Children in Families First Act of 2014 - Establishes within the Department of State the Bureau of Vulnerable Children and Family Security which shall: (1) support the implementation in foreign countries of child welfare laws and policies; and (2) establish within the Bureau a Senior Coordinator for Permanence who shall lead the implementation of policies to ensure permanent family care for children living without families, including refugee and stateless children.
States that the Bureau shall be headed by an Assistant Secretary and have lead responsibility for representing the U.S. government in diplomatic contacts pertaining to intercountry adoptions.
Amends the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), to carry out the functions prescribed by the Convention regarding the accreditation of U.S. adoption services providers.
Establishes data bases for: (1) internationally adopted children, and (2) adoption service providers.
Transfers from the Secretary of State to the Field Operations Directorate of USCIS specified adoption-related functions, including accreditation of agencies and approval of persons to provide adoption services and oversight of provider investigations.
Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), through USCIS, to: (1) be responsible for processing and case-specific decision making on all intercountry adoption cases, (2) ensure that all intercountry adoption suitability and eligibility determinations of prospective adoptive parents are made in accordance with criteria that comply with the Hague Adoption Convention, (3) ensure that all non-Convention adoption cases undergo specified preprocessing, and (4) be responsible for all case processing steps in Convention and non-Convention adoption petitions on behalf of children whom U.S. parents propose to immigrate to the United States.
Establishes within the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) a Center of Excellence on Children in Adversity.
Authorizes the President to provide assistance for programs in developing countries for nutrition, education, care, and protection of children.
Requires USAID to carry out a priority country demonstration program implementing the (December 2012) Action Plan for Children in Adversity over a period of five years in at least six countries.
Prohibits: (1) the authorization of appropriations to carry out this Act, and (2) funds from being awarded to the United Nations (U.N.) or any of its subsidiaries.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4143 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4143
To realign structures and reallocate resources in the Federal
Government, in keeping with the core American belief that families are
the best protection for children and the bedrock of any society, to
bolster United States diplomacy and assistance targeted at ensuring
that every child can grow up in a permanent, safe, nurturing, and
loving family, and to strengthen intercountry adoption to the United
States and around the world and ensure that it becomes a viable and
fully developed option for providing families for children in need, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 4, 2014
Ms. Granger (for herself, Ms. Bass, Mrs. Bachmann, Mr. Diaz-Balart, Mr.
Franks of Arizona, Mr. Olson, Mr. Sensenbrenner, Mr. Wolf, Ms. Eddie
Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. Cooper, Mr. Langevin, Mr. Huizenga of
Michigan, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Mr. Conaway, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Richmond,
Mr. Takano, Mr. Bishop of New York, Ms. Schwartz, Mr. Braley of Iowa,
Mr. Doggett, Mrs. Capito, Mrs. Brooks of Indiana, Mr. Israel, Mr.
Rokita, Mr. Cohen, Ms. Jackson Lee, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. McGovern, Mr.
Nunnelee, Ms. Kuster, Mr. Forbes, and Mr. Murphy of Florida) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign
Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To realign structures and reallocate resources in the Federal
Government, in keeping with the core American belief that families are
the best protection for children and the bedrock of any society, to
bolster United States diplomacy and assistance targeted at ensuring
that every child can grow up in a permanent, safe, nurturing, and
loving family, and to strengthen intercountry adoption to the United
States and around the world and ensure that it becomes a viable and
fully developed option for providing families for children in need, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Children in
Families First Act of 2014''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings; purposes.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
TITLE I--REALIGNMENT OF CERTAIN INTERNATIONAL CHILD WELFARE
RESPONSIBILITIES AND FUNCTIONS
Sec. 101. Establishment of Bureau of Vulnerable Children and Family
Security in the Department of State.
Sec. 102. Responsibilities of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
for accreditation of adoption service
providers.
Sec. 103. Transfer of functions and savings provisions.
Sec. 104. Responsibilities of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
for adoption-related case processing.
TITLE II--ANNUAL REPORTING
Sec. 201. Annual report on children living without families.
Sec. 202. Country reports regarding severe forms of trafficking.
TITLE III--PROMOTION OF A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH FOR CHILDREN IN
ADVERSITY
Sec. 301. Establishment of a USAID Center for Excellence for Children
in Adversity.
TITLE IV--FUNDING AND EFFECTIVE DATES
Sec. 401. Funding.
Sec. 402. Effective dates.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The people of the United States recognize and believe
that children must grow up in permanent, safe, and nurturing
families in order to develop and thrive.
(2) Science now proves conclusively that children suffer
immediate, lasting, and in many cases irreversible damage from
time spent living in institutions or outside of families,
including reduced brain activity, reduced IQ, smaller brain
size, and inability to form emotional bonds with others.
(3) Governments in other countries seek models that promote
the placement of children who are living outside family care in
permanent, safe, and nurturing families, rather than in foster
care or institutions, but many governments lack the resources
or infrastructure to adequately address this need.
(4) Despite the good efforts of countless governments and
nongovernmental organizations, millions of children remain
uncounted and outside of the protection, nurturing care,
permanence, safety, and love of a family. Without the care of a
family, these children are forced to live on the streets, in
institutions, in paid foster care, in child-headed households,
in group homes, or as household servants.
(5) No reliable data currently exists to define and
document the number and needs of children in the world
currently living without families, but available evidence
demonstrates that there are millions of children in this
situation needing immediate help.
(6) The December 2012 Action Plan for Children in Adversity
commits the United States Government to achieving a world in
which all children grow up within protective family care and
free from deprivation, exploitation, and danger. To effectively
and efficiently accomplish this goal, it is necessary to
realign the United States Government's current operational
system for assisting orphans and vulnerable children, and
processing intercountry adoptions.
