Colorado has reached an agreement with the federal government to oversee the licensing of international adoption agencies operating in the state.
It is the only state in the nation to do so.
Under the 1993 Hague Convention – which the U.S. is expected to ratify early next year – American firms arranging adoptions from any of the 69 signatory countries must be accredited.
The Hague Convention focuses on the issues of inter-country adoptions and the trafficking of children.
The goal of the agreement with the Colorado Department of Human Services is to ensure the safety of foreign adopted children.
The agreement will mean added scrutiny and oversight of adoption agencies in Colorado.
Part of the accreditation process will include detailed evaluations of an agency’s methods and practices.
“Parents will definitely see some changes,” said Dana Andrews, licensing administrator for the state Division of Child Care.
“They will feel a heightened ability to complain since the complaints will be tracked through the State Department,” Andrews said.
Parent’s complaints are now handled by state agencies, many of which do not require adoption agencies to be licensed. Colorado does.
Colorado’s existing regulatory relationship with adoption agencies was behind its decision to get State Department approval, Andrews said.
“Colorado has fairly stringent regulations on international adoptions and we felt many of our agencies would already comply since we already monitored them,” Andrews said.
International adoption agencies seeking Colorado accreditation must pay the state up to $6,000 in fees.
Eleven other states applied to oversee foreign adoptions, but dropped out for political or economic reasons.
“We think we ended up with regulations that for the first time set high standards for agencies that do inter-country adoptions,” said Catherine Barry, deputy assistant secretary for Overseas Citizens Services at the State Department.
American families adopt more than 20,000 foreign children each year, according to State Department figures. The largest number – nearly 8,000 from October 2004 to September 2005 – were from mainland China.
The federal government also approved the Council on Accreditation in New York to certify international adoption agencies. The company can certify agencies anywhere in the country. Colorado can only accredit firms located in the state.
Only countries that have signed the Hague Convention are affected. U.S. adoptions from other countries are regulated by federal immigration laws.
Staff writer David Migoya can be reached at 303-820-1506 or dmigoya@denverpost.com.
