Intercountry Adoption Universal Accreditation Act of 2012

(This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the Senate on December 5, 2012. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Intercountry Adoption Universal Accreditation Act of 2012 - Applies universal intercountry adoption accreditation standards under the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, and related regulations, to the same extent as they apply to the offering or provision of adoption services in connection with an adoption under the Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, to any person offering or providing adoption services in connection with a foreign orphan under age 16 adopted or to be adopted by a U.S. citizen.

Gives the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), the Attorney General, and the accrediting entities the duties, responsibilities, and authorities under the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 and related regulations with respect to a person offering or providing such adoption services, regardless of whether such services are offered or provided in connection with a Convention adoption.

Amends the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 to: (1) repeal the prohibition against, and so make available, collected fees to accrediting entities; and (2) add a congressional report requirement on the use of federal funding.

[112th Congress Public Law 276]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



[[Page 126 STAT. 2466]]

Public Law 112-276
112th Congress

                                 An Act


 
To provide for universal intercountry adoption accreditation standards, 
      and for other purposes. <<NOTE: Jan. 14, 2013 -  [S. 3331]>> 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Intercountry 
Adoption Universal Accreditation Act of 2012. 42 USC 14901 note.>> 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Intercountry Adoption Universal 
Accreditation Act of 2012''.
SEC. 2. <<NOTE: 42 USC 14925.>>  UNIVERSAL ACCREDITATION 
                    REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) <<NOTE: Applicability.>>  In General.--The provisions of title 
II and section 404 of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 
14901 et seq.), and related implementing regulations, shall apply to any 
person offering or providing adoption services in connection with a 
child described in section 101(b)(1)(F) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)(F)), to the same extent as they 
apply to the offering or provision of adoption services in connection 
with a Convention adoption. The Secretary of State, the Secretary of 
Homeland Security, the Attorney General (with respect to section 404(b) 
of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14944)), and the 
accrediting entities shall have the duties, responsibilities, and 
authorities under title II and title IV of the Intercountry Adoption Act 
of 2000 and related implementing regulations with respect to a person 
offering or providing such adoption services, irrespective of whether 
such services are offered or provided in connection with a Convention 
adoption.

    (b) Effective Date.--The provisions of this section shall take 
effect 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (c) <<NOTE: Time period.>>  Transition Rule.--This Act shall not 
apply to a person offering or providing adoption services as described 
in subsection (a) in the case of a prospective adoption in which--
            (1) an application for advance processing of an orphan 
        petition or petition to classify an orphan as an immediate 
        relative for a child is filed before the date that is 180 days 
        after the date of the enactment of this Act; or
            (2) the prospective adoptive parents of a child have 
        initiated the adoption process with the filing of an appropriate 
        application in a foreign country sufficient such that the 
        Secretary of State is satisfied before the date that is 180 days 
        after the date of the enactment of this Act.

[[Page 126 STAT. 2467]]

SEC. 3. AVAILABILITY OF COLLECTED FEES FOR ACCREDITING ENTITIES.

    (a) Section 403 of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 
14943) is amended by striking subsection (c).
    (b) Report Requirement.--Section 202(b) of the Intercountry Adoption 
Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14922(b)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
            ``(5) Report on use of federal funding.--Not later than 90 
        days after an accrediting entity receives Federal funding 
        authorized by section 403, the entity shall submit a report to 
        the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the 
        Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives 
        that describes--
                    ``(A) the amount of such funding the entity 
                received; and
                    ``(B) how such funding was, or will be, used by the 
                entity.''.
SEC. 4. <<NOTE: 42 USC 14925 note.>> DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act, the terms ``accrediting entity'', ``adoption service'', 
``Convention adoption'', and ``person'' have the meanings given those 
terms in section 3 of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 
14902).

    Approved January 14, 2013.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 3331:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

HOUSE REPORTS: No. 112-234 (Comm. on Foreign Relations).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD:
                                                        Vol. 158 (2012):
                                    Dec. 5, considered and passed 
                                        Senate.
                                    Dec. 30, considered in House.
                                                        Vol. 158 (2013):
                                    Jan. 1, considered and passed House.

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