I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 501
To require the registration of all persons providing intercountry adoption
services.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 2, 1999
Mr. TRAFICANT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on International Relations
A BILL
To require the registration of all persons providing
intercountry adoption services.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Intercountry Adoption
Services Provider Registration Act’’.
SEC. 2. REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT.
No person shall make available an intercountry adop-
tion service unless that person has filed with the Secretary
a registration statement, supplements, and other informa-
tion as required by this Act.
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SEC. 3. REGISTRATION STATEMENT CONTENTS.
A registration statement required under section 2
shall disclose—
(1) the provider’s name;
(2) all of the provider’s business addresses in
the United States and elsewhere;
(3) all of the provider’s business telephone
numbers in the United States and elsewhere;
(4) if the provider is an individual, the individ-
ual’s nationality and United States immigration sta-
tus;
(5) if the provider is a partnership, each part-
ner’s name, nationality, and United States immigra-
tion status, and a copy of the partnership agree-
ment;
(6) if the provider is an association, a corpora-
tion, or any other combination of individuals other
than a partnership—
(A) the name, nationality, and United
States immigration status of each officer and
each director;
(B) a copy of the organization’s charter or
articles of incorporation;
(C) a copy of the organization’s bylaws;
and
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(D) a statement describing the ownership
and control of the organization;
(7) a statement describing the nature of the
provider’s business;
(8) a complete list of the provider’s employees
and a statement describing the nature of the work
of each;
(9) a detailed statement describing each inter-
country adoption service that the provider makes
available or intends to make available;
(10) a schedule of all fees, including foreign
and domestic program fees and fees for foster care,
which the provider charges for its intercountry adop-
tion services;
(11) a list of the sources of the children whom
the provider makes or intends to make available for
adoption, if any, and the names, addresses, and tele-
phone numbers of such sources;
(12) a list of any coordinators or contractors
not listed under paragraph (8) or (11) who are em-
ployed or otherwise provided any remuneration by
the provider to assist with the intercountry adoption
services made available by the provider, and the
names, addresses, and telephone numbers of those
coordinators or contractors; and
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(13) any further information which the Sec-
retary considers necessary to make the statements
made in the registration statement, or the support-
ing documents disclosed under this section, accurate
and not misleading.
SEC. 4. REGISTRATION STATEMENT UPDATES.
(a) ANNUAL SUPPLEMENTS.—Within 1 year after fil-
ing a registration statement, and annually thereafter, each
provider shall file with the Secretary a supplement to the
registration statement. Such supplement shall disclose in-
formation the Secretary requires to make the disclosures
under section 3 accurate, complete, and current.
(b) ADDITIONAL
SUPPLEMENTS.—The Secretary
may require that supplements be filed at more frequent
intervals than required by subsection (a), if such filings
would serve the public interest, including the interests of
persons seeking intercountry adoption services.
(c) NOTIFICATION OF CERTAIN CHANGES.—With re-
spect to the information required to be disclosed by para-
graphs (1), (2), (7), and (11) of section 3, the provider
shall notify the Secretary of any changes in such informa-
tion within 45 days after the changes occur.
SEC. 5. FILING FEE.
The Secretary shall establish a schedule of fees to
charge providers for filing a registration statement. Such
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schedule shall be designed to cover the cost of the adminis-
tration of this Act.
SEC. 6. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) PENALTIES.—Any person convicted of a violation
of section 2 shall be fined under title 18, United States
Code, or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.
(b) NOTICE OF DEFICIENT REGISTRATION STATE-
MENT.—If the Secretary finds that a registration state-
ment does not comply the requirements of this Act and
that such noncompliance is not willful, the Secretary shall
notify the provider in writing, specifying the deficiencies.
A provider charged with a violation of section 2 based on
a deficiency cited in such notice shall not be prosecuted
unless the provider has not remedied the deficiency within
20 days after such notice is received.
SEC. 7. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.
(a) PUBLIC INSPECTION.—Not later than 30 days
after receipt by the Secretary, except as provided in sub-
section (b), copies of all registration statements, supple-
ments, and other documents filed with the Secretary under
this Act shall be available for public inspection and
photocopying at a reasonable cost at various locations
around the country, as determined by the Secretary.
(b) INFORMATION ON SOURCES.—
(1) EXEMPTION FROM DISCLOSURE.—
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(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), information provided to the
Secretary pursuant to section 3(11) shall not be
disclosed by the Secretary under subsection (a).
(B) DISCLOSURE.—The Secretary may dis-
close under subsection (a) information described
in subparagraph (A) only if the Secretary finds
that a person seeking or using intercountry
adoption services has a substantial need for
such a disclosure for the purposes of litigation.
The Secretary shall limit the breadth of such a
disclosure to that information which is reason-
ably necessary to satisfy such need.
(2) ADDITIONAL
EXEMPTION
FROM
DISCLO-
SURE.—Section 552 of title 5, United States Code,
shall not apply to information provided to the Sec-
retary pursuant to section 3(11).
SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this Act—
(1) the term ‘‘intercountry adoption service’’
means a service provided in the United States, relat-
ed to the adoption of a person from outside the
United States, that—
(A) arranges adoptions;
(B) identifies prospective adoptees;
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(C) secures the consent necessary for the
termination of parental rights or for adoptions;
(D) performs background studies on pro-
spective adoptees, home studies on prospective
adoptive parents, or reports of such studies;
(E) determines the best interests of
adoptees or the appropriateness of adoptive
placements;
(F) counsels adoptees, birth parents, or
adoptive parents with respect to adoptions;
(G) monitors adoptees and their placement
until adoptions are finalized;
(H) in the case of adoptions that cannot be
finalized, assumes custody of an adoptee or pro-
vides child care or other social services to the
adoptee pending an alternative placement; or
(I) is such other service related to inter-
country adoption as the Secretary of State may
by regulation provide;
(2) the term ‘‘provider’’ means a person who
makes available or intends to make available an
intercountry adoption service;
(3) the term ‘‘registration statement’’ means a
registration statement filed pursuant to this Act;
and