(7) All options for providing appropriate, protective, and
permanent family care to children living without families must
be considered concurrently and permanent solutions must be put
in place as quickly as possible. Solutions include family
preservation and reunification, kinship care, guardianship,
domestic and intercountry adoption, and other culturally
acceptable forms of care that will result in appropriate,
protective, and permanent family care. Preference should be
given to options that optimize child best interests, which
generally means options which provide children with fully
protected legal status and parents with full legal status as
parents, including full parental rights and responsibilities.
The principle of subsidiarity, which gives preference to in-
country solutions, should be implemented within the context of
a concurrent planning strategy, exploring in- and out-of-
country options simultaneously. If an in-country placement
serving the child's best interest and providing appropriate,
protective, and permanent care is not quickly available, and
such an international home is available, the child should be
placed in that international home without delay.
(8) Significant resources are already dedicated to
international assistance for orphans and vulnerable children,
and a relatively small portion of these resources can be
reallocated to achieve more timely, effective, nurturing, and
permanent familial solutions for children living without
families, resulting in fewer children worldwide living in
institutions or on the streets, more families preserved or
reunified, and increased domestic and international adoptions.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to support the core American value that families are
the bedrock of any society;
(2) to protect the fundamental human right of all children
to grow up within the loving care of permanent, safe, and
nurturing families;
(3) to address a critical gap in United States foreign
policy implementation by adjusting the Federal Government's
international policy and operational structures so that seeking
permanent families for children living without families
receives more prominence, focus, and resources (through the
reallocation of existing personnel and resources);
(4) to harness the diplomatic and operational power of the
United States Government in the international sphere by helping
to identify and implement timely, permanent, safe, and
nurturing familial solutions for children living without
families, including refugee or stateless children;
(5) to ensure that intercountry adoption by United States
citizens becomes a viable and fully developed option for
creating permanent families for children who need them;
(6) to protect against abuses of children, birth families,
and adoptive parents involved in intercountry adoptions, and to
ensure that such adoptions are in the individual child's best
interests; and
(7) to harmonize and strengthen existing intercountry
adoption processes under United States law--
(A) by ensuring that the same set of procedures and
criteria govern suitability and eligibility
determinations for prospective adoptive parents seeking
to complete intercountry adoptions, whether or not the
child is from a foreign state that is a party to the
Hague Adoption Convention; and
(B) by aligning the definitions of eligible child
for Convention adoptions and non-Convention adoptions
to the maximum extent possible.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Action plan for children in adversity.--The term
``Action Plan for Children in Adversity'' means the policy
document entitled ``United States Government Action Plan on
Children in Adversity: A Framework for International
Assistance: 2012-2017'', released on December 19, 2012.
(2) Appropriate, protective, and permanent family care.--
The term ``appropriate, protective, and permanent family care''
means a nurturing, lifelong, commitment to a child by an adult,
or adults with parental roles and responsibilities that--
(A) provides physical and emotional support;
(B) provides the child with a sense of belonging;
and
(C) generally involves full legal recognition of
the child's status as child of the parents and of the
parents' rights and responsibilities regarding the
child.
(3) Central authority.--The term ``central authority'' has
the meaning given the term in section 3 of the Intercountry
Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14902).
(4) Children in adversity.--The term ``children in
adversity'' means children living inside or outside of family
care who are deprived, excluded, vulnerable, or at risk for
violence, abuse, exploitation, or neglect.
(5) Convention adoption.--The term ``Convention adoption''
has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the Intercountry
Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14902).
(6) Convention country.--The term ``Convention country''
has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the Intercountry
Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14902) and for which the Hague
Adoption Convention has entered into force.
(7) Guardianship.--The term ``guardianship'' means a
permanent legal relationship between an adult and a child,
whereby the adult is lawfully invested with the power, and
charged with the duty, of taking care of the child. While some
forms of guardianship are not truly permanent, the form of
guardianship referred to and supported under this Act is
permanent guardianship. A Kefala order issued by a country that
follows traditional Islamic law does not qualify as an adoption
under United States law, but may be a form of guardianship in
some circumstances.
(8) Habitual residence determination.--The term ``habitual
residence determination'' means a factual determination of
where a prospective adoptive parent (or parents) resides and
where the child resides for purposes of an intercountry
adoption case.
(9) Hague adoption convention.--The term ``Hague Adoption
Convention'' means the Convention of Protection of Children and
Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, concluded at
The Hague May 29, 1993.
(10) Kinship care.--The term ``kinship care'' means the
full time care, nurturing, and protection of children by
relatives, members of their tribes or clans, godparents,
stepparents, or any adult who has a kinship bond with a child,
so long as those persons have the capacity and commitment to
function as true parents for the child on a permanent basis. It
does not include paid kinship foster care.
(11) Non-convention adoption.--The term ``non-Convention
adoption'' means--
(A) an adoption by United States parents of a child
from a non-Convention country in accordance with
subparagraph (F) of section 101(b)(1) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1));
(B) an adoption by United States parents of a child
under the laws of the child's country of origin
(generally when the parents are living in the child's
country of origin and therefore able legally to
complete a domestic adoption); or
(C) in certain circumstances (generally with
respect to relative adoptions or adoptions by dual
national parents), an adoption by United States parents
of a child from a Convention country if that country
allows legal and valid adoptions to take place outside
the scope of the Convention.
(12) Non-convention country.--The term ``non-Convention
country'' means a country in which the Hague Adoption
Convention has not entered into force, regardless of whether or
not that country has signed the Convention.
(13) Unparented children.--The term ``unparented children''
means children lacking the legal, permanent, safe, and
nurturing care of a parental figure or figures, either inside
their country of origin, in the country of their habitual
residence, or elsewhere, regardless of their lawful or unlawful
immigration status in their current country of residence.
(14) Vulnerable children.--The term ``vulnerable
children'', consistent with the United States Agency for
International Development's definition, means children and
youth who are under 18 years whose safety, well-being, growth,
and development are at significant risk due to inadequate care,
protection, or access to essential services.
