May 30, 08

NEWS / Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoptions Complaint Registry

The U.S. Department of State is committed to upholding the ethical standards, professional practices, and principles set forth in the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (IAA), and the Federal implementing regulations. The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoptions Complaint Registry will forward your complaint to the appropriate Accrediting Entity for action, and the Department will monitor complaints about accredited agencies or approved persons after receiving information from you.

Do you have a complaint about an accredited/approved agency or person providing adoption services in accordance with the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoptions Complaint Registry that you want to share with the U.S. Department of State?

Does this complaint involve one or more of the following?

* the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption
* the Intercountry Adoption Act
* the Federal implementing regulations (22 CFR 96, 97, 98)
* a Hague Convention adoption case

If so, please fill out the complaint form below.

If your complaint does NOT involve the Hague Convention, the IAA, or the Federal regulations implementing the IAA and the Convention, you may wish to contact your State’s adoption agency licensing authority. For a list of these authorities, go to the National Adoption Directory Search.

Please note: Individuals must first try to resolve a complaint through their Adoption Service Provider before submitting a complaint to the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoptions Complaint Registry. Resolution of complaints is the responsibility of the Accrediting Entity.

If this is an emergency, please contact the U.S Central Authority for the Hague Convention in the Department of State Call Center toll free at
(888) 407-4747. Call Center hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. EST. If you need assistance after hours, an automated message will direct you to an emergency duty officer for assistance.

Submitting a Complaint

To submit a complaint, simply click on the link to the Complaint Form and click the Confirm button when finished. If you wish, you may also print out a form and fax it to the U.S. Central Authority at 202-736-9080 or mail it and any supporting documents to:

Attn: U.S. Central Authority
U.S. Department of State

Bureau of Consular Affairs

Office of Children’s Issues, Adoption Unit (SA-29)
2201 C Street, NW

Washington , DC 20520

You can also request that we send you these forms by calling the Department of State at (888) 407-4747.

If you wish to view the Hague Convention, IAA, or the Federal regulations implementing the IAA and the Convention, click here.

Privacy

The Department of State is committed to ensuring that any personal information received by our overseas embassies and consulates pursuant to the registration of complaints received by the U.S. Central Authority about the Hague Intercountry Adoption process, whether in person or otherwise, is safeguarded against unauthorized disclosure. The data that you provide the Department of State is subject to the provisions of the Privacy Act (5 USC 552a). This means that the Department of State will not disclose the information you provide us in your complaint to any third parties (except as described below) unless you have first given us written authorization to do so, or unless the disclosure is otherwise permitted by the Privacy Act.

Authority: 22 U.S.C 2715, and 22 U.S.C 4802 (b).

Purpose: To allow individuals to register a complaint regarding the ethical standards, professional qualifications/practices, and procedures provided by the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, IAA, or Federal implementation of regulations.

The information solicited on this form may be made available as a routine use to appropriate agencies whether federal, state, local, or foreign, to assist the Department in the oversight and management of Hague adoption complaints, or for law enforcement and administration purposes or pursuant to court order. The information is also made available to public and private Accrediting Entities (AEs) that have signed a Memoranda of Agreement with the Department of State, to assist in investigation and resolution of complaints on Hague Convention adoptions. For a complete statement of the routine uses to which this information may be put, see the Prefatory Statement of Routine Uses and the listing of routine uses set forth in the systems description for Overseas Citizens Services Records (State-05), found at http://foia.state.gov/issuances/priviss.asp. Lastly, while this internet site uses secure encryption to safeguard your privacy and therefore any unauthorized interception by third parties of the information you send via the internet is unlikely, please keep in mind that the Department of State is not responsible for any such interception.

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