42 U.S.C. § 14901 — Findings and purposes

(a) Findings. Congress recognized two things: (1) the Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (signed at The Hague on May 29, 1993) is international in character; and (2) the Convention needs to be interpreted and carried out the same way in the United States and abroad. Because of this, Congress found that enacting a federal law governing adoptions and prospective adoptions subject to the Convention, involving United States residents, is essential. (b) Purposes. This chapter has three purposes: (1) to provide for the United States' implementation of the Convention; (2) to protect the rights of, and prevent abuses against, children, birth families, and adoptive parents involved in Convention adoptions or prospective adoptions, and to make sure those adoptions serve the children's best interests; and (3) to improve the federal government's ability to help United States citizens adopt children from abroad, and to help residents of other Convention countries adopt children from the United States.