On January 1, the House passed, by voice vote, the Intercountry Adoption Universal Accreditation Act of 2012 (S. 3331). The Senate approved the legislation on December 5 (see The Source, 12/7/12). President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law.
The legislation will apply universal accreditation standards described in the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-279) to adoption service providers in all countries involved in the adoption of foreign orphans under the age of 16. The measure gives 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
