might, in some circumstances, qualify as a 
guardianship if legalized in that form. 
(E) 
PAID
GUARDIANSHIP.—The 
term 
guardianship does not include a paid guardian-
ship. 
(9) HABITUAL RESIDENCE DETERMINATION.— 
The term ‘‘habitual residence determination’’ means 
a factual determination of where a prospective adop-
tive parent (or parents) resides and where the child 
resides for purposes of an intercountry adoption 
case. 
(10) HAGUE
ADOPTION
CONVENTION.—The 
term ‘‘Hague Adoption Convention’’ means the Con-
vention of Protection of Children and Cooperation in 
Respect of Intercountry Adoption, concluded at The 
Hague May 29, 1993. 
(11) INSTITUTIONAL CARE.—The term ‘‘institu-
tional care’’ means care provided in any nonfamily- 
based group setting, including— 
(A) orphanages; 
(B) transit or interim care centers; 
(C) children’s homes; 
(D) children’s villages or cottage com-
plexes; and 
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(E) boarding schools used primarily for 
care purposes as an alternative to a children’s 
home. 
(12) 
KINSHIP
CARE.—The 
term 
‘‘kinship 
care’’— 
(A) means the full-time care, nurturing, 
and protection of children by relatives, members 
of their tribes or clans, godparents, stepparents, 
or any adult who has a kinship bond with a 
child, if such persons have the capacity and 
commitment to function as true parents for the 
child on a permanent basis; and 
(B) does not include paid kinship foster 
care. 
(13) NON-CONVENTION ADOPTION.—The term 
‘‘non-Convention adoption’’ means— 
(A) an adoption by United States parents 
of a child from a non-Convention country in ac-
cordance with subparagraph (F) of section 
101(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)); 
(B) an adoption by United States parents 
of a child under the laws of the child’s country 
of origin (generally when the parents are living 
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in the child’s country of origin and therefore 
able legally to complete a domestic adoption); or 
(C) in certain circumstances (generally 
with respect to relative adoptions or adoptions 
by dual national parents), an adoption by 
United States parents of a child from a Con-
vention country if that country allows legal and 
valid adoptions to take place outside the scope 
of the Convention. 
(14) NON-CONVENTION
COUNTRY.—The term 
‘‘non-Convention country’’ means a country in which 
the Hague Adoption Convention has not entered into 
force, regardless of whether or not that country has 
signed the Convention. 
(15) SPECIAL
ADVISOR.—The term ‘‘Special 
Advisor’’ means the Special Advisor for Assistance 
to Orphans and Vulnerable Children appointed pur-
suant to section 135(e) of the Foreign Assistance 
Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2152f(e)), who is also re-
ferred to as the Senior coordinator for the USAID 
Administrator on Children in Adversity and who 
leads the Center of Excellence for Children in Adver-
sity. 
(16) 
UNPARENTED
CHILDREN.—The 
term 
‘‘unparented children’’ means children lacking the 
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legally recognized, permanent, safe, and nurturing 
care of a parental figure or figures, either inside 
their country of origin, in the country of their habit-
ual residence, or elsewhere. 
TITLE I—REALIGNMENT OF CER-
TAIN INTERNATIONAL CHILD 
WELFARE RESPONSIBILITIES 
AND FUNCTIONS 
SEC. 101. REDESIGNATION OF OFFICE OF CHILDREN’S 
ISSUES AS OFFICE OF VULNERABLE CHIL-
DREN AND FAMILY SECURITY. 
(a) REDESIGNATION.—The Office of Children’s 
Issues of the Department of State is hereby redesignated 
as the Office of Vulnerable Children and Family Security 
(referred to in this Act as the ‘‘VCFS’’). 
(b) APPOINTMENT
OF AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE.— 
The President, acting through the Secretary, shall appoint 
an Ambassador-at-Large to promote and support the fol-
lowing activities: 
(1) Oversight of the Office of Vulnerable Chil-
dren and Family Security. 
