In re the Certification as Qualified Adoptive Parents Pursuant to Domestic Relations Law § 115-d

OPINION OF THE COURT

John M. Hunt, J.

I

In November of 1987, six-year-old Lisa Steinberg was killed *487by her “adoptive father,” Joel Steinberg. Steinberg was convicted of manslaughter in the first degree in March of 1989 and he was sentenced to prison for 8V3 to 25 years (see Launders v Steinberg, 9 NY3d 930, 931 [2007]). Following the tragedy of the Steinberg case, the Legislature enacted significant reforms of the adoption statute in 1988 and 1989. The case now before this court involves the failure to comply with the requirements of the adoption statute, which resulted in a transfer of the…