State Contact

Joanne Passero
Office of Children & Family Services
NYS Adoption Services
Capital View Office Park
52 Washington St.
Rensselaer, NY 12144
518-473-0734
joanne.passero@ocfs.ny.gov
www.ocfs.state.ny.us/adopt

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New York adoption resources on the web

https://ocfs.ny.gov/programs/adoption/

New York’s state-specific medical assistance links:
https://www.health.ny.gov/health_care/medicaid/index.htm

New York’s adoption assistance links:
https://ocfs.ny.gov/programs/adoption/post-adoption/subsidies.php

Adoption Services Guide for Caseworkers:
https://ocfs.ny.gov/programs/adoption/manual/Adoption-Services-Guide-October-2010.pdf

In New York a child must be in the guardianship and custody of a voluntary authorized agency or foster parent to be eligible for adoption assistance. A child with special needs is defined as a child who is handicapped or hard to place whose needs or circumstances may be a barrier to placement or adoption without financial assistance.

Handicapped child means a child with a specific physical, mental or emotional condition or disability of such severity or kind, which, in the opinion of the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) would constitute a significant obstacle to the child’s adoption. Such conditions include, but are not limited to:

  • Any medical or dental condition which will require repeated or frequent hospitalization, treatment or follow-up care;
  • Any physical handicap, by reason of physical defect or deformity, which makes or may be expected to make a child totally or partially incapacitated for education or for remunerative occupation;
  • Any substantial disfigurement; or
  • A diagnosed personality or behavioral problem, psychiatric disorder, serious intellectual incapacity or brain damage that seriously affects the child’s ability to relate to his peers and/or authority figures, including developmental disability.

Hard-to-place child means a child, other than a handicapped child:
Who meets any of the following conditions, which the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) has identified as constituting a significant obstacle to a child’s adoption:

  • The child is one of a group of two siblings (including half-siblings) being adopted together or to join already adopted sibling, who are free for adoption and it is considered necessary that the group be placed together and
    1. at least one of the children is five years of age or older; or
    2. at least one of the children is a member of a minority group which is substantially over represented in New York State foster care in relation to the percentage of that group to the State’s total population; or
    3. at least one of the children is otherwise eligible for adoption assistance in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision.  In case of joining an already adopted sibling, was or would have been eligible for subsidy;
  • The child is a member of a minority group that is substantially overrepresented in New York State foster care in relation to the percentage of that group to the state’s total population;
  • The child is one of a group of three or more siblings (including half-siblings) who are free for adoption and it is considered necessary that the group be placed together;
  • The child is at least eight years old and is a member of a minority group which is substantially overrepresented in New York State foster care in relation to the percentage of that group to the state’s total population;
  • The child is at least 10 years old;
  • The child is hard to place with parents other than his/her present foster parent(s) because he/she has been in their care for 12 months or more prior to the signing of the adoption placement agreement by such foster parents and has a strong attachment to them and separation from them would adversely affect the child’s development.
  • Who has not been placed for adoption within six months from the date his or her guardianship and custody were committed to the social services official or the voluntary authorized agency; or
  • Who has not been placed for adoption within six months from the date a previous placement terminated 

What is the maximum basic monthly adoption assistance maintenance payment in New York?

Rates from July 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024.

Age Monthly
0-5 Metro* $1,072
Upstate $933
6-11 Metro* $1,263
Upstate $1,111
12 & over Metro* $1,283
Upstate $1,123

*Metro Region: New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, and Rockland Counties

Because each social service district establishes its rates, not to exceed the maximum set by the state, the criteria for a specialized rate vary accordingly. The maximum specialized and exceptional per diem rates are:

Specialized per diem rates: $2,012 (Metro and Upstate)
Exceptional per diem rates: $3,050 (Metro and Upstate)

Subsidy maintenance payments are available to all eligible children until the age of 21.

Children who receive child care while in foster care through the Bridges 2 Health program can continue to receive child care for the child as long as they reside in New York State. There are no other programs that provide child care specifically for adopted children.

Post-adoption services in New York are provided by the local social services district or a voluntary authorized agency whose services have been purchased by the local social services district in which the adoptive parents reside.   New York also provides post permanency supports via the Regional Permanency Resource Centers (PRCs), visit here to find the PRC that serves your county, https://affcny.org/adoption-in-new-york/post-adoption-services/regional-permanency-resource-centers/

New York has a Kinship Guardianship Program (KinGap) for children in the foster care system.  To read more about the program visit, https://ocfs.ny.gov/publications/pub5108.pdf

Upon the death of the person(s) who adopted the child prior to his/her 21st birthday, payments must be made to the legal guardian or custodian of the child until the child has reached the age of 21. If the death of a parent occurs between the adopted child’s 18th and 20th birthdays, payment must continue to the guardian of the adopted child with the child’s consent, or the adopted child may apply to receive the subsidy payment directly.