(2) The development and implementation in for-
eign countries of child welfare laws, regulations, 
policies, best practices, and procedures in keeping 
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with the goals articulated in the Action Plan on 
Children in Adversity, including— 
(A) the sound development of children 
through the integration of health, nutrition, and 
family support; 
(B) supporting and enabling families to 
care for children through family preservation, 
reunification, and support of kinship care, 
guardianship, and domestic and intercountry 
adoption; 
(C) facilitating the efforts of national gov-
ernments and partners to prevent, respond to, 
and protect children from violence, exploitation, 
abuse, and neglect; 
(D) supporting partners to build and 
strengthen holistic and integrated models to 
promote the best interests of the child; 
(E) building and maintaining strong evi-
dence base on which future activities to reach 
and assist the most vulnerable children can be 
effectively planned and implemented; and 
(F) integrating this plan with United 
States Government departments and agencies. 
(3) Addressing the gap in United States Gov-
ernment diplomacy, policy, and operations with re-
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spect to promoting appropriate, protective, and per-
manent family care for children living without fami-
lies by leading the development and implementation 
of policies that will ensure the timely provision of 
appropriate, protective, and permanent family care 
for children living without families through the full 
continuum of permanence solutions, including family 
preservation and reunification, kinship care, guard-
ianship, and domestic and intercountry adoption. 
(c) QUALIFICATIONS OF AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE.— 
The Ambassador-at-Large shall— 
(1) have experience in the development of poli-
cies and systems and the implementation of pro-
grams that promote the goals of the Action Plan on 
Children in Adversity; 
(2) be knowledgeable of international child wel-
fare, family permanence, and family creation 
through domestic and intercountry adoption; and 
(3) be committed to developing an integrated 
United States Government approach to international 
child welfare that places equal emphasis on— 
(A) early childhood survival and develop-
ment; 
(B) family permanence; and 
(C) protection from abuse and exploitation. 
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(d) FUNCTIONS.— 
(1) 
ADVISORY.—The 
Ambassador-at-Large 
shall serve as a primary advisor to the Secretary of 
State and the President in all matters related to vul-
nerable children and family security in foreign coun-
tries. 
(2) DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION.—Subject to 
the direction of the President and the Secretary of 
State, and in consultation and coordination with the 
Administrator of the United States Agency for 
International Development and the Secretary of 
Homeland Security, the Ambassador-at-Large shall 
represent the United States in matters relevant to 
international child welfare, family preservation and 
reunification, and provision of permanent, safe pa-
rental care through kinship, domestic and inter-
country adoption in— 
(A) contacts with foreign governments, 
nongovernmental 
organizations, 
intergovern-
mental agencies, and specialized agencies of the 
United Nations and other international organi-
zations of which the United States is a member; 
(B) multilateral conferences and meetings 
relevant to family preservation, reunification, 
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and creating appropriate, protective, and per-
manent care for unparented children; and 
(C) fulfillment of the diplomatic respon-
sibilities designated to the central authority 
under title I of the Intercountry Adoption Act 
of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14911 et seq.). 
(3) POLICY DEVELOPMENT WITH RESPECT TO 
PERMANENCE FOR UNPARENTED CHILDREN.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Ambassador-at- 
Large shall— 
(i) develop and advocate for policies 
and practices to ensure that children in 
foreign countries who are living without 
families find appropriate, protective, and 
permanent family care; 
(ii) give consideration to family pres-
ervation and reunification, kinship care, 
guardianship, and domestic and inter-
country adoption; and 
(iii) seek to develop and implement 
policies that lead to the use of all options 
for providing appropriate, protective, and 
permanent family care to children living 
without families as quickly as possible. 
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(B) ADVOCATE FOR CONCURRENT PLAN-
NING.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—In developing poli-
cies and programs under this Act, the Am-
bassador-at-Large shall advocate that all 
options for providing appropriate, protec-
tive, and permanent family care to children 
living without families must be considered 
concurrently and permanent solutions must 
be put in place as quickly as possible. Solu-
tions include family preservation and re-
unification, kinship care, guardianship, do-
mestic and intercountry adoption, and 
other culturally acceptable forms of care 
that will result in appropriate, protective, 
and permanent family care. Preference 
should be given to options that optimize 
the child’s well-being, which generally 
means options which provide children with 
fully protected legal status and parents 
with full legal status as parents, including 
full parental rights and responsibilities. 
The principle of subsidiarity, which gives 
preference to in-country solutions, should 
be implemented within the context of a 
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concurrent planning strategy, exploring in- 
and out-of-country options simultaneously. 
