I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4143 

To realign structures and reallocate resources in the Federal Government, 

in keeping with the core American belief that families are the best 

protection for children and the bedrock of any society, to bolster United 

States diplomacy and assistance targeted at ensuring that every child 

can grow up in a permanent, safe, nurturing, and loving family, and 

to strengthen intercountry adoption to the United States and around 

the world and ensure that it becomes a viable and fully developed option 

for providing families for children in need, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 4, 2014 

Ms. GRANGER (for herself, Ms. BASS, Mrs. BACHMANN, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, 

Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. OLSON, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. WOLF, 

Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. COOPER, Mr. LANGEVIN, 

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. CONAWAY, Mr. 

SCHIFF, Mr. RICHMOND, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. BISHOP of New York, Ms. 

SCHWARTZ, Mr. BRALEY of Iowa, Mr. DOGGETT, Mrs. CAPITO, Mrs. 

BROOKS of Indiana, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. ROKITA, Mr. COHEN, Ms. JACKSON

LEE, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. NUNNELEE, Ms. KUSTER, Mr. 

FORBES, and Mr. MURPHY of Florida) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition 

to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To realign structures and reallocate resources in the Federal 

Government, in keeping with the core American belief 

that families are the best protection for children and 

the bedrock of any society, to bolster United States diplomacy and assistance targeted at ensuring that every child 


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can grow up in a permanent, safe, nurturing, and loving 

family, and to strengthen intercountry adoption to the 

United States and around the world and ensure that 

it becomes a viable and fully developed option for providing families for children in need, and for other purposes. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Children in Families First Act of 2014’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings; purposes. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

TITLE I—REALIGNMENT OF CERTAIN INTERNATIONAL CHILD 

WELFARE RESPONSIBILITIES AND FUNCTIONS 

Sec. 101. Establishment of Bureau of Vulnerable Children and Family Security 

in the Department of State. 

Sec. 102. Responsibilities of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for accreditation of adoption service providers. 

Sec. 103. Transfer of functions and savings provisions. 

Sec. 104. Responsibilities of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for 

adoption-related case processing. 

TITLE II—ANNUAL REPORTING 

Sec. 201. Annual report on children living without families. 

Sec. 202. Country reports regarding severe forms of trafficking. 

TITLE III—PROMOTION OF A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH FOR 

CHILDREN IN ADVERSITY 

Sec. 301. Establishment of a USAID Center for Excellence for Children in Adversity. 

TITLE IV—FUNDING AND EFFECTIVE DATES 

Sec. 401. Funding. 

Sec. 402. Effective dates. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find3 ings: 

4 (1) The people of the United States recognize 

5 and believe that children must grow up in perma6 nent, safe, and nurturing families in order to develop 

7 and thrive. 

8 (2) Science now proves conclusively that chil9 dren suffer immediate, lasting, and in many cases ir10 reversible damage from time spent living in institu11 tions or outside of families, including reduced brain 

12 activity, reduced IQ, smaller brain size, and inability 

13 to form emotional bonds with others. 

14 (3) Governments in other countries seek models 

15 that promote the placement of children who are liv16 ing outside family care in permanent, safe, and nur17 turing families, rather than in foster care or institu18 tions, but many governments lack the resources or 

19 infrastructure to adequately address this need. 

20 (4) Despite the good efforts of countless gov21 ernments and nongovernmental organizations, mil22 lions of children remain uncounted and outside of 

23 the protection, nurturing care, permanence, safety, 

24 and love of a family. Without the care of a family, 

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1 stitutions, in paid foster care, in child-headed house2 holds, in group homes, or as household servants. 

3 (5) No reliable data currently exists to define 

4 and document the number and needs of children in 

5 the world currently living without families, but avail6 able evidence demonstrates that there are millions of 

7 children in this situation needing immediate help. 

8 (6) The December 2012 Action Plan for Chil9 dren in Adversity commits the United States Gov10 ernment to achieving a world in which all children 

11 grow up within protective family care and free from 

12 deprivation, exploitation, and danger. To effectively 

13 and efficiently accomplish this goal, it is necessary 

14 to realign the United States Government’s current 

15 operational system for assisting orphans and vulner16 able children, and processing intercountry adoptions. 

17 (7) All options for providing appropriate, pro18 tective, and permanent family care to children living 

19 without families must be considered concurrently 

20 and permanent solutions must be put in place as 

21 quickly as possible. Solutions include family preser22 vation and reunification, kinship care, guardianship, 

23 domestic and intercountry adoption, and other cul24 turally acceptable forms of care that will result in 

25 appropriate, protective, and permanent family care. 


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1 Preference should be given to options that optimize 

2 child best interests, which generally means options 

3 which provide children with fully protected legal sta4 tus and parents with full legal status as parents, in5 cluding full parental rights and responsibilities. The 

6 principle of subsidiarity, which gives preference to 

7 in-country solutions, should be implemented within 

8 the context of a concurrent planning strategy, ex9 ploring in- and out-of-country options simulta10 neously. If an in-country placement serving the 

11 child’s best interest and providing appropriate, pro12 tective, and permanent care is not quickly available, 

13 and such an international home is available, the 

14 child should be placed in that international home 

15 without delay. 

16 (8) Significant resources are already dedicated 

17 to international assistance for orphans and vulner18 able children, and a relatively small portion of these 

19 resources can be reallocated to achieve more timely, 

20 effective, nurturing, and permanent familial solu21 tions for children living without families, resulting in 

22 fewer children worldwide living in institutions or on 

23 the streets, more families preserved or reunified, and 

24 increased domestic and international adoptions. 

25 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 


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1 (1) to support the core American value that 

2 families are the bedrock of any society; 

3 (2) to protect the fundamental human right of 

4 all children to grow up within the loving care of per5 manent, safe, and nurturing families; 

6 (3) to address a critical gap in United States 

7 foreign policy implementation by adjusting the Fed8 eral Government’s international policy and oper9 ational structures so that seeking permanent fami10 lies for children living without families receives more 

11 prominence, focus, and resources (through the re12 allocation of existing personnel and resources); 

13 (4) to harness the diplomatic and operational 

14 power of the United States Government in the inter15 national sphere by helping to identify and implement 

16 timely, permanent, safe, and nurturing familial solu17 tions for children living without families, including 

18 refugee or stateless children; 

19 (5) to ensure that intercountry adoption by 

20 United States citizens becomes a viable and fully de21 veloped option for creating permanent families for 

22 children who need them; 

23 (6) to protect against abuses of children, birth 

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1 country adoptions, and to ensure that such adop2 tions are in the individual child’s best interests; and 

3 (7) to harmonize and strengthen existing inter4 country adoption processes under United States 

5 law— 

6 (A) by ensuring that the same set of proce7 dures and criteria govern suitability and eligi8 bility determinations for prospective adoptive 

9 parents seeking to complete intercountry adop10 tions, whether or not the child is from a foreign 

11 state that is a party to the Hague Adoption 

12 Convention; and 

13 (B) by aligning the definitions of eligible 

14 child for Convention adoptions and non-Conven15 tion adoptions to the maximum extent possible. 

16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

18 (1) ACTION PLAN FOR CHILDREN IN ADVER19 SITY.—The term ‘‘Action Plan for Children in Ad20 versity’’ means the policy document entitled ‘‘United 

21 States Government Action Plan on Children in Ad22 versity: A Framework for International Assistance: 

23 2012–2017’’, released on December 19, 2012. 

24 (2) APPROPRIATE, PROTECTIVE, AND PERMA25 NENT FAMILY CARE.—The term ‘‘appropriate, proVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:15 Mar 05, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4143.IH H4143

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1 tective, and permanent family care’’ means a nur2 turing, lifelong, commitment to a child by an adult, 

3 or adults with parental roles and responsibilities 

4 that— 

5 (A) provides physical and emotional sup6 port; 

7 (B) provides the child with a sense of be8 longing; and 

9 (C) generally involves full legal recognition 

10 of the child’s status as child of the parents and 

11 of the parents’ rights and responsibilities re12 garding the child. 

13 (3) CENTRAL AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘central 

14 authority’’ has the meaning given the term in sec15 tion 3 of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42 

16 U.S.C. 14902). 

17 (4) CHILDREN IN ADVERSITY.—The term ‘‘chil18 dren in adversity’’ means children living inside or 

19 outside of family care who are deprived, excluded, 

20 vulnerable, or at risk for violence, abuse, exploi21 tation, or neglect. 

22 (5) CONVENTION ADOPTION.—The term ‘‘Con23 vention adoption’’ has the meaning given the term in 

24 section 3 of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 

25 (42 U.S.C. 14902). 


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1 (6) CONVENTION COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘Con2 vention country’’ has the meaning given the term in 

3 section 3 of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 

4 (42 U.S.C. 14902) and for which the Hague Adop5 tion Convention has entered into force. 

