and so forth. Parents of children referred for screening/evaluation have the right to say yes or no to the proceeding, to program participation, to privacy and confidentiality, to examine a child's records, to take part in meetings regarding services, and to due process procedures to settle complaints (Your rights asà , 2002).
New York Catholic Bishops recently called for the right of parents to choose their children's education and for parents to speak out to gain support for voucher programs that can help finance school choice (Early, 2002). Tax credits and scholarships that allow choice are also recommended as a partial solution to the problems faced by parents.
The 1999 New York State version of the federal Adoption and Safe Families Act provides for careful vetting of adoptive families (via criminal record checks and finger-printing), the process for qualifying adoptive parents, assistance to foster parents willing to adopt, time limits for freeing foster children for adoption, and specific rights of foster parents (Burt, 2000). New York City Family Court (Adoption, 2002), like
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