About Us
At RAISE Children, we believe in the importance of legal recognition for all families, especially in today’s shifting landscape. Although New York has made notable advancements in safeguarding diverse family structures, there remains a pressing need for further progress.
The Rights Act Initiating Security and Equality for Children, or RAISE Children, is a proposed legislation that seeks to enhance protections for families in New York. This initiative aims to create clearer and more accessible paths to parental recognition. If passed, RAISE Children would:
- Establish a simplified adoption process for individuals already recognized as parents under New York law, termed “Confirmatory Adoption.”
- Allow courts to approve multi-parent adoption requests.
- Define explicit criteria for various presumptions of parentage.
- Ensure that New York courts can acknowledge that children may have more than two parents.
RAISE Children (S.4555/A.4880) is backed by Senator Hoylman-Sigal and Assemblymember González-Rojas. For further details, you can check out our legislative briefing from February 13, 2025.
Get Involved
We invite you to join our coalition, download our section-by-section analysis, or check out our factsheet for more information.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is RAISE Children?
RAISE Children is legislation designed to create and reinforce clearer paths to parental recognition. It aims to provide LGBTQ+ families with greater security and updates New York’s laws to better reflect diverse family forms. This includes establishing frameworks for presuming parentage and aligning custody and child support laws.
What does RAISE Children do?
RAISE Children enhances protections for all families by streamlining paths to parental recognition. It includes measures such as:
- A simplified adoption process for existing parents (referred to as “Confirmatory Adoption”)
- Allowing multi-parent adoption petitions
- Establishing clear parentage presumptions
- Recognizing that children may have more than two legal parents
Why is RAISE Children necessary?
The legal bond between a parent and child is crucial for a child’s well-being. Without formal recognition, families can face discrimination based on their unique circumstances, making children vulnerable. RAISE Children aims to rectify this by making parentage judgments more accessible for all families, including those formed through assisted reproduction, LGBTQ+ families, and those with multiple parents.
What is confirmatory adoption?
Confirmatory adoption offers a more efficient and accessible means of protecting families, particularly those formed through assisted reproduction. Unlike traditional adoption, which involves a lengthy and costly process, confirmatory adoption is streamlined. This method is already in place in eight other states and is gaining traction in others.
What are presumptions of parentage?
Presumptions of parentage are legal inferences that establish a parent-child relationship based on specific facts. For instance, when a married individual gives birth, their spouse is legally presumed to be the child’s parent. This concept is essential for recognizing diverse family dynamics.
Can a child have more than two legal parents?
RAISE Children supports the recognition of multi-parent relationships when it serves the child’s best interests. Many children, particularly those in families affected by divorce or the loss of a parent, have multiple parental figures. Recognizing these relationships is vital to prevent emotional trauma and ensure stability for children.
Take Action
Have you ever worried about your legal status as a parent? Did you, like Sarah, face challenges in securing a second parent adoption? Perhaps your family structure involves more than two parents. We want to hear your stories! Sharing your experiences helps highlight the importance of this legislation.
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