6 (7) GUARDIANSHIP.—The term ‘‘guardianship’’ 

7 means a permanent legal relationship between an 

8 adult and a child, whereby the adult is lawfully in9 vested with the power, and charged with the duty, 

10 of taking care of the child. While some forms of 

11 guardianship are not truly permanent, the form of 

12 guardianship referred to and supported under this 

13 Act is permanent guardianship. A Kefala order 

14 issued by a country that follows traditional Islamic 

15 law does not qualify as an adoption under United 

16 States law, but may be a form of guardianship in 

17 some circumstances. 

18 (8) HABITUAL RESIDENCE DETERMINATION.— 

19 The term ‘‘habitual residence determination’’ means 

20 a factual determination of where a prospective adop21 tive parent (or parents) resides and where the child 

22 resides for purposes of an intercountry adoption 

23 case. 

24 (9) HAGUE ADOPTION CONVENTION.—The term 

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1 tion of Protection of Children and Cooperation in 

2 Respect of Intercountry Adoption, concluded at The 

3 Hague May 29, 1993. 

4 (10) KINSHIP CARE.—The term ‘‘kinship care’’ 

5 means the full time care, nurturing, and protection 

6 of children by relatives, members of their tribes or 

7 clans, godparents, stepparents, or any adult who has 

8 a kinship bond with a child, so long as those persons 

9 have the capacity and commitment to function as 

10 true parents for the child on a permanent basis. It 

11 does not include paid kinship foster care. 

12 (11) NON-CONVENTION ADOPTION.—The term 

13 ‘‘non-Convention adoption’’ means— 

14 (A) an adoption by United States parents 

15 of a child from a non-Convention country in ac16 cordance with subparagraph (F) of section 

17 101(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality 

18 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)); 

19 (B) an adoption by United States parents 

20 of a child under the laws of the child’s country 

21 of origin (generally when the parents are living 

22 in the child’s country of origin and therefore 

23 able legally to complete a domestic adoption); or 

24 (C) in certain circumstances (generally 

25 with respect to relative adoptions or adoptions 


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1 by dual national parents), an adoption by 

2 United States parents of a child from a Con3 vention country if that country allows legal and 

4 valid adoptions to take place outside the scope 

5 of the Convention. 

6 (12) NON-CONVENTION COUNTRY.—The term 

7 ‘‘non-Convention country’’ means a country in which 

8 the Hague Adoption Convention has not entered into 

9 force, regardless of whether or not that country has 

10 signed the Convention. 

11 (13) UNPARENTED CHILDREN.—The term 

12 ‘‘unparented children’’ means children lacking the 

13 legal, permanent, safe, and nurturing care of a pa14 rental figure or figures, either inside their country of 

15 origin, in the country of their habitual residence, or 

16 elsewhere, regardless of their lawful or unlawful im17 migration status in their current country of resi18 dence. 

19 (14) VULNERABLE CHILDREN.—The term ‘‘vul20 nerable children’’, consistent with the United States 

21 Agency for International Development’s definition, 

22 means children and youth who are under 18 years 

23 whose safety, well-being, growth, and development 

24 are at significant risk due to inadequate care, pro25 tection, or access to essential services. 


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1 TITLE I—REALIGNMENT OF CER2 TAIN INTERNATIONAL CHILD 

3 WELFARE RESPONSIBILITIES 

4 AND FUNCTIONS 

5 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF BUREAU OF VULNERABLE 

6 CHILDREN AND FAMILY SECURITY IN THE 

7 DEPARTMENT OF STATE. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

9 the Department of State the Bureau of Vulnerable Chil10 dren and Family Security (referred to in this Act as the 

11 ‘‘VCFS’’), which shall be located in the Secretariat for Ci12 vilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights and shall 

13 promote and support the following activities: 

14 (1) The development and implementation in for15 eign countries of child welfare laws, regulations, 

16 policies, best practices, and procedures in keeping 

17 with the goals articulated in the Action Plan for 

18 Children in Adversity, including— 

19 (A) the sound development of children 

20 through the integration of health, nutrition, and 

21 family support; 

22 (B) supporting and enabling families to 

23 care for children through family preservation, 

24 reunification, and support of kinship care, 


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1 guardianship, and domestic and intercountry 

2 adoption; and 

3 (C) facilitating the efforts of national gov4 ernments and partners to prevent, respond to, 

5 and protect children from violence, exploitation, 

6 abuse, and neglect. 

7 (2) Addressing the gap in United States Gov8 ernment diplomacy, policy, and operations with re9 spect to promoting appropriate, protective, and per10 manent family care for children living without fami11 lies by establishing within the VCFS a Senior Coor12 dinator for Permanence, who— 

13 (A) shall occupy at least a Deputy Assist14 ant Secretary-level position in the VCFS; and 

15 (B) shall lead the development and imple16 mentation of policies that will ensure the timely 

17 provision of appropriate, protective, and perma18 nent family care for children living without 

19 families, including refugee and stateless chil20 dren, through the full continuum of permanence 

21 solutions, including family preservation and re22 unification, kinship care, guardianship, and do23 mestic and intercountry adoption. 

24 (b) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.— 


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1 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The VCFS shall be headed 

2 by an Assistant Secretary, who shall be appointed by 

3 the President by and with the consent of the Senate. 

4 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Assistant Secretary 

5 shall— 

6 (A) have experience in the development of 

7 policies and systems and the implementation of 

8 programs that promote the goals of the Action 

9 Plan for Children in Adversity; 

10 (B) be knowledgeable of international child 

11 welfare, family permanence, and family creation 

12 through domestic and intercountry adoption; 

13 and 

14 (C) be committed to developing an inte15 grated United States Government approach to 

16 international child welfare that places equal em17 phasis on— 

18 (i) early childhood survival and devel19 opment; 

20 (ii) family permanence; and 

21 (iii) protection from abuse and exploi22 tation. 

23 (3) AUTHORITY.—The Assistant Secretary shall 

24 report to the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, 

25 Democracy and Human Rights. 


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1 (4) INCREASE IN AUTHORIZED ASSISTANT SEC2 RETARY POSITIONS.— 

3 (A) AMENDMENT TO STATE DEPARTMENT

4 BASIC AUTHORITIES ACT OF 1956.—Section 

5 1(c)(1) of the State Department Basic Authori6 ties Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a(c)(1)) is 

7 amended by striking ‘‘not more than 24 Assist8 ant Secretaries’’ and inserting ‘‘not more than 

9 25 Assistant Secretaries’’. 

10 (B) AMENDMENT TO TITLE 5, UNITED

11 STATES CODE.—Section 5315 of title 5, United 

12 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Assistant 

13 Secretaries of State (24)’’ and inserting ‘‘As14 sistant Secretaries of State (25)’’. 

15 (c) FUNCTIONS.— 

16 (1) ADVISORY.—The Assistant Secretary shall 

17 serve as a primary advisor to the Secretary of State 

18 and the President in all matters related to vulner19 able children and family security in foreign coun20 tries. 

21 (2) DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION.—Subject to 

22 the direction of the President and the Secretary of 

23 State, and in consultation and coordination with the 

24 Senior Coordinator for Children in Adversity of the 

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1 ment, and the Secretary of Homeland Security, the 

2 Assistant Secretary shall represent the United 

3 States in matters relevant to international child wel4 fare, family preservation and reunification, and pro5 vision of permanent, safe parental care through kin6 ship, domestic and intercountry adoption in— 

7 (A) contacts with foreign governments, 

8 nongovernmental organizations, intergovern9 mental agencies, and specialized agencies of the 

10 United Nations and other international organi11 zations of which the United States is a member; 

12 (B) multilateral conferences and meetings 

13 relevant to family preservation, reunification, 

14 and creating appropriate, protective, and per15 manent care for unparented children; and 

16 (C) fulfillment of the diplomatic respon17 sibilities designated to the central authority 

18 under title I of the Intercountry Adoption Act 

19 of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14911 et seq.), as amended 

20 by this Act. 

21 (3) POLICY DEVELOPMENT WITH RESPECT TO

22 PERMANENCE FOR UNPARENTED CHILDREN.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Sec24 retary shall— 


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1 (i) develop and advocate for policies 

2 and practices to ensure that children in 

3 foreign countries who are living without 

4 families find appropriate, protective, and 

5 permanent family care which is in the best 

6 interest of each child; 

7 (ii) give consideration to family pres8 ervation and reunification, kinship care, 

9 guardianship, and domestic and inter10 country adoption; and 

11 (iii) seek to develop and implement 

12 policies that lead to the use of all options 

13 for providing appropriate, protective, and 

14 permanent family care to children living 

15 without families as quickly as possible. 

16 (B) BEST INTEREST DETERMINATION.—In 

17 carrying out subparagraph (A), the Assistant 

18 Secretary shall give preference to options that 

19 optimize the best interests of children, including 

20 options which provide children with fully pro21 tected legal status as children and parents with 

22 full legal status as parents, including full paren23 tal rights and responsibilities. 

