Link to an amendment published at 89 FR 57263, July 12, 2024.

(a) Except as provided in section 505(b) of the IAA (relating to transitional cases), and once the UAA becomes effective, except as provided in section 2(c) of the UAA (relating to transitional cases), an agency or person may not offer, provide, or facilitate the provision of any adoption service in the United States in connection with an intercountry adoption unless it is:

(1) An accredited agency or an approved person;

(2) A supervised provider; or

(3) An exempted provider, if the exempted provider's home study or child background study will be reviewed and approved by an accredited agency pursuant to § 96.47(c) or § 96.53(b).

(b) A public domestic authority may also offer, provide, or facilitate the provision of any such adoption service.

(c) Neither conferral nor maintenance of accreditation or approval, nor status as an exempted or supervised provider, nor status as a public domestic authority shall be construed to imply, warrant, or establish that, in any specific case, an adoption service has been provided consistently with the Convention, the IAA, the UAA, or the regulations implementing the IAA or UAA. Conferral and maintenance of accreditation or approval under this part establishes only that the accrediting entity has concluded, in accordance with the standards and procedures of this part, that the agency or person conducts adoption services in substantial compliance with the applicable standards set forth in this part; it is not a guarantee that in any specific case the accredited agency or approved person is providing adoption services consistently with the Convention, the IAA, the UAA, the regulations implementing the IAA or UAA, or any other applicable law, whether Federal, State, or foreign. Neither the Secretary nor any accrediting entity shall be responsible for any acts of an accredited agency, approved person, exempted provider, supervised provider, or other entity providing services in connection with an intercountry adoption.

[71 FR 8131, Feb. 15, 2006, as amended at 79 FR 40633, July 14, 2014]

(a) Home studies and child background studies. Home studies and child background studies, when performed by exempted providers, may be performed without accreditation, approval, or supervision; provided, however, that an exempted provider's home study must be approved by an accredited agency in accordance with § 96.47(c), and an exempted provider's child background study must be approved by an accredited agency in accordance with § 96.53(b).

(b) Child welfare services. An agency or person does not need to be accredited, approved, or operate as a supervised provider if it is providing only child welfare services, and not providing any adoption services, in connection with an intercountry adoption. If the agency or person provides both a child welfare service and any adoption service in the United States in an intercountry adoption case, it must be accredited, approved or operate as a supervised provider unless the only adoption service provided is preparation of a home study and/or a child background study.

(c) Legal services. An agency or person does not need to be accredited, approved, or to operate as a supervised provider if it is providing only legal services, and not providing any adoption services, in connection with an intercountry adoption. If the agency or person provides both a legal service and any adoption service in the United States in an intercountry adoption case, it must be accredited, approved or operate as a supervised provider unless the only adoption service provided is preparation of a home study and/or a child background study. Nothing in this part shall be construed:

(1) To permit an attorney to provide both legal services and adoption services in an adoption case where doing so is prohibited by State law; or

(2) To require any attorney who is providing one or more adoption services as part of his or her employment by a public domestic authority to be accredited or approved or operate as a supervised provider.

(d) Prospective adoptive parent(s) acting on own behalf. Prospective adoptive parent(s) may act on their own behalf without being accredited, or approved unless so acting is prohibited by State law or the law of the foreign country. In the case of a child immigrating to the United States in connection with his or her adoption, such conduct must be permissible under the laws of the State in which the prospective adoptive parent(s) reside and the laws of the foreign country from which the parent(s) seek to adopt. In the case of a child emigrating from the United States in connection with his or her adoption, such conduct must be permissible under the laws of the State where the child resides and the laws of the Convention country in which the parent(s) reside.

