You are using an unsupported browser. This web site is designed for the current versions of Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Safari.
The Office of the Federal Register publishes documents on behalf of Federal agencies but does not have any authority over their programs. We recommend you directly contact the agency associated with the content in question.
If you have comments or suggestions on how to improve the www.ecfr.gov website or have questions about using www.ecfr.gov, please choose the 'Website Feedback' button below.
If you would like to comment on the current content, please use the 'Content Feedback' button below for instructions on contacting the issuing agency
Enhanced content is provided to the user to provide additional context.
This content is from the eCFR and is authoritative but unofficial.
Navigate by entering citations or phrases (eg: 1 CFR 1.1 49 CFR 172.101 Organization and Purpose 1/1.1 Regulation Y FAR).
Choosing an item from citations and headings will bring you directly to the content. Choosing an item from full text search results will bring you to those results. Pressing enter in the search box will also bring you to search results.
Background and more details are available in the Search & Navigation guide.
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.
This content is from the eCFR and may include recent changes applied to the CFR. The official, published CFR, is updated annually and available below under "Published Edition". You can learn more about the process here.
Subscribe to: 22 CFR Part 96 Subpart F - Responding to Complaints and Records and Reports Management
View the most recent official publication:
These links go to the official, published CFR, which is updated annually. As a result, it may not include the most recent changes applied to the CFR. Learn more.
Information and documentation can be found in our developer resources.
The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is the official legal print publication containing the codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the departments and agencies of the Federal Government. The Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR) is a continuously updated online version of the CFR. It is not an official legal edition of the CFR.
Learn more about the eCFR, its status, and the editorial process.
(a) The agency or person has written complaint policies and procedures that incorporate the standards in paragraphs (b) through (h) of this section and provides a copy of such policies and procedures, including contact information for the Complaint Registry, to client(s) at the time the adoption services contract is signed.
(b) The agency or person permits any birth parent, prospective adoptive parent or adoptive parent, or adoptee to lodge directly with the agency or person dated written or electronic (including by email or facsimile) complaints about any of the services or activities of the agency or person (including its use of supervised providers) that he or she believes raise an issue of compliance with the Convention, the IAA, the UAA, or the regulations implementing the IAA or UAA, and advises such individuals of the additional procedures available to them under subpart J of this part and the accrediting entity's policies and procedures if they are dissatisfied with the agency's or person's response to their complaint. All complaints must include the name of the complainant.
(c) The agency or person responds in writing to complaints received pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section within 30 days of receipt and provides expedited review of such complaints that are time-sensitive or that involve allegations of fraud.
(d) The agency or person maintains a written record of each complaint received pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section and the steps taken to investigate and respond to it and makes this record available to the accrediting entity or the Secretary upon request.
(e) The agency or person does not take any action to discourage a client or prospective client from, or retaliate against a client or prospective client for making a complaint; expressing a grievance; providing information in writing or interviews to an accrediting entity on the agency's or person's performance; or questioning the conduct of or expressing an opinion about the performance of an agency or person.
(f) The agency or person provides to the accrediting entity and the Secretary, on a semi-annual basis, a summary of all complaints received pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section during the preceding six months (including the number of complaints received and how each complaint was resolved) and an assessment of any discernible patterns in complaints received against the agency or person pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section, along with information about what systemic changes, if any, were made or are planned by the agency or person in response to such patterns.
(g) The agency or person provides any information about complaints received pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section as may be requested by the accrediting entity or the Secretary.
(h) The agency or person has a quality improvement program appropriate to its size and circumstances through which it makes systematic efforts to improve its adoption services as needed. The agency or person uses quality improvement methods such as reviewing complaint data, using client satisfaction surveys, or comparing the agency's or person's practices and performance against the data contained in the Secretary's annual reports to Congress on intercountry adoptions.
(a) The agency or person retains or archives adoption records in a safe, secure, and retrievable manner for the period of time required by applicable State law.
(b) The agency or person makes readily available to the adoptee and the adoptive parent(s) of minor children upon request all information in its custody about the adoptee's health history or background, to the extent permitted by State law.
(c) The agency or person ensures that personal data gathered or transmitted in connection with an adoption is used only for the purposes for which the information was gathered and safeguards sensitive individual information.
(d) The agency or person has a plan that is consistent with the provisions of this section, the plan required under § 96.33, and applicable State law for transferring custody of adoption records that are subject to retention or archival requirements to an appropriate custodian, and ensuring the accessibility of those adoption records, in the event that the agency or person ceases to provide or is no longer permitted to provide adoption services in intercountry adoption cases.
(e) The agency or person notifies the accrediting entity and the Secretary in writing within 30 days of the time it ceases to provide or is no longer permitted to provide adoption services and provides information about the transfer of its adoption records.
(a) When acting as the primary provider, the agency or person maintains all the data required in this section in a format approved by the accrediting entity and provides it to the accrediting entity on an annual basis.
(b) When acting as the primary provider, the agency or person routinely generates and maintains reports as follows:
(1) For cases involving children immigrating to the United States, information and reports on the total number of Convention and non-Convention adoptions undertaken by the agency or person each year and, for each case:
(i) The foreign country from which the child emigrated;
(ii) The State to which the child immigrated;
(iii) The State or foreign country in which the adoption was finalized;
(iv) The age of the child; and
(v) The date of the child's placement for adoption.
(2) For cases involving children emigrating from the United States, information and reports on the total number of Convention and non-Convention adoptions undertaken by the agency or person each year and, for each case:
(i) The State from which the child emigrated;
(ii) The foreign country to which the child immigrated;
(iii) The State or foreign country in which the adoption was finalized;
(iv) The age of the child; and
(v) The date of the child's placement for adoption.
(3) For each disrupted placement involving an intercountry adoption, information and reports about the disruption, including information on:
(i) The foreign country from which the child emigrated;
(ii) The State to which the child immigrated;
(iii) The age of the child;
(iv) The date of the child's placement for adoption;
(v) The reason(s) for and resolution(s) of the disruption of the placement for adoption, including information on the child's re-placement for adoption and final legal adoption;
(vi) The names of the agencies or persons that handled the placement for adoption; and
(vii) The plans for the child;
(4) Wherever possible, for each dissolution of an intercountry adoption, information and reports on the dissolution, including information on:
(i) The foreign country from which the child emigrated;
(ii) The State to which the child immigrated;
(iii) The age of the child;
(iv) The date of the child's placement for adoption;
(v) The reason(s) for and resolution(s) of the dissolution of the adoption, to the extent known by the agency or person;
(vi) The names of the agencies or persons that handled the placement for adoption; and
(vii) The plans for the child.
(5) Information on the shortest, longest, and average length of time it takes to complete an intercountry adoption, set forth by the child's country of origin, calculated from the time the child is matched with the prospective adoptive parent(s) until the time the adoption is finalized by a court, excluding any period for appeal.
(6) Information on the range of adoption fees, including the lowest, highest, average, and the median of such fees, set forth by the child's country of origin, charged by the agency or person for intercountry adoptions involving children immigrating to the United States in connection with their adoption.
(c) If the agency or person provides adoption services in cases not subject to the Convention that involve a child emigrating from the United States for the purpose of adoption or after an adoption has been finalized, it provides such information as required by the Secretary directly to the Secretary and demonstrates to the accrediting entity that it has provided this information.
(d) The agency or person provides any of the information described in paragraphs (a) through (c) of this section to the accrediting entity or the Secretary within thirty days of request.