Department of State Selection of Accrediting Entities Under the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000

Résumé

The Department of State (the Department) is the lead Federal agency for implementation of the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (the Convention) and the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (the IAA). Among other things, the IAA gives the Secretary of State responsibility for the accreditation of agencies and approval of persons to provide adoption services under the Convention. The IAA requires the Department to enter into agreements with one or more qualified entities under which such entities will perform the task of accrediting or approving agencies and persons. This notice is to inform the public that the Department will be conducting meetings with potential accrediting entities in order to reach agreements with those that are qualified to be designated as IAA accrediting entities. The agreements will set forth how the accrediting entities will perform their functions under the IAA. The final agreements will be published in the Federal Register.