TITLE I--REALIGNMENT OF CERTAIN INTERNATIONAL CHILD WELFARE
RESPONSIBILITIES AND FUNCTIONS
SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF BUREAU OF VULNERABLE CHILDREN AND FAMILY
SECURITY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE.
(a) Establishment.--There is established within the Department of
State the Bureau of Vulnerable Children and Family Security (referred
to in this Act as the ``VCFS''), which shall be located in the
Secretariat for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights and shall
promote and support the following activities:
(1) The development and implementation in foreign countries
of child welfare laws, regulations, policies, best practices,
and procedures in keeping with the goals articulated in the
Action Plan for Children in Adversity, including--
(A) the sound development of children through the
integration of health, nutrition, and family support;
(B) supporting and enabling families to care for
children through family preservation, reunification,
and support of kinship care, guardianship, and domestic
and intercountry adoption; and
(C) facilitating the efforts of national
governments and partners to prevent, respond to, and
protect children from violence, exploitation, abuse,
and neglect.
(2) Addressing the gap in United States Government
diplomacy, policy, and operations with respect to promoting
appropriate, protective, and permanent family care for children
living without families by establishing within the VCFS a
Senior Coordinator for Permanence, who--
(A) shall occupy at least a Deputy Assistant
Secretary-level position in the VCFS; and
(B) shall lead the development and implementation
of policies that will ensure the timely provision of
appropriate, protective, and permanent family care for
children living without families, including refugee and
stateless children, through the full continuum of
permanence solutions, including family preservation and
reunification, kinship care, guardianship, and domestic
and intercountry adoption.
(b) Assistant Secretary.--
(1) Appointment.--The VCFS shall be headed by an Assistant
Secretary, who shall be appointed by the President by and with
the consent of the Senate.
(2) Qualifications.--The Assistant Secretary shall--
(A) have experience in the development of policies
and systems and the implementation of programs that
promote the goals of the Action Plan for Children in
Adversity;
(B) be knowledgeable of international child
welfare, family permanence, and family creation through
domestic and intercountry adoption; and
(C) be committed to developing an integrated United
States Government approach to international child
welfare that places equal emphasis on--
(i) early childhood survival and
development;
(ii) family permanence; and
(iii) protection from abuse and
exploitation.
(3) Authority.--The Assistant Secretary shall report to the
Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human
Rights.
(4) Increase in authorized assistant secretary positions.--
(A) Amendment to state department basic authorities
act of 1956.--Section 1(c)(1) of the State Department
Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a(c)(1))
is amended by striking ``not more than 24 Assistant
Secretaries'' and inserting ``not more than 25
Assistant Secretaries''.
(B) Amendment to title 5, united states code.--
Section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, is amended
by striking ``Assistant Secretaries of State (24)'' and
inserting ``Assistant Secretaries of State (25)''.
(c) Functions.--
(1) Advisory.--The Assistant Secretary shall serve as a
primary advisor to the Secretary of State and the President in
all matters related to vulnerable children and family security
in foreign countries.
(2) Diplomatic representation.--Subject to the direction of
the President and the Secretary of State, and in consultation
and coordination with the Senior Coordinator for Children in
Adversity of the United States Agency for International
Development, and the Secretary of Homeland Security, the
Assistant Secretary shall represent the United States in
matters relevant to international child welfare, family
preservation and reunification, and provision of permanent,
safe parental care through kinship, domestic and intercountry
adoption in--
(A) contacts with foreign governments,
nongovernmental organizations, intergovernmental
agencies, and specialized agencies of the United
Nations and other international organizations of which
the United States is a member;
(B) multilateral conferences and meetings relevant
to family preservation, reunification, and creating
appropriate, protective, and permanent care for
unparented children; and
(C) fulfillment of the diplomatic responsibilities
designated to the central authority under title I of
the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14911
et seq.), as amended by this Act.
(3) Policy development with respect to permanence for
unparented children.--
(A) In general.--The Assistant Secretary shall--
(i) develop and advocate for policies and
practices to ensure that children in foreign
countries who are living without families find
appropriate, protective, and permanent family
care which is in the best interest of each
child;
(ii) give consideration to family
preservation and reunification, kinship care,
guardianship, and domestic and intercountry
adoption; and
(iii) seek to develop and implement
policies that lead to the use of all options
for providing appropriate, protective, and
permanent family care to children living
without families as quickly as possible.
(B) Best interest determination.--In carrying out
subparagraph (A), the Assistant Secretary shall give
preference to options that optimize the best interests
of children, including options which provide children
with fully protected legal status as children and
parents with full legal status as parents, including
full parental rights and responsibilities.
(C) Subsidiarity.--The principle of subsidiarity,
which gives preference to in-country solutions, should
be implemented within the context of a concurrent
planning strategy, exploring in- and out-of-country
options simultaneously. If an in-country placement
serving the child's best interests and providing
appropriate, protective, and permanent care is not
quickly available, and such an international home is
available, the child should be placed in that
international home without delay.
(D) Best practices.--In developing policies and
programs under this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall
identify and utilize evidence-based programs and best
practices in family preservation and reunification and
provision of permanent parental care through
guardianship, kinship care, and domestic and
intercountry adoption as derived from a wide variety of
domestic, foreign, and global policies and practices.
(E) Technical assistance.--The Assistant Secretary,
in consultation with other appropriate Federal
agencies, shall provide technical assistance to
governments of foreign countries to help build their
child welfare capacities and to strengthen appropriate
family preservation and reunification and the provision
of appropriate, protective, and permanent family care
through kinship care, guardianship, and domestic and
intercountry adoption, including assistance with--
(i) the drafting, disseminating, and
implementing of legislation;
(ii) the development of implementing
systems and procedures;
(iii) the establishment of public, private,
and faith- and community-based partnerships;
(iv) the development of workforce training
for governmental and nongovernmental staff; and
(v) infrastructure development and data
collection techniques necessary to identify and
document the number and needs of children
living without appropriate, protective, and
permanent family care.
