MEMORANDUM AND ORDER B.B., T.R., M.P., Z.W., D.W., C.W.C., J.R., J.S., S.S., C.P., C.C., E.R., A.R., and M.R. (“Plaintiffs”), individually and on behalf of others similarly situated, bring the instant action against Kathy Hochul, in her capacity as Governor of the State of New York, Sheila J. Poole, in her capacity as Commissioner of New York State’s Office of Children and Family Services, and the City of New York (collectively “Defendants”), asserting violations of their substantive and procedural due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Defendants move pursuant to Rules 12(b)(1), 12(b)(6) and 12(b)(7) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to dismiss the complaint in its entirety. BACKGROUND1 I. Disqualification Systems The Office of Children and Family Services (“OCFS”) and the Administration for Children’s Services (“ACS”) are state government agencies that provide child welfare, juvenile justice and early care and education services, with the goal of protecting and promoting the safety and well-being of New York City children and families. Each year, ACS removes thousands of children from their parents or guardians in New York City based on allegations of abuse or neglect. (Compl. 4, ECF No. 1.) Once removed, children are placed into ACS custody. (Id.) Thereafter, ACS must notify each child’s potential “kin”2 to set out the options for the child’s care. (Id. 157.) Among other alternatives, the child’s kin may seek to become certified as a foster parent or approved as an adoptive parent. (Id. 158.) In connection with both the foster parent and adoption approval processes, ACS collects information about the applicant to determine his or her suitability for certification or approval. (Id. 159.) Of particular relevance here, ACS requests fingerprints and records from the New York State Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment (“SCR”) on the applicant and any other adult who resides in the same household. (Id.
13, 159.) SCR is a registry of individuals who have been investigated for child abuse or neglect, and is maintained by OCFS. (Id. 13.) Once ACS receives fingerprints and records on the applicant, this information is then submitted to OCFS, which in turn requests a criminal history check from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. (Id. 159.) OCFS then provides ACS with a summary of the applicant’s criminal history and notifies ACS as to whether the application should be denied, held in abeyance, or proceed. (Id. 160.) An applicant can be denied certification as a foster parent or approval as an adoptive parent under any one of three state disqualification systems: (1) mandatory disqualification system, (2) discretionary criminal history disqualification system; or (3) SCR disqualification. (Id.
