Frequently Asked Questions: Ongoing Efforts to Implement the Hague Adoption Convention
Q: Is it true that the United States plans to become a Convention country in 2007?
A: We are pleased to report that the United States is making significant progress in completing the tasks necessary for the United States to ratify the Convention in 2007. Once the United States deposits its instrument of ratification, it will take approximately three months for the Convention to enter into force with respect to the United States. The accredited/approved adoption service providers will then begin to process Hague adoptions. The United States strongly supports the Convention's stated goal: "to establish safeguards to ensure that intercountry adoptions take place in the best interests of the child and with respect for his or her fundamental rights as recognized in international law." U.S. implementation of this important treaty will result in invaluable protections for birthparents, children eligible for adoption, and adoptive parents.
Q: Can you explain why the accrediting entities will charge adoption service providers fees to become accredited, temporarily accredited, or approved?
A: Nothing good ever comes without some cost. However, the legislation passed by Congress to implement the Hague Adoption Convention (the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 or "IAA") requires that the Department designate accrediting entities to help the United States to regulate the adoption service providers. The IAA provides for the accrediting entities to charge fees to adoption service providers to cover the costs of accreditation/approval. Per the IAA, the State Department must approve such fees to ensure that they do not exceed the costs of accreditation/approval. We are confident from our discussions with the designated accrediting entities (one is a non-profit and the other is a State public authority) that their proposed fees will not exceed the costs of accreditation/approval. The process of accreditation/approval is labor-intensive and requires the designated accrediting entities to conduct site evaluations of every adoption service provider applying for accreditation/approval to check if it complies with the comprehensive standards in the accreditation regulations.
Q: What are the factors the Department will consider in approving the fees?
A: In reviewing the fees, per the IAA, the Department must consider the relative size of the agency, the geographic location of the agency, as well as the number of Convention adoption cases managed by the agency. The Department of State is now reviewing the schedule of fees that the accrediting entities propose to charge for Hague accreditation and expects to decide about approval of the fees shortly. The accrediting entities will work with adoption service providers who seek to be accredited to balance the goal of lower cost accreditation with the ultimate goal of ensuring that all of the standards and protections outlined in the Convention are followed.
Q: What are the responsibilities of the Accrediting Entities ("AEs")?
A: AE duties include accreditation, monitoring of adoption service providers, and ensuring substantial compliance with the Hague standards.
Q: If the United States fails to implement the Convention will foreign countries no longer allow their children to be adopted by U.S. citizen parents?
A. Some countries have stated that they will allow their children to be adopted only by prospective adoptive parents in countries who are party to the Convention so it is essential that the United States become a Convention country or adoptions could be impeded. Once the Convention enters into force with respect to the United States, we believe that Convention member countries of origin will be more willing to coordinate with the United States on intercountry adoptions. Our embassies overseas communicate with foreign governments on adoption matters regularly and plan to continue to let them know the importance that the United States places on the Hague Adoption Convention. We encourage all countries to join the Convention and work for protection of children. We believe that U.S. ratification of the Convention demonstrates the longstanding commitment by the United States to serving the best interests of children who are eligible to be adopted.
Q. What if I am in the process of adopting a child, but my adoption is not finalized by the time the United States ratifies the Convention?
A. This was taken into account by Congress in passing the IAA. Section 505(b) of the IAA states that neither the Convention nor the IAA shall apply if the application for advance processing of an orphan petition (I-600A) or petition to classify an orphan as an immediate relative (I-600) is filed before the date the Convention enters into force for the United States. The date of the Convention's entry into force will be posted on our web site and published in the Federal Register well in advance. If prospective adoptive parents have not filed the I-600 or I-600A or equivalent forms before the Convention enters into force, then the entire adoption would be governed by the Convention, the IAA, and the regulations implementing the IAA. This generally means that prospective adoptive parents will need to select an accredited or temporarily accredited agency or approved person to provide adoption services in their case.