(4) Responsibilities with respect to intercountry
adoption.--
(A) In general.--The VCFS, in coordination with
other offices of the Department of State and U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services, shall have lead
responsibility for representing the United States
Government in discussions, negotiations, and diplomatic
contacts pertaining to intercountry adoptions.
(B) Central authority responsibility under the
intercountry adoption act of 2000.--Section 101(b)(2)
of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C.
14911(b)(2)) is amended by striking ``Office of
Children's Issues'' and inserting ``Bureau of
Vulnerable Children and Family Security''.
(C) Determinations of hague adoption convention
compliance.--The VCFS, in consultation with other
offices of the Department of State, and the Department
of Homeland Security, shall have lead responsibility
for determining whether a Convention partner country
has met its obligations under the Hague Adoption
Convention and is eligible to participate in
intercountry adoptions in accordance with United States
law. Such determinations shall be documented in
writing, based on standardized criteria, and available
for public review and comment.
(D) Negotiation of bilateral agreements.--The VCFS,
in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland
Security, shall have lead responsibility for the
negotiation of bilateral agreements with other
countries pertaining to intercountry adoption and in
conformity with the provisions of the Hague Adoption
Convention when the other country is a Convention
partner.
(5) Policy coordination.--The Assistant Secretary shall
coordinate with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development to maintain consistency in United States foreign
and domestic policy and operations with respect to children
living outside family care in foreign countries, particularly
those living without families.
(6) Information coordination.--The Assistant Secretary
shall transmit--
(A) any intercountry adoption related case
information received from the Central Authority of
another Convention country to the Secretary of Homeland
Security; and
(B) any intercountry adoption related case
information that the Secretary of Homeland Security
requests to the Central Authority of another Convention
country.
SEC. 102. RESPONSIBILITIES OF U.S. CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES
FOR ACCREDITATION OF ADOPTION SERVICE PROVIDERS.
(a) General Responsibilities Under the Intercountry Adoption Act of
2000.--
(1) In general.--The Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000
(Public Law 106-279; 114 Stat. 825) is amended by inserting
after section 103 (42 U.S.C. 14913) the following:
``SEC. 103A. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.
``(a) Accreditation and Approval Responsibilities.--The Secretary
of Homeland Security, working through the Director of U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services, shall carry out the functions prescribed by
the Convention with respect to the accreditation of agencies and the
approval of persons to provide adoption services in the United States
in cases subject to the Convention as provided in title II. Such
functions may not be delegated to any other Federal agency.
``(b) Investigations.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall be
responsible for managing and overseeing investigations related to the
operation and services of adoption service providers, whether directly
or indirectly.
``(c) Liaison With Foreign Governments on Post-Placement Reports
and Certain Adoption Cases.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall
serve as the liaison with foreign governments with respect to queries
about required post-placement reports and about specific intercountry
adoption cases once the adopted children are living in the United
States, including queries about the status of adopted children who are
living in the United States in cases involving allegations of abuse,
neglect, abandonment, or death.''.
(2) Clerical amendment.--Section 1 of such Act is amended
by inserting after the item relating to section 103 the
following:
``Sec. 103A. Responsibilities of the Department of Homeland
Security.''.
(3) Conforming amendments.--Section 102 of such Act (42
U.S.C. 14912) is amended--
(A) in subsection (a), by striking ``The
Secretary'' and inserting ``Except as provided for
under section 103A, the Secretary'';
(B) in subsection (b), by inserting ``, in
coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security,''
after ``The Secretary'';
(C) by striking subsection (c);
(D) by redesignating subsections (d) and (f) as
subsections (c) and (d), respectively; and
(E) by striking subsection (e).
(b) Accreditation Responsibilities Under the Intercountry Adoption
Act of 2000.--
(1) Designation of accrediting agencies.--Section 202 of
the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14922) is
amended by inserting ``of Homeland Security'' after
``Secretary'' each place it appears.
(2) Standards and procedures for providing accreditation or
approval.--Section 203 of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000
(42 U.S.C. 14923) is amended by inserting ``of Homeland
Security'' after ``Secretary'' each place it appears in
subsections (a) and (b).
(3) Oversight of accreditation and approval.--Section 204
of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14924) is
amended--
(A) by inserting ``of Homeland Security'' after
``Secretary'' each place it appears; and
(B) in subsection (c)--
(i) in paragraph (1), by amending the
paragraph heading to read as follows:
``(4) Authority of the secretary of homeland security.--'';
and
(ii) in paragraph (2), by striking
``Secretary's debarment order'' and inserting
``debarment order of the Secretary of Homeland
Security''.
(4) Administrative provisions.--
(A) Access to convention records.--Section 401(b)
of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C.
14941(b)) is amended--
(i) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``, the
Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services,'' after ``Secretary''; and
(ii) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``the
Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services,'' after ``Secretary,''.
(B) Assessment of fees.--Section 403(b) of the
Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14943(b))
is amended--
(i) in paragraph (1)--
(I) by inserting ``or the Director
of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services'' after ``Secretary''; and
(II) by inserting ``or U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services,
respectively,'' after ``Department of
State''; and
(ii) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``or
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
appropriation, as the case may be,'' after
``Department of State appropriation''.
(c) Intercountry Adoption Functions of U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services.--
(1) Definitions.--In this subsection and in section 103:
(A) Adoption service.--The term ``adoption
service'' has the meaning given the term in section 3
of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C.
14902).
(B) Associate director.--The term ``Associate
Director'' means the Associate Director of the
Directorate.
(C) Directorate.--Except as otherwise provided in
this subsection, the term ``Directorate'' means the
Field Operations Directorate of U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services.
(2) Intercountry adoption functions.--The Associate
Director shall carry out--
(A) the functions described in section 103A(a) of
the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, relating to
accreditation of agencies and approval of persons to
provide adoption services;
(B) the functions described in section 103A(b) of
such Act, relating to management and oversight of
investigations related to the operation of such
providers; and
(C) the functions described in section 103A(c) of
such Act, relating to liaison responsibilities
regarding post-placement reports and certain adoption
cases.