24 (C) SUBSIDIARITY.—The principle of 

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1 try solutions, should be implemented within the 

2 context of a concurrent planning strategy, ex3 ploring in- and out-of-country options simulta4 neously. If an in-country placement serving the 

5 child’s best interests and providing appropriate, 

6 protective, and permanent care is not quickly 

7 available, and such an international home is 

8 available, the child should be placed in that 

9 international home without delay. 

10 (D) BEST PRACTICES.—In developing poli11 cies and programs under this Act, the Assistant 

12 Secretary shall identify and utilize evidence13 based programs and best practices in family 

14 preservation and reunification and provision of 

15 permanent parental care through guardianship, 

16 kinship care, and domestic and intercountry 

17 adoption as derived from a wide variety of do18 mestic, foreign, and global policies and prac19 tices. 

20 (E) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Assist21 ant Secretary, in consultation with other appro22 priate Federal agencies, shall provide technical 

23 assistance to governments of foreign countries 

24 to help build their child welfare capacities and 

25 to strengthen appropriate family preservation 


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1 and reunification and the provision of appro2 priate, protective, and permanent family care 

3 through kinship care, guardianship, and domes4 tic and intercountry adoption, including assist5 ance with— 

6 (i) the drafting, disseminating, and 

7 implementing of legislation; 

8 (ii) the development of implementing 

9 systems and procedures; 

10 (iii) the establishment of public, pri11 vate, and faith- and community-based 

12 partnerships; 

13 (iv) the development of workforce 

14 training for governmental and nongovern15 mental staff; and 

16 (v) infrastructure development and 

17 data collection techniques necessary to 

18 identify and document the number and 

19 needs of children living without appro20 priate, protective, and permanent family 

21 care. 

22 (4) RESPONSIBILITIES WITH RESPECT TO

23 INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The VCFS, in coordi25 nation with other offices of the Department of 


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1 State and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 

2 Services, shall have lead responsibility for rep3 resenting the United States Government in dis4 cussions, negotiations, and diplomatic contacts 

5 pertaining to intercountry adoptions. 

6 (B) CENTRAL AUTHORITY RESPONSIBILITY

7 UNDER THE INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION ACT OF

8 2000.—Section 101(b)(2) of the Intercountry 

9 Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14911(b)(2)) 

10 is amended by striking ‘‘Office of Children’s 

11 Issues’’ and inserting ‘‘Bureau of Vulnerable 

12 Children and Family Security’’. 

13 (C) DETERMINATIONS OF HAGUE ADOP14 TION CONVENTION COMPLIANCE.—The VCFS, 

15 in consultation with other offices of the Depart16 ment of State, and the Department of Home17 land Security, shall have lead responsibility for 

18 determining whether a Convention partner 

19 country has met its obligations under the 

20 Hague Adoption Convention and is eligible to 

21 participate in intercountry adoptions in accord22 ance with United States law. Such determina23 tions shall be documented in writing, based on 

24 standardized criteria, and available for public 

25 review and comment. 


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1 (D) NEGOTIATION OF BILATERAL AGREE2 MENTS.—The VCFS, in consultation with the 

3 Secretary of Homeland Security, shall have lead 

4 responsibility for the negotiation of bilateral 

5 agreements with other countries pertaining to 

6 intercountry adoption and in conformity with 

7 the provisions of the Hague Adoption Conven8 tion when the other country is a Convention 

9 partner. 

10 (5) POLICY COORDINATION.—The Assistant 

11 Secretary shall coordinate with the Secretary of 

12 Homeland Security and the Administrator of the 

13 United States Agency for International Development 

14 to maintain consistency in United States foreign and 

15 domestic policy and operations with respect to chil16 dren living outside family care in foreign countries, 

17 particularly those living without families. 

18 (6) INFORMATION COORDINATION.—The Assist19 ant Secretary shall transmit— 

20 (A) any intercountry adoption related case 

21 information received from the Central Authority 

22 of another Convention country to the Secretary 

23 of Homeland Security; and 

24 (B) any intercountry adoption related case 

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1 curity requests to the Central Authority of an2 other Convention country. 

3 SEC. 102. RESPONSIBILITIES OF U.S. CITIZENSHIP AND IM4 MIGRATION SERVICES FOR ACCREDITATION 

5 OF ADOPTION SERVICE PROVIDERS. 

6 (a) GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES UNDER THE

7 INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION ACT OF 2000.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Intercountry Adoption 

9 Act of 2000 (Public Law 106–279; 114 Stat. 825) 

10 is amended by inserting after section 103 (42 U.S.C. 

11 14913) the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 103A. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 

13 HOMELAND SECURITY. 

14 ‘‘(a) ACCREDITATION AND APPROVAL RESPONSIBIL15 ITIES.—The Secretary of Homeland Security, working 

16 through the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 

17 Services, shall carry out the functions prescribed by the 

18 Convention with respect to the accreditation of agencies 

19 and the approval of persons to provide adoption services 

20 in the United States in cases subject to the Convention 

21 as provided in title II. Such functions may not be dele22 gated to any other Federal agency. 

23 ‘‘(b) INVESTIGATIONS.—The Secretary of Homeland 

24 Security shall be responsible for managing and overseeing 


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1 investigations related to the operation and services of 

2 adoption service providers, whether directly or indirectly. 

3 ‘‘(c) LIAISON WITH FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS ON

4 POST-PLACEMENT REPORTS AND CERTAIN ADOPTION

5 CASES.—The Secretary of Homeland Security shall serve 

6 as the liaison with foreign governments with respect to 

7 queries about required post-placement reports and about 

8 specific intercountry adoption cases once the adopted chil9 dren are living in the United States, including queries 

10 about the status of adopted children who are living in the 

11 United States in cases involving allegations of abuse, ne12 glect, abandonment, or death.’’. 

13 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 1 of such 

14 Act is amended by inserting after the item relating 

15 to section 103 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 103A. Responsibilities of the Department of Homeland Security.’’. 

16 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 102 

17 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 14912) is amended— 

18 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘The 

19 Secretary’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided 

20 for under section 103A, the Secretary’’; 

21 (B) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘, in co22 ordination with the Secretary of Homeland Se23 curity,’’ after ‘‘The Secretary’’; 

24 (C) by striking subsection (c); 


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1 (D) by redesignating subsections (d) and 

2 (f) as subsections (c) and (d), respectively; and 

3 (E) by striking subsection (e). 

4 (b) ACCREDITATION RESPONSIBILITIES UNDER THE

5 INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION ACT OF 2000.— 

6 (1) DESIGNATION OF ACCREDITING AGEN7 CIES.—Section 202 of the Intercountry Adoption Act 

8 of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14922) is amended by inserting 

9 ‘‘of Homeland Security’’ after ‘‘Secretary’’ each 

10 place it appears. 

11 (2) STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES FOR PRO12 VIDING ACCREDITATION OR APPROVAL.—Section 203 

13 of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 

14 14923) is amended by inserting ‘‘of Homeland Secu15 rity’’ after ‘‘Secretary’’ each place it appears in sub16 sections (a) and (b). 

17 (3) OVERSIGHT OF ACCREDITATION AND AP18 PROVAL.—Section 204 of the Intercountry Adoption 

19 Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14924) is amended— 

20 (A) by inserting ‘‘of Homeland Security’’ 

21 after ‘‘Secretary’’ each place it appears; and 

22 (B) in subsection (c)— 

23 (i) in paragraph (1), by amending the 

24 paragraph heading to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(4) AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY OF

2 HOMELAND SECURITY.—’’; and 

3 (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking 

4 ‘‘Secretary’s debarment order’’ and insert5 ing ‘‘debarment order of the Secretary of 

6 Homeland Security’’. 

7 (4) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.— 

8 (A) ACCESS TO CONVENTION RECORDS.— 

9 Section 401(b) of the Intercountry Adoption 

10 Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14941(b)) is amend11 ed— 

12 (i) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, 

13 the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immi14 gration Services,’’ after ‘‘Secretary’’; and 

15 (ii) in paragraph (2), by inserting 

16 ‘‘the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Im17 migration Services,’’ after ‘‘Secretary,’’. 

18 (B) ASSESSMENT OF FEES.—Section 

19 403(b) of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 

20 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14943(b)) is amended— 

21 (i) in paragraph (1)— 

22 (I) by inserting ‘‘or the Director 

23 of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 

24 Services’’ after ‘‘Secretary’’; and 


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1 (II) by inserting ‘‘or U.S. Citi2 zenship and Immigration Services, re3 spectively,’’ after ‘‘Department of 

4 State’’; and 

5 (ii) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘or 

6 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 

7 appropriation, as the case may be,’’ after 

8 ‘‘Department of State appropriation’’. 

9 (c) INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION FUNCTIONS OF U.S. 

10 CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES.— 

11 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection and in 

12 section 103: 

13 (A) ADOPTION SERVICE.—The term 

14 ‘‘adoption service’’ has the meaning given the 

15 term in section 3 of the Intercountry Adoption 

16 Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14902). 

17 (B) ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR.—The term 

18 ‘‘Associate Director’’ means the Associate Di19 rector of the Directorate. 