If an in-country placement providing ap-
propriate, protective, and permanent care 
is not quickly available, and such an inter-
national home is available, encourage poli-
cies that allow the child to be placed in an 
international home without delay. 
(ii) INTERIM PLACEMENTS.—Nothing 
in this subsection may be construed to pre-
clude interim placements, including in kin-
ship care, foster care, and small group 
homes, to temporarily improve children’s 
living 
conditions 
in 
individual 
cir-
cumstances in which— 
(I) a permanent solution is not 
immediately available if ongoing ef-
forts are made to move the child from 
interim to permanent placement as 
soon as possible; and 
(II) the child’s best interests will 
be served. 
(iii) EXCEPTIONS.—Exceptions to the 
general rule set forth in clauses (i) and (ii) 
may be made, as needed in individual 
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cases, to serve the child’s best interests, in-
cluding the following: 
(I) Permanent guardianship may 
be preferable to adoption in certain 
cases where the child has developed a 
powerful bond to a loving guardian 
who prefers not to adopt because of 
the child’s ties to birth parents who 
love the child, but are not in a posi-
tion to provide appropriate nurturing. 
(II) Options generally viewed as 
interim solutions, such as foster care 
and small group homes, may be pref-
erable to family reunification when 
the parents are not in a position to 
provide appropriate nurturing. 
(III) For children with disabil-
ities, solutions to prevent institu-
tionalization and to assist with re-
integration into the community from 
institutions, include payment and sup-
port to families, substitute families, 
small group homes, or kinship care. 
(C) BEST PRACTICES.—In developing poli-
cies and programs under this Act, the Ambas-
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sador-at-Large shall identify and utilize evi-
dence-based programs and best practices in 
family preservation and reunification and provi-
sion of permanent parental care through guard-
ianship, kinship care, and domestic and inter-
country adoption as derived from a wide variety 
of domestic, foreign, and global policies and 
practices. 
(D) TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE.—The Am-
bassador-at-Large, in consultation with other 
appropriate Federal agencies, shall provide 
technical assistance to governments of foreign 
countries to help build their child welfare capac-
ities, particularly pertaining to family-based 
permanence. Such assistance should aim to 
strengthen family preservation and reunification 
and the provision of appropriate, protective, and 
permanent family care through kinship care, 
guardianship, and domestic and intercountry 
adoption, including assistance with— 
(i) drafting, disseminating, and imple-
menting legislation; 
(ii) developing implementing systems 
and procedures; 
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(iii) establishing public, private, and 
faith- and community-based partnerships; 
(iv) developing workforce training for 
governmental and nongovernmental staff; 
and 
(v) infrastructure development and 
data collection techniques necessary to 
identify and document the number and 
needs of children living without appro-
priate, protective, and permanent family 
care. 
(4) RESPONSIBILITIES
WITH
RESPECT
TO 
INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The VCFS, in coordi-
nation with other offices of the Department of 
State and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 
Services, shall have lead responsibility for rep-
resenting the United States Government in dis-
cussions, negotiations, and diplomatic contacts 
pertaining to intercountry adoptions. 
(B) CENTRAL AUTHORITY RESPONSIBILITY 
UNDER THE INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION ACT OF 
2000.—Section 101(b)(2) of the Intercountry 
Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14911(b)(2)) 
is amended by striking ‘‘Office of Children’s 
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Issues’’ and inserting ‘‘Office of Vulnerable 
Children and Family Security’’. 
(C) DETERMINATIONS
OF
HAGUE
ADOP-
TION CONVENTION COMPLIANCE.—The VCFS, 
in consultation with other offices of the Depart-
ment of State, and the Department of Home-
land Security, shall have lead responsibility for 
determining whether a Convention partner 
country has met its obligations under the 
Hague Adoption Convention and is eligible to 
participate in intercountry adoptions in accord-
ance with United States law. Such determina-
tions shall be documented in writing, based on 
standardized criteria, and available for public 
review and comment. 
(5) POLICY COORDINATION.—The Ambassador- 
at-Large shall coordinate with the Secretary of 
Homeland Security and the Administrator of the 
United States Agency for International Development 
to maintain consistency in United States foreign and 
domestic policy and operations with respect to chil-
dren living outside family care in foreign countries. 
