§ 373 — Religious faith

New York § 373

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law SOS: Social Services
• Title 1: Care and Protection of Children
• Art. 6: Children

Text

§ 373. Religious faith. 1. Whenever a child is committed to any\nagency, association, corporation, institution or society, other than an\ninstitution supported and controlled by the state or a subdivision\nthereof, such commitment shall be made, when practicable, to an\nauthorized agency under the control of persons of the same religious\nfaith as that of the child.\n 2. Whenever any child is surrendered, released, placed out, or boarded\nout, in a family, a home or an institution, or in an agency boarding\nhome, or in a group home, or to an authorized agency, or in the custody\nof any person other than that of a relative within the second degree,\nsuch surrender, release, placement or boarding out shall when\npracticable, be to, with or in the custody of a person or persons of the\nsame religious faith as that of the child or to an authorized agency\nunder the control of persons of the same religious faith as that of the\nchild.\n 3. In appointing guardians of children, and in granting orders of\nadoption of children, the court shall, when practicable, appoint as such\nguardians, and give custody through adoption, only to a person or\npersons of the same religious faith as that of the child.\n 4. The provisions of subdivision one, two and three of this section\nshall be so interpreted as to assure that in the care, protection,\nadoption, guardianship, discipline and control of any child, its\nreligious faith shall be preserved and protected.\n 5. Whenever a child is placed out or boarded out in the custody, or\nunder the supervision or control, of a person or of persons of a\nreligious faith different from that of the child, or if a guardian of a\nchild is appointed whose religious faith is different from that of the\nchild, or if letters of adoption of a child are granted to a person or\npersons whose religious faith is different from that of the child or if\na child is committed to an agency, association, corporation, society or\ninstitution, which is under the control of persons of a religious faith\ndifferent from that of the child, the court, public board, commission or\nofficial shall state or recite the facts which impelled such disposition\nto be made contrary to the religious faith of the child or to any person\nwhose religious faith is different from that of the child and such\nstatement shall be a part of the minutes of the proceeding, and subject\nto inspection by the department or an authorized agency. This\nsubdivision shall not apply to institutions supported and controlled by\nthe state or a subdivision thereof.\n 6. The provisions of this section in relation to the protection of the\nreligious faith of children shall also apply to minors between sixteen\nand eighteen years of age.\n 7. The provisions of subdivisions one, two, three, four, five and six\nof this section shall, so far as consistent with the best interests of\nthe child, and where practicable, be applied so as to give effect to the\nreligious wishes of the birth mother, and of the birth father whose\nconsent would be required for the child's adoption pursuant to section\none hundred eleven of the domestic relations law, if the child is born\nout-of-wedlock, or if born in-wedlock, the religious wishes of the birth\nparents of the child, or if only one of the birth parents of an\nin-wedlock child is then living, the religious wishes of the birth\nparent then living. Religious wishes of a parent shall include wishes\nthat the child be placed in the same religion as the birth parent or in\na different religion from the birth parent or with indifference to\nreligion or with religion a subordinate consideration. Expressed\nreligious wishes of a birth parent shall mean those which have been set\nforth in a writing signed by the birth parent, except that, in a\nnon-agency adoption, such writing shall be an affidavit of the birth\nparent. In the absence of expressed religious wishes, as defined in this\nsubdivision, determination of the religious wishes, if any, of the birth\nparent, shall be made upon the other facts of the particular case, and,\nif there is no evidence to the contrary, it shall be presumed that the\nbirth parent wishes the child to be reared in the religion of the birth\nparent.\n