Romania Adoption Alert

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Source: cia.gov.

Notice: Agency Authorization Required by Romanian Law (June 28, 2012)

The Romanian Office for Adoptions (the Office) reported to the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest that it will allow private non-profit organizations accredited in the foreign receiving country to transmit documents in intercountry adoption procedures provided that they are also authorized by the Office. U.S. accredited agencies that would like to work on behalf of U.S. prospective adoptive parents adopting children from Romania should submit a request for authorization to the Office with the following documents:

a. A copy of all state statutes governing adoption service providers in the state where they are licensed;

b. Domestic licenses and Hague accreditation documentation;

c. Documents pertaining to the organizational and personnel structure;

d. A history of the activities already performed, and recommendations from other collaborators, as well as from foreign authorities that supervise the agency’s work overseas;

e. A description of planned activities and work methodology in Romania;

f. A commitment to present to the Office only the applications of those families or individuals with whom the respective private organization has signed an agreement (contract, understanding) regarding the follow-up of the child after the adoption is granted by qualified personnel, for a period of at least two (2) years from the time the child enters the territory of the foreign state;

g. A commitment to present to the Office annual activity reports, in view of the renewal of the authorization, as well as periodic reports, at its request;

h. A commitment to forward to the Office quarterly reports for post-adoption follow-up required by the Office.

Notice: Romania New Adoption Law in Effect (April 10, 2012)

The Romanian Office for Adoptions announced that its new adoption law went into effect on April 7, 2012. The new law allows for intercountry adoptions of Romanian children by relatives of the fourth degree of kinship, the spouse of the child’s natural parent, and Romanian citizens who are habitually resident abroad.

Please be aware that the U.S. law implementing the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (the Convention), the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (IAA), requires prospective adoptive parents to be U.S. citizens in order to be eligible to apply for intercountry adoption using U.S. procedures. This means that Romanian citizens legally residing in the United States will be able to adopt from Romania only if they or their spouses are also U.S. citizens.

Moreover, the U.S. Hague Adoption Convention accreditation regulations (22 CFR 96) provide that in each Convention adoption case, an accredited agency, a temporarily accredited agency, or an approved person will be identified and act as the primary provider. More information on the role of U.S. accredited ASPs and the role of U.S. accrediting entities is available on the Department’s adoption website, adoption.state.gov.

The Department of State has provided information to the Romanian Office for Adoption about the U.S. requirement for a primary provider to serve in each Convention adoption, explaining the critical monitoring and oversight role of U.S. accrediting entities in ensuring that ASPs remain in substantial compliance with the IAA and the Convention. We look forward to the opportunity to expand our cooperation with Romania as Convention partner countries.

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