New York State To Block Parent Payments For ‘Broken’ Adoptions Of Children With Disabilities Or Who Are ‘Hard To Place’

The New York Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) is updating its policies to more promptly block post-adoption subsidies from going to adoptive parents when the adoption has been broken and the adoptive parent is no longer providing support for the child. These subsidies are offered as incentives to potential adoptive parents to encourage adoptions of children with disabilities or who are otherwise considered “hard to place.” The policy change is directed by New York Senate Bill S8745, signed on December 21, 2024.

Senate Bill S8745 establishes parameters for terminating an adoptive parent’s adoption subsidy payments if . . .