42 U.S.C. § 14932 — Adoptions of children emigrating from the United States
submitted 26 years ago by Pub. L. 106-279 to r/title-42-THE-PUBLIC-HEALTH-AND-WELFARE · 610 words · no verdicts yet
For a Convention adoption in which a child leaves the United States, the responsible agency, approved person, or permitted self-representing parents must complete specified studies, searches, best-interest findings, and filings. A State court and the Secretary of State must verify required materials before finalization or certification.
(a) Duties
For a Convention adoption* involving a child residing in the United States who will leave for a foreign country, the accredited agency*, approved person*, or—if both countries’ laws permit—the parents acting for themselves must: (1) ensure a child background study; make reasonable active recruitment and diligent search efforts for United States parents; determine that timely placement in the United States was not possible; and determine that placement with the proposed parents is in the child’s best interests; (2) give the responsible State* court the paragraph (1) documentation, a receiving-country-law home study with criminal check, and the receiving country’s central or competent authority declaration that the child may enter and reside permanently or on the same basis as the parent and, when required, that authority consents; and (3) give the United States central authority* official State-court final-adoption or custody orders, the paragraph (2) information and documents it requires, and any other information it needs for its Convention* duties.
(b) Court orders
The State court may not finalize the adoption or grant custody unless it receives and verifies as necessary the subsection (a)(2) materials and satisfactory evidence that Articles 4 and 15 through 21 of the Convention were met, and finds the placement is in the child’s best interests.
(c) Secretary’s duties
After receiving and verifying the subsection (a)(3) materials, the Secretary* must issue an official certification that the child was adopted or a declaration that custody for adoption was granted, as applicable, under the Convention and this chapter.
(d) Non-Convention adoptions
For an intercountry adoption not subject to the Convention in which a child leaves the United States, accredited agencies, approved persons, other service providers, and governmental authorities must file information required by joint Attorney General* and Secretary of State regulations implementing section 14912(e).
In the case of a Convention adoption* involving the emigration of a child residing in the United States to a foreign country, the accredited agency* or approved person providing adoption services, or the prospective adoptive parent or parents acting on their own behalf (if permitted by the laws of such other Convention country* in which they reside and the laws of the State* in which the child resides), shall do the following:
Ensure that, in accordance with the Convention*—
a background study on the child is completed;
the accredited agency or approved person—
has made reasonable efforts to actively recruit and make a diligent search for prospective adoptive parents to adopt the child in the United States; and
despite such efforts, has not been able to place the child for adoption in the United States in a timely manner; and
a determination is made that placement with the prospective adoptive parent or parents is in the best interests of the child.
Furnish to the State court with jurisdiction over the case—
documentation of the matters described in paragraph (1);
a background report (home study) on the prospective adoptive parent or parents (including a criminal background check) prepared in accordance with the laws of the receiving country; and
a declaration by the central authority* (or other competent authority) of such other Convention country*—
that the child will be permitted to enter and reside permanently, or on the same basis as the adopting parent, in the receiving country; and
that the central authority (or other competent authority) of such other Convention country consents to the adoption, if such consent is necessary under the laws of such country for the adoption to become final.
Furnish to the United States central authority—
official copies of State court orders certifying the final adoption or grant of custody for the purpose of adoption;
the information and documents described in paragraph (2), to the extent required by the United States central authority; and
any other information concerning the case required by the United States central authority to perform the functions specified in subsection (c) or otherwise to carry out the duties of the United States central authority under the Convention.
An order declaring an adoption to be final or granting custody for the purpose of adoption in a case described in subsection (a) shall not be entered unless the court—
has received and verified to the extent the court may find necessary—
the material described in subsection (a)(2); and
satisfactory evidence that the requirements of Articles 4 and 15 through 21 of the Convention have been met; and
has determined that the adoptive placement is in the best interests of the child.
In a case described in subsection (a), the Secretary, on receipt and verification as necessary of the material and information described in subsection (a)(3), shall issue, as applicable, an official certification that the child has been adopted or a declaration that custody for purposes of adoption has been granted, in accordance with the Convention and this chapter.
Accredited agencies, approved persons, and other persons, including governmental authorities, providing adoption services in an intercountry adoption not subject to the Convention that involves the emigration of a child from the United States shall file information required by regulations jointly issued by the Attorney General* and the Secretary of State for purposes of implementing section 14912(e) of this title.
Source credit: (Pub. L. 106–279, title III, § 303, Oct. 6, 2000, 114 Stat. 839.)
- 2000Enacted · Pub. L. 106-279 · 114 Stat. 839
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 106-279 on 2000-10-06.
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