services and standards for entities providing
child welfare services; and
(B) meet such other criteria as the Sec-
retary may by regulation establish.
(2) LIMITATION.—An accrediting entity shall
undertake an accreditation strictly for intercountry
adoption, unless a person seeks additional program
accreditation.
(b) RESPONSIBILITIES
OF
ACCREDITING
ENTI-
TIES.—The responsibilities of accrediting entities shall in-
clude the following:
(1) ACCREDITATION.—Accreditation of persons
to perform functions under the Convention, subject
to section 203.
(2) OVERSIGHT.—Ongoing monitoring of the
compliance by accredited persons with applicable re-
quirements, including review of complaints against
such persons in accordance with procedures estab-
lished by this Act and by such accrediting entity and
approved by the Secretary of State.
(3) ENFORCEMENT.—Imposition of administra-
tive remedies, including requirements for corrective
action, and sanctions for noncompliance, including
refusal to renew, or the suspension or cancellation
of, accreditation.
(4) DATA, RECORDS, AND REPORTS.—Collecting
data, maintaining records, and making reports to
the Secretary of State, State courts, and other enti-
ties (including reports on persons granted or denied
accreditation).
(c) REMEDIES
FOR ACCREDITING ENTITY’S AD-
VERSE ACTION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—In any case where an ac-
crediting entity denies, suspends, or cancels the ac-
creditation of a person under this title, mandates
corrective action, or takes other adverse action, the
accrediting entity shall specify the deficiencies on
which the adverse action was based, and paragraphs
(2), (3), and (4) shall apply with respect to rem-
edies.
(2) CORRECTION
OF
DEFICIENCY
AND
RE-
APPLICATION.—The person that is the subject of the
adverse action shall be permitted to reapply for ac-
creditation (or to petition for termination of any
other sanction applied) upon demonstrating to the
satisfaction of the accrediting entity that the defi-
ciencies have been corrected.
(3) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—The person that is the
subject of the adverse action may petition the
United States district court in the judicial district in
which such person resides to set aside the action,
but only upon clear and convincing proof that the
action was not supported by substantial evidence or
that the accrediting entity abused its discretion.
(4) NO FEDERAL ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.—
An adverse action by the accrediting entity shall not
be reviewable by the Secretary of State or any other
Federal agency or administrative entity.
(d) FEES.—
(1) AUTHORITY TO ASSESS.—Accrediting enti-
ties are authorized to assess fees in amounts ap-
proved by the Secretary of State against persons
seeking or maintaining accreditation for the pur-
poses of intercountry adoptions.
(2) FEE
AMOUNTS.—The Secretary of State
may approve fees to be assessed under paragraph
(1) that do not exceed the amount estimated to be
necessary to cover all direct or indirect costs of ac-
creditation and ongoing oversight by the accrediting
entity with regard to Convention cases. Fees estab-
lished under this section shall reflect, to the max-
imum extent practicable, the extent to which overall
costs of accrediting persons varies in relation to the
volume of Convention adoption cases a person han-
dles.
(3) LIMITATION.—An accrediting entity shall
not provide discounted fees for certain persons for
accreditation for purposes of intercountry adoption.
SEC. 203. ELIGIBILITY FOR ACCREDITATION.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF STANDARDS.—
(1) ISSUANCE
OF
REGULATIONS.—The Sec-
retary of State shall establish by regulation stand-
ards and procedures to be used by accrediting enti-
ties for the accreditation of persons for the purpose
of arranging Convention adoptions.
(2) STANDARD-SETTING
PROCESS.—In estab-
lishing standards and procedures under this section,
the Secretary of State—
(A) shall consider the views of individuals
and entities with interest and expertise in inter-
national adoptions and family social services,
including public and private entities with expe-
rience in licensing and accrediting adoption
agencies; and
(B) may adopt, after opportunity for pub-
lic comment, all or part of any standards or
procedures developed or proposed by such indi-
viduals or entities.
(b) REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCREDITATION.—
(1) CONDITIONS FOR ACCREDITATION.—Except
as the Secretary of State may by regulation other-
wise provide, each person seeking accreditation
under this title with respect to intercountry adoption
services shall satisfy the following requirements:
(A) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.—To agree
as follows:
(i) To provide persons who would be
the adoptive parents of a child in a pro-
spective Convention adoption a copy in
English of the medical records of the child
not later than the earlier of 2 weeks before
the adoption or the date on which the per-
sons travel to a foreign country to finalize
the adoption.
(ii) To provide the persons a training
program that includes at least 6 weeks of
counseling and guidance before the parents
travel to a foreign country to finalize the
adoption.
(iii) To employ personnel providing
intercountry adoption services on a fee-for-
service basis rather than on a contingent-
arrangement basis.
(iv) To have in force adequate liability
insurance for professional negligence and
any other insurance that the Secretary
considers appropriate.
(v) To permit open examination of the
person’s practices, including the disruption
rates of intercountry adoptions facilitated
by the person and the fees charged by the
person for intercountry adoptions.
