42 U.S.C. § 14901 — Findings and purposes

Page 8645 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 14901 poison control centers. See provisions set out as a note under section 300d–71 of this title. Section 14802, Pub. L. 106–174, § 3, Feb. 25, 2000, 114 Stat. 18, defined ‘‘Secretary’’. Section 14803, Pub. L. 106–174, § 4, Feb. 25, 2000, 114 Stat. 18, established a national toll-free number to be used to access regional poison control centers. See sec- tion 300d–71 of this title. Section 14804, Pub. L. 106–174, § 5, Feb. 25, 2000, 114 Stat. 19, established a nationwide media campaign to educate the public and health care providers about poi- son prevention and the availability of poison control resources in local communities. See section 300d–72 of this title. Section 14805, Pub. L. 106–174, § 6, Feb. 25, 2000, 114 Stat. 19, related to the award of grants to certified re- gional poison control centers. See section 300d–73 of this title. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries SHORT TITLE Pub. L. 106–174, § 1, Feb. 25, 2000, 114 Stat. 18, which provided that Pub. L. 106–174, enacting this chapter, could be cited as the ‘‘Poison Control Center Enhance- ment and Awareness Act’’, was repealed by Pub. L. 108–194, § 4, Dec. 19, 2003, 117 Stat. 2891. CHAPTER 143—INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTIONS Sec. 14901. Findings and purposes. 14902. Definitions. SUBCHAPTER I—UNITED STATES CENTRAL AUTHORITY 14911. Designation of central authority. 14912. Responsibilities of the Secretary of State. 14913. Responsibilities of the Attorney General. 14914. Annual report on intercountry adoptions. SUBCHAPTER II—PROVISIONS RELATING TO ACCREDITATION AND APPROVAL 14921. Accreditation or approval required in order to provide adoption services in cases subject to the Convention. 14922. Process for accreditation and approval; role of accrediting entities. 14923. Standards and procedures for providing ac- creditation or approval. 14924. Secretarial oversight of accreditation and ap- proval. SUBCHAPTER III—RECOGNITION OF CONVENTION ADOPTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES 14931. Adoptions of children immigrating to the United States. 14932. Adoptions of children emigrating from the United States. SUBCHAPTER IV—ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT 14941. Access to Convention records. 14942. Documents of other Convention countries. 14943. Authorization of appropriations; collection of fees. 14944. Enforcement. SUBCHAPTER V—GENERAL PROVISIONS 14951. Recognition of Convention adoptions. 14952. Special rules for certain cases. 14953. Relationship to other laws. 14954. No private right of action. § 14901. Findings and purposes (a) Findings Congress recognizes— (1) the international character of the Con- vention on Protection of Children and Co-oper- ation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (done at The Hague on May 29, 1993); and (2) the need for uniform interpretation and implementation of the Convention in the United States and abroad, and therefore finds that enactment of a Federal law governing adoptions and prospective adop- tions subject to the Convention involving United States residents is essential. (b) Purposes The purposes of this chapter are— (1) to provide for implementation by the United States of the Convention; (2) to protect the rights of, and prevent abuses against, children, birth families, and adoptive parents involved in adoptions (or pro- spective adoptions) subject to the Convention, and to ensure that such adoptions are in the children’s best interests; and (3) to improve the ability of the Federal Government to assist United States citizens seeking to adopt children from abroad and residents of other countries party to the Con- vention seeking to adopt children from the United States. (Pub. L. 106–279, § 2, Oct. 6, 2000, 114 Stat. 825.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in subsec. (b), was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, meaning Pub. L. 106–279, Oct. 6, 2000, 114 Stat. 825, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out below and Tables. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATES; TRANSITION RULE Pub. L. 106–279, title V, § 505, Oct. 6, 2000, 114 Stat. 844, provided that: ‘‘(a) EFFECTIVE DATES.— ‘‘(1) PROVISIONS EFFECTIVE UPON ENACTMENT.—Sec- tions 2, 3, 101 through 103, 202 through 205, 401(a), 403, 503, and 505(a) [enacting this section and sections 14902, 14911 to 14913, 14922 to 14924, 14941(a), 14943, and 14953 of this title and amending section 622 of this title] shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 6, 2000]. ‘‘(2) PROVISIONS EFFECTIVE UPON THE ENTRY INTO FORCE OF THE CONVENTION.—Subject to subsection (b), the provisions of this Act not specified in paragraph (1) [enacting sections 14914, 14921, 14931, 14932, 14941(b), (c), 14942, 14944, 14951, 14952, and 14954 of this title, amending sections 1101 and 1154 of Title 8, Aliens and Nationality, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section] shall take effect upon the entry into force of the Convention [Convention on Protec- tion of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter- country Adoption] for the United States pursuant to Article 46(2)(a) of the Convention [The Convention en- tered into force for the United States on Apr. 1, 2008.]. ‘‘(b) TRANSITION RULE.