The Office of Children’s Issues (CI) has designated May 15 as Post-Adoption Report Day, a day of action to help address the challenge of missing and/or delinquent post-adoption reports to countries that require them. CI encourages all Adoption Service Providers (ASP) to proactively reach out to current and former adoptive parents to let them know about our shared objective to submit as many required post-adoption reports as possible on May 15 and to ensure all families understand the reasons this activity is so important. There are a number of ways that ASPs can conduct this outreach:

• Social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter
• Listservs and other Internet groups
• E-mail campaigns
• Blog entries
• Postings on your organization’s website
• Announcements at support group or training meetings

ASPs are asked to be creative in utilizing any other appropriate mechanism they have for spreading the word about this important effort.

Post-adoption reports to the children’s countries of origin not only demonstrate U.S. families’ commitment to adopted children’s welfare, but also help intercountry adoption programs remain open as a viable option for children who cannot find permanency in their countries of birth. Many countries require adoptive parents to provide information regarding the progress and welfare of children after they join their new families through submission of these reports.  Post-adoption reports provide assurance to the authorities of the child’s country of origin that children who are placed with permanent families in the United States are receiving appropriate care and protection. 

The specific requirements vary from country to country, are sometimes quite detailed, and may extend until adopted children turn 18 (or even older in a few rare cases). Information on country specific requirements can be found on our website on the following page: Post-Adoption Reporting Overview.  U.S. regulations require ASPs to include the country of origin’s post-adoption reporting requirements in the contract with the prospective adoptive parents and make good faith efforts to encourage them to submit the reports.  For information about post-adoption reporting requirements, please check the post-adoption section of the country-specific pages on our website. You may also find helpful information about Post-Adoption Requirements and Obtaining U.S. Citizenship on our website. 

Missing or delinquent post-adoption reports can negatively impact ASPs seeking authorization to work in affected countries, as well as U.S. citizen parents seeking to adopt in the future. The consequences of failure to comply with post-adoption reporting requirements are significant, particularly for thousands of children in need of permanency who would be adversely impacted if intercountry adoption programs are suspended or closed. 

The Department of State encourages prospective adoptive parents to be aware of these obligations at the outset of their adoption process, and in consultation with their ASP, consider their willingness to comply with post-adoption reporting requirements prior to identifying the country from which they wish to pursue adoption. 

We recognize that ASPs already convey this message to adoptive families on a regular basis.  Our hope is that by concentrating our collective efforts on a single day, we can send a strong message to countries of origin that we take these commitments very seriously. To read more about our efforts to address barriers to intercountry adoption, please see the Department’s FY2016 Annual Report to Congress.