Q. Are there other changes that will affect prospective adoptive parents when the Hague Convention enters into force?
A. U.S. implementation of the Hague Convention offers many highly positive changes for prospective adoptive parents. For example, a new mechanism for investigating and resolving complaints about adoption service providers will be instituted. If a prospective adoptive parent has a Hague-related complaint against its adoption service provider, the accrediting entity will be required to fully investigate. If a violation is found, the accrediting entity will then determine the appropriate disciplinary action based on the seriousness of the incident as well as the extent to which the adoption service provider has taken or failed to take corrective action. Both the Convention and the regulations on accreditation provide a number of safeguards to protect children. This includes a requirement that adoption service providers must provide prospective adoptive parents with at least ten hours of training before they travel to adopt.
Important Changes Regarding Adoption from Ukraine
On July 3, 2006 the Minister for Family, Youth and Sports, Yuriy Pavlenko, held a press conference to announce the official opening of the new adoption authority, to be known as the State Department for Adoption and Protection of Rights of the Child (SDAPRC), and to outline his ministry’s policies related to the protection of children’s rights.
Minister Pavlenko reported that the previous central adoption authority (the National Adoption Center under the Ministry of Education) had been dissolved, and stressed that the SDAPRC is completely separate from the previous system. He underscored that Ukraine has no intent to impose any restrictions or moratorium on intercountry adoptions; nonetheless, he made clear that promoting domestic adoptions will be the first priority and the main focus of the new adoption authority.
All registered families are asked to submit new applications to affirm their intention to adopt in Ukraine. This application should be done in the same way as the one previously submitted to the NAC with their original dossiers, but should now be addressed to the new adoption authority and sent via regular or courier mail service directly to the following address:
Ms. Ludmyla Volynets
Director
State Department for Adoption and Protection of Rights of the Child
Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports
14 Desiatinna Street
Kiev 01025
Ukraine
Only original, notarized and apostilled applications, accompanied by a Ukrainian translation, will be accepted. A Ukrainian and English-language sample application will be posted on the Embassy web site.
HOLT International Conducts Cambodia Orphanage Survey 2005
HOLT International Children's Services (contracted under USAID) conducted a survey on orphanages in Cambodia from February to September of 2005. The survey gives calculations on the number of children in orphanage care in Cambodia, the reasons they came into care and the prospects for their future. To read the full Cambodia report please click here.
Meth Epidemic Greatly Effects Child Welfare
June 11, 2006
The current meth epidemic is being compared to the crack craze of the 80s. Unfortunately, children of meth users are suffering great consequences. According to an article written by ABC, 15,000 children were found in meth labs in the last 5 years. Child welfare officials are correlating meth with the rising number of children needing to be removed from their homes and placed in foster care. To read the full ABC article, Kids Are the Collateral Damage in Meth Epidemic, click here. To learn more about the effect of meth on the state and efforts to place kids from meth families with their grandparents, click here to read an article posted on www.stateline.org.
Important Notice on Russian Adoption Agencies
May 25, 2006
The U.S. Embassy in Moscow and the U.S. Department of State have learned that, under a new Russian law, foreign adoption agencies operating in Russia are being required to register as non-governmental organizations (NGOs). In practical terms, this means that agencies whose Russian government accreditation is expiring before they can register as NGOs will not be able to continue doing adoption work in Russia until they are both registered and reaccredited. Unfortunately, the Russian government has not yet announced the specific procedures, requirements or timeline for registration, making the situation quite uncertain. U.S. families who began Russian adoptions with agencies that are no longer able to do adoption work during this interim period will be permitted to continue their adoption cases through to conclusion.
Ukraine is currently processing adoptions by US citizens on a LIMITED basis
May 22, 2006
Families who are pursuing an adoption in Ukraine should be aware that they will likely experience delays. It is estimated that the transition to a new office which will oversee adoption processing will be complete in June 2006. At this time, no appointments for adoptive families are being scheduled (possibly until the transition is complete), but new dossiers are being accepted for children who fall into one of the following categories:
1) the child is older than 10 years of age
2) the child has an identified handicap
3) the child has biological siblings who have been adopted by the family pursuing his or her adoption.
