NYS Adoption Services (NYSAS)

Children of all ages are waiting to be adopted. NYS Adoption Service (NYSAS) welcomes responsible, caring adults who are ready to share their time, their hearts, and their lives with our waiting children. When you adopt a waiting child, you will be giving that child a permanent family and another chance in life. All children deserve a loving, committed, safe, and permanent family.

We encourage you to use our website to learn more about the process of adoption in New York State. We trust you will find it an informative and useful guide as you make this most important decision to parent a child. Below, you will find questions about the different types of adoption in New York State. The primary focus of OCFS is the adoption of children from foster care, but there are other adoption processes such as adopting a child who is not in foster care or adopting internationally.

Adoption is a process that creates a binding, legal relationship between parent and child. It is strongly recommended you consult with an adoption attorney while navigating any formal legal process, including adoption.

NYS Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped

The mission of the NYS Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped (CBVH) is to enhance employability, to maximize independence, and to assist in the development of the capacities and strengths of people who are legally blind. CBVH provides vocational rehabilitation and other direct services to legally blind New York State residents, including children, adults, and elderly persons.

One of CBVH's primary objectives is to assist consumers in achieving economic self-sufficiency and full integration into society. CBVH offers these services from seven district offices across the state. CBVH works closely with not-for-profit agencies for the blind throughout New York State to provide technical, educational and resource assistance to our consumers.

NYS Kinship Navigator

The NYS Kinship Navigator is an information, referral and advocacy program for kinship caregivers in New York State. A kinship caregiver is an individual that is caring for a child that is not biologically their own. In New York State, there are an estimated 179,000 caregivers, 131,000 of whom are grandparents raising grandchildren. Many others are aunts and uncles.

The Navigator seeks to assist these caregivers by providing information on financial assistance, legal information and referrals, and other types of issues that caregivers face when raising children in order to provide stability and permanency in the home. 

View the NYS County Kinship Care Resource Map