CHNY is actively lobbying for the following bills related to Family Law in New York State:
Broken Adoptions
A02477 (Hevesi)/S04055 (Persaud)
Relates to the subsidies that may be provided to a parent who adopts a disabled or hard to place child
Parents who adopt children out of the New York State child welfare system are entitled to receive a financial monthly subsidy until the adopted child reaches the age of 21. The amount of the subsidy ranges between $800-$1900 per month, depending on the needs of the child. In most cases, the subsidy is an essential vehicle to allow loving parents, who could otherwise not afford to adopt, to provide a foster-care child with his or her forever home. However occasionally, the adoption breaks down and the adoptive parent is no longer willing to support the adopted child. At CHNY, we have estimated that between five and 13% of our young people have been kicked out of their adoptive parents’ homes and are no longer being supported by them financially, while their parents continue to receive the subsidy. The only way to currently address the situation is for the young person to sue their adoptive parent for child support, which can be an extremely stressful experience. Even with a successful child support case, enforcement is frequently difficult.
We believe the law should be amended to allow the adoption subsidy to follow the child when an adoptive parent is no longer using the subsidy to support and care for the adopted child. CHNY has been working collaboratively with Lawyers for Children and the Children’s Law Center to draft legislation to address this issue, and the legislation has now been introduced in both the Assembly and Senate.