20 (C) DIRECTORATE.—Except as otherwise 

21 provided in this subsection, the term ‘‘Direc22 torate’’ means the Field Operations Directorate 

23 of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 

24 (2) INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION FUNCTIONS.— 

25 The Associate Director shall carry out— 


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1 (A) the functions described in section 

2 103A(a) of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 

3 2000, relating to accreditation of agencies and 

4 approval of persons to provide adoption serv5 ices; 

6 (B) the functions described in section 

7 103A(b) of such Act, relating to management 

8 and oversight of investigations related to the 

9 operation of such providers; and 

10 (C) the functions described in section 

11 103A(c) of such Act, relating to liaison respon12 sibilities regarding post-placement reports and 

13 certain adoption cases. 

14 (3) INFORMATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

15 (A) DATABASE ON ADOPTION SERVICE

16 PROVIDERS.— 

17 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Associate Di18 rector shall establish and operate, in con19 junction with the Secretary of State, a 

20 publicly accessible database of adoption 

21 service providers. 

22 (ii) AGREEMENT.—The Associate Di23 rector, the Director, and the Secretary of 

24 State shall enter into an agreement under 

25 which the Director and the Secretary shall 


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1 provide, for the database, data on inter2 country adoption cases relating to adoption 

3 service providers. 

4 (iii) CONTENTS.—The database shall 

5 include, with respect to each accredited 

6 agency and approved person, who is an 

7 adoption service provider individually, and 

8 to the aggregate of all adoption service 

9 providers— 

10 (I) information identifying such a 

11 provider; 

12 (II) information on the accredita13 tion status of an agency, or the ap14 proval status of a person, as an adop15 tion service provider; 

16 (III) information on the number 

17 of applications or petitions filed re18 specting adoption and the numbers of 

19 approvals and denials of the applica20 tions or petitions; 

21 (IV) the number of substantiated 

22 grievances filed with respect to an 

23 adoption service provider; and 

24 (V) a description of any sanc25 tions an adoption service provider, or 


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1 corrective actions that the provider is 

2 required to take to maintain accredi3 tation or approval described in sub4 clause (II). 

5 (B) DATABASE ON INTERNATIONALLY

6 ADOPTED CHILDREN.— 

7 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Associate Di8 rector, in conjunction with the Secretary of 

9 State, shall establish and operate a data10 base containing data respecting children 

11 involved in intercountry adoption cases 

12 who have immigrated to the United States. 

13 (ii) INFORMATION TRACKING.—Al14 though the data available for adoptions fi15 nalized before the date of the enactment of 

16 this Act will likely be incomplete, the Asso17 ciate Director should seek to import avail18 able data on all adoptions involving chil19 dren who are younger than 18 years of age 

20 on the date of the enactment of this Act. 

21 In operating the database established 

22 under clause (i), the Associate Director 

23 shall track information about each such 

24 child before attaining United States citi25 zenship, including— 


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1 (I) information identifying a 

2 child and the adoptive or prospective 

3 adoptive parents, including— 

4 (aa) the full name of the 

5 child in the country of origin and 

6 the full name of the child after 

7 the adoption is finalized; 

8 (bb) the gender, date of 

9 birth, nationality, and citizenship 

10 of the child; 

11 (cc) the physical address of 

12 the child at the time of the adop13 tion; the type of visa issued to 

14 the child; and 

15 (dd) the date on which the 

16 child entered the United States; 

17 (II) information on the particular 

18 adoption service provider, if any, pro19 viding services in the particular case; 

20 and 

21 (III) information on immigration 

22 or citizenship status of the child. 

23 (iii) INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT.— 

24 The Associate Director, the Director, and 

25 the Secretary of State shall enter into an 


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1 agreement under which the Secretary of 

2 State shall provide, for the database, data 

3 on intercountry adoption cases concerning 

4 the adopted children, and the adoption 

5 service providers. 

6 SEC. 103. TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS AND SAVINGS PROVI7 SIONS. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, unless otherwise 

9 provided or contextually indicated— 

10 (1) the term ‘‘Federal agency’’ has the meaning 

11 given to the term ‘‘agency’’ under section 551(1) of 

12 title 5, United States Code; 

13 (2) the term ‘‘function’’ means any duty, obli14 gation, power, authority, responsibility, right, privi15 lege, activity, or program; and 

16 (3) the term ‘‘office’’ includes any office, ad17 ministration, agency, institute, unit, organizational 

18 entity, or component thereof. 

19 (b) TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS.—There are trans20 ferred to the Directorate, all functions described in section 

21 103A(a) of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, as 

22 added by section 102(a) of this Act, which were exercised 

23 by the Secretary of State before the date of the enactment 

24 of this Act (including all related functions of any officer 


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1 or employee of the Department of State), including func2 tions relating to— 

3 (1) the accreditation of agencies and approval 

4 of persons to provide adoption services; 

5 (2) the management and oversight of investiga6 tions related to the operation of such providers; and 

7 (3) liaison responsibilities with respect to re8 quired post-placement reports. 

9 (c) DETERMINATIONS OF CERTAIN FUNCTIONS BY

10 THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET.—If nec11 essary, the Director of the Office of Management and 

12 Budget shall make any determination with respect to the 

13 transfer of functions under subsection (b). 

14 (d) PERSONNEL PROVISIONS.— 

15 (1) APPOINTMENTS.—The Associate Director 

16 may appoint and fix the compensation of such offi17 cers and employees, including investigators, attor18 neys, and administrative law judges, as may be nec19 essary to carry out the respective functions trans20 ferred under this section. Except as otherwise pro21 vided by law, such officers and employees shall be 

22 appointed in accordance with the civil service laws 

23 and their compensation fixed in accordance with title 

24 5, United States Code. 


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1 (2) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Asso2 ciate Director may obtain the services of experts and 

3 consultants in accordance with section 3109 of title 

4 5, United States Code, and compensate such experts 

5 and consultants for each day (including travel time) 

6 at rates not in excess of the rate of pay for level IV 

7 of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of 

8 such title. The Associate Director may pay experts 

9 and consultants who are serving away from their 

10 homes or regular place of business travel expenses 

11 and per diem in lieu of subsistence at rates author12 ized by sections 5702 and 5703 of such title for per13 sons in Government service employed intermittently. 

14 (e) DELEGATION AND ASSIGNMENT.—Except where 

15 otherwise expressly prohibited by law or otherwise pro16 vided under this section— 

17 (1) the Associate Director may— 

18 (A) delegate any of the functions trans19 ferred to the Associate Director under this sec20 tion and any function transferred or granted to 

21 the Associate Director after the date of the en22 actment of this Act to such officers and employ23 ees of the Directorate as the Associate Director 

24 may designate; and 


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1 (B) authorize successive redelegations of 

2 such functions as may be necessary or appro3 priate; and 

4 (2) no delegation of functions by the Associate 

5 Director under this subsection or under any other 

6 provision of this section shall relieve such Associate 

7 Director of responsibility for the administration of 

8 such functions. 

9 (f) REORGANIZATION.—The Associate Director is au10 thorized— 

11 (1) to allocate or reallocate any function trans12 ferred under subsection (b) among the officers of the 

13 Directorate; and 

14 (2) to establish, consolidate, alter, or dis15 continue such organizational entities in the Direc16 torate as may be necessary or appropriate. 

17 (g) RULES.—The Associate Director is authorized to 

18 prescribe, in accordance with the provisions of chapters 

19 5 and 6 of title 5, United States Code, such rules and 

20 regulations as the Associate Director determines necessary 

21 or appropriate to administer and manage the functions of 

22 the Directorate. 

23 (h) TRANSFER AND ALLOCATIONS OF APPROPRIA24 TIONS AND PERSONNEL.—Except as otherwise provided 

25 under this section and subject to section 1531 of title 31, 


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1 United States Code, the personnel employed in connection 

2 with, and the assets, liabilities, contracts, property, 

3 records, and unexpended balances of appropriations, au4 thorizations, allocations, and other funds employed, used, 

5 held, arising from, available to, or to be made available 

6 in connection with the functions transferred under sub7 section (b), shall be transferred to the Directorate. Unex8 pended funds transferred pursuant to this subsection may 

9 only be used for the purposes for which the funds were 

10 originally authorized and appropriated. 

11 (i) INCIDENTAL TRANSFERS.—The Director of the 

12 Office of Management and Budget— 

13 (1) may, at such time or times as the Director 

14 may prescribe— 

15 (A) make such determinations as may be 

16 necessary with regard to the functions trans17 ferred under subsection (b); and 

18 (B) make such additional incidental dis19 positions of personnel, assets, liabilities, grants, 

20 contracts, property, records, and unexpended 

21 balances of appropriations, authorizations, allo22 cations, and other funds held, used, arising 

23 from, available to, or to be made available in 

24 connection with such functions, as may be necVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:15 Mar 05, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4143.IH H4143

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1 essary to carry out the provisions of this sec2 tion; and 

3 (2) shall provide for— 

4 (A) the termination of the affairs of all en5 tities terminated under this section; and 

6 (B) such further measures and dispositions 

7 as may be necessary to carry out the purposes 

8 of this section. 

