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email Introductory remarks at a Public Meeting on 22 CFR Parts 96/98 Accreditation and Approval of Adoption Service Providers
Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs
Maura Harty
Public Meeting on 22 CFR Parts 96/98 Accreditation and Approval of Adoption Service Providers
Loy Henderson Auditorium
March 17, 2006
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It is a thrill for me to welcome you to the Department of State. I would like to thank you for attending what I know will be an informative discussion regarding the recent publication of regulations setting accreditation and approval standards for adoption service providers. I know that many of you also attended the public meetings we held previously to discuss the proposed rule. I would like to take this opportunity to give you a little background on our objectives as we went through the process that led to the final rule.
I wouldn’t be much of a leader, though, if I didn’t thank my team, out in full force today, for all of their work in setting this up, committing with all of you, and doing the heavy lifting to make this day possible. The Department of State has been charged with implementing the Hague Adoption Convention and the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000. The publication of the final rule in the Federal Register on February 15 was an important milestone on the path toward this goal. Specifically, the final rule fulfills the Department of State’s responsibility to issue regulations setting accreditation and approval standards for adoption service providers that provide services in adoption cases governed by the Convention.
Publication of the final rule also marks a critical step toward U.S. ratification of the Hague Convention. It is the culmination of joint efforts by all of us here – the Department of State and you – the people and organizations who are dedicated to ensuring the continued viability and integrity of the Intercountry Adoption process. I can tell you that we all worked hard to get to this point. I believe that the text of the rule reflects our shared interest in ensuring that all Convention adoptions are in the best interests of the children and that we have addressed the concerns of birth parents, adoptive parents, and adoptees. I also believe that the final rule reflects our commitment to ensuring that prospective adoptive U.S. citizen parents receive all appropriate assistance and protections when they seek to adopt a child from abroad.
In developing the final rule, we carefully reviewed the public comments submitted during the regulatory process. Our objective was to take into account the concerns raised by the public in developing the final regulations. In fact, the final version incorporates responses to the over 1,500 public comments received on the proposed rule published in the Federal Register in September 2003. As you might imagine, comments were diverse and often conflicting on almost every major issue. I can’t say enough positive things about your energy, concern and thoughtful contributions through that process – but I feel a special debt to my team for their dedication, impartiality and vigor as they worked tirelessly to strike just the right balance. To get a true sense of the nature of this discussion, you are welcome to view the public comments. They are posted in their entirety on our website at travel.state.gov under Intercountry adoption.
I would like to emphasize that, in responding to the public input about both adoption service providers and accrediting entities, we sought to make open and transparent policy choices consistent with the requirements and purposes of the convention and the Intercountry Adoption Act. This goal helped guide our reasoning in the extensive preamble to the final rule and in the specific responses to each of the comments submitted by the public.
Using the statutory standards as guidance, we sought to strike a balance between first, the need to avoid over-regulation of what traditionally has been an area regulated almost exclusively by state law; and second, the need for comprehensive standards that ensure convention and Intercountry Adoption Act requirements are met to improve the quality of services provided to birth families, adoptive families, and children.
I think we have accomplished both goals. For the first time, the regulation’s high standards provide detailed, federal standards to govern the conduct of adoption service providers. The final rule also takes into account the concern many commenters expressed about increasing the cost and fees for providing adoption services since those fees would be passed along to clients of adoption service providers.
We also issued a final rule on the preservation of Convention records. I note that the final rule on Convention records accurately mirrors the Intercountry Adoption Act’s legislative compromises on how the department must treat these sensitive records once the Convention enters into force. Our reasoning for the rule’s content is likewise explained in the preamble for Part 98. The preamble itself was a daunting challenge.
I believe – and I fervently hope that you will agree – that both final rules reflect the values and principles of the Convention and the Intercountry Adoption Act. I strongly believe that it will improve the Department of State’s ability to assist U.S. citizens seeking to adopt children from abroad.
Garrison Keillor once remarked, “Nothing you do for children is ever wasted.” It is with this thought in mind, and our abiding commitment to protecting the interests of children, that the Department of State pursues issues related to the Hague Convention. I believe that you can tell a lot about a society by the way it treats its most vulnerable members. That is why the Convention is one of our most valued instruments in helping to protect the interests of children. In fact, last year, more than half of the approximately 23,000 foreign born children adopted by American citizens came from countries that are parties to the Hague Convention. We work every single day to increase the membership in this venerable treaty, at the same time we place enormous importance on U.S. progress toward ratification.
In the past three years as Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs, I have traveled around the world, visiting over 120 embassies and consulates. During virtually every one of these visits I meet with foreign government counterparts to discuss our country’s firm advocacy for the protection of children and families with respect to Intercountry Adoption. I am in frequent contact with those counterparts who share this conviction and I have assured them of the U.S. Government’s commitment to implement the Hague Convention. Many, in turn, seek information through post placement reports, as well as from our embassies and consulates around the world. Several of you have been instrumental with regard to Intercountry adoptions and Ukraine. This dialogue is invaluable.
Simply put, our dedication to implementing the Convention and the Intercountry Adoption Act is unwavering. Of course I must mention that even with issuance of the final rule on February 15, there are several more steps that must be completed before the Convention will enter into force for the United States. In that connection I am happy to tell you that we are making progress on all fronts. We will get this done.
Today you will hear from the dedicated people in our Office of Children’s Issues more details about the accreditation regulations, as well as regulations concerning the preservation of records by the federal government. They are here to answer questions you might have about the final rules, and I sincerely hope you avail yourselves of this opportunity to ask questions.
I also hope that today’s meeting is only the next iteration of a continuing conversation. I encourage you to keep in touch, as so many of you have been doing all along. You are more than welcome to review the vast amount of Hague implementation material on our website and continue what we consider to be a very valuable dialogue. We respect your ideas. We welcome them.
For our part, we will continue to reach out to you, our valued partners, as we move forward in the Hague implementation process. Again, let me extend a warm welcome to you today. Now I am pleased to turn the meeting over to Deputy Assistant secretary Catherine Barry, who will introduce our panel.
