WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Bill Delahunt praised a treaty ratified today with the support of more than 70 nations that would establish a global framework to protect children in international adoptions.  

“I am pleased that the United States has chosen to join other nations in working to encourage transparency in international adoptions,” Delahunt said. “As a proud adoptive parent myself, I understand the importance of ensuring the safety and well-being of every child while providing the prospective parent essential safeguards from shady practices.”

The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption was ratified today in the Netherlands and will take effect in the United States on April 1, 2008.

The Treaty would standardize policies, procedures and safeguards to reduce corruption. Its purpose is to protect children, birth parents and adoptive parents from practices such as hidden fees and child abduction.

The treaty requires each country to designate a central authority to establish ethical practices, require accreditation for adoption agencies, maintain a registry to track complaints, and create a system for decertifying agencies that do not meet the standards. The Department of State will be the central authority for the United States.

Today’s ratification completed a process begun in 1994, when the United States signed the Convention after participating actively in its negotiation and adoption. In 2000, the Senate consented to ratification and Congress passed implementing legislation strongly supported by Delahunt, called the Intercountry Adoption Act (IAA).

Since Delahunt’s election to Congress in 1996, he has championed efforts to protect children from other nations that are being adopted by U.S. citizens. For example, Delahunt has worked closely with United States and Guatemalan officials in seeking to end horrific practices exhibited in cases where babies have been stolen by attorneys and then “sold” to unsuspecting adoptive parents in the U.S.  

According to the State Department, this treaty specifically will:

• Require Federal certification of U.S. adoption service providers working in convention countries, and a complaint registry that will enable us to monitor and enforce compliance with convention standards.
• Require procedures and safeguards designed to keep adoption a not-for-profit activity whose sole purpose is to identify loving homes for children who need them.
• Provide training on best practices and other support for adoption officials, social workers and judges in source countries.

Therefore, United States parents that are now seeking a visa for an overseas adoption must demonstrate to the Department of State that a child has been properly cleared for adoption and that a local placement has been considered. They must also show that the birth parents were counseled on their decision and have signed consent forms.

In the last seven years, Americans have adopted almost 120,000 children from overseas, and the United States is the world leader in international adoptions. In 2007, Americans have adopted approximately 5,453 children from China; 4,135 children from Guatemala; 2,207 children from Russia; 732 children from Ethiopia; and 163 children from Vietnam.

Back in 2000, Delahunt authored a bill signed into law by President Clinton that grants automatic citizenship to an adopted child, providing that at least one of the parents is a U.S. citizen.

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