(6) INFORMATION
COORDINATION.—The Am-
bassador-at-Large shall transmit— 
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(A) any intercountry adoption related case 
information received from the Central Authority 
of another Convention country to the Secretary 
of Homeland Security; and 
(B) any intercountry adoption related case 
information that the Secretary of Homeland Se-
curity requests to the central authority of an-
other Convention country. 
TITLE II—ANNUAL REPORTING 
SEC. 201. ANNUAL REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF AC-
TION PLAN. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Ambas-
sador-at-Large, in coordination with the Special Advisor, 
shall submit to Congress a report on implementation of 
the Action Plan on Children in Adversity, including the 
technical assistance provided under section 101(d)(3)(D). 
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TITLE 
III—PROMOTION 
OF 
A 
COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH 
FOR CHILDREN IN ADVER-
SITY 
SEC. 301. USAID OBLIGATIONS FOR COORDINATING WITH 
OFFICE OF VULNERABLE CHILDREN AND 
FAMILY SECURITY. 
(a) OBJECTIVES.—The Special Advisor shall work in 
consultation with the Ambassador-at-Large to promote 
greater United States Government coherence and account-
ability for whole-of-government assistance to children in 
adversity and ensure that United States foreign assistance 
and development programs are focused on— 
(1) the sound development of children through 
the integration of health, nutrition, and family sup-
port; 
(2) supporting and enabling families to care for 
children through family preservation, reunification, 
and support of kinship care, guardianship, and do-
mestic and intercountry adoption; 
(3) facilitating the efforts of national govern-
ments and partners to prevent, respond to, and pro-
tect children from violence, exploitation, abuse, and 
neglect; 
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(4) supporting partners to build and strengthen 
holistic and integrated child welfare and protection 
systems to promote the best interests of the child; 
(5) building and maintaining a strong evidence 
base on which future activities to reach and assist 
the most vulnerable children can be effectively 
planned and implemented; and 
(6) integrating the objectives set forth in para-
graphs (1) through (5) with Federal departments 
and agencies. 
(b) APPROACH.—The Special Advisor shall ensure 
that efforts to assist children in adversity through the Ac-
tion Plan on Children in Adversity are coordinated with 
the efforts by the Ambassador-at-Large in implementing 
its adoption strategy in priority countries. 
(c) REPEAL.—Section 135 of the Foreign Assistance 
Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2152f) is repealed. 
TITLE IV—FUNDING, RULE OF 
CONSTRUCTION, AND EFFEC-
TIVE DATES 
SEC. 401. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) PROHIBITION ON NEW APPROPRIATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act may be 
construed as authorizing additional funds to be ap-
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propriated to carry out this Act or any amendments 
made by this Act. 
(2) USE OF EXISTING FUNDS.—This Act, and 
the amendments made by this Act, shall be carried 
out using amounts otherwise available for such pur-
poses, including unobligated balances of funds made 
available to carry out activities under the Foreign 
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.). 
(b) LIMITATIONS ON USE OF FUNDS.— 
(1) SEGREGATED
SERVICES.—No funds obli-
gated in accordance with this Act may be awarded 
for building, renovating, or refurbishing residential 
facilities that segregate children with disabilities 
from society. The limitation under this paragraph 
does not prohibit funding for small, community- 
based group homes that house up to six children. 
(2) ADMINISTRATIVE
EXPENSES.—Not more 
than two percent of the amounts described in sub-
section (a)(2) may be used for administrative ex-
penses. 
(c) FOCUS
OF ASSISTANCE.—Assistance provided 
under this Act— 
(1) shall focus primarily on promoting inter-
national child welfare, as set forth in this Act, for 
all children in adversity; and 
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(2) may be provided on such terms and condi-
tions as the President determines appropriate. 
SEC. 402. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 
Nothing in this Act shall be construed as precluding 
the provision of stipends or subsidies to those caring for 
children with disabilities. 
SEC. 403. EFFECTIVE DATES. 
(a) EFFECTIVE UPON ENACTMENT.—Sections 104 
and 201 and titles III and IV shall take effect on the date 
of the enactment of this Act. 
(b) DELAYED EFFECTIVE DATE.—Sections 101, 
102, and 103 shall take effect on the date that is 1 year 
after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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