9 (j) EFFECT ON PERSONNEL.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro11 vided under this section, the transfer under this sec12 tion of full-time personnel (except special Govern13 ment employees) and part-time personnel holding 

14 permanent positions shall not cause any such em15 ployee to be separated or reduced in grade or com16 pensation during the 1-year period beginning on the 

17 date of such transfer. 

18 (2) EXECUTIVE SCHEDULE POSITIONS.—Except 

19 as otherwise provided under this section, any person 

20 who, on the day preceding the date of the enactment 

21 of this Act, held a position compensated in accord22 ance with the Executive Schedule prescribed in chap23 ter 53 of title 5, United States Code, and who, with24 out a break in service, is appointed in the Direc25 torate to a position having duties comparable to the 


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1 duties performed immediately preceding such ap2 pointment shall continue to be compensated in such 

3 new position at not less than the rate provided for 

4 such previous position, for the duration of the serv5 ice of such person in such new position. 

6 (3) TERMINATION OF CERTAIN POSITIONS.—All 

7 positions whose functions are transferred under sub8 section (b) and whose incumbents have been ap9 pointed by the President, by and with the advice and 

10 consent of the Senate, shall terminate on the date of 

11 the enactment of this Act. 

12 (k) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.— 

13 (1) CONTINUING EFFECT OF LEGAL DOCU14 MENTS.—All orders, determinations, rules, regula15 tions, permits, agreements, grants, contracts, certifi16 cates, licenses, registrations, privileges, and other 

17 administrative actions which— 

18 (A) have been issued, made, granted, or al19 lowed to become effective by the President, any 

20 Federal agency or official thereof, or by a court 

21 of competent jurisdiction, in the performance of 

22 functions which are transferred under this sec23 tion; and 

24 (B) are in effect on the date of the enact25 ment of this Act, or were final before such date 


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1 of enactment and are to become effective on or 

2 after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

3 shall continue in effect according to their terms until 

4 modified, terminated, superseded, set aside, or re5 voked in accordance with law by the President, the 

6 Associate Director or other authorized official, a 

7 court of competent jurisdiction, or by operation of 

8 law. 

9 (2) PROCEEDINGS NOT AFFECTED.—Nothing in 

10 this section may be construed to affect any pro11 ceeding, including a notice of proposed rulemaking, 

12 or any application for any license, permit, certificate, 

13 or financial assistance pending before the Depart14 ment of State on the effective date of this section, 

15 with respect to functions transferred under sub16 section (b). Orders shall be issued in such pro17 ceedings, appeals shall be taken therefrom, and pay18 ments shall be made pursuant to such orders, as if 

19 this section had not been enacted. Orders issued in 

20 any such proceedings shall continue in effect until 

21 modified, terminated, superseded, or revoked by a 

22 duly authorized official, by a court of competent ju23 risdiction, or by operation of law. Nothing in this 

24 paragraph may be construed to prohibit the dis25 continuance or modification of any such proceeding 


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1 under the same terms and conditions and to the 

2 same extent that such proceeding could have been 

3 discontinued or modified if this section had not been 

4 enacted. 

5 (3) SUITS NOT AFFECTED.—Nothing in this 

6 section may be construed to affect suits commenced 

7 before the date of the enactment of this Act. In all 

8 such suits, proceedings shall be had, appeals taken, 

9 and judgments rendered in the same manner and 

10 with the same effect as if this section had not been 

11 enacted. 

12 (4) NONABATEMENT OF ACTIONS.—No suit, ac13 tion, or other proceeding commenced by or against 

14 the Department of State, or by or against any indi15 vidual in the official capacity of such individual as 

16 an officer of the Department of State, shall abate by 

17 reason of the enactment of this section. 

18 (5) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS RELATING TO

19 PROMULGATION OF REGULATIONS.—Any administra20 tive action relating to the preparation or promulga21 tion of a regulation by the Department of State re22 lating to a function transferred under subsection (b) 

23 may be continued by the Directorate with the same 

24 effect as if this section had not been enacted. 


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1 (l) SEPARABILITY.—If a provision of this section or 

2 its application to any person or circumstance is held in3 valid, neither the remainder of this section nor the applica4 tion of the provision to other persons or circumstances 

5 shall be affected. 

6 (m) TRANSITION.—The Associate Director is author7 ized to utilize— 

8 (1) the services of such officers, employees, and 

9 other personnel of the Department of State with re10 spect to functions transferred to the Directorate by 

11 this section; and 

12 (2) funds appropriated to such functions for 

13 such period of time as may reasonably be needed to 

14 facilitate the orderly implementation of this section. 

15 (n) REFERENCES.—Reference in any other Federal 

16 law, Executive order, rule, regulation, or delegation of au17 thority, or any document of or relating to— 

18 (1) the Secretary of State with regard to func19 tions transferred under subsection (b), shall be 

20 deemed to refer to the Associate Director; and 

21 (2) the Department of State with regard to 

22 functions transferred under subsection (b), shall be 

23 deemed to refer to the Directorate. 

24 (o) ADDITIONAL CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (1) RECOMMENDED LEGISLATION.—After con2 sultation with the appropriate committees of Con3 gress and the Director of the Office of Management 

4 and Budget, the Associate Director shall prepare 

5 and submit to Congress recommended legislation 

6 containing technical and conforming amendments to 

7 reflect the changes made by this section. 

8 (2) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

9 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

10 the Associate Director shall submit the rec11 ommended legislation referred to under paragraph 

12 (1) to Congress. 

13 SEC. 104. RESPONSIBILITIES OF U.S. CITIZENSHIP AND IM14 MIGRATION SERVICES FOR ADOPTION-RE15 LATED CASE PROCESSING. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu17 rity, acting through the Director of U.S. Citizenship and 

18 Immigration Services— 

19 (1) shall be responsible for processing and case20 specific decisionmaking on all intercountry adoption 

21 cases (up to the point of application for an immi22 grant visa on behalf of the adopted child), including 

23 cases being processed pursuant to the Intercountry 

24 Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14901 et seq.) and 


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1 section 2 of the Intercountry Adoption Universal Ac2 creditation Act of 2012 (42 U.S.C. 14925); 

3 (2) shall ensure that all intercountry adoption 

4 suitability and eligibility determinations of prospec5 tive adoptive parents required under subparagraph 

6 (F) or (G) of section 101(b)(1) of the Immigration 

7 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)) are made 

8 in accordance with standard criteria that comply 

9 with the Hague Adoption Convention so that any 

10 such determination justifies a Convention adoption 

11 or a non-Convention adoption; 

12 (3) to the maximum extent possible, and to the 

13 extent permitted by the country in which the child 

14 resides, shall ensure that all non-Convention adop15 tion cases undergo preprocessing, including— 

16 (A) the filing of a petition and the review 

17 of a child’s eligibility to immigrate to the 

18 United States before the adoption or grant of 

19 legal custody (for purposes of emigration and 

20 adoption in the United States) of that child is 

21 completed in the country of origin; and 

22 (B) the completion of all necessary and rel23 evant investigations associated with the petition 

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1 tion or grants legal custody for purposes of 

2 emigration and adoption in the United States; 

3 (4) except as provided in paragraph (5), shall 

4 be responsible for all case processing steps in Con5 vention and non-Convention adoption petitions on 

6 behalf of children whom United States parents pro7 pose to immigrate to the United States (except for 

8 the processing of immigrant visas), including proc9 essing of all necessary Hague Adoption Convention 

10 certifications and the final adjudication of the immi11 gration petitions; and 

12 (5) may delegate the responsibility for com13 pleting certain elements of case adjudication to the 

14 Secretary of State if the Department of Homeland 

15 Security— 

16 (A) cannot adequately complete such ele17 ments due to the need for physical presence in 

18 the country of origin or other processing-related 

19 circumstances; and 

20 (B) defines and monitors the parameters 

21 for the elements delegated to the Secretary of 

22 State and retains final decisionmaking author23 ity. 

24 (b) FOREIGN ADOPTION DECREES.— 


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1 (1) CONVENTION COUNTRIES.—The 2-year 

2 legal custody and joint residence requirements set 

3 forth in section 101(b)(1)(E) of the Immigration 

4 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)(E)) shall 

5 not apply if the documentation submitted on behalf 

6 of a child includes— 

7 (A) an adoption decree issued by a com8 petent authority (as such term is used in the 

9 Hague Adoption Convention) of the child’s 

10 country of origin and evidence that the adoption 

11 was granted in compliance with the Hague 

12 Adoption Convention; or 

13 (B) a custody or guardianship decree 

14 issued by the competent authority of the child’s 

15 country of origin to the adoptive parents, and 

16 a final adoption decree, verifying that the adop17 tion of the child was later finalized outside the 

18 United States by the adoptive parents, in addi19 tion to evidence that the custody or guardian20 ship was granted in compliance with the Hague 

21 Adoption Convention. 

22 (2) SUBSTANTIAL COMPLIANCE WITH HAGUE

23 ADOPTION CONVENTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

24 apply unless— 


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1 (A) on the date on which the underlying 

2 adoption, custody, or guardianship decree was 

3 issued by the child’s country of origin— 

4 (i) that country’s adoption procedures 

5 complied with the requirements of the 

6 Hague Adoption Convention (as deter7 mined by the United States central author8 ity); and 

9 (ii) the competent authority of the 

10 country of origin certified that the adop11 tion is consistent with Article 23 of the 

12 Hague Adoption Convention; and 

13 (B) the adoption was a Convention adop14 tion that was completed between 2 Convention 

15 countries other than the United States. 

