Preparations for U.S. Implementation of the Hague Convention

The completion of preparations for U.S. implementation of the Convention and IAA will permit the United States to ratify the Convention and bring it into force between the United States and other countries that have become parties to it. These preparations include the following:

• Augmenting staffing within the Office of Children’s Issues in the Bureau of Consular Affairs of the U.S. Department of State to meet its U.S. Central Authority functions;
• Department of State promulgation of regulations (1) establishing requirements/procedures for the designation and monitoring of accrediting entities; (2) setting the standards that must be met for non-profit adoption agencies to qualify for Convention accreditation and for other agencies and individuals to qualify for Convention approval; (3) governing the registration of smaller community-based agencies for temporary accreditation; and (4) providing the procedures and requirements for incoming and outgoing Convention adoptions;
• Establishment of a computerized case-tracking system for intercountry adoptions involving the United States (incoming and outgoing);
• Designation of one or more entities to accredit non-profit U.S. adoption agencies to offer/provide adoption services for Convention adoptions, to approve other bodies and individuals wishing to offer/provide adoption services for such adoptions, and to register qualified smaller agencies for temporary accreditation;
• Preparations by designated accrediting entities to process applications for Convention accreditation and approval and registration for temporary accreditation, to deal with complaints, and continuously to monitor the compliance by accredited agencies and approved persons with the requirements of the Convention, the IAA and the federal regulations;
• Preparation by the accrediting entities and the USCA of the first list of providers authorized under the Convention to offer and provide adoption services for Convention adoptions;
• Development of educational materials and programs for the U.S. adoption community -- national adoption organizations, adoption service providers, State courts and other authorities and future prospective adoptive parents -- concerning their future roles in U.S. compliance with and implementation of the Convention, the IAA and the related federal regulations;
• Deposit of the U.S. instrument of ratification and subsequent entry into force of the Convention between the United States and other party countries approximately three months later.