(a) Liaison responsibilitiesThe Secretary shall have responsibility for—
(1)
liaison with the central authorities of other
Convention countries; and
(b) Information exchangeThe Secretary shall be responsible for—
(1) providing the central authorities of other Convention countries with information concerning—
(A)
accredited agencies and
approved persons, agencies and
persons whose accreditation or approval has been suspended or canceled, and agencies and
persons who have been temporarily or permanently debarred from accreditation or approval;
(C)
any other matters necessary and appropriate for implementation of the
Convention;
(2)
not later than the date of the entry into force of the
Convention for the United
States (pursuant to Article 46(2)(a) of the
Convention) and at least once during each subsequent calendar year,
providing to the
central authority of all other
Convention countries a notice requesting the
central authority of each such country to specify any requirements of such country regarding adoption, including restrictions on the eligibility of
persons to adopt, with respect to which information on the prospective adoptive parent or parents in the United
States would be relevant;
(3) making responses to notices under paragraph (2) available to—
(4)
ensuring the provision of a background report (home study) on prospective adoptive parent or parents (pursuant to the requirements of
section 14923(b)(1)(A)(ii) of this title), through the
central authority of each child’s country of origin, to the court having jurisdiction over the adoption (or, in the case of a child emigrating to the United
States for the purpose of adoption, to the competent authority in the child’s country of origin with responsibility for approving the child’s emigration) in adequate time to be considered prior to the granting of such adoption or approval;
(6)
facilitating the transmittal of other appropriate information to, and among, central authorities, Federal and
State agencies (including
State courts), and accredited agencies and
approved persons.
(c) Accreditation and approval responsibilities
The Secretary shall carry out the functions prescribed by the Convention with respect to the accreditation of agencies and the approval of persons to provide adoption services in the United States in cases subject to the Convention as provided in subchapter II. Such functions may not be delegated to any other Federal agency.
(d) Additional responsibilitiesThe Secretary—
(e) Establishment of registry
The Secretary and the Attorney General shall jointly establish a case registry of all adoptions involving immigration of children into the United States and emigration of children from the United States, regardless of whether the adoption occurs under the Convention. Such registry shall permit tracking of pending cases and retrieval of information on both pending and closed cases.
(f) Methods of performing responsibilitiesThe Secretary may—
(1)
authorize public or private entities to perform appropriate
central authority functions for which the
Secretary is responsible, pursuant to regulations or under agreements published in the Federal Register; and
(2)
carry out
central authority functions through grants to, or contracts with, any individual or public or private entity, except as may be otherwise specifically provided in this chapter.
References in Text
Subchapter II, referred to in subsec. (c), was in the original “title II”, meaning title II of Pub. L. 106–279, Oct. 6, 2000, 114 Stat. 830, which enacted subchapter II of this chapter and amended section 622 of this title. For complete classification of title II to the Code, see Tables.
This chapter, referred to in subsec. (f)(2), was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 106–279, Oct. 6, 2000, 114 Stat. 825, known as the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 14901 of this title and Tables.
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