N.Y. Social Services Law § 373: Religious faith

§ 373. Religious faith. 1. Whenever a child is committed to any

agency, association, corporation, institution or society, other than an

institution supported and controlled by the state or a subdivision

thereof, such commitment shall be made, when practicable, to an

authorized agency under the control of persons of the same religious

faith as that of the child.

2. Whenever any child is surrendered, released, placed out, or boarded

out, in a family, a home or an institution, or in an agency boarding

home, or in a group home, or to an authorized agency, or in the custody

of any person other than that of a relative within the second degree,

such surrender, release, placement or boarding out shall when

practicable, be to, with or in the custody of a person or persons of the

same religious faith as that of the child or to an authorized agency

under the control of persons of the same religious faith as that of the

child.

3. In appointing guardians of children, and in granting orders of

adoption of children, the court shall, when practicable, appoint as such

guardians, and give custody through adoption, only to a person or

persons of the same religious faith as that of the child.

4. The provisions of subdivision one, two and three of this section

shall be so interpreted as to assure that in the care, protection,

adoption, guardianship, discipline and control of any child, its

religious faith shall be preserved and protected.

5. Whenever a child is placed out or boarded out in the custody, or

under the supervision or control, of a person or of persons of a

religious faith different from that of the child, or if a guardian of a

child is appointed whose religious faith is different from that of the

child, or if letters of adoption of a child are granted to a person or

persons whose religious faith is different from that of the child or if

a child is committed to an agency, association, corporation, society or

institution, which is under the control of persons of a religious faith

different from that of the child, the court, public board, commission or

official shall state or recite the facts which impelled such disposition

to be made contrary to the religious faith of the child or to any person

whose religious faith is different from that of the child and such

statement shall be a part of the minutes of the proceeding, and subject

to inspection by the department or an authorized agency. This

subdivision shall not apply to institutions supported and controlled by

the state or a subdivision thereof.

6. The provisions of this section in relation to the protection of the

religious faith of children shall also apply to minors between sixteen

and eighteen years of age.

7. The provisions of subdivisions one, two, three, four, five and six

of this section shall, so far as consistent with the best interests of

the child, and where practicable, be applied so as to give effect to the

religious wishes of the birth mother, and of the birth father whose

consent would be required for the child's adoption pursuant to section

one hundred eleven of the domestic relations law, if the child is born

out-of-wedlock, or if born in-wedlock, the religious wishes of the birth

parents of the child, or if only one of the birth parents of an

in-wedlock child is then living, the religious wishes of the birth

parent then living. Religious wishes of a parent shall include wishes

that the child be placed in the same religion as the birth parent or in

a different religion from the birth parent or with indifference to

religion or with religion a subordinate consideration. Expressed

religious wishes of a birth parent shall mean those which have been set

forth in a writing signed by the birth parent, except that, in a

non-agency adoption, such writing shall be an affidavit of the birth

parent. In the absence of expressed religious wishes, as defined in this

subdivision, determination of the religious wishes, if any, of the birth

parent, shall be made upon the other facts of the particular case, and,

if there is no evidence to the contrary, it shall be presumed that the

birth parent wishes the child to be reared in the religion of the birth

parent.