Hand In Hand is happy to announce that we have been approved for full accreditation under the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoptions. We completed our review by the State of Colorado Department of Human Services, one of the accrediting entities appointed by the US Department of State, and we are now accredited for four years (click here for certificate), at which point we will seek renewal. To view the list of accredited agencies, published on February 29, 2008 by the U.S. Department of State, please see: http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/convention/convention_4169.html

HAGUE CONVENTION FAQS:

Why is the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect to Intercountry Adoption (the Convention) important?
The Convention strengthens protections for children, birthparents, and prospective adoptive parent(s). It strives to provide children with permanent, loving homes by setting out internationally agreed-upon rules and procedures for adoptions between countries that have a treaty relationship under the Convention. It ultimately provides a framework for member-countries to work together to ensure that adoptions take place in the best interests of a child and to prevent the abduction, the sale of, or the traffic in children. The Convention also establishes a Central Authority in each country to ensure that one authoritative source of information and point of contact exists for prospective adoptive parents to receive reliable and accurate information. For these reasons, the US Department of State strongly supports the Principles of the Convention.

Why choose to work with an agency that is accredited in the United States?
Because only those adoption service providers who have been accredited, temporarily accredited, or approved by either COA or CO will be able to provide adoption services for Hague adoption cases after the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption enters into force for the United States on April 1, 2008.

What are the criteria used for accreditation?
The US Department of State has published the criteria under its explanation of implementation on the web site: http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/implementation/implementation_2912.html

How will this affect adoptive parents currently in process?
Adoptive families who are already in process (those who have formally submitted an I-600 or I-600A to USCIS) will not be affected. Adoptive families who apply to USCIS after the Hague goes into effect in the United States (April 1, 2008) will proceed under new regulations. Those wishing to adopt from another Hague Convention country will be required to work with a Hague-accredited agency in the US.

For further information on the Hague Convention and its implementation in the United States, please visit:

The Hague Convention:
http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=conventions.text&cid=69

Intercountry Adoption Act:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=106_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ279.106.pdf

General Information:
http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/articles.php?aid=1400

Adoptive Parents Guide to the Hague:
http://travel.state.gov/pdf/Prospective_Adoptive_Parents_Guide.pdf

Russia.

Exciting News!

Hand In Hand is thrilled to announce that on February 27, 2008, the Ministry of Education in Russia confirmed that Hand In Hand’s Russian accreditation (certificate and translation) has been signed by the Minister and registered in the main office of the Ministry of Education. This accreditation is non-expiring, so we do not anticipate similar delays in the future.

Hand In Hand has been accredited in the country of Russia since 2001, when they began accrediting agencies. Hand In Hand has also been licensed as an NGO in Russia since the fall of 2006. Our accreditation expired in January, 2007, so we are excited to have gained renewal after a long wait. Only accredited agencies that maintain an office in Moscow registered and functioning according to Russian regulations may represent non-Russian adoptive parents in arranging adoptions in the Russian Federation under current regulations.

We would like to extend our thanks to each adoptive parent who has been patient and understanding during this wait for accreditation renewal. We look forward to continuing our work to find forever homes for the children of Russia.

Philippines. As a Hague Convention country, the Philippines has issued accreditation certificates to Hand In Hand over the past several years, with our current certificate having been issued in February, 2007 with the expiration date of February, 2011.

China. China has issued a letter of acceptance (English letter and Chinese Letter) of Hand In Hand as an approved agency, following the review of submitted booklets of accreditation materials.