[71 FR 8131, Feb. 15, 2006, as amended at 79 FR 40633, July 14, 2014]

(a) Accreditation and approval under this part require that, in each intercountry adoption case, an accredited agency or an approved person will be identified and act as the primary provider. If one accredited agency or approved person is providing all adoption services by itself, it must act as the primary provider. If just one accredited agency or approved person is involved in providing adoption services, the sole accredited agency or approved person must act as the primary provider. If adoption services in the intercountry adoption case are being provided by more than one accredited agency or approved person, the agency or person that has child placement responsibility, as evidenced by the following, must act as the primary provider throughout the case:

(1) Entering into placement contracts with prospective adoptive parent(s) to provide child referral and placement;

(2) Accepting custody from a birth parent or other legal custodian in a foreign country for the purpose of placement for adoption;

(3) Assuming responsibility for liaison with a foreign country's Central Authority or its designees with regard to arranging an adoption; or

(4) Receiving from or sending to a foreign country information about a child that is under consideration for adoption, unless acting as a local service provider that conveys such information to parent(s) on behalf of the primary provider.

(b) Pursuant to § 96.44, in the case of accredited agencies or approved persons, the primary provider may only use the following to provide adoption services in the United States:

(1) A supervised provider, including an accredited agency or approved person;

(2) An exempted provider, if the exempted provider's home study or child background study will be reviewed and approved by an accredited agency pursuant to § 96.47(c) or § 96.53(b); or

(3) A public domestic authority.

(c) Pursuant to § 96.44 of subpart F, in the case of accredited agencies or approved persons, the primary provider may only use the following to provide adoption services in a foreign country:

(1) A Central Authority, competent authority, or a public foreign authority;

(2) A foreign supervised provider, including a provider accredited by the foreign country; or

(3) A foreign provider (agency, person, or other non-governmental entity) who

(i) Has secured or is securing the necessary consent to termination of parental rights and to adoption, if the primary provider verifies consent pursuant to § 96.46(c); or

(ii) Has prepared or is preparing a background study on a child in a case involving immigration to the United States (incoming case) or a home study on prospective adoptive parent(s) in a case involving emigration from the United States (outgoing case), and a report on the results of such a study, if the primary provider verifies the study and report pursuant to § 96.46(c).

(d) The primary provider is not required to provide supervision or to assume responsibility for:

(1) Public domestic authorities; or

(2) Central Authorities, competent authorities, and public foreign authorities.

(e) The primary provider must adhere to the standards contained in § 96.45 (Using supervised providers in the United States) when using supervised providers in the United States and the applicable standards contained in § 96.46 (Using providers in foreign countries) when using providers outside the United States.

[71 FR 8131, Feb. 15, 2006, as amended at 79 FR 40633, July 14, 2014; 80 FR 7323, Feb. 10, 2015]

The following examples illustrate the rules of §§ 96.12 to 96.14:

Example 1.Identifying a child for adoption and arranging an adoption. Agency X identifies children eligible for adoption in the United States on a TV program in an effort to recruit prospective adoptive parent(s). A couple in a foreign country calls Agency X about one of the children. Agency X refers them to an agency or person in the United States who arranges intercountry adoptions. Agency X does not require accreditation, temporarily accreditation, approval or supervision because it is not both identifying and arranging the adoption. In contrast, Agency Y, located in the United States, provides information about children eligible for adoption in a foreign country on a website and then arranges for interested U.S. parents to adopt those children. Agency Y must be accredited, approved, or supervised because, in addition to identifying children eligible for adoption, it is also helping to arrange the adoption. Example 2.Child welfare services exemption. Doctor X evaluates the medical records and a video of Child Y. The evaluation will be used in an intercountry adoption as part of the placement of Child Y and is the only service that Doctor X provides in the United States with regard to Child Y's adoption. Doctor X (not employed with an accredited agency or approved person) does not need to be approved or supervised because she is not providing an adoption service as defined in § 96.2. Example 3.Home study exemption. Social Worker X, in the United States, (not employed with an accredited agency or approved person) interviews Prospective Adoptive Parent Y, obtains a criminal background study, and checks the references of Prospective Adoptive Parent Y, then composes a report and submits the report to an accredited agency for use in an intercountry adoption. Social Worker X does not provide any other services to Prospective Adoptive Parent Y. Social Worker X qualifies as an exempted provider and therefore need not be approved or operate as supervised provider. In contrast, Social Worker Z, in the United States, (not employed with an accredited agency or approved person) prepares a home study report for Prospective Adoptive Parent(s) W, and in addition re-enters the house after Child V has been placed with Prospective Adoptive Parent(s) W to assess how V and W are adjusting to life as a family. This assessment is post-placement monitoring, which is an adoption service. Therefore, Social Worker Z would need to become approved before providing this assessment for this intercountry adoption or else operate as a supervised provider. If an agency or person provides an adoption service in addition to a home study or child background study, the agency or person needs to become accredited, approved, or supervised before providing that adoption service. Example 4.Child background study exemption. An employee of Agency X interviews Child Y in the United States and compiles a report concerning Child Y's social and developmental history for use in an intercountry adoption. Agency X provides no other adoption services on behalf of Child Y. Agency X does not need to be accredited, approved, or supervised. Agency X is only conducting and creating a child background study, and therefore is an exempted provider. In contrast, an employee of Agency Z interviews Child W in the United States and creates a child background study for use in an intercountry adoption. Agency Z subsequently identifies prospective adoptive parent(s) and arranges a new adoption when Child W's previous adoption becomes disrupted. Agency Z needs to be accredited, approved, or supervised before providing this service. If an agency or person provides an adoption service in addition to a child background study or home study, the agency or person needs to be accredited, approved, or supervised before providing the additional service. Example 5.Home study and child welfare services exemptions. Agency X interviews Prospective Adoptive Parent Y, obtains a criminal background check, checks the references of Prospective Adoptive Parent Y, then composes a home study and submits it to an accredited agency for use in an intercountry adoption in the United States. Parent Y later joins a post-adoption support group for adoptive parents sponsored by Agency X. If Agency X performs no other adoption services, Agency X does not need to be accredited, approved, or supervised. If an agency or person provides a home study or child background study as well as other services in the United States that do not require accreditation, approval, or supervision, and no other adoption services, the agency or person is an exempted provider. Example 6.Exempted provider. Agency X interviews Prospective Adoptive Parent(s) Y, obtains a criminal background check, checks the references of Prospective Adoptive Parent(s) Y, and then composes a home study and submits the report to an accredited agency. In addition, Agency X interviews Child Z and compiles a report concerning Child Z's social and developmental history. All of Agency X's work is done in the United States. Both reports will be used in an intercountry adoption. If Agency X performs no other adoption services, Agency X does not need to be accredited, approved, or supervised. If an agency or person provides a home study and child background study as well as other services that do not require accreditation, approval or supervision, and no other adoption services, the agency or person is an exempted provider. Example 7.Legal services exemption. Attorney X (not employed with an accredited agency or approved person) provides advice and counsel to Prospective Adoptive Parent(s) Y on filling out DHS paperwork required for an intercountry adoption. Among other papers, Attorney X prepares an affidavit of consent to termination of parental rights and to adoption of Child W to be signed by the birth mother in the United States. Attorney X must be approved or supervised