(3) Informational responsibilities.--
(A) Database on adoption service providers.--
(i) In general.--The Associate Director
shall establish and operate, in conjunction
with the Secretary of State, a publicly
accessible database of adoption service
providers.
(ii) Agreement.--The Associate Director,
the Director, and the Secretary of State shall
enter into an agreement under which the
Director and the Secretary shall provide, for
the database, data on intercountry adoption
cases relating to adoption service providers.
(iii) Contents.--The database shall
include, with respect to each accredited agency
and approved person, who is an adoption service
provider individually, and to the aggregate of
all adoption service providers--
(I) information identifying such a
provider;
(II) information on the
accreditation status of an agency, or
the approval status of a person, as an
adoption service provider;
(III) information on the number of
applications or petitions filed
respecting adoption and the numbers of
approvals and denials of the
applications or petitions;
(IV) the number of substantiated
grievances filed with respect to an
adoption service provider; and
(V) a description of any sanctions
an adoption service provider, or
corrective actions that the provider is
required to take to maintain
accreditation or approval described in
subclause (II).
(B) Database on internationally adopted children.--
(i) In general.--The Associate Director, in
conjunction with the Secretary of State, shall
establish and operate a database containing
data respecting children involved in
intercountry adoption cases who have immigrated
to the United States.
(ii) Information tracking.--Although the
data available for adoptions finalized before
the date of the enactment of this Act will
likely be incomplete, the Associate Director
should seek to import available data on all
adoptions involving children who are younger
than 18 years of age on the date of the
enactment of this Act. In operating the
database established under clause (i), the
Associate Director shall track information
about each such child before attaining United
States citizenship, including--
(I) information identifying a child
and the adoptive or prospective
adoptive parents, including--
(aa) the full name of the
child in the country of origin
and the full name of the child
after the adoption is
finalized;
(bb) the gender, date of
birth, nationality, and
citizenship of the child;
(cc) the physical address
of the child at the time of the
adoption; the type of visa
issued to the child; and
(dd) the date on which the
child entered the United
States;
(II) information on the particular
adoption service provider, if any,
providing services in the particular
case; and
(III) information on immigration or
citizenship status of the child.
(iii) Interagency agreement.--The Associate
Director, the Director, and the Secretary of
State shall enter into an agreement under which
the Secretary of State shall provide, for the
database, data on intercountry adoption cases
concerning the adopted children, and the
adoption service providers.
SEC. 103. TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS AND SAVINGS PROVISIONS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section, unless otherwise provided or
contextually indicated--
(1) the term ``Federal agency'' has the meaning given to
the term ``agency'' under section 551(1) of title 5, United
States Code;
(2) the term ``function'' means any duty, obligation,
power, authority, responsibility, right, privilege, activity,
or program; and
(3) the term ``office'' includes any office,
administration, agency, institute, unit, organizational entity,
or component thereof.
(b) Transfer of Functions.--There are transferred to the
Directorate, all functions described in section 103A(a) of the
Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, as added by section 102(a) of this
Act, which were exercised by the Secretary of State before the date of
the enactment of this Act (including all related functions of any
officer or employee of the Department of State), including functions
relating to--
(1) the accreditation of agencies and approval of persons
to provide adoption services;
(2) the management and oversight of investigations related
to the operation of such providers; and
(3) liaison responsibilities with respect to required post-
placement reports.
(c) Determinations of Certain Functions by the Office of Management
and Budget.--If necessary, the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget shall make any determination with respect to the transfer of
functions under subsection (b).
(d) Personnel Provisions.--
(1) Appointments.--The Associate Director may appoint and
fix the compensation of such officers and employees, including
investigators, attorneys, and administrative law judges, as may
be necessary to carry out the respective functions transferred
under this section. Except as otherwise provided by law, such
officers and employees shall be appointed in accordance with
the civil service laws and their compensation fixed in
accordance with title 5, United States Code.
(2) Experts and consultants.--The Associate Director may
obtain the services of experts and consultants in accordance
with section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, and
compensate such experts and consultants for each day (including
travel time) at rates not in excess of the rate of pay for
level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of such
title. The Associate Director may pay experts and consultants
who are serving away from their homes or regular place of
business travel expenses and per diem in lieu of subsistence at
rates authorized by sections 5702 and 5703 of such title for
persons in Government service employed intermittently.
(e) Delegation and Assignment.--Except where otherwise expressly
prohibited by law or otherwise provided under this section--
(1) the Associate Director may--
(A) delegate any of the functions transferred to
the Associate Director under this section and any
function transferred or granted to the Associate
Director after the date of the enactment of this Act to
such officers and employees of the Directorate as the
Associate Director may designate; and
(B) authorize successive redelegations of such
functions as may be necessary or appropriate; and
(2) no delegation of functions by the Associate Director
under this subsection or under any other provision of this
section shall relieve such Associate Director of responsibility
for the administration of such functions.
(f) Reorganization.--The Associate Director is authorized--
(1) to allocate or reallocate any function transferred
under subsection (b) among the officers of the Directorate; and
(2) to establish, consolidate, alter, or discontinue such
organizational entities in the Directorate as may be necessary
or appropriate.
(g) Rules.--The Associate Director is authorized to prescribe, in
accordance with the provisions of chapters 5 and 6 of title 5, United
States Code, such rules and regulations as the Associate Director
determines necessary or appropriate to administer and manage the
functions of the Directorate.
(h) Transfer and Allocations of Appropriations and Personnel.--
Except as otherwise provided under this section and subject to section
1531 of title 31, United States Code, the personnel employed in
connection with, and the assets, liabilities, contracts, property,
records, and unexpended balances of appropriations, authorizations,
allocations, and other funds employed, used, held, arising from,
available to, or to be made available in connection with the functions
transferred under subsection (b), shall be transferred to the
Directorate. Unexpended funds transferred pursuant to this subsection
may only be used for the purposes for which the funds were originally
authorized and appropriated.
