Section 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.