Hague Convention Adoption

• What is Hague Adoption Convention

The Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention) was concluded on May 29 1993 and entered into force on May 1 1995. The US joined and thus abided by the Convention in April 2008. The Convention set forth safeguards to ensure that intercountry adoption from the Convention country will proceed in the best interests on the child.

As if January 2011, the Convention was ratified by 85 countries. Please check here about the Convention country list.

• Important terminologies in Hague Convention
• Central Authority

Central authority is an agency or organization that is designated to facilitate, oversee, and regulate Hague Adoption Convention cases. The U.S. Department of State has been designated as the United States Central Authority.

• Adoption Service providers

The Adoption Service Providers are agencies who have been accredited by either the Council on Accreditation (COA) or the Colorado Department of Human Services (CO) to provide adoption services in the United States for cases subject to the regulations set forth by the Hague Adoption Convention. An accredited agency does not include a temporarily accredited agency. There are more than 200 accredited adoption service providers in the U.S.

They mainly provide those services as listed below:

• Identifying a child for adoption and arranging an adoption;
• Securing the necessary consent to termination of parental rights and to adoption;
• Performing a background study on a child or a home study on a prospective adoptive parent(s), and reporting on such a study;
• Making non-judicial determinations of the best interests of a child and the appropriateness of an adoptive placement for the child;
• Monitoring a case after a child has been placed with prospective adoptive parent(s) until final adoption; or
• When necessary because of a disruption before final adoption,
• assuming custody and providing (including facilitating the provision of) child care or any other social service pending an alternative placement.
• Approved Home study

An approved home study is a comprehensive review of the home environment of the child's prospective adoptive parents that has been: (1) Completed by an accredited adoption service provider; (2) Approved by an accredited adoption service provider. One of the most critical elements of the intercountry adoption process is the approved home study.

• General Process
• Selecting Your Adoption Service Provider
• Signing Your Adoption Service Contract
It may include:

• Adoption Fees
• Liability Waivers
• Disruption and Dissolution Plans
• Proceeding with Your Adoption
• Check with your Primary Providers and Supervised Providers, follow their guidance
• Home Studies
• Training of Prospective Adoptive Parents
• Child’s Medical Records: you will have 2 weeks to consider about the medical and social needs of the child and your ability to meet those needs.
• The Transfer of the Child
• Post-Adoption Reporting
• Preserving Adoption Records

For more information on Intercountry Adoption, please visit the following links:

• Intercountry Adoption
• Hague Convention Adoption
• Non-Hague Convention Adoption