§ 374 — Authority to place out or board out children

New York § 374

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

Text

§ 374. Authority to place out or board out children. 1. An authorized\nagency is hereby empowered and permitted to place out and board out\nchildren.\n 1-a. In any agreement between an authorized agency and foster parents\nwith whom a child or children are to be placed or boarded, there shall\nbe contained therein the following language: "It is duly acknowledged by\nthe parties hereto that pursuant to the law of the state of New York, a\nfoster parent shall have preference in any proceedings to adopt the\nchild subject to this agreement upon such child having been in the\ncustody of such foster parent for a period in excess of twelve months".\n 2. No person, agency, association, corporation, institution, society\nor other organization except an authorized agency shall place out or\nboard out any child but the provisions of this section shall not\nrestrict or limit the right of a parent, legal guardian or relative\nwithin the second degree to place out or board out a child.\n 3. Except as hereinafter provided no court, public board, commission\nor official shall place out or board out a child in a family not\nresiding within this state.\n (a) A commissioner of public welfare or a city public welfare officer\nauthorized, pursuant to the provisions of section three hundred\nninety-eight of the social welfare law, to accept the surrender of a\nchild, may place out a child for the purpose of adoption in a family not\nresiding within this state. No placement of a child in a family not\nresiding within this state shall be made unless an agreement for such\nplacement shall have been reached between the public welfare official\nmaking such placement and the appropriate welfare or other public\nofficial on a state or local level in the state where the family resides\nwho is authorized by law to supervise children in institutional or\nfoster care homes. Such agreement shall include provision for the\nsupervision of the family and the child during the period preceding a\nfinal adoption.\n (b) A commissioner of public welfare or a city public welfare officer\nauthorized, pursuant to the provisions of section three hundred\nninety-eight of the social welfare law, to place children in family\nhomes, may board out a child in a family not residing within this state.\nNo child may be boarded out in a family not residing within this state\nunless an agreement for such placement shall have been reached between\nthe public welfare official making such placement and the appropriate\nwelfare or other public official on a state or local level in the state\nwhere the family resides who is authorized by law to supervise children\nin institutional or foster care homes. Such agreement shall include\nprovision for the supervision of the family and the child during the\nperiod while the child is boarded out.\n 4. (a) No hospital or lying-in asylum whether incorporated or\nunincorporated where women or girls may be received, cared for or\ntreated during pregnancy or during or after delivery except as\nhereinafter provided and no person licensed to carry on like work under\nthe provisions of article twenty-eight of the public health law shall be\nan authorized agency for placing out or boarding out children or place\nout any child in a foster home whether for adoption or otherwise either\ndirectly or indirectly or as agent or representative of the mother or\nparents of such child.\n (b) Every such hospital and licensed person shall forthwith report to\nthe county or city officer or board charged by law with the care of\ndestitute children away from their homes where such hospital is located\nor where such child is cared for by such licensed person any child\nabandoned or left in the care or custody of such hospital or licensed\nperson provided, however, that no such report except as provided in\nsection three hundred seventy-two shall be required to be made by a\nhospital which is also an authorized agency.\n (c) Such officer or board shall receive and care for such child as a\ndestitute or abandoned child and may bring the case of such child before\nthe family court in the county or city for adjudication.\n (d) The expense of caring for such child as a public charge shall be\npaid as provided by this chapter.\n 5. Nothing contained in this section shall deprive any hospital of any\nright or power conferred upon it by its charter or act of incorporation\nor specified in its certificate of incorporation.\n 6. An authorized agency, as defined in paragraphs (a) and (c) of\nsubdivision ten of section three hundred seventy-one of this title, may\ncharge or accept a fee or other compensation to or from a person or\npersons with whom it has placed out a child, for the reasonable and\nnecessary expenses of such placement; and no agency, association,\ncorporation, institution, society or organization, except such an\nauthorized agency, and no person may or shall request, accept or receive\nany compensation or thing of value, directly or indirectly, in\nconnection with the placing out or adoption of a child or for assisting\na birth parent, relative or guardian of a child in arranging for the\nplacement of the child for the purpose of adoption; and no person may or\nshall pay or give to any person or to any agency, association,\ncorporation, institution, society or organization, except such an\nauthorized agency, any compensation or thing of value in connection with\nthe placing out or adoption of a child or for assisting a birth parent,\nrelative or guardian of a child in arranging for the placement of the\nchild for the purpose of adoption. The prohibition set forth in this\nsection applies to any adoptive placement activity involving a child\nborn in New York state or brought into this state or involving a New\nYork resident seeking to bring a child into New York state for the\npurpose of adoption.\n This subdivision shall not be construed to prevent the payment of\nsalaries or other compensation by an authorized agency to the officers\nor employees thereof; nor shall it be construed to prevent the payment\nby a person with whom a child has been placed out of reasonable and\nactual medical fees or hospital charges for services rendered in\nconnection with the birth of such child or of other necessary expenses\nincurred by the birth mother in connection with or as a result of her\npregnancy or the birth of the child, or of reasonable and actual\nnursing, medical or hospital fees for the care of such child, if such\npayment is made to the physician, nurse or hospital who or which\nrendered the services or to the birth mother of the child, or to prevent\nthe receipt of such payment by such physician, nurse, hospital or birth\nmother. This subdivision shall not be construed to prevent the payment\nby an adoptive parent, as defined in section one hundred nine of the\ndomestic relations law, of the birth mother's reasonable and actual\nexpenses for housing, maternity clothing, clothing for the child and\ntransportation for a reasonable period not to exceed sixty days prior to\nthe birth and the later of thirty days after the birth or thirty days\nafter the parental consent to the adoption, unless a court determines,\nin writing, that exceptional circumstances exist which require the\npayment of the birth mother's expenses beyond the time periods stated in\nthis sentence. This subdivision shall not be construed to prevent the\npayment by an adoptive parent, as defined in section one hundred nine of\nthe domestic relations law, of reasonable and actual legal fees charged\nfor consultation and legal advice, preparation of papers and\nrepresentation and other legal services rendered in connection with an\nadoption proceeding or of necessary disbursements incurred for or in an\nadoption proceeding. No attorney or law firm shall serve as the attorney\nfor, or provide any legal services to both the birth parent and adoptive\nparent in regard to the placing out of a child for adoption or in an\nadoption proceeding. No attorney or law firm shall serve as the attorney\nfor, or provide any legal services to, both an authorized agency and\nadoptive parent or both an authorized agency and birth parent where the\nauthorized agency provides adoption services to such birth parent or\nadoptive parent, where the authorized agency provides foster care for\nthe child, or where the authorized agency is directly or indirectly\ninvolved in the placing out of such child for adoption.\n 7. After receipt of notice from the state commissioner of health or\nthe department of health of the city of New York, as the case may be,\nthat an application has been received by such commissioner or department\nfor a license or for the renewal of a license to conduct a maternity\nhospital or lying-in asylum, pursuant to the provisions of article\ntwenty-eight of the public health law, the department shall, after\nnotice to the applicant and opportunity for him to be heard, certify in\nwriting to such commissioner or city department that the department has\nreasonable cause to believe that the applicant is violating or has\nviolated the provisions of this section, if such be the case. The\ndepartment shall so certify within thirty days of the date it received\nnotice, or within such additional period, not to exceed thirty days, as\nthe department may request in writing addressed to the commissioner or\nadministration giving notice.\n