Availability of Public Comments on Proposed Hague Convention Regulations for 22 CFR Part 96 and 22 CFR Part 98


On February 15, 2006, 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) were published in the Federal Register. The texts of the final rules published in the Federal Register, Vol. 71, No. 31 may be found at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/search.html by using the search term "intercountry adoption."

Part 96 establishes requirements and procedures for the designation and monitoring of accrediting entities, sets standards that adoption service providers must follow to qualify for Convention accreditation or approval, and governs the registration of non-profit agencies that choose to apply for temporary accreditation. Part 98 regulates the preservation of Convention records by the federal government.

The final rules were prepared after an extensive review of the approximately 1500 public comments submitted in response to the proposed regulations published in the Federal Register on September 15, 2003. That process is described in the supplementary information that was published in the final rules on February 15, 2006 in conjunction with Parts 96 and 98.

The proposed rules were open for public comment for a 90-day period that concluded on December 15, 2003. The public comments submitted at that time have been accessible on our website since 2004. Now that the rules have been published in their final form, these comments on the proposed rule will no longer available for viewing in electronic format on the Internet. Members of the public who wish to view the proposed comments in paper format are invited to submit a request to the Office of Children’s Issues. The request should be submitted in writing and sent to the e-mail address: AdoptionUSCA@state.gov . The Office of Children’s Issues will arrange for an appointment for you to view the public comments.

REMINDER: The comment period ended on December 15, 2003 and remains closed. Please do not send additional comments on 22 CFR Parts 96 or 98.