Implementation of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption

WHFC Receives Hague Accreditation

February 29, 2008: We are pleased to announce that WHFC is among the first agencies to be officially approved by the Council on Accreditation (COA) as a national adoption service provider. Accreditation allows us to work with families adopting from other countries that are party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children. This recognition demonstrates WHFC's commitment to the children and families both here and abroad.

View our press release with additional information.

History of the Convention

The United States is making preparations to ratify the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (the Convention), a multilateral treaty concluded on May 29, 1993 in The Hague, Netherlands. To date, approximately 70 countries have joined the Convention, including many of the countries from which U.S. citizens adopt most frequently.

The Convention strengthens protections for adopted children. Its key principles include:

• Ensuring that intercountry adoptions take place in the best interests of children
• Preventing the abduction, exploitation, sale, or trafficking of children

The United States signed the Hague Convention in 1994, and the U.S. Department of State will become the Central Authority for the United States. At that time, private adoption service providers will generally need to be accredited, temporarily accredited, or approved, in order to provide adoption services in cases involving the United States and another Convention country.

Once the Convention enters into force for the United States, families adopting a child from a Convention country will have assurances that they and the children they are adopting have the protections and safeguards provided by the Hague Convention. More information for prospective parents is located at travel.state.gov.

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