The Intercountry Adoption Accreditation and Maintenance Entity (IAAME) notified the Department that Catholic Charities of Baltimore voluntarily relinquished its accreditation to provide intercountry adoption services, effective October 29, 2020.   

Agencies or persons that are not accredited or approved may not act as a primary provider but may perform services for intercountry adoption under the supervision of an accredited or approved adoption service provider in accordance with the regulations. When an agency or person’s accreditation or approval expires or is relinquished, the agency or person is responsible for taking all necessary steps for transferring pending cases and adoption records as required by 22 CFR 96.63(a). Agencies and persons are required to have plans to transfer cases and records if they cease to provide or are no longer permitted to provide adoption services.

Families working with Catholic Charities of Baltimore should contact the agency directly with questions about case or record transfer. We also encourage families to review the information published by IAAME about selecting a primary provider/adoption service provider and the accreditation/approval requirements.

The Department of State does not review or approve case or record transfer plans and has a limited role in their execution. The Department does, however, communicate with competent adoption authorities about the accreditation status of agencies and persons and case transfer plans, as needed.

Affected families may wish to review information about Case Transfer Responsibilities on the Department of State’s website and information about If Your Agency is No Longer Accredited/Approved on the USCIS website.

We also encourage families with outstanding post-adoption reports to contact their agency for guidance on how to proceed. Information about post-adoption reporting requirements is available on the country-specific information pages on the Department of State’s website.  Requirements vary by country with respect to frequency of submission, information to be included, and methods of submission.