Senate Clears Intercountry Adoption Bill
On December 5, the Senate approved, by unanimous consent, the Intercountry Adoption Universal Accreditation Act of 2012 (S. 3331). The Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed the legislation on September 19 (see The Source, 9/21/12).
The measure, sponsored by Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), would apply universal accreditation standards to adoption service providers in all countries involved in the adoption of foreign orphans under the age of 16, regardless of whether or not the country is party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. The legislation would give the secretary of the Department of State, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, the attorney general (Department of Justice), and accrediting entities authority to enforce such universal accreditation standards.
Senate Resolution Supports Adoption
On December 5, the Senate approved, by unanimous consent, a resolution (S. Res. 595) to express support for National Adoption Day and National Adoption Month, which occur in the month of November. The Senate “encourages the people of the United States to consider adoption during the month of November and all throughout the year.”