—The Convention and this Act [see Short Title note below] shall not apply— ‘‘(1) in the case of a child immigrating to the United States, if the application for advance proc- essing of an orphan petition or petition to classify an orphan as an immediate relative for the child is filed before the effective date described in subsection (a)(2); or ‘‘(2) in the case of a child emigrating from the United States, if the prospective adoptive parents of the child initiated the adoption process in their coun- try of residence with the filing of an appropriate ap- Page 8646 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 14902 plication before the effective date described in sub- section (a)(2).’’ SHORT TITLE OF 2020 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 116–184, § 1, Oct. 30, 2020, 134 Stat. 897, provided that: ‘‘This Act [amending section 14914 of this title and enacting provisions set out as notes under section 14914 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Intercountry Adoption Information Act of 2019’.’’ SHORT TITLE OF 2013 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 112–276, § 1, Jan. 14, 2013, 126 Stat. 2466, pro- vided that: ‘‘This Act [enacting section 14925 of this title, amending sections 14922 and 14943 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as a note under section 14925 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Intercountry Adoption Universal Accreditation Act of 2012’.’’ SHORT TITLE Pub. L. 106–279, § 1(a), Oct. 6, 2000, 114 Stat. 825, pro- vided that: ‘‘This Act [enacting this chapter and amending section 622 of this title and sections 1101 and 1154 of Title 8, Aliens and Nationality] may be cited as the ‘Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000’.’’ § 14902. Definitions As used in this chapter: (1) Accredited agency The term ‘‘accredited agency’’ means an agency accredited under subchapter II to pro- vide adoption services in the United States in cases subject to the Convention. (2) Accrediting entity The term ‘‘accrediting entity’’ means an en- tity designated under section 14922(a) of this title to accredit agencies and approve persons under subchapter II. (3) Adoption service The term ‘‘adoption service’’ means— (A) identifying a child for adoption and ar- ranging an adoption; (B) securing necessary consent to termi- nation of parental rights and to adoption; (C) performing a background study on a child or a home study on a prospective adop- tive parent, and reporting on such a study; (D) making determinations of the best in- terests of a child and the appropriateness of adoptive placement for the child; (E) post-placement monitoring of a case until final adoption; and (F) where made necessary by disruption before final adoption, assuming custody and providing child care or any other social serv- ice pending an alternative placement. The term ‘‘providing’’, with respect to an adoption service, includes facilitating the pro- vision of the service. (4) Agency The term ‘‘agency’’ means any person other than an individual. (5) Approved person The term ‘‘approved person’’ means a person approved under subchapter II to provide adop- tion services in the United States in cases sub- ject to the Convention. (6) Attorney General Except as used in section 14944 of this title, the term ‘‘Attorney General’’ means the At- torney General, acting through the Commis- sioner of Immigration and Naturalization. (7) Central authority The term ‘‘central authority’’ means the en- tity designated as such by any Convention country under Article 6(1) of the Convention. (8) Central authority function The term ‘‘central authority function’’ means any duty required to be carried out by a central authority under the Convention. (9) Convention The term ‘‘Convention’’ means the Conven- tion on Protection of Children and Co-oper- ation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, done at The Hague on May 29, 1993. (10) Convention adoption The term ‘‘Convention adoption’’ means an adoption of a child resident in a foreign coun- try party to the Convention by a United States citizen, or an adoption of a child resi- dent in the United States by an individual re- siding in another Convention country. (11) Convention record The term ‘‘Convention record’’ means any item, collection, or grouping of information contained in an electronic or physical docu- ment, an electronic collection of data, a pho- tograph, an audio or video tape, or any other information storage medium of any type what- ever that contains information about a spe- cific past, current, or prospective Convention adoption (regardless of whether the adoption was made final) that has been preserved in ac- cordance with section 14941(a) of this title by the Secretary of State or the Attorney Gen- eral. (12) Convention country The term ‘‘Convention country’’ means a country party to the Convention. (13) Other Convention country The term ‘‘other Convention country’’ means a Convention country other than the United States. (14) Person The term ‘‘person’’ shall have the meaning provided in section 1 of title 1 and shall not in- clude any agency of government or tribal gov- ernment entity. (15) Person with an ownership or control inter- est The term ‘‘person with an ownership or con- trol interest’’ has the meaning given such term in section 1320a–3(a)(3) of this title. (16) Secretary The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of State. (17) State The term ‘‘State’’ means the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the North- ern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the Virgin Is- lands. (Pub. L. 106–279, § 3, Oct. 6, 2000, 114 Stat. 826.)