§ 372-E — Adoption applications; appeals

§ 372-e. Adoption applications; appeals. 1. An authorized agency shall\nkeep a record of applications received from persons seeking to become\nadoptive parents, including all actions taken on such applications.\n 2. The department shall promulgate regulations setting forth\nstandards and procedures to be followed by authorized agencies in\nevaluating persons who have applied to such agencies for the adoption of\na child. Such regulations shall also restrict the evaluation process so\nas not to unnecessarily duplicate previous investigations which may have\nbeen made of the adoptive applicant in the context of a prior adoption\napplication or an application for licensure or certification to board\nchildren.\n 3. (a) Upon an authorized agency's denial of an application, the\nauthorized agency shall furnish the applicant with a written statement\nsetting forth its reason for the denial of the application. Such written\nstatement shall include a notice to the applicant, in bold face type, of\nsuch applicant's right to request and be granted a hearing in accordance\nwith the provisions of subdivision four of this section.\n (b) Upon an authorized agency's failure to act on an application\nwithin six months of its submission, the authorized agency shall, on\nsuch applicant's request, furnish the applicant with a written statement\nsetting forth its reason for its failure to act on the application. Such\nwritten statement shall include a notice to the applicant, in bold face\ntype, of such applicant's right to request and be granted a hearing in\naccordance with the provisions of subdivision four of this section.\n 4. Any person whose application has been denied or whose application\nhas not been acted upon by an authorized agency within six months of its\nsubmission may request and shall be granted a hearing in accordance with\nthe provisions of section twenty-two of this chapter relating to fair\nhearings.\n