N.Y. Social Services Law § 373 (2026)

§ 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.