Amd §453, Soc Serv L; amd §4, Chap of 2024 (as proposed in S.8745 & A.3580-A)
Relates to the termination of subsidies provided to adoptive parents for disabled or hard to place children; replaces references of "assistance" with "subsidy"; changes the effective date to 90 days.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A917
SPONSOR: Hevesi TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the social services law, in relation to the termination
of certain subsidies provided to adoptive parents for disabled or hard
to place children; and to amend a chapter of the laws of 2024 amending
the social services law relating to the adoption subsidies provided for
disabled or hard to place children, as proposed in legislative bills
numbers S. 8745 and A. 3580-A, in relation to the effectiveness thereof
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to update current law related to adoption
subsidies provided to parents who adopt a disabled or hard to place
child.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
This bill would amend current law related to subsidies provided to
parents who adopt a disabled or hard to place child by:
* requiring subsidy payments to be terminated if the child re-enters
foster care and the adoptive parent is no longer providing any support
to the child;
* eliminating language allowing such subsidies to be reduced or
suspended;
* prohibiting a parent from receiving such subsidy if they have previ-
ously voluntarily surrendered their rights to the child;
* updating terminology to correspond with current law and practices; and
* tying the effectiveness of certain provisions to the approval of a
federal waiver.
JUSTIFICATION:
Chapter 611 of the Laws of 2024 ensured adoption subsidies for disabled
or hard to place children were not being paid in instances where the
adoptive parents are no longer legally responsible for the support of
the child, or the child is no longer receiving any support from such
parents. However, amendments were necessary to ensure that all instances
in which a parent my not be providing any assistance to the child are
accounted for and that the provisions are in line with existing proce-
dures of the Office of Children and Family Services. Additional amend-
ments were made to tie the effectiveness of certain provisions to the
approval of a federal waiver, to ensure that provisions that do not
require a waiver can go into effect regardless of the disposition of the
waiver request.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is new legislation.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that section
one of this act shall take effect on the same date and in the same
manner as a chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the social services law
relating to the adoption subsidies provided for disabled or hard to
place children, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 8745 and A.
3580-A, takes effect.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
917
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. HEVESI -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Children and Families
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to the termination
of certain subsidies provided to adoptive parents for disabled or hard
to place children; and to amend a chapter of the laws of 2024 amending
the social services law relating to the adoption subsidies provided
for disabled or hard to place children, as proposed in legislative
bills numbers S. 8745 and A. 3580-A, in relation to the effectiveness
thereof
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subparagraphs (ii), (iii) and (iv) of paragraph (c-2) and
2 paragraphs (c-3) and (c-4) of subdivision 1 of section 453 of the social
3 services law, as added by a chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the
4 social services law relating to the adoption subsidies provided for
5 disabled or hard to place children, as proposed in legislative bills
6 numbers S. 8745 and A. 3580-A, are amended to read as follows:
7 (ii) The adoptive parents shall be given an opportunity to respond to
8 the notice. Upon receiving confirmation that the parents continue to
9 meet their legal obligations to provide support to the child, the
10 department will take no further action to [reduce, suspend, or] termi-
11 nate the subsidy. If the parents fail to confirm that they continue to
12 meet their legal obligations to provide support to the child, the social
13 services official shall review all available information in order to
14 confirm the parents' continued eligibility to receive the subsidy.
15 (iii) If the child is not in foster care and, based on a review of the
16 available information, the social services official determines that the
17 adoptive parents are no longer legally responsible for the support of
18 the child or that the child is no longer receiving any support from the
19 adoptive parents, the social services official shall terminate the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02686-01-5
A. 917 2
1 [assistance] subsidy provided to the adoptive parents pursuant to this
2 section. The adoptive parents may appeal the termination of [assist-
3 ance] subsidy to the department in accordance with section twenty-two of
4 this chapter.
5 (iv) If the child is in foster care and the social services official
6 determines that the child is no longer receiving any support from the
7 adoptive parents, the social services official [may reduce, suspend, or]
8 shall terminate the [assistance] subsidy provided to the adoptive
9 parents pursuant to this section. The adoptive parents may appeal the
10 termination of [assistance] subsidy to the department in accordance with
11 section twenty-two of this chapter.