(i) Incidental Transfers.--The Director of the Office of Management
and Budget--
(1) may, at such time or times as the Director may
prescribe--
(A) make such determinations as may be necessary
with regard to the functions transferred under
subsection (b); and
(B) make such additional incidental dispositions of
personnel, assets, liabilities, grants, contracts,
property, records, and unexpended balances of
appropriations, authorizations, allocations, and other
funds held, used, arising from, available to, or to be
made available in connection with such functions, as
may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this
section; and
(2) shall provide for--
(A) the termination of the affairs of all entities
terminated under this section; and
(B) such further measures and dispositions as may
be necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.
(j) Effect on Personnel.--
(1) In general.--Except as otherwise provided under this
section, the transfer under this section of full-time personnel
(except special Government employees) and part-time personnel
holding permanent positions shall not cause any such employee
to be separated or reduced in grade or compensation during the
1-year period beginning on the date of such transfer.
(2) Executive schedule positions.--Except as otherwise
provided under this section, any person who, on the day
preceding the date of the enactment of this Act, held a
position compensated in accordance with the Executive Schedule
prescribed in chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, and
who, without a break in service, is appointed in the
Directorate to a position having duties comparable to the
duties performed immediately preceding such appointment shall
continue to be compensated in such new position at not less
than the rate provided for such previous position, for the
duration of the service of such person in such new position.
(3) Termination of certain positions.--All positions whose
functions are transferred under subsection (b) and whose
incumbents have been appointed by the President, by and with
the advice and consent of the Senate, shall terminate on the
date of the enactment of this Act.
(k) Savings Provisions.--
(1) Continuing effect of legal documents.--All orders,
determinations, rules, regulations, permits, agreements,
grants, contracts, certificates, licenses, registrations,
privileges, and other administrative actions which--
(A) have been issued, made, granted, or allowed to
become effective by the President, any Federal agency
or official thereof, or by a court of competent
jurisdiction, in the performance of functions which are
transferred under this section; and
(B) are in effect on the date of the enactment of
this Act, or were final before such date of enactment
and are to become effective on or after the date of the
enactment of this Act,
shall continue in effect according to their terms until
modified, terminated, superseded, set aside, or revoked in
accordance with law by the President, the Associate Director or
other authorized official, a court of competent jurisdiction,
or by operation of law.
(2) Proceedings not affected.--Nothing in this section may
be construed to affect any proceeding, including a notice of
proposed rulemaking, or any application for any license,
permit, certificate, or financial assistance pending before the
Department of State on the effective date of this section, with
respect to functions transferred under subsection (b). Orders
shall be issued in such proceedings, appeals shall be taken
therefrom, and payments shall be made pursuant to such orders,
as if this section had not been enacted. Orders issued in any
such proceedings shall continue in effect until modified,
terminated, superseded, or revoked by a duly authorized
official, by a court of competent jurisdiction, or by operation
of law. Nothing in this paragraph may be construed to prohibit
the discontinuance or modification of any such proceeding under
the same terms and conditions and to the same extent that such
proceeding could have been discontinued or modified if this
section had not been enacted.
(3) Suits not affected.--Nothing in this section may be
construed to affect suits commenced before the date of the
enactment of this Act. In all such suits, proceedings shall be
had, appeals taken, and judgments rendered in the same manner
and with the same effect as if this section had not been
enacted.
(4) Nonabatement of actions.--No suit, action, or other
proceeding commenced by or against the Department of State, or
by or against any individual in the official capacity of such
individual as an officer of the Department of State, shall
abate by reason of the enactment of this section.
(5) Administrative actions relating to promulgation of
regulations.--Any administrative action relating to the
preparation or promulgation of a regulation by the Department
of State relating to a function transferred under subsection
(b) may be continued by the Directorate with the same effect as
if this section had not been enacted.
(l) Separability.--If a provision of this section or its
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, neither the
remainder of this section nor the application of the provision to other
persons or circumstances shall be affected.
(m) Transition.--The Associate Director is authorized to utilize--
(1) the services of such officers, employees, and other
personnel of the Department of State with respect to functions
transferred to the Directorate by this section; and
(2) funds appropriated to such functions for such period of
time as may reasonably be needed to facilitate the orderly
implementation of this section.
(n) References.--Reference in any other Federal law, Executive
order, rule, regulation, or delegation of authority, or any document of
or relating to--
(1) the Secretary of State with regard to functions
transferred under subsection (b), shall be deemed to refer to
the Associate Director; and
(2) the Department of State with regard to functions
transferred under subsection (b), shall be deemed to refer to
the Directorate.
(o) Additional Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Recommended legislation.--After consultation with the
appropriate committees of Congress and the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget, the Associate Director shall
prepare and submit to Congress recommended legislation
containing technical and conforming amendments to reflect the
changes made by this section.
(2) Submission to congress.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Associate Director
shall submit the recommended legislation referred to under
paragraph (1) to Congress.
