I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 501

To require the registration of all persons providing intercountry adoption

services.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 2, 1999

Mr. TRAFICANT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on International Relations

A BILL

To require the registration of all persons providing

intercountry adoption services.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Intercountry Adoption

5 Services Provider Registration Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT.

7 No person shall make available an intercountry adop8 tion service unless that person has filed with the Secretary

9 a registration statement, supplements, and other informa10 tion as required by this Act.
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1 SEC. 3. REGISTRATION STATEMENT CONTENTS.

2 A registration statement required under section 2

3 shall disclose—

4 (1) the provider’s name;

5 (2) all of the provider’s business addresses in

6 the United States and elsewhere;

7 (3) all of the provider’s business telephone

8 numbers in the United States and elsewhere;

9 (4) if the provider is an individual, the individ10 ual’s nationality and United States immigration sta11 tus;

12 (5) if the provider is a partnership, each part13 ner’s name, nationality, and United States immigra14 tion status, and a copy of the partnership agree15 ment;

16 (6) if the provider is an association, a corpora17 tion, or any other combination of individuals other

18 than a partnership—

19 (A) the name, nationality, and United

20 States immigration status of each officer and

21 each director;

22 (B) a copy of the organization’s charter or

23 articles of incorporation;

24 (C) a copy of the organization’s bylaws;

25 and
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1 (D) a statement describing the ownership

2 and control of the organization;

3 (7) a statement describing the nature of the

4 provider’s business;

5 (8) a complete list of the provider’s employees

6 and a statement describing the nature of the work

7 of each;

8 (9) a detailed statement describing each inter9 country adoption service that the provider makes

10 available or intends to make available;

11 (10) a schedule of all fees, including foreign

12 and domestic program fees and fees for foster care,

13 which the provider charges for its intercountry adop14 tion services;

15 (11) a list of the sources of the children whom

16 the provider makes or intends to make available for

17 adoption, if any, and the names, addresses, and tele18 phone numbers of such sources;

19 (12) a list of any coordinators or contractors

20 not listed under paragraph (8) or (11) who are em21 ployed or otherwise provided any remuneration by

22 the provider to assist with the intercountry adoption

23 services made available by the provider, and the

24 names, addresses, and telephone numbers of those

25 coordinators or contractors; and
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1 (13) any further information which the Sec2 retary considers necessary to make the statements

3 made in the registration statement, or the support4 ing documents disclosed under this section, accurate

5 and not misleading.

6 SEC. 4. REGISTRATION STATEMENT UPDATES.

7 (a) ANNUAL SUPPLEMENTS.—Within 1 year after fil8 ing a registration statement, and annually thereafter, each

9 provider shall file with the Secretary a supplement to the

10 registration statement. Such supplement shall disclose in11 formation the Secretary requires to make the disclosures

12 under section 3 accurate, complete, and current.

13 (b) ADDITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS.—The Secretary

14 may require that supplements be filed at more frequent

15 intervals than required by subsection (a), if such filings

16 would serve the public interest, including the interests of

17 persons seeking intercountry adoption services.

18 (c) NOTIFICATION OF CERTAIN CHANGES.—With re19 spect to the information required to be disclosed by para20 graphs (1), (2), (7), and (11) of section 3, the provider

21 shall notify the Secretary of any changes in such informa22 tion within 45 days after the changes occur.

23 SEC. 5. FILING FEE.

24 The Secretary shall establish a schedule of fees to

25 charge providers for filing a registration statement. Such
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1 schedule shall be designed to cover the cost of the adminis2 tration of this Act.

3 SEC. 6. ENFORCEMENT.

4 (a) PENALTIES.—Any person convicted of a violation

5 of section 2 shall be fined under title 18, United States

6 Code, or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.

7 (b) NOTICE OF DEFICIENT REGISTRATION STATE8 MENT.—If the Secretary finds that a registration state9 ment does not comply the requirements of this Act and

10 that such noncompliance is not willful, the Secretary shall

11 notify the provider in writing, specifying the deficiencies.

12 A provider charged with a violation of section 2 based on

13 a deficiency cited in such notice shall not be prosecuted

14 unless the provider has not remedied the deficiency within

15 20 days after such notice is received.

16 SEC. 7. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.

17 (a) PUBLIC INSPECTION.—Not later than 30 days

18 after receipt by the Secretary, except as provided in sub19 section (b), copies of all registration statements, supple20 ments, and other documents filed with the Secretary under

21 this Act shall be available for public inspection and

22 photocopying at a reasonable cost at various locations

23 around the country, as determined by the Secretary.

24 (b) INFORMATION ON SOURCES.—

25 (1) EXEMPTION FROM DISCLOSURE.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

2 subparagraph (B), information provided to the

3 Secretary pursuant to section 3(11) shall not be

4 disclosed by the Secretary under subsection (a).

5 (B) DISCLOSURE.—The Secretary may dis6 close under subsection (a) information described

7 in subparagraph (A) only if the Secretary finds

8 that a person seeking or using intercountry

9 adoption services has a substantial need for

10 such a disclosure for the purposes of litigation.

11 The Secretary shall limit the breadth of such a

12 disclosure to that information which is reason13 ably necessary to satisfy such need.

14 (2) ADDITIONAL EXEMPTION FROM DISCLO15 SURE.—Section 552 of title 5, United States Code,

16 shall not apply to information provided to the Sec17 retary pursuant to section 3(11).

18 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

19 For the purposes of this Act—

20 (1) the term ‘‘intercountry adoption service’’

21 means a service provided in the United States, relat22 ed to the adoption of a person from outside the

23 United States, that—

24 (A) arranges adoptions;

25 (B) identifies prospective adoptees;
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1 (C) secures the consent necessary for the

2 termination of parental rights or for adoptions;

3 (D) performs background studies on pro4 spective adoptees, home studies on prospective

5 adoptive parents, or reports of such studies;

6 (E) determines the best interests of

7 adoptees or the appropriateness of adoptive

8 placements;

9 (F) counsels adoptees, birth parents, or

10 adoptive parents with respect to adoptions;

11 (G) monitors adoptees and their placement

12 until adoptions are finalized;

13 (H) in the case of adoptions that cannot be

14 finalized, assumes custody of an adoptee or pro15 vides child care or other social services to the

16 adoptee pending an alternative placement; or

17 (I) is such other service related to inter18 country adoption as the Secretary of State may

19 by regulation provide;

20 (2) the term ‘‘provider’’ means a person who

21 makes available or intends to make available an

22 intercountry adoption service;

23 (3) the term ‘‘registration statement’’ means a

24 registration statement filed pursuant to this Act;

25 and
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1 (4) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

2 of State.

3 SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.

4 This Act shall become effective 1 year after the date

5 of its enactment.

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