines whether to extend a\ncertification under this subdivision, the court, in its discretion, may\norder each or any of (a) a report from the statewide central registry of\nchild abuse and maltreatment to determine whether the child or the\npetitioner is or has been the subject of or another person named in an\nindicated report, as such terms are defined in section four hundred\ntwelve of the social services law, filed with such register, (b) a\nreport from the division of criminal justice services setting forth any\ncriminal record of such petitioner or petitioners, and (c) an additional\npre-placement investigation to be undertaken by a disinterested person.\nNothing herein shall be deemed to require that the court enter such an\norder.\n