Agencies Report Released on Romania
May 18, 2006
Hidden Suffering: Romania's Segregation and Abuse of Infants and Children with Disabilities is the product of an 18-month investigation by Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI) into the human rights abuses of children with disabilities in Romania. The report documents a broad range of atrocious conditions for children with disabilities inside Romania's institutions. While Romania has reduced its orphanage population and created foster care placements for many children, the reforms have left behind children with disabilities. This report documents serious human rights violations against children with disabilities in an institution for babies and in adult facilities. As the European Union (EU) readies to announce a date for Romania to join the EU, we urge the EU to insist on immediate action by the government of Romania to end these abuses." (Ahern & Rosenthal, 2006, ii)
Ahern, L., & Rosenthal, E. (2006). Hidden Suffering: Romania's Segregation and Abuse of Infants and Children with Disabilities [Electronic Version]. Mental Disability Rights International.
Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption Accreditation/Approval Regulations Published in the Federal Register
The Department of State was pleased to announce the publication in the Federal Register on February 15, 2006 of the final rules on "Accreditation of Agencies and Approval of Persons Under the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (IAA)" (22 CFR Part 96) and "Intercountry Adoption – Preservation of Convention Records" (22 CFR Part 98).
To view these regulations, click Final Regulations on Agency Accreditation and Person Approval (99 pages) or Final Regulations on Record Retention (4 pages) (you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open this files; visit www.adobe.com to download Adobe).
For the complete story please visit the Adoption Education-International Resources page.
Ukraine's Parliament Passes Law to Give the Ministry of Education National Adoption Center Interim Authority Over Adoptions
Jan 12, 2006
On December 22, 2005, a new law came into effect transferring authority over intercountry adoptions in Ukraine to the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports. From that time on, since the former central authority (the National Adoption Center under the Ministry of Education) no longer had jurisdiction over adoptions, and the new adoption authority under the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports had not yet been established, a jurisdiction and processing gap was created, with no Ukrainian ministries having the authority to handle adoptions. This resulted in a stoppage of adoption processing, a concern that the U.S. Embassy in Kiev raised with the Ukrainian government.
In order to resolve this issue, on January 12, 2006, the Rada (Ukraine’s Parliament) passed law 8680 giving interim authority over adoptions to the Ministry of Education's National Adoption Center (NAC) until the new adoption authority is legally established under the Ministry of Family, Youth, and Sports. The law will come into effect as soon as it is signed by the President, who has up to 15 days to review it. As soon as the President signs the law, the NAC will reopen and issue a notice to the adoption community regarding how families whose adoptions were suspended or whose appointments were scheduled through January may proceed.
American prospective adoptive families who had previously-scheduled January appointments should not travel to Ukraine until the NAC issues a notice publicly confirming that those appointments will be honored. Please see the U.S. Embassy in Kiev’s web site for more information.
National Adoption Information Clearing House Releases Postadoption Services Bulletin
The National Adoption Information Clearinghouse (NAIC), a service of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, released a bulletin in December entitled, "Postadoption Services: A Bulletin for Professionals."
Postadoption services are services provided to adopted children and their families after an adoption is finalized. These services may include educational and informational services, clinical services, material services, and support services.
The bulletin addresses: who benefits from postadoption services, how postadoption services can help, what postadoptive services families need, what postadoptive services States offer, how postadoption services are delivered, how postadoption services are funded, why evaluation for postadoption services is needed, what the implications are for practice, and what future research is needed.
The bulletin can be found at the NAIC web site.
Romania Rejects 1,100 International Adoption Requests
December 2, 2005
The Office of Romanian Adoptions (ORA) announced on December 7 that it will not approve the 1,100 international adoption requests it has received over the past four years. The ORA rejected the requests despite the fact that they were submitted before a ban on the international adoption of Romanian children went into effect on January 1, 2005. On December 9, the State Department issued a press statement expressing deep concern in response to the decision.
According to State Secretary Theodora Bertzi, who is the head of the ORA, the authorities’ decision not to allow the adoptions was made at the end of November, after the Office completed evaluation of all the requests. Bertzi said that authorities have examined the situation of each child that was to be adopted. Thus far, however, the Romanian government has not provided enough detail on the reviews to demonstrate transparency in the processing. For more information, please see this November 7 Bucharest Daily report.