16 (3) NON-CONVENTION COUNTRIES.—The Sec17 retary of Homeland Security may accept the filing of 

18 petitions on behalf of children living in non-Conven19 tion countries in the absence of a final adoption de20 cree. 

21 (c) COOPERATION WITH FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS.— 

22 The Secretary of Homeland Security may interact directly 

23 with the central authority of a Convention country or a 

24 competent authority of a non-Convention country, as ap25 propriate— 


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1 (1) to facilitate the processing of intercountry 

2 adoption cases, including making habitual residence 

3 determinations relevant to children and prospective 

4 adoptive parents in adoption proceedings; and 

5 (2) to negotiate, in coordination with the De6 partment of State, and to implement bilateral agree7 ments with respect to intercountry adoptions. 

8 (d) AMENDMENTS TO THE INTERCOUNTRY ADOP9 TION ACT OF 2000.— 

10 (1) TRANSFER OF RESPONSIBILITIES TO THE

11 SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY.—The Inter12 country Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14901 et 

13 seq.) is amended— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ each 

15 place it appears and inserting ‘‘Secretary of 

16 Homeland Security’’; and 

17 (B) in the heading of section 103, by strik18 ing ‘‘ATTORNEY GENERAL’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY’’. 

20 (2) HAGUE CONVENTION CERTIFICATES.—Sec21 tion 301 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 14931) is amend22 ed— 

23 (A) in subsection (a)— 

24 (i) in the subsection heading, by strik25 ing ‘‘SECRETARY OF STATE’’ and inserting 


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1 ‘‘SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY’’; 

2 and 

3 (ii) in the heading to paragraph (1), 

4 by striking ‘‘SECRETARY OF STATE’’ and 

5 inserting ‘‘SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SE6 CURITY’’; and 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘Secretary of State’’ each 

8 place it appears and inserting ‘‘Secretary of 

9 Homeland Security’’. 

10 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con11 tents of such Act is amended by striking the item 

12 relating to section 103 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 103. Responsibilities of the Secretary of Homeland Security.’’. 

13 (e) DEFINITION OF CHILD.—Section 101(b)(1) of the 

14 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)) 

15 is amended— 

16 (1) in subparagraph (E)— 

17 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘(i) a child 

18 adopted while under the age of sixteen years’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘a child adopted while younger 

20 than 18 years of age’’; and 

21 (B) by striking clause (ii); 

22 (2) by amending subparagraph (F) to read as 

23 follows: 

24 ‘‘(F)(i) a child, younger than 18 years of 

25 age at the time a petition is filed on the child’s 


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1 behalf to accord a classification as an imme2 diate relative under section 201(b), and who 

3 has been adopted in a foreign state that is not 

4 a party to the Convention on Protection of Chil5 dren and Co-operation in Respect of Inter6 country Adoption, done at The Hague May 29, 

7 1993, or who is emigrating from such a foreign 

8 state to be adopted in the United States by a 

9 United States citizen and spouse jointly, or by 

10 an unmarried United States citizen who is at 

11 least 25 years of age, if— 

12 ‘‘(I) the Secretary of Homeland Secu13 rity is satisfied that proper care will be 

14 furnished the child if admitted to the 

15 United States; 

16 ‘‘(II) the child’s natural parents (or 

17 parent, in the case of a child who has 1 

18 sole or surviving parent), or other persons 

19 or institutions that retain legal custody of 

20 the child, have freely given their written ir21 revocable consent to the termination of 

22 their legal relationship with the child, and 

23 to the child’s emigration and adoption; 

24 ‘‘(III) the child has a living parent or 

25 parents who has or have relinquished, or 


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1 will relinquish, the child voluntarily for the 

2 purposes of intercountry adoption, and the 

3 parent or parents are incapable of pro4 viding proper care for the child; 

5 ‘‘(IV) the Secretary of Homeland Se6 curity, after considering whether there is a 

7 petition pending to confer immigrant sta8 tus on one or both natural parents, is sat9 isfied that the purpose of the adoption is 

10 to form a bona fide parent-child relation11 ship, and the parent-child relationship of 

12 the child and the natural parents has been 

13 terminated; and 

14 ‘‘(V) in the case of a child who has 

15 not been adopted— 

16 ‘‘(aa) the competent authority of 

17 the foreign state has approved the 

18 child’s emigration to the United 

19 States for the purpose of adoption by 

20 the prospective adoptive parent or 

21 parents; and 

22 ‘‘(bb) the prospective adoptive 

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1 ments of the child’s proposed resi2 dence; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) except that no natural parent or prior 

4 adoptive parent of any such child shall there5 after, by virtue of such parentage, be accorded 

6 any right, privilege, or status under this chap7 ter;’’; and 

8 (3) in subparagraph (G)— 

9 (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 

10 striking ‘‘16’’ and inserting ‘‘18’’; 

11 (B) in clause (i)— 

12 (i) in subclause (II), by striking ‘‘be13 cause of the death or disappearance of, 

14 abandonment or desertion by, the other 

15 parent’’; and 

16 (ii) in subclause (III), by striking 

17 ‘‘two living natural parents, the natural 

18 parents are’’ and inserting ‘‘a living parent 

19 or parents, who have relinquished or will 

20 relinquish the child voluntarily for the pur21 poses of intercountry adoption, the parent 

22 or parents are’’; 

23 (C) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘; or’’ and in24 serting a period; and 

25 (D) by striking clause (iii). 


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1 (f) RELATIVE ADOPTIONS; WAIVER AUTHORITY.— 

2 Section 502 of the Intercountry Adoption Act (42 U.S.C. 

3 14952) is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH ALTERNATIVE PRO5 CEDURES FOR ADOPTION OF CHILDREN BY RELATIVES.— 

6 Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment 

7 of the Children in Families First Act of 2014, the Sec8 retary of Homeland Security shall establish, by regulation, 

9 alternative procedures for completing the intercountry 

10 adoption of children by United States citizens who are re11 lated to such children by blood, marriage, or adoption. 

12 ‘‘(b) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Home13 land Security, acting through the Director of U.S. Citizen14 ship and Immigration Services, may waive, on a case-by15 case basis, applicable requirements for meeting the defini16 tion of a child under subparagraph (E), (F), or (G) of 

17 section 101(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

18 (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)), or regulations issued with respect 

19 to such definitions, in the interests of justice or to prevent 

20 or respond to the threat of grave physical or emotional 

21 harm to the child if the petitioner establishes that— 

22 ‘‘(1) the child substantially complies with the 

23 requirements under one of such subparagraphs; and 

24 ‘‘(2) such a waiver would be in the child’s best 

25 interests.’’. 


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1 (g) DETERMINATION OF APPLICABILITY OF THE

2 HAGUE ADOPTION CONVENTION IN CERTAIN CASES.— 

3 The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through the 

4 Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 

5 may determine, on a case-by-case basis, that a specific 

6 intercountry adoption case may proceed as a non-Conven7 tion adoption if— 

8 (1) the child’s country of origin or habitual res9 idence is a Convention country; 

10 (2) the central authority of the child’s country 

11 of origin or habitual residence has issued, or will 

12 issue, an adoption decree which that country con13 siders to be legal and valid under that country’s laws 

14 to the United States adoptive or prospective adoptive 

15 parents; and 

16 (3) the central authority of the child’s country 

17 of origin or habitual residence has informed the Sec18 retary or the Director that it does not consider the 

19 specific case to fall within the scope of the Hague 

20 Adoption Convention. 

21 (h) SPECIAL USE OF PAROLE AUTHORITY.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

23 Security, acting through the Director of U.S. Citi24 zenship and Immigration Services, may grant parole 


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1 to a child if the Secretary or the Director determines 

2 that— 

3 (A) the child’s circumstances indicate that 

4 immediate unification with the parties seeking 

5 parole is in the child’s best interests; 

6 (B) waiting to complete other, more time 

7 consuming immigration processing could be sig8 nificantly harmful to the child’s well-being; 

9 (C) the party or parties seeking parole on 

10 behalf of the child— 

11 (i) have a pre-existing legal relation12 ship with the child, as evidenced by an 

13 adoption decree or a custody order; or 

14 (ii) demonstrate a pre-existing rela15 tionship with the child and an intent to es16 tablish a legal relationship with the child, 

17 which may be evidenced by— 

18 (I) a familial relationship with 

19 the child; 

20 (II) a close personal relationship 

21 with the child, such as— 

22 (aa) being matched with the 

23 child for an international adop24 tion by an adoption service pro25 vider or the competent authority 


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1 of the child’s country of origin; 

2 or 

3 (bb) documentation showing 

4 that the child’s parents, if de5 ceased or otherwise incapacitated 

6 and unable to provide proper care 

7 for the child, intended for the 

8 parties seeking parole to take 

9 custody of the child; or 

10 (III) the filing of adoption-re11 lated applications or petitions related 

12 to the adoption of the child; and 

13 (D) the child will receive proper care in the 

14 United States by the party or parties who seek 

15 parole on behalf of the child, based on a review 

16 of the suitability of the party or parties, which 

17 may include background check or completion of 

18 a home study conducted by a competent author19 ity. 