because securing consent to termination of parental rights is an adoption service. In contrast, Attorney Z (not employed with an accredited agency or approved person) assists Adoptive Parent(s) T to complete an adoption in the State in which they reside, after they have been granted an adoption in Child V's foreign country of origin. Attorney Z is exempt from approval or supervision because she is providing legal services, but no adoption services. Example 8.Post-placement monitoring. A court in a foreign country has granted custody of Child W to Prospective Adoptive Parent(s) Y pending the completion of W's adoption. Agency X interviews both Prospective Adoptive Parent(s) Y and Child W in their home in the United States. Agency X gathers information on the adjustment of Child W as a member of the family and inquires into the social and educational progress of Child W. Agency X must be accredited, approved, or supervised. Agency X's activities constitute post-placement monitoring, which is an adoption service. In contrast, if Person Z provided counseling for Prospective Adoptive Parent(s) Y and/or Child W, but provided no adoption services in the United States to the family, Person Z would not need to be approved or supervised. Post-placement counseling is different than post-placement monitoring because it does not relate to evaluating the adoption placement. Post-placement counseling is not an adoption service and does not trigger the accreditation/approval requirements of the IAA or the UAA and this part. Example 9.Post-adoption services. Foreign Country H requires that post-adoption reports be completed and sent to its Central Authority every year until adopted children reach the age of 18. Agency X provides support groups and a newsletter for U.S. parents that have adopted children from Country H and encourages parents to complete their post-adoption reports annually. Agency X does not need to be accredited, approved, or supervised because it is providing only post-adoption services. Post-adoption services are not included in the definition of adoption services, and therefore, do not trigger accreditation/approval requirements of the IAA or the UAA and this part. Example 10.Assuming custody and providing services after a disruption. Agency X provides counseling for Prospective Adoptive Parent(s) Y and for Child W pending the completion of Child W's intercountry adoption. The adoption eventually disrupts. Agency X helps recruit and identify new prospective adoptive parent(s) for Child W, but it is Agency P that assumes custody of Child W and places him in foster care until an alternative adoptive placement can be found. Agency X is not required to be accredited, approved, or supervised because it is not providing an adoption service in the United States as defined in § 96.2. Agency P, on the other hand, is providing an adoption service and would have to be accredited, approved, or supervised. Example 11.Making non-judicial determinations of best interest of child and appropriateness of adoptive placement of child. Agency X receives information about and a videotape of Child W from the institution where Child W lives in a foreign country. Based on the age, sex, and health problems of Child W, Agency X matches Prospective Adoptive Parent(s) Y with Child W. Prospective Adoptive Parent(s) Y receive a referral from Agency X and agree to accept the referral and proceed with the adoption of Child W. Agency X determines that Prospective Adoptive Parent(s) Y are a good placement for Child W and notifies the competent authority in W's country of origin that it has found a match for Child W and will start preparing adoption paperwork. All of Agency X's services are provided in the United States. Agency X is performing an adoption service and must be accredited, approved, or supervised. Example 12.Securing necessary consent to termination of parental rights and to adoption. Facilitator Y is accredited by Convention Country Z. He has contacts at several orphanages in Foreign Country Z and helps Agency X match children eligible for adoption with prospective adoptive parent(s) in the United States. Facilitator Y works with the institution that is the legal guardian of Child W in order to get the documents showing the institution's legal consent to the adoption of Child W. Agency X is the only U.S. agency providing adoption services in the case. Agency X must be accredited, or approved and must either treat Facilitator Y as a foreign supervised provider in accordance with § 96.46(a) and (b) or verify the consents Facilitator Y secured, in accordance with § 96.46(c). [71 FR 8131, Feb. 15, 2006, as amended at 79 FR 40634, July 14, 2014]

Public domestic authorities are not required to become accredited to be able to provide adoption services in intercountry adoption cases, but must comply with the Convention, the IAA, the UAA, and other applicable law when providing services in an intercountry adoption case.

[79 FR 40634, July 14, 2014]

The Convention entered into force for the United States on April 1, 2008. As of that date, the regulations in subpart C of this part govern Convention adoptions between the United States and Convention countries, and require agencies or persons providing adoption services on behalf of prospective adoptive parent(s) to comply with § 96.12 and applicable Federal regulations. The Secretary maintains for the public a current listing of Convention countries. The effective date of the UAA is July 14, 2014. As of that date, consistent with the UAA, the regulations in subpart C of this part will govern adoptions of children described in INA § 101(b)(1)(F), and will require agencies or persons providing adoption services on behalf of prospective adoptive parent(s) in connection with a child described in section 101(b)(1)(F) to comply with § 96.12 and applicable Federal regulations.

[79 FR 40634, July 14, 2014]