12 (v) If [assistance] a subsidy is [reduced, suspended or] terminated
13 pursuant to this paragraph and the child is returned from foster care to
14 the care of the adoptive parents, the social services official shall
15 resume [assistance] such subsidy effective from the date when the child
16 was returned to the adoptive parent's care.
17 (c-3) If the social services official terminates the adoption [assist-
18 ance] subsidy provided to adoptive parents pursuant to paragraph (c-2)
19 of this subdivision and the child resides with another person who has
20 been granted physical custody or appointed as guardian of the child, the
21 social services official shall [enter into], pursuant to a written
22 agreement [to], make adoption [assistance] subsidy payments to the
23 custodian or guardian; provided, however, that no person shall receive
24 an adoption subsidy payment for any child for whom they previously had
25 parental rights which were terminated pursuant to a proceeding under
26 section three hundred eighty-four-b of this article or for whom they
27 previously had parental rights which were surrendered pursuant to a
28 written instrument executed in accordance with [section] sections three
29 hundred eighty-three-c of or three hundred eighty-four this article.
30 Such payments shall be made retroactive from the termination of [assist-
31 ance] subsidy to the adoptive parents pursuant to paragraph (c-2) of
32 this subdivision and shall be made until the child's twenty-first birth-
33 day. A custodian or guardian who receives adoption [assistance] subsidy
34 payments pursuant to this paragraph shall be subject to the same
35 requirements that apply to adoptive parents under this section.
36 (c-4) If the social services official terminates the adoption [assist-
37 ance] subsidy provided to adoptive parents pursuant to paragraph (c-2)
38 of this subdivision after the eighteenth birthday and before the twen-
39 ty-first birthday of the adopted child, and no person other than the
40 adoptive parents has legal custody or guardianship of the child, the
41 social services official shall make payments to the child:
42 (i) through direct payments to the child, if the social services offi-
43 cial determines the child demonstrates the ability to manage such direct
44 payments; or
45 (ii) to a representative payee certified by the social services offi-
46 cial in accordance with paragraph (g) of this subdivision.
47 § 2. Clause (B) of subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (g) of subdivision
48 1 of section 453 of the social services law, as amended by a chapter of
49 the laws of 2024 amending the social services law relating to the
50 adoption subsidies provided for disabled or hard to place children, as
51 proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 8745 and A. 3580-A, is amended
52 to read as follows:
53 (B) If the twenty-first birthday of the child occurs while awaiting
54 the certification of a representative payee, the child shall be entitled
55 to retroactive direct payment of subsidy payments since the death of the
56 adoptive parent or parents or the termination of [assistance] the subsi-
A. 917 3
1 dy to the adoptive parent or parents pursuant to paragraph (c-2) of this
2 subdivision after the eighteenth birthday of the child.
3 § 3. Section 4 of a chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the social
4 services law relating to the adoption subsidies provided for disabled or
5 hard to place children, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 8745
6 and A. 3580-A, is amended to read as follows:
7 § 4. This act shall take effect [immediately] on the ninetieth day
8 after it shall have become a law; provided however that:
9 (a) the office of children and family services shall submit to the
10 United States Department of Health and Human Services, Administration
11 for Children, Youth and Families, an amendment to the state title IV-E
12 state plan regarding the provisions of this act;
13 (b) notwithstanding any other provision of law, subparagraph (v) of
14 paragraph (c-2) and paragraphs (c-3) and (c-4) of subdivision 1 of
15 section 453 of the social services law, as added by section one of this
16 act, and section two of this act shall not take effect unless and until
17 ninety days following the date that the United States Department of
18 Health and Human Services, Administration for Children, Youth and Fami-
19 lies approves a title IV-E state plan amendment regarding [the] such
20 provisions of this act; and
21 (c) the office of children and family services shall notify the legis-
22 lative bill drafting commission upon the occurrence of the submission
23 set forth in this section in order that the commission may maintain an
24 accurate and timely effective data base of the official text of the laws
25 of the state of New York in furtherance of effectuating the provisions
26 of section 44 of the legislative law and section 70-b of the public
27 officers law.
28 (d) Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of
29 any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on
30 its effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or before
31 such effective date.
32 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
33 section one of this act shall take effect on the same date and in the
34 same manner as a chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the social
35 services law relating to the adoption subsidies provided for disabled or
36 hard to place children, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 8745
37 and A. 3580-A, takes effect.
