On November 14, the House International Relations Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights, and International Operations held a hearing on issues arising from next year’s anticipated ratification of the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption.
Noting that “the number of foreign children adopted annually by American citizens has doubled over the last decade from 11,340 to 22,739,” Subcommittee Chair Christopher Smith (R-NJ) said that the Hague Convention “seeks to ensure that the child is indeed adoptable, that an intercountry adoption is in the child’s best interests, that prospective adoptive parents are eligible and suited to adopt and that competent, transparent mechanisms, including a central authority are in place in each country.” He voiced concerns regarding China and Guatamala, two countries that have ratified the Convention. “Under China’s one-child policy,” he said, “the cultural preference for boys has produced a black market for baby boys. As a result, baby girls are abandoned, leading to a shortage of females in some regions of the country and a black market for baby girls as well.” Rep. Smith condemned the privately-run Guatamalan adoption system for using “baby brokers to pay birth mothers for their newborns.” He also expressed his regret that the Romanian ban on intercountry adoptions has prevented many American families from adopting Romanian children.
State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary for Overseas Citizens Service Catherine Barry assured the subcommittee that the State Department is “on track to complete the remaining legal requirements” for U.S. ratification of the Convention in 2007. This includes: publication of the final rule on accreditation of agencies in February 2006, completion of the final rule that establishes “uniform protections for U.S. children who are being adopted by prospective adoptive parents from another Convention country,” the designation of the Council on Accreditation (COA) and Colorado’s Department of Human Services as the accrediting entities required by the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (IAA), and the approval of the fee schedules and compliance systems proposed by these two groups. Ms. Barry said that November 17 is the deadline for adoption service providers to apply for “accreditation, temporary accreditation, or approval.” Regarding Guatamala, she stated, “Most Guatemalan birth mothers directly relinquish a child to an attorney, whose practices and methods for obtaining consent are unregulated. The birth mothers typically relinquish the child without counseling and without the benefit of any public entity ensuring that the relinquishment is truly voluntary.” Ms. Barry said that the State Department has begun a dialogue with Guatamala to encourage “adoption reform at all levels.”
Lori Scialabba, associate director of the Refugee, Asylum and International Operations Directorate for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) at the Department of Homeland Security, detailed the Child Citizenship Program, outlined at a previous hearing by Robert Divine of USCIS (see The Source, 6/09/06). Ms. Scialabba said that USCIS is collaborating with the State Department to draft “proposed regulations under the IAA to set forth the procedures and requirements that must be followed by prospective parents in order for USCIS to determine their eligibility and suitability to adopt a child from a Hague country.” She noted that IAA amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act include expanded opportunities for adoption, “as long as the safeguards and requirements of the Hague Convention have been met.”
Thomas DiFilipo, president and CEO of the Joint Council on International Children’s Services, stated, “The primary benefit of the Hague Convention is the protection it offers to children and families. The Convention prevents the abduction, sale, exploitation or trafficking of children. All activities under The Hague must be conducted in the best interest of the child and respect their fundamental rights.” Mr. DiFilipo said that the Joint Council “strongly cautions against further legislation calling for reform of the international adoption process or government procedures at this time, such as the Intercountry Adoption Reform (ICARE) Act,” due to “the significant changes introduced by the expected U.S. ratification of the Hague Convention in 2007.”
Echoing Mr. DiFilipo’s comments on further legislation, National Council for Adoption president and CEO Thomas Atwood said that now is not “the appropriate time to consider another major intercountry adoption reform, in addition to the Hague Convention transition, as contemplated by H.R. 5726, the Intercountry Adoption Reform Act of 2006,” adding that “forcing such another major bureaucratic transition at this already demanding time would disrupt intercountry adoptions and confuse our Central Authority partners around the world.” Mr. Atwood cited several issues that may need “fine-tuning:” the role of attorneys and for-profit entities in serving as primary providers, in addition to licensed adoption agencies; affordable liability insurance under the new system; and the implementation of compliance with the laws of another government.