SEC. 104. RESPONSIBILITIES OF U.S. CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES
FOR ADOPTION-RELATED CASE PROCESSING.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through
the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services--
(1) shall be responsible for processing and case-specific
decisionmaking on all intercountry adoption cases (up to the
point of application for an immigrant visa on behalf of the
adopted child), including cases being processed pursuant to the
Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14901 et seq.) and
section 2 of the Intercountry Adoption Universal Accreditation
Act of 2012 (42 U.S.C. 14925);
(2) shall ensure that all intercountry adoption suitability
and eligibility determinations of prospective adoptive parents
required under subparagraph (F) or (G) of section 101(b)(1) of
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)) are
made in accordance with standard criteria that comply with the
Hague Adoption Convention so that any such determination
justifies a Convention adoption or a non-Convention adoption;
(3) to the maximum extent possible, and to the extent
permitted by the country in which the child resides, shall
ensure that all non-Convention adoption cases undergo
preprocessing, including--
(A) the filing of a petition and the review of a
child's eligibility to immigrate to the United States
before the adoption or grant of legal custody (for
purposes of emigration and adoption in the United
States) of that child is completed in the country of
origin; and
(B) the completion of all necessary and relevant
investigations associated with the petition before the
country of origin finalizes the adoption or grants
legal custody for purposes of emigration and adoption
in the United States;
(4) except as provided in paragraph (5), shall be
responsible for all case processing steps in Convention and
non-Convention adoption petitions on behalf of children whom
United States parents propose to immigrate to the United States
(except for the processing of immigrant visas), including
processing of all necessary Hague Adoption Convention
certifications and the final adjudication of the immigration
petitions; and
(5) may delegate the responsibility for completing certain
elements of case adjudication to the Secretary of State if the
Department of Homeland Security--
(A) cannot adequately complete such elements due to
the need for physical presence in the country of origin
or other processing-related circumstances; and
(B) defines and monitors the parameters for the
elements delegated to the Secretary of State and
retains final decisionmaking authority.
(b) Foreign Adoption Decrees.--
(1) Convention countries.--The 2-year legal custody and
joint residence requirements set forth in section 101(b)(1)(E)
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)(E))
shall not apply if the documentation submitted on behalf of a
child includes--
(A) an adoption decree issued by a competent
authority (as such term is used in the Hague Adoption
Convention) of the child's country of origin and
evidence that the adoption was granted in compliance
with the Hague Adoption Convention; or
(B) a custody or guardianship decree issued by the
competent authority of the child's country of origin to
the adoptive parents, and a final adoption decree,
verifying that the adoption of the child was later
finalized outside the United States by the adoptive
parents, in addition to evidence that the custody or
guardianship was granted in compliance with the Hague
Adoption Convention.
(2) Substantial compliance with hague adoption
convention.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply unless--
(A) on the date on which the underlying adoption,
custody, or guardianship decree was issued by the
child's country of origin--
(i) that country's adoption procedures
complied with the requirements of the Hague
Adoption Convention (as determined by the
United States central authority); and
(ii) the competent authority of the country
of origin certified that the adoption is
consistent with Article 23 of the Hague
Adoption Convention; and
(B) the adoption was a Convention adoption that was
completed between 2 Convention countries other than the
United States.
(3) Non-convention countries.--The Secretary of Homeland
Security may accept the filing of petitions on behalf of
children living in non-Convention countries in the absence of a
final adoption decree.
(c) Cooperation With Foreign Governments.--The Secretary of
Homeland Security may interact directly with the central authority of a
Convention country or a competent authority of a non-Convention
country, as appropriate--
(1) to facilitate the processing of intercountry adoption
cases, including making habitual residence determinations
relevant to children and prospective adoptive parents in
adoption proceedings; and
(2) to negotiate, in coordination with the Department of
State, and to implement bilateral agreements with respect to
intercountry adoptions.
(d) Amendments to the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000.--
(1) Transfer of responsibilities to the secretary of
homeland security.--The Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42
U.S.C. 14901 et seq.) is amended--
(A) by striking ``Attorney General'' each place it
appears and inserting ``Secretary of Homeland
Security''; and
(B) in the heading of section 103, by striking
``attorney general'' and inserting ``secretary of
homeland security''.
(2) Hague convention certificates.--Section 301 of such Act
(42 U.S.C. 14931) is amended--
(A) in subsection (a)--
(i) in the subsection heading, by striking
``Secretary of State'' and inserting
``Secretary of Homeland Security''; and
(ii) in the heading to paragraph (1), by
striking ``Secretary of state'' and inserting
``Secretary of homeland security''; and
(B) by striking ``Secretary of State'' each place
it appears and inserting ``Secretary of Homeland
Security''.
(3) Clerical amendment.--The table of contents of such Act
is amended by striking the item relating to section 103 and
inserting the following:
``Sec. 103. Responsibilities of the Secretary of Homeland Security.''.
(e) Definition of Child.--Section 101(b)(1) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (E)--
(A) in clause (i), by striking ``(i) a child
adopted while under the age of sixteen years'' and
inserting ``a child adopted while younger than 18 years
of age''; and
(B) by striking clause (ii);
(2) by amending subparagraph (F) to read as follows:
``(F)(i) a child, younger than 18 years of age at
the time a petition is filed on the child's behalf to
accord a classification as an immediate relative under
section 201(b), and who has been adopted in a foreign
state that is not a party to the Convention on
Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of
Intercountry Adoption, done at The Hague May 29, 1993,
or who is emigrating from such a foreign state to be
adopted in the United States by a United States citizen
and spouse jointly, or by an unmarried United States
citizen who is at least 25 years of age, if--
``(I) the Secretary of Homeland Security is
satisfied that proper care will be furnished
the child if admitted to the United States;
``(II) the child's natural parents (or
parent, in the case of a child who has 1 sole
or surviving parent), or other persons or
institutions that retain legal custody of the
child, have freely given their written
irrevocable consent to the termination of their
legal relationship with the child, and to the
child's emigration and adoption;
``(III) the child has a living parent or
parents who has or have relinquished, or will
relinquish, the child voluntarily for the
purposes of intercountry adoption, and the
parent or parents are incapable of providing
proper care for the child;
``(IV) the Secretary of Homeland Security,
after considering whether there is a petition
pending to confer immigrant status on one or
both natural parents, is satisfied that the
purpose of the adoption is to form a bona fide
parent-child relationship, and the parent-child
relationship of the child and the natural
parents has been terminated; and
``(V) in the case of a child who has not
been adopted--
``(aa) the competent authority of
the foreign state has approved the
child's emigration to the United States
for the purpose of adoption by the
prospective adoptive parent or parents;
and
``(bb) the prospective adoptive
parent or parents has or have complied
with any preadoption requirements of
the child's proposed residence; and
``(ii) except that no natural parent or prior
adoptive parent of any such child shall thereafter, by
virtue of such parentage, be accorded any right,
privilege, or status under this chapter;''; and
(3) in subparagraph (G)--
(A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking
``16'' and inserting ``18'';
(B) in clause (i)--
(i) in subclause (II), by striking
``because of the death or disappearance of,
abandonment or desertion by, the other
parent''; and
(ii) in subclause (III), by striking ``two
living natural parents, the natural parents
are'' and inserting ``a living parent or
parents, who have relinquished or will
relinquish the child voluntarily for the
purposes of intercountry adoption, the parent
or parents are'';
(C) in clause (ii), by striking ``; or'' and
inserting a period; and
(D) by striking clause (iii).
