United States Joins Hague Convention

Effective April 1, 2008, the United States officially became a member of the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. The general purpose of the Convention is to standardize international adoption procedures in order to provide protections for children and adoptive families. The provisions of the Hague Convention now govern both incoming and outgoing intercountry adoptions between the United States and other Convention countries. There are more than 70 Convention member countries.

Experts in international adoption expect that the practical effect of the convention will be to reduce the number of children being adopted into the United States from other countries.

As the designated Central Authority for the United States, the Department of State is responsible for ensuring that these new requirements are met for all intercountry adoption cases.

The Hague Convention requires federal accreditation of adoption service providers. The requirements for accreditation are substantial and the number of accredited providers will most likely be reduced.