§ 115-d. Petition for certification. 1. Except as provided for in
subdivision eight of this section, a person or persons petitioning for
certification as a qualified adoptive parent or parents shall upon a
form, promulgated by the chief administrator of the courts, provide to
the court:

(a) the applicant's name or applicants' names, residential address and
telephone number;

(b) a statement by the applicant or applicants that they are seeking
certification by the court as a person or persons qualified to take
physical custody of an infant prior to or contemporaneous with the
filing of a private-placement adoption petition;

(c) a statement by the applicant or applicants as to whether such
applicant or applicants have been the subject of an indicated report of
child abuse or maltreatment, pursuant to title six of article six of the
social services law; and

(d) a statement that a pre-placement investigation will be undertaken
by a disinterested person, as such term is defined in subdivision four
of this section, and that a written report of such investigation will be
furnished directly to the court by such disinterested person with a copy
of such report to be delivered simultaneously to the applicant or
applicants. Such disinterested person shall certify to the court that he
or she is a disinterested person and has no interest in the outcome of
the party's or parties' application. Such disinterested person shall
further disclose to the court any fee paid or to be paid to such person
for services rendered in connection with the pre-placement
investigation.

Such petition shall also require information regarding:

(i) the marital and family status and history of the adoptive parent
or parents;

(ii) the physical and mental health of the adoptive parent or parents;

(iii) the property owned by and the income of adoptive parent or
parents;

(iv) whether the adoptive parent or either of the adoptive parents has
ever been a respondent in any proceeding concerning allegedly abused,
neglected, abandoned or delinquent children; and

(v) whether the applicant or applicants have made any prior
application for certification as a qualified adoptive parent or parents
and, if so, the disposition of such application for certification.

2. In any case where the applicant or applicants do not intend to
cause a pre-placement investigation to be undertaken pursuant to the
provisions of paragraph (d) of subdivision one of this section, such
applicant or applicants shall request the court to appoint a
disinterested person to conduct such pre-placement investigation. The
investigative written report shall be submitted to the judge or
surrogate within thirty days, unless for good cause shown the judge or
surrogate shall grant a reasonable extension of such period.

3. Such applicant or applicants shall be financially responsible for
the costs of any pre-placement investigation conducted pursuant to
subdivision one or two of this section.

3-a. (a) The court shall submit fingerprint cards and order a report
from the division of criminal justice services setting forth any
existing criminal history record of the applicant for certification as a
qualified adoptive parent.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a
petition for certification as a qualified adoptive parent shall be
denied where a criminal history record of the applicant reveals a
conviction for (i) a felony conviction at any time involving: (1) child
abuse or neglect; (2) spousal abuse; (3) a crime against a child,
including child pornography; or (4) a crime involving violence,
including rape, sexual assault, or homicide, other than a crime
involving physical assault or battery; or (ii) a felony conviction
within the past five years for physical assault, battery, or a
drug-related offense.

(c) For the purposes of this subdivision, "spousal abuse" is an
offense defined in section 120.05, 120.10, 121.12, or 121.13 of the
penal law where the victim of such offense was the defendant's spouse;
provided, however, spousal abuse shall not include a crime in which the
applicant was the defendant, and the court finds in accordance with this
subdivision that he or she was the victim of physical, sexual or
psychological abuse by the victim of such offense and such abuse was a
factor in causing the applicant to commit such offense.

4. A pre-placement investigation conducted pursuant to the provisions
of this section shall be made by a disinterested person who in the
opinion of the judge or surrogate is qualified by training and
experience to examine into the allegations set forth in the application
and any other factors which may be relevant to the suitability of the
applicant or applicants as a qualified adoptive parent or parents. For
the purposes of this section, a disinterested person shall also include
a licensed master social worker, licensed clinical social worker, the
probation service of the family court or an authorized agency
specifically designated by the court to conduct pre-placement
investigations.

5. Such disinterested person shall file with the court a written
report of his or her investigation into the truth and accuracy of the
allegations set forth in the application and his or her investigation of
the various factors which may be relevant to the suitability of the
applicant or applicants as qualified adoptive parents. Such
investigation shall include, but not be limited to, a personal interview
and visit at the applicant's or applicants' home and an investigation of
any other facts relating to the familial, social, religious, emotional
and financial circumstances of the adoptive parent or parents which may
be relevant to certification as a qualified adoptive parent or parents.

6. Certification and provisional certification. If after consideration
of the report submitted by the disinterested person, and all other
relevant and material factors, the court grants the application, the
applicant or applicants may accept physical custody of a child for the
purposes of adoption, either prior to or contemporaneous with the filing
of an adoption petition. The order granting the petition shall be valid
for a period not to exceed eighteen months and shall be accepted as
proof of certification by any court of competent jurisdiction within the
state. The court may in its discretion grant a conditional order of
certification upon satisfactory completion and submission of a petition
wherein the prospective adoptive parent or parents indicate no prior
criminal convictions or founded findings of child abuse or neglect, and
after completion of a disinterested person investigation provided for in
this section, pending completion of any further reports, investigations
or inquiries ordered by the court or required by any other statute or
court rule. A conditional order of certification shall be valid and
remain in force and effect until replaced by an order of certification
or by an order denying the petition, whichever shall first occur, but in
no event shall such provisional certification continue beyond one
hundred eighty days from the date of original issuance. If the court
denies the petition, the reasons for such denial shall be stated on the
record or in the order.

7. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to waive, limit or restrict
the provisions of any other law requiring any inquiry, disinterested
person investigation or court review of any persons seeking to adopt a
child under any provision of law.

8. The provisions of this section shall not apply to petitions brought
by a step-parent for the adoption of a step-child where the step-child
has resided with the birth parent and the step-parent for a continuous
period of at least one year.

9. Extension of certification. When a petition for adoption is filed
by a qualified parent or parents previously certified and the balance of
the time period remaining under such certification in accordance with
subdivision six of this section is less than one year, the court may on
its own motion or on the motion of the petitioners extend the time
period of the original certification to a date eighteen months from the
date of filing of the adoption petition. When a petition for adoption is
filed by a qualified parent or parents who have previously been
certified by an order which has expired within a year preceding the date
of the adoption petition, the court may extend the termination date of
the earlier certification until eighteen months from the filing of such
petition, provided the petitioner apply for such extension and set forth
any change of circumstances of the qualified parent or parents since
issuance and expiration of the last certification which may be relevant
and material to the extension of such certification and affix thereto
written verification of any such changed circumstance or lack thereof by
a disinterested person as defined in subdivision four of this section.
Except as is provided for by this subdivision, the court shall not
extend a previously expired order of certification. Any further
certification shall require the filing of a new petition for
certification in accordance with subdivision six of this section.

In any instance when the court determines whether to extend a
certification under this subdivision, the court, in its discretion, may
order each or any of (a) a report from the statewide central registry of
child abuse and maltreatment to determine whether the child or the
petitioner is or has been the subject of or another person named in an
indicated report, as such terms are defined in section four hundred
twelve of the social services law, filed with such register, (b) a
report from the division of criminal justice services setting forth any
criminal record of such petitioner or petitioners, and (c) an additional
pre-placement investigation to be undertaken by a disinterested person.
Nothing herein shall be deemed to require that the court enter such an
order.