§ 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.