20 (2) MEETING THE 2-YEAR PERIODS FOR THE

21 PURPOSES OF FILING AN IMMEDIATE RELATIVE PE22 TITION ON BEHALF OF AN ADOPTED CHILD.—If a 

23 child is granted parole under paragraph (1), is sub24 sequently adopted by the parties who sought parole, 

25 and such parties seek permanent immigration status 


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1 for the child under section 101(b)(1)(E) of the Im2 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

3 1101(b)(1)(E))— 

4 (A) the 2-year period for legal custody of 

5 the child shall begin to accrue on the effective 

6 date of a grant of custody in the child’s country 

7 of origin or habitual residence or in the United 

8 States; 

9 (B) the 2-year period for physical custody 

10 of the child shall begin to accrue on the date on 

11 which the party or parties seeking parole for 

12 the child begin joint residence with the child, in 

13 the child’s country of origin or habitual resi14 dence or in the United States; and 

15 (C) the 2-year periods of joint residence 

16 and legal custody may accrue within or outside 

17 the United States. 

18 (i) RULEMAKING.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu19 rity, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the 

20 Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 

21 shall issue regulations to carry out this section and the 

22 amendments made by this section. 


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1 TITLE II—ANNUAL REPORTING 

2 SEC. 201. ANNUAL REPORT ON CHILDREN LIVING WITHOUT 

3 FAMILIES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than September 30, 

5 2014, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State, in 

6 consultation with the Director of the United States Agen7 cy for International Development and the Secretary of 

8 State, shall submit a report to the Committee on Foreign 

9 Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign 

10 Affairs of the House of Representatives that— 

11 (1) identifies the number of children living 

12 without families; and 

13 (2) describes the degree to which the various 

14 family permanence solutions are being utilized. 

15 (b) CONTENT.—The report required under subsection 

16 (a) shall include— 

17 (1) a description of the world’s unparented chil18 dren, including— 

19 (A) a description and quantitative analysis 

20 of the world’s unparented children by country, 

21 identifying the nationality of the children phys22 ically present in each country and distin23 guishing among children who are citizens of the 

24 country, noncitizen children lawfully present in 

25 the country, and noncitizen children unlawfully 


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1 in the country, irrespective of a child’s par2 ticular immigration status; and 

3 (B) available data about such children bro4 ken into detailed categories and including— 

5 (i) information on their nationality, 

6 age, gender, and status; 

7 (ii) whether they have a living parent 

8 or parents and the status of those parents; 

9 (iii) whether the unparented children 

10 are considered abandoned, separated, relin11 quished, or have some other status; 

12 (iv) whether they are institutionalized 

13 or homeless; 

14 (v) information on how they are docu15 mented, including through birth registries, 

16 orphanage registries, United Nations High 

17 Commissioner for Refugees registration, or 

18 identity cards; and 

19 (vi) an assessment of their living con20 ditions based on indicators such as crude 

21 mortality rate, malnutrition rate, or other 

22 similar indicators; 

23 (2) a review of the previous fiscal year’s pro24 gramming in support of appropriate, protective, and 

25 permanent family care solutions, including project 


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1 descriptions for each project by country, goals of 

2 each project, amount awarded for each project, and 

3 evaluation of outcomes during the fiscal year; 

4 (3) an action plan covering proposed program5 ming and activities for the next fiscal year in sup6 port of family permanency solutions, including goals 

7 for each country in which programming will occur, 

8 proposed allocations of resources by country, types 

9 of projects proposed by country, amounts of awards 

10 proposed for each project, and desired outcomes for 

11 each country; 

12 (4) a review of trends over the last five years, 

13 including changes in the numbers and locations of 

14 unparented children and the reasons for the 

15 changes, such as new refugee arrivals, growing num16 bers of children abandoned at birth, and decreases 

17 in number of children in institutions; 

18 (5) an overall analysis of highest priority situa19 tions of concern for unparented children, including 

20 analysis of whether the children are in a location 

21 that provides a cooperative environment for assist22 ance programming and intercountry adoptions; 

23 (6) a description of how intercountry adoption 

24 and refugee resettlement for unparented refugee 

25 children has played a role in each country over the 


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1 last 10 years and the current status of such pro2 grams, including analysis of the situation with re3 spect to the Hague Adoption Convention and how 

4 the Convention has affected intercountry adoptions 

5 from the country; 

6 (7) aggregate reporting on intercountry adop7 tions to the United States, distinguishing between 

8 Convention adoptions and non-Convention adoptions 

9 and including— 

10 (A) the total number of intercountry adop11 tions involving immigration to the United 

12 States by year over the past 10 years and pro13 jected data for the next fiscal year, distin14 guishing between Convention and non-Conven15 tion adoptions, including aggregate data on the 

16 country from which each child emigrated, the 

17 State of residence of the adoptive parents, and 

18 the country in which the adoption was finalized; 

19 (B) the number of intercountry adoptions 

20 involving emigration from the United States, re21 gardless of whether the adoption occurred 

22 under the Convention and distinguishing be23 tween Convention and non-Convention adop24 tions, including the country to which each child 


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1 immigrated and the State from which each 

2 child emigrated; 

3 (C) the average time required for comple4 tion of the immigration portion of intercountry 

5 adoptions, distinguishing between Convention 

6 and non-Convention adoptions, calculated as the 

7 time between filing of the initial immigration8 related adoption petition on behalf of a child 

9 and the approval of that child’s immigrant visa; 

10 and 

11 (D) the range of adoption fees charged in 

12 connection with intercountry adoptions involv13 ing immigration to the United States and the 

14 median of such fees; and 

15 (8) such additional information as may be re16 quested by members of the Committee on Foreign 

17 Relations of the Senate and the Committee on For18 eign Affairs of the House of Representatives. 

19 (c) CONSULTATIONS.—To the extent possible, des20 ignated representatives of the President should meet with 

21 members of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

22 Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

23 House of Representatives not later than 2 weeks before 

24 the Secretary of State submits the report required under 

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1 section (b). The substance of such consultations should be 

2 printed in the Congressional Record. 

3 (d) REPEAL.—Section 104 of the Intercountry Adop4 tion Act (42 U.S.C. 14914) is repealed. 

5 SEC. 202. COUNTRY REPORTS REGARDING SEVERE FORMS 

6 OF TRAFFICKING. 

7 Section 502B(h)(1)(B) of the Foreign Assistance Act 

8 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(h)(1)(B)) is amended by adding 

9 at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(x) What steps the government of that 

11 country has taken to reduce the number of chil12 dren living outside of family care. 

13 ‘‘(xi) What steps the government of that 

14 country has taken to reduce the number of chil15 dren abused, neglected, or exploited.’’. 

16 TITLE III—PROMOTION OF A 

17 COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH 

18 FOR CHILDREN IN ADVER19 SITY 

20 SEC. 301. ESTABLISHMENT OF A USAID CENTER FOR EX21 CELLENCE FOR CHILDREN IN ADVERSITY. 

22 (a) CENTER FOR EXCELLENCE FOR CHILDREN IN

23 ADVERSITY.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established within 

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1 ment a Center of Excellence on Children in Adver2 sity. 

3 (2) COORDINATOR.—The Center for Excellence 

4 shall be headed by the Children in Adversity Coordi5 nator, who shall be appointed by the Secretary of 

6 State, in consultation with the Administrator of the 

7 United States Agency for International Develop8 ment. 

9 (3) OBJECTIVES.—The Center of Excellence on 

10 Children in Adversity shall work in consultation with 

11 the Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Vulnerable 

12 Children and Family Security of the Department of 

13 State to promote greater United States Government 

14 coherence and accountability for whole-of-govern15 ment assistance to children in adversity and ensure 

16 that United States foreign assistance and develop17 ment programs are focused on the following objec18 tives: 

19 (A) The sound development of children 

20 through the integration of health, nutrition, and 

21 family support. 

22 (B) Supporting and enabling families to 

23 care for children through family preservation, 

24 reunification, and support of kinship care, 


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1 guardianship, and domestic and intercountry 

2 adoption. 