(B) CAPACITY TO PERFORM ALL ASSIGNED
FUNCTIONS.—To 
have, 
either 
directly 
or
through arrangements with other qualified per-
sons, qualified personnel, financial resources, an
organizational structure, and appropriate proce-
dures sufficient to enable it to perform, in a
manner consistent with applicable standards, all
functions under the Convention which it is seek-
ing authority to perform in accordance with this
Act (including the counseling of individuals in-
volved in intercountry adoptions and the as-
sumption of custodial and financial responsi-
bility for children in cases where a placement
disrupts before final adoption).
(C) UTILIZATION OF SOCIAL SERVICE PRO-
FESSIONALS.—To have procedures designed to
ensure that social service functions requiring
the application of clinical skills and judgment
are performed only by professionals with appro-
priate qualifications and credentials.
(D) RECORDS, REPORTS, AND
INFORMA-
TION
MATTERS.—To provide for the mainte-
nance of such records and to make such reports
as may be required by the Secretary of State
and the designated accrediting entity; to cooper-
ate with reviews, inspections, and audits; to
safeguard sensitive individual information; and
to comply with other requirements concerning
information management necessary to ensure
compliance with the Convention, this Act, and
any other applicable laws.
(E) COMPLIANCE WITH CONVENTION.—To
establish adequate measures to comply (and to
ensure compliance of their agents and clients)
with the Convention, this Act, and all other ap-
plicable laws, particularly with provisions con-
cerning fraud, improper inducement, and simi-
larly egregious acts.
(2) ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS FOR ACCREDITA-
TION.—No person shall be accredited under this title
unless such person is a private organization, not or-
ganized for profit, and licensed to provide adoption
services in at least one State.
SEC. 204. OVERSIGHT OF ACCREDITATION.
(a) OVERSIGHT OF ACCREDITING ENTITIES.—The
Secretary of State shall—
(1) monitor each accrediting entity’s perform-
ance of its functions under section 202 and its com-
pliance with the requirements of the Convention, this
Act, other applicable laws, and implementing regula-
tions; and
(2) suspend or cancel the designation of an en-
tity found to be substantially out of compliance with
the Convention, this Act, other applicable laws, or
implementing regulations.
(b) DEBARMENT.—
(1) SECRETARY’S AUTHORITY.—The Secretary
of State may, on the Secretary’s own initiative or
upon request by an accrediting entity, order the tem-
porary or permanent debarment of a person from ac-
creditation for purposes of intercountry adoptions if
there is no possibility for timely mediation and—
(A) there is substantial evidence that the
person is out of compliance with applicable re-
quirements;
(B) there has been a pattern of serious,
willful, or grossly negligent failures to comply
or other aggravating circumstances indicating
that renewal of accreditation would not be in
the best interests of the children and families
concerned; or
(C) actions by a person impact adversely
important national interests of the United
States.
(2) PERIOD OF DEBARMENT.—The debarment
order of the Secretary of State shall state whether
the debarment is temporary or permanent. If the de-
barment is temporary, the Secretary shall specify a
date, not earlier than 3 years after the date of the
order, on which date the person may apply to the
Secretary who ordered the debarment for withdrawal
of the debarment.
(3) EFFECT OF DEBARMENT.—In the case of a
person that has been debarred pursuant to this sub-
section, the accrediting entity may take the cir-
cumstances of such debarment into account in con-
sidering any subsequent application for accreditation
of the person or of any other person in which the
person has an ownership or control interest, notwith-
standing that the period of debarment has elapsed.
(c) JUDICIAL
REVIEW
OF
SECRETARY’S
DECI-
SIONS.—
(1) REVIEW BY FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT.—A
person (other than a prospective adoptive parent,
person, or accrediting entity adversely affected by a
final determination of the Secretary of State under
this title with respect to the designation of an ac-
crediting entity, or the accreditation of a person)
may obtain review of such determination by the
United States District Court for the District of Co-
lumbia, or in the United States district court in the
judicial district in which such person or accrediting
entity resides.
(2) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—A determination
by the Secretary of State under paragraph (1) may
be set aside only if the person adversely affected by
the Secretary’s final determination presents clear
and convincing proof of abuse of discretion by the
Secretary.
(3) PRECLUSION OF JUDICIAL REVIEW OF SEC-
RETARY OF STATE DETERMINATIONS.—A determina-
tion by the Secretary of State on foreign policy
grounds is not subject to judicial review.
TITLE 
III—RECOGNITION 
OF
CONVENTION ADOPTIONS IN
THE UNITED STATES
SEC. 301. ADOPTIONS OF CHILDREN IMMIGRATING TO THE
UNITED STATES.
(a) LEGAL EFFECT OF ADOPTIONS FINALIZED IN
THE UNITED STATES.—
(1) ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATES BY THE SEC-
RETARY OF STATE.—Pursuant to Article 23 of the
Convention, the Secretary of State shall, with re-
spect to each Convention adoption, issue a certificate
to the adoptive citizen parent domiciled in the
United States that the adoption has been granted
or, in the case of a prospective adoptive citizen par-
ent, that legal custody of the child has been granted
to the citizen parent for purposes of emigration and
adoption, pursuant to the Convention and this Act,
if the Secretary—
(A) receives appropriate notification from
the central authority of such child’s country of
origin; and
(B) has verified that the requirements of
this Act have been met.
(2) LEGAL EFFECT OF CERTIFICATES.—If ap-
pended to an original adoption decree, the certificate