Hawaii International Child is a Hague Accredited Adoption Agency
HIC has long been actively involved in various aspects of the Hague Treaty which add yet another layer of procedure to international adoption above and beyond COA rules. On February 29, 2008, HIC was received notice of Hague accreditation. Visit the following link to see the complete list on the US State Department website.
More information on the Hague Adoption Convention:
Below please find some new FAQ's that we have developed in response to some commonly asked questions that are being sent to our Adoption USCA mailbox regarding implementation of the Hague Adoption Convention. We hope you will find these helpful. We will be updating them as new information becomes available.
Frequently Asked Questions: Ongoing Efforts to Implement the Hague Adoption Convention
Q: Is it true that the United States plans to become a Convention country in 2007?
A: We are pleased to report that the United States is making significant progress in completing the tasks necessary for the United States to ratify the Convention in 2007. Once the United States deposits its instrument of ratification, it will take approximately three months for the Convention to enter into force with respect to the United States. The accredited/approved adoption service providers will then begin to process Hague adoptions. The United States strongly supports the Convention's stated goal: "to establish safeguards to ensure that intercountry adoptions take place in the best interests of the child and with respect for his or her fundamental rights as recognized in international law." U.S. implementation of this important treaty will result in invaluable protections for birthparents, children eligible for adoption, and adoptive parents.
Q: Can you explain why the accrediting entities will charge adoption service providers fees to become accredited, temporarily accredited, or approved?
A: Nothing good ever comes without some cost. However, the legislation passed by Congress to implement the Hague Adoption Convention (the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 or "IAA") requires that the Department designate accrediting entities to help the United States to regulate the adoption service providers. The IAA provides for the accrediting entities to charge fees to adoption service providers to cover the costs of accreditation/approval. Per the IAA, the State Department must approve such fees to ensure that they do not exceed the costs of accreditation/approval.
We are confident from our discussions with the designated accrediting entities (one is a non-profit and the other is a State public authority) that their proposed fees will not exceed the costs of accreditation/approval. The process of accreditation/approval is labor-intensive and requires the designated accrediting entities to conduct site evaluations of every adoption service provider applying for accreditation/approval to check if it complies with the comprehensive standards in the accreditation regulations.
Q: What are the factors the Department will consider in approving the fees?
A: In reviewing the fees, per the IAA, the Department must consider the relative size of the agency, the geographic location of the agency, as well as the number of Convention adoption cases managed by the agency. The Department of State is now reviewing the schedule of fees that the accrediting entities propose to charge for Hague accreditation and expects to decide about approval of the fees shortly. The accrediting entities will work with adoption service providers who seek to be accredited to balance the goal of lower cost accreditation with the ultimate goal of ensuring that all of the standards and protections outlined in the Convention are followed.
Q: What are the responsibilities of the Accrediting Entities ("AEs")?
A: AE duties include accreditation, monitoring of adoption service providers, and ensuring substantial compliance with the Hague standards.
Q: If the United States fails to implement the Convention will foreign countries no longer allow their children to be adopted by U.S. citizen parents?
A. Some countries have stated that they will allow their children to be adopted only by prospective adoptive parents in countries who are party to the Convention so it is essential that the United States become a Convention country or adoptions could be impeded. Once the Convention enters into force with respect to the United States, we believe that Convention member countries of origin will be more willing to coordinate with the United States on intercountry adoptions. Our embassies overseas communicate with foreign governments on adoption matters regularly and plan to continue to let them know the importance that the United States places on the Hague Adoption Convention. We encourage all countries to join the Convention and work for protection of children. We believe that U.S. ratification of the Convention demonstrates the longstanding commitment by the United States to serving the best interests of children who are eligible to be adopted.
Q. What if I am in the process of adopting a child, but my adoption is not finalized by the time the United States ratifies the Convention?
A: This was taken into account by Congress in passing the IAA. Section 505(b) of the IAA states that neither the Convention nor the IAA shall apply if the application for advance processing of an orphan petition (I-600A) or petition to classify an orphan as an immediate relative (I-600) is filed before the date the Convention enters into force for the United States. The date of the Convention's entry into force will be posted on our web site and published in the Federal Register well in advance.
If prospective adoptive parents have not filed the I-600 or I-600A or equivalent forms before the Convention enters into force, then the entire adoption would be governed by the Convention, the IAA, and the regulations implementing the IAA. This generally means that prospective adoptive parents will need to select an accredited or temporarily accredited agency or approved person to provide adoption services in their case.
Q. Are there other changes that will affect prospective adoptive parents when the Hague Convention enters into force?
A: U.S. implementation of the Hague Convention offers many highly positive changes for prospective adoptive parents. For example, a new mechanism for investigating and resolving complaints about adoption service providers will be instituted. If a prospective adoptive parent has a Hague-related complaint against its adoption service provider, the accrediting entity will be required to fully investigate. If a violation is found, the accrediting entity will then determine the appropriate disciplinary action based on the seriousness of the incident as well as the extent to which the adoption service provider has taken or failed to take corrective action. Both the Convention and the regulations on accreditation provide a number of safeguards to protect children. This includes a requirement that adoption service providers must provide prospective adoptive parents with at least ten hours of training before they travel to adopt.
