N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 18 § 421.3 : DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES — Regulations of the Department of Social Services — Social Services — Family and Children's Services — Standards of Practice for Adoption Services — General requirements

Authorized agencies providing adoption services shall:

(a) have written policies and procedures governing adoption services to:
(1) biological parents and legal guardians;
(2) children who are free for adoption, or who are not free but in need of adoptive planning;
(3) prospective adoptive parents, adoptive applicants and adoptive parents; and
(4) persons who have been adopted;
(b) make provisions for such written policies to be available to any interested party, and to be provided to biological parents, adoptive applicants, legal guardians and foster parents; and
(c) maintain appropriate records demonstrating compliance with agency policies and applicable department regulations; maintain a written record for each child and adoptive applicant containing information which documents decisions and plans of action;
(d) prohibit discrimination and harassment against applicants for adoption services on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, religion, or disability, and, shall take reasonable steps to prevent such discrimination or harassment by staff and volunteers, promptly investigate incidents of discrimination and harassment, and take reasonable and appropriate corrective or disciplinary action when such incidents occur. For the purposes of this section, gender identity or expression shall mean having or being perceived as having a gender identity, self-image, appearance, behavior or expression whether or not that gender identity, self-image, appearance, behavior or expression is different from that traditionally associated with the sex assigned to that person at birth. Gender identity refers to a person's internal sense of self as male, female, no gender, or another gender, and gender expression refers to the manner in which a person expresses his or her gender through clothing, appearance, behavior, speech, and other means.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 18 § 421.3

Amended New York State Register December 23, 2015/Volume XXXVII, Issue 51, eff. 12/23/2015