OMB Still Reviewing Hague Regulations
December 2005
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is continuing its review of the proposed Hague Convention implementation regulations submitted by the Department of State. The initial 90-day review period ended on November 30, but OMB is seeking additional time to review the regulations. The State Department confirmed that it has formally resubmitted the regulations to OMB for another 90-day review period. Although OMB has finished reviewing the Regulations on Federal Government Preservation of Hague Convention Records (22 CFR Part 98), it has not completed its review of the Regulations on Accreditation and Approval of Adoption Service Providers (22 CFR Part 96). When the interagency review is complete, both sets of regulations will be published in the Federal Register and the accreditation process for adoption agencies will begin.
Click here for more information from the State Department’s web site.
Ukraine Reopens Adoptions under Limited Circumstances, Adoption Processing Authority Set to be Moved
November 23, 2005
On November 23, the National Adoption Center of Ukraine (NAC) officially informed the Embassy that the Center had resumed acceptance of new adoption dossiers under limited circumstances. The NAC advises that it will now only accept dossiers from U.S. citizens who are applying to adopt from the following categories of Ukrainian children:
· older children (10 years old and above);
· siblings of previously adopted children; and
· handicapped children.
The NAC advised that, due to the large number of American post-adoption reports still outstanding (558 reports for the period 1996-2003), the suspension of acceptance of new dossiers other than those noted above will remain in effect. CCAI will continue to keep you informed of this issue. Click here to see the announcement on the Embassy’s web site.
The State Department has also confirmed that the Ukrainian Parliament has passed legislation to transfer responsibility for the country’s adoption processing from the National Adoption Center under the Ministry of Education to the State Authority for Adoption and Protection of Children’s Rights under the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports. The legislation will go into effect after President Yushchenko signs it. There is currently no time frame for when the transition will be complete or when the Ministry will be prepared to accept new dossiers.
Kazakhstan Releases Requirements for New Adoption Dossiers
On November 4, 2005, the Consular section of the Kazakh Embassy updated its web site with new information regarding the adoption of children from Kazakhstan. The information consists of a cover letter and a comprehensive list of requirements for new adoption dossiers, including a letter of intent, a home study recommendation letter, verified background checks, and commitment to submit regular post-adoption reports.
The two documents can be found at the Kazakh Embassy’s web site.
GAO Releases Report on Intercountry Adoption Process
October 21, 2005
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report assessing U.S. government efforts to manage the intercountry adoption process and describing the statuses of implementation of the Hague Convention by the U.S. and by top sending countries. The report, entitled “Agencies Have Improved the Intercountry Adoption Process, but Further Enhancements Are Needed,” does the following: (1) describes the U.S. intercountry adoption process, (2) assesses the U.S. government’s efforts to manage the intercountry adoption process, (3) assesses U.S. efforts to strengthen safeguards and mitigate against the potential for fraudulent adoptions, and (4) describes the Hague Convention (Convention) and the statuses of U.S. and top sending countries’ implementation of the Convention.
In response to the report’s findings, the GAO, in conjunction with the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security, made the following recommendations: that the Secretary of Homeland Security work with the Director of U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Services to formalize its quality assurance process so it can assess the quality of the adoption process over time and identify areas where training or guidance may be warranted, and to consider establishing a formal and systematic approach to document specific incidents of problems identified in foreign countries to retain institutional knowledge and analyze trends.
More information, including the full text of the report, is available here.
Pakistan Bans Adoption on Earthquake Orphans
October 16, 2005
Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz announced on October 16 that the government of Pakistan is imposing a ban on the adoption of Pakistani children orphaned by the October 8 earthquake. The Prime Minister stated that the government is working to search for guardians for the orphaned children, and will ensure the upbringing of those children for whom a guardian cannot be found.
To find out about other ways to assist with earthquake relief efforts, go to www.usaid.gov or www.cidi.org.
Please contact the State Department if you have any questions about this matter.
