Changes to the International Process
In order to implement the Convention, several important changes were made to the way intercountry adoptions with Convention countries are handled in the United States.
One of the most significant changes concerns the adoption service provider accreditation process. Previously, to perform intercountry adoption services, adoption service providers needed only to be licensed by the states in which they operate. Now that the United States ratified the Convention, however, U.S. adoption service providers will generally need to be accredited pursuant to the standards established by the United States should they wish to provide adoption services in cases involving the United States and another Convention country.
In order to provide adoption services in connection with Convention adoption cases, your adoption service provider must generally be accredited on a national level.
In the summer of 2006, the Department of State designated two accrediting entities to perform accrediting functions
The Department of State will monitor these accrediting entities to ensure that each performs its functions in compliance with the Convention, the IAA and its implementing regulations, other applicable law, and the accrediting entity agreement with the Department of State.
