Adoption applications; appeals

§ 372-e. Adoption applications; appeals. 1. An authorized agency shall keep a record of applications received from persons seeking to become adoptive parents, including all actions taken on such applications.

2. The department shall promulgate regulations setting forth standards and procedures to be followed by authorized agencies in evaluating persons who have applied to such agencies for the adoption of a child. Such regulations shall also restrict the evaluation process so as not to unnecessarily duplicate previous investigations which may have been made of the adoptive applicant in the context of a prior adoption application or an application for licensure or certification to board children.

3. (a) Upon an authorized agency's denial of an application, the authorized agency shall furnish the applicant with a written statement setting forth its reason for the denial of the application. Such written statement shall include a notice to the applicant, in bold face type, of such applicant's right to request and be granted a hearing in accordance with the provisions of subdivision four of this section.

(b) Upon an authorized agency's failure to act on an application within six months of its submission, the authorized agency shall, on such applicant's request, furnish the applicant with a written statement setting forth its reason for its failure to act on the application. Such written statement shall include a notice to the applicant, in bold face type, of such applicant's right to request and be granted a hearing in accordance with the provisions of subdivision four of this section.

4. Any person whose application has been denied or whose application has not been acted upon by an authorized agency within six months of its submission may request and shall be granted a hearing in accordance with the provisions of section twenty-two of this chapter relating to fair hearings.