New Dossiers to Kazakhstan on Hold until November
October 14, 2005
According to the Embassy of Kazakhstan, the country will not accept new dossiers from families or agencies until early to mid-November due to a current revision of Kazakhstan’s adoption policies. In November, the government will send out a letter to agencies with programs in Kazakhstan outlining any possible changes.
This is not expected to affect families whose adoptions are currently being processed. CCAI will continue to post any new information on this site.
India Considers Expanding Adoption Rights to All Religions
October 14, 2005
The Supreme Court of India issued a notice on September 26 to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, the Ministry of Law and Justice, and the Department of Women and Child Development on a public interest litigation which has sought guidelines for enacting a law which would allow adoptions irrespective of the parents’ religion. The Court is seeking information from these government bodies on the potential impact of such a law.
Adoptions in India are currently governed by two laws. The Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act (HAMA) of 1956 extends adoption rights to Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists. All other religious groups, including foreigners, have to go through the Guardians and Wards Act of 1890, which gives adopting families “guardianship” but not “parenthood.” Overseas parents can then finalize the adoptions in their home countries.
Out of 12 million orphaned children in India, only about 3,000 are adopted each year. Some lawyers in India have pointed out that the absence of a more inclusive adoption law is partly to blame for the low number of adoptions in India.
Ukraine Suspends New Adoption Dossiers
September 26, 2005
On September 21, the Government of Ukraine informed the U.S. Embassy in Kiev that the National Adoption Center (NAC) of Ukraine was suspending the acceptance of new adoption dossiers from U.S. citizens and citizens of several other countries. According to the NAC, the decision to stop accepting certain dossiers as of September 19 was based in large part on the past non-compliance of some families with post-adoption reports, which are required by Ukrainian law.
The Embassy has asked for further explanation from the Government of Ukraine regarding the premise behind this decision. The Embassy has also expressed concern about the abrupt nature of the decision and the fact that it was taken with no advance notice to, or consultation with, the countries affected.
According to the NAC, the new procedures do NOT affect dossiers that have already been accepted, unless the prospective adopting parents have failed to register and provide reports about a previously adopted Ukrainian child.
The Embassy will continue to track this issue closely and is discussing next steps with the State Department.
Helsinki Commission Members Call Romania's Ban on Intercountry Adoption a "Human Rights Abuse"
September 14, 2005
In a hearing on September 14, members of the U.S. Helsinki Commission sharply criticized Romania’s 2004 ban on intercountry adoptions, calling it a “human rights abuse.” Co-chairman Rep. Chris Smith stressed that the anti-adoption law “is based upon the misguided proposition that an institution, or even a foster family, is preferable to an adoptive family from outside the child’s country of birth.”
Rep. Smith cited UNICEF statistics that 9,000 children each year are abandoned in Romania’s maternity wards or pediatric hospitals, 66 percent of them minority Roma children. “Each year, 1,000 children are adopted domestically while 8,000 children in Romania are being sentenced to a life without knowing family or a parent’s love,” he said.
International adoptions have been on hold since Romania declared a moratorium on international adoptions in 2001. The EU was successful in pressuring Romania to halt international adoptions as a condition for accession into the Union.
The 2004 anti-adoption law left 1,700 legal international adoptions pending with the Romanian government. Of these cases, 200 children had matched with adoptive families in the United States and the remainder with families in Western Europe. Despite promises from the Romanian government, none of these “pipeline cases” have been resolved.
Click here for an unofficial transcript of the September 14 Helsinki Commission hearing
Click here to see a letter sent in June by CCAI to President Basescu regarding the processing of the pipeline cases
Click here to read a UNICEF report on the vulnerability to abuse of Romanian children in residential institutions
Adoptions Resume in Azerbaijan
August 2, 2005
Azerbaijan suspended adoptions in April of 2004 in order to conduct an investigation into adoption practices. Azerbaijani authorities have confirmed that the suspension on intercountry adoptions has ended and that adoptions can resume. The Azerbaijani Embassy in the U.S. is accepting dossiers and registering adoption applications.
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