3 (C) Facilitating the efforts of national gov4 ernments and partners to prevent, respond to, 

5 and protect children from violence, exploitation, 

6 abuse, and neglect. 

7 (4) AUTHORITIES.—The Children in Adversity 

8 Coordinator, acting through nongovernmental orga9 nizations (including faith-based and community10 based organizations), partner country finance, 

11 health, education, social welfare, and other min12 istries, and relevant executive branch agencies, is au13 thorized to— 

14 (A) operate internationally to carry out the 

15 programs and activities outlined in the Action 

16 Plan for Children in Adversity; 

17 (B) provide grants to, and enter into con18 tracts and cooperative agreements with, non19 governmental organizations (including faith20 based organizations) to carry out this section; 

21 and 

22 (C) transfer and allocate United States 

23 Agency for International Development funds 

24 that have been appropriated for the purposes 

25 described in subparagraphs (A) and (B). 


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1 (5) FUNCTIONS.—In consultation with the As2 sistant Secretary of the Bureau of Children’s Affairs 

3 in the Department of State, the Children in Adver4 sity Coordinator shall, through the Center of Excel5 lence— 

6 (A) facilitate program and policy coordina7 tion related to the goals and objectives of the 

8 Action Plan for Children in Adversity among 

9 relevant executive branch agencies and non10 governmental organizations by auditing, moni11 toring, and evaluating such programs; 

12 (B) ensure that each relevant executive 

13 branch agency undertakes responsibility for ac14 tivities related primarily to those areas in which 

15 the agency has the greatest expertise, technical 

16 capability, and potential for success; 

17 (C) coordinate relevant executive branch 

18 agency activities related to the Action Plan for 

19 Children in Adversity; 

20 (D) establish due diligence criteria for all 

21 recipients of funds appropriated by the United 

22 States Government for assistance to children in 

23 adversity; and 


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1 (E) oversee the administration of the pri2 ority country demonstration program as de3 scribed in subsection (f). 

4 (6) ASSISTANCE.—The President is authorized 

5 to provide assistance, including through inter6 national, nongovernmental, or faith-based organiza7 tions, for programs in developing countries— 

8 (A) to increase the percentage of children 

9 achieving age-appropriate growth and develop10 mental milestones; 

11 (B) to increase the percentage of children 

12 under 5 years of age demonstrating secure at13 tachment with a primary caregiver; 

14 (C) to integrate health, nutrition, develop15 mental protections, and caregiving support for 

16 vulnerable children and their families; 

17 (D) to increase the percentage of children 

18 living within appropriate, permanent, safe, and 

19 protective family care, through family preserva20 tion and reunification, and through kinship 

21 care, guardianship, and domestic and inter22 country adoption, and to reduce the percentage 

23 of children living in institutions; 


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1 (E) to increase the percentage of families 

2 providing adequate nutrition, education oppor3 tunities, care, and protection for their children; 

4 (F) to reduce the percentage of children 

5 who experience violence, exploitation, abuse, 

6 and neglect; 

7 (G) to increase the percentage of children 

8 who receive appropriate care and protection 

9 after experiencing violence, exploitation, abuse, 

10 or neglect; 

11 (H) to increase public awareness that vio12 lence, exploitation, abuse, or neglect of children 

13 as unacceptable; 

14 (I) to increase the percentage of countries 

15 that ratify and implement relevant conventions 

16 or formally adopt internationally recognized 

17 principles, standards, and procedural safe18 guards to protect children from violence, exploi19 tation, abuse, and neglect; 

20 (J) to increase the percentage of children 

21 who have legal documentation and birth reg22 istration; 

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1 tion at household, community, and national lev2 els is increased; 

3 (L) to increase national and local human 

4 resource capacity for child welfare and protec5 tion; 

6 (M) to increase the number of national and 

7 community systems effectively monitoring child 

8 welfare and protection concerns, programs, and 

9 outcomes; 

10 (N) to encourage and assist in the collec11 tion of data related to children outside of family 

12 care; 

13 (O) to increase the number of prevalence 

14 studies that measure and track trends in chil15 dren’s exposure to violence, exploitation, abuse, 

16 and neglect; 

17 (P) to increase the number of published 

18 outcome/impact evaluations on interventions to 

19 assist children outside of family care or mini20 mize exposure to violence, exploitation, abuse, 

21 and neglect that can be generalized to larger 

22 target groups; 

23 (Q) to increase the number of national 

24 governments and universities leading rigorous 

25 data collection, research, and monitoring and 


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1 evaluation studies related to child welfare and 

2 protection; and 

3 (R) to increase the number of United 

4 States Government-supported interventions for 

5 children in adversity designed using data from 

6 rigorous research methodologies. 

7 (b) MONITORING AND EVALUATION.— 

8 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF SYSTEM.—To maxi9 mize the sustainable development impact of assist10 ance authorized under this section, and pursuant to 

11 the primary objective of the Action Plan for Chil12 dren in Adversity, the President shall establish a 

13 monitoring and evaluation system to measure the ef14 fectiveness of United States assistance to children in 

15 adversity. 

16 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The monitoring and eval17 uation system shall— 

18 (A) be aligned with the objectives and out19 comes outlined by the Action Plan for Children 

20 in Adversity; and 

21 (B) provide a basis for recommendations 

22 for adjustments to the assistance provided 

23 under this part. 

24 (c) PRIORITY COUNTRY DEMONSTRATION PRO25 GRAM.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the 

2 United States Agency for International Develop3 ment, in consultation with the Secretary of State, 

4 shall establish and carry out a priority country dem5 onstration program implementing the Action Plan 

6 for Children in Adversity over a period of 5 years in 

7 at least 6 countries. 

8 (2) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the programs 

9 established under subparagraph (1) shall be— 

10 (A) to demonstrate how research-based 

11 policies and programs to achieve the core objec12 tives of the Action Plan for Children in Adver13 sity can be successfully implemented on a na14 tional level; 

15 (B) to establish model programs that, once 

16 tested for efficacy, will be available for replica17 tion on a global basis; 

18 (C) to identify a comprehensive series of 

19 interventions which result in meeting the out20 comes and objectives of the Action Plan for 

21 Children in Adversity; and 

22 (D) to determine which in-country factors 

23 advance or negate the successful achievement of 

24 the outcomes and objectives of the action plan. 


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1 (3) CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF COUN2 TRIES.—The criteria for selection of countries shall 

3 include— 

4 (A) magnitude and severity of the prob5 lems to be addressed; 

6 (B) partner country interest in participa7 tion in a comprehensive implementation of all 3 

8 goals of the Action Plan for Children in Adver9 sity, including, with respect to the second objec10 tive (Families First), expressed willingness to 

11 support the full complement of permanence so12 lutions (including family preservation, reunifica13 tion, kinship care, guardianship, and domestic 

14 and intercountry adoption), and commitments 

15 to support and allow monitoring and evaluation, 

16 as well as transparent reporting; 

17 (C) potential to leverage bilateral, multilat18 eral, and foundation investments; 

19 (D) potential to leverage other United 

20 States development investments; 

21 (E) regional diversity to maximize learning 

22 opportunities; and 

23 (F) level of economic development, with a 

24 focus on low- and middle-income countries. 

25 (d) REPEALS.— 


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1 (1) ASSISTANCE TO ORPHANS AND OTHER VUL2 NERABLE CHILDREN.—Section 135 of the Foreign 

3 Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2152f) is re4 pealed. 

5 (2) ANNUAL REPORT.—Section 5 of the Assist6 ance for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children in 

7 Developing Countries Act of 2005 (22 U.S.C. 

8 2152g) is hereby repealed. 

9 TITLE IV—FUNDING AND 

10 EFFECTIVE DATES 

11 SEC. 401. FUNDING. 

12 (a) PROHIBITION ON NEW APPROPRIATIONS.—No 

13 additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to 

14 carry out this Act and the amendments made by this Act. 

15 This Act and such amendments shall be carried out using 

16 amounts otherwise available for such purposes, including 

17 unobligated balances of funds made available to carry out 

18 activities under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 

19 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.). 

20 (b) LIMITATIONS ON USE OF FUNDS.— 

21 (1) UNITED NATIONS.—No funds obligated in 

22 accordance with this Act may be awarded to the 

23 United Nations or any of its subsidiaries. 


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1 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not more 

2 than two percent of the amounts described in sub3 section (a) may be used for administrative expenses. 

4 (c) FOCUS OF ASSISTANCE.—Assistance provided 

5 under this Act— 

6 (1) shall focus primarily on promoting inter7 national child welfare, as set forth in this Act, for 

8 all children in adversity; and 

9 (2) may be provided on such terms and condi10 tions as the President determines appropriate. 

11 SEC. 402. EFFECTIVE DATES. 

12 (a) EFFECTIVE UPON ENACTMENT.—Sections 104 

13 and 202 and title III and IV shall take effect on the date 

14 of the enactment of this Act. 

15 (b) DELAYED EFFECTIVE DATE.—Sections 101, 

16 102, 103, and 201 shall take effect on the date that is 

17 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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