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The Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (done at the Hague, May 29, 1993), S. Treaty Doc. 105-51 (1998), 1870 U.N.T.S. 167 (Reg. No. 31922 (1993)); The Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, 42 U.S.C. 14901-14954; The Intercountry Adoption Universal Accreditation Act of 2012, Pub. L. 112-276, 42 U.S.C. 14925.
71 FR 8131, Feb. 15, 2006, unless otherwise noted.
89 FR 57265, July 12, 2024, unless otherwise noted.
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Subscribe to: 22 CFR Part 96 Subpart F - Standards for Convention Cases in Which a Child Is Emigrating From the United States (Outgoing Cases)
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(a) The agency or person takes all appropriate measures to ensure that a child background study is performed that includes information about the child's identity, adoptability, background, social environment, family history, medical history (including that of the child's family), and any special needs of the child. The child background study must include the following:
(1) Information that demonstrates that consents were obtained in accordance with paragraph (c) of this section;
(2) Information that demonstrates consideration of the child's wishes and opinions in accordance with paragraph (d) of this section; and
(3) Information that confirms that the child background study was prepared either by an exempted provider or by an individual who meets the requirements set forth in § 96.37(g).
(b) Where the child background study is not prepared in the first instance by an accredited agency, the agency or person ensures that the child background study is reviewed and approved in writing by an accredited agency. The written approval must include a determination that the background study includes all the information required by paragraph (a) of this section.
(c) The agency or person takes all appropriate measures to ensure that consents have been obtained as follows:
(1) The persons, institutions, and authorities whose consent is necessary for adoption have been counseled as necessary and duly informed of the effects of their consent, in particular, whether or not an adoption will result in the termination of the legal relationship between the child and his or her family of origin;
(2) All such persons, institutions, and authorities have given their consents;
(3) The consents have been expressed or evidenced in writing in the required legal form, have been given freely, were not induced by payments or compensation of any kind, and have not been withdrawn;
(4) The consent of the mother, where required, was executed after the birth of the child;
(5) The child, as appropriate in light of his or her age and maturity, has been counseled and duly informed of the effects of the adoption and of his or her consent to the adoption; and
(6) The child's consent, where required, has been given freely, in the required legal form, and expressed or evidenced in writing and not induced by payment or compensation of any kind.
(d) If the child is 12 years of age or older, or as otherwise provided by State law, the agency or person gives due consideration to the child's wishes or opinions before determining that an intercountry placement is in the child's best interests.
(e) The agency or person prior to the child's adoption takes all appropriate measures to transmit to the Central Authority or other competent authority or accredited bodies of the Convention country the child background study, proof that the necessary consents have been obtained, and the reasons for its determination that the placement is in the child's best interests. In doing so, the agency or person, as required by Article 16(2) of the Convention, does not reveal the identity of the mother or the father if these identities may not be disclosed under State law.
(a) Except in the case of adoption by relatives or in the case in which the birth parent(s) have identified specific prospective adoptive parent(s) or in other special circumstances accepted by the State court with jurisdiction over the case, the agency or person makes reasonable efforts to find a timely adoptive placement for the child in the United States by:
(1) Disseminating information on the child and his or her availability for adoption through print, media, and internet resources designed to communicate with potential prospective adoptive parent(s) in the United States;
(2) Listing information about the child on a national or State adoption exchange or registry for at least 60 calendar days after the birth of the child;
(3) Responding to inquiries about adoption of the child; and
(4) Providing a copy of the child background study to potential U.S. prospective adoptive parent(s).
(b) The agency or person demonstrates to the satisfaction of the State court with jurisdiction over the adoption that sufficient reasonable efforts (including no efforts, when in the best interests of the child) to find a timely and qualified adoptive placement for the child in the United States were made.
(c) In placing the child for adoption, the agency or person:
(1) To the extent consistent with State law, gives significant weight to the placement preferences expressed by the birth parent(s) in all voluntary placements;
(2) To the extent consistent with State law, makes diligent efforts to place siblings together for adoption and, where placement together is not possible, to arrange for contact between separated siblings, unless it is in the best interests of one of the siblings that such efforts or contact not take place; and
(3) Complies with all applicable requirements of the Indian Child Welfare Act.
(d) The agency or person complies with any State law requirements pertaining to the provision and payment of independent legal counsel for birth parents. If State law requires full disclosure to the birth parent(s) that the child is to be adopted by parent(s) who reside outside the United States, the agency or person provides such disclosure.
(e) The agency or person takes all appropriate measures to give due consideration to the child's upbringing and to his or her ethnic, religious, and cultural background.
(f) When particular prospective adoptive parent(s) in a Convention country have been identified, the agency or person takes all appropriate measures to determine whether the envisaged placement is in the best interests of the child, on the basis of the child background study and the home study on the prospective adoptive parent(s).
(g) The agency or person thoroughly prepares the child for the transition to the Convention country, using age-appropriate services that address the child's likely feelings of separation, grief, and loss and difficulties in making any cultural, religious, racial, ethnic, or linguistic adjustment.
(h) The agency or person takes all appropriate measures to ensure that the transfer of the child takes place in secure and appropriate circumstances, with properly trained and qualified escorts, if used, and, if possible, in the company of the adoptive parent(s) or the prospective adoptive parent(s).
(i) Before the placement for adoption proceeds, the agency or person identifies the entity in the receiving country that will provide post-placement supervision and reports, if required by State law, and ensures that the child's adoption record contains the information necessary for contacting that entity.
(j) The agency or person ensures that the child's adoption record includes the order granting the adoption or legal custody for the purpose of adoption in the Convention country.
(k) The agency or person consults with the Secretary before arranging for the return to the United States of any child who has emigrated to a Convention country in connection with the child's adoption.
(a) The agency or person keeps the Central Authority of the Convention country and the Secretary informed as necessary about the adoption process and the measures taken to complete it, as well as about the progress of the placement if a probationary period is required.
(b) The agency or person ensures that:
(1) Copies of all documents from the State court proceedings, including the order granting the adoption or legal custody, are provided to the Secretary;
(2) Any additional information on the adoption is transmitted to the Secretary promptly upon request; and
(3) It otherwise facilitates, as requested, the Secretary's ability to provide the certification that the child has been adopted or that custody has been granted for the purpose of adoption, in accordance with the Convention and the IAA.
(c) When transfer of the child does not take place, the agency or person must consider the specific requirements, if any, of competent authorities in either the State or in the receiving country and the preference of the prospective adoptive parents in its determination of the disposition of the home study on the prospective adoptive parent(s) and/or the child background study.
(d) The agency or person provides to the State court with jurisdiction over the adoption:
(1) Proof that consents have been given as required in § 96.53(c);
(2) A copy in English or certified English translation of the home study on the prospective adoptive parent(s) in the Convention country, and the determination by the agency or person that the placement with the prospective adoptive parent(s) is in the child's best interests;
(3) Evidence that the prospective adoptive parent(s) in the Convention country agree to the adoption;
(4) Evidence that the child will be authorized to enter and reside permanently in the Convention country or on the same basis as that of the prospective adoptive parent(s); and
(5) Evidence that the Central Authority of the Convention country has agreed to the adoption, if such consent is necessary under its laws for the adoption to become final.
(e) The agency or person makes the showing required by § 96.54(b) to the State court with jurisdiction over the adoption.
(f) The agency or person takes all necessary and appropriate measures to perform any tasks in a Convention adoption case that the Secretary has identified, consistent with this Part, as required to comply with the Convention, the IAA, or any regulations implementing the IAA.