Navigating the legal complexities of kinship foster care

Abstract

To serve as a foster parent, an individual must be vetted. When a placement involves placement with next of kin, the vetting process is a bit different. In the recent case of B.B. v. Hochul, a class action suit was filed against Hochul in her official capacity as governor, and Sheila J. Poole, in her official capacity as Commissioner of the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS). The plaintiffs were seeking to question the constitutionality of the process for screening kinship placements and the traditional grounds for rejecting a kinship placement. (from Introduction)