(f) Relative Adoptions; Waiver Authority.--Section 502 of the
Intercountry Adoption Act (42 U.S.C. 14952) is amended to read as
follows:
``(a) Authority To Establish Alternative Procedures for Adoption of
Children by Relatives.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the
enactment of the Children in Families First Act of 2014, the Secretary
of Homeland Security shall establish, by regulation, alternative
procedures for completing the intercountry adoption of children by
United States citizens who are related to such children by blood,
marriage, or adoption.
``(b) Waiver Authority.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting
through the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, may
waive, on a case-by-case basis, applicable requirements for meeting the
definition of a child under subparagraph (E), (F), or (G) of section
101(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)),
or regulations issued with respect to such definitions, in the
interests of justice or to prevent or respond to the threat of grave
physical or emotional harm to the child if the petitioner establishes
that--
``(1) the child substantially complies with the
requirements under one of such subparagraphs; and
``(2) such a waiver would be in the child's best
interests.''.
(g) Determination of Applicability of the Hague Adoption Convention
in Certain Cases.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through
the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, may
determine, on a case-by-case basis, that a specific intercountry
adoption case may proceed as a non-Convention adoption if--
(1) the child's country of origin or habitual residence is
a Convention country;
(2) the central authority of the child's country of origin
or habitual residence has issued, or will issue, an adoption
decree which that country considers to be legal and valid under
that country's laws to the United States adoptive or
prospective adoptive parents; and
(3) the central authority of the child's country of origin
or habitual residence has informed the Secretary or the
Director that it does not consider the specific case to fall
within the scope of the Hague Adoption Convention.
(h) Special Use of Parole Authority.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting
through the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services, may grant parole to a child if the Secretary or the
Director determines that--
(A) the child's circumstances indicate that
immediate unification with the parties seeking parole
is in the child's best interests;
(B) waiting to complete other, more time consuming
immigration processing could be significantly harmful
to the child's well-being;
(C) the party or parties seeking parole on behalf
of the child--
(i) have a pre-existing legal relationship
with the child, as evidenced by an adoption
decree or a custody order; or
(ii) demonstrate a pre-existing
relationship with the child and an intent to
establish a legal relationship with the child,
which may be evidenced by--
(I) a familial relationship with
the child;
(II) a close personal relationship
with the child, such as--
(aa) being matched with the
child for an international
adoption by an adoption service
provider or the competent
authority of the child's
country of origin; or
(bb) documentation showing
that the child's parents, if
deceased or otherwise
incapacitated and unable to
provide proper care for the
child, intended for the parties
seeking parole to take custody
of the child; or
(III) the filing of adoption-
related applications or petitions
related to the adoption of the child;
and
(D) the child will receive proper care in the
United States by the party or parties who seek parole
on behalf of the child, based on a review of the
suitability of the party or parties, which may include
background check or completion of a home study
conducted by a competent authority.
(2) Meeting the 2-year periods for the purposes of filing
an immediate relative petition on behalf of an adopted child.--
If a child is granted parole under paragraph (1), is
subsequently adopted by the parties who sought parole, and such
parties seek permanent immigration status for the child under
section 101(b)(1)(E) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)(E))--
(A) the 2-year period for legal custody of the
child shall begin to accrue on the effective date of a
grant of custody in the child's country of origin or
habitual residence or in the United States;
(B) the 2-year period for physical custody of the
child shall begin to accrue on the date on which the
party or parties seeking parole for the child begin
joint residence with the child, in the child's country
of origin or habitual residence or in the United
States; and
(C) the 2-year periods of joint residence and legal
custody may accrue within or outside the United States.
(i) Rulemaking.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, in
consultation with the Secretary of State and the Director of U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services, shall issue regulations to carry
out this section and the amendments made by this section.
TITLE II--ANNUAL REPORTING
SEC. 201. ANNUAL REPORT ON CHILDREN LIVING WITHOUT FAMILIES.
(a) In General.--Not later than September 30, 2014, and annually
thereafter, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Director
of the United States Agency for International Development and the
Secretary of State, 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--
(1) identifies the number of children living without
families; and
(2) describes the degree to which the various family
permanence solutions are being utilized.
(b) Content.--The report required under subsection (a) shall
include--
(1) a description of the world's unparented children,
including--
(A) a description and quantitative analysis of the
world's unparented children by country, identifying the
nationality of the children physically present in each
country and distinguishing among children who are
citizens of the country, noncitizen children lawfully
present in the country, and noncitizen children
unlawfully in the country, irrespective of a child's
particular immigration status; and
(B) available data about such children broken into
detailed categories and including--
(i) information on their nationality, age,
gender, and status;
(ii) whether they have a living parent or
parents and the status of those parents;
(iii) whether the unparented children are
considered abandoned, separated, relinquished,
or have some other status;
(iv) whether they are institutionalized or
homeless;
(v) information on how they are documented,
including through birth registries, orphanage
registries, United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees registration, or identity cards;
and
(vi) an assessment of their living
conditions based on indicators such as crude
mortality rate, malnutrition rate, or other
similar indicators;
(2) a review of the previous fiscal year's programming in
support of appropriate, protective, and permanent family care
solutions, including project descriptions for each project by
country, goals of each project, amount awarded for each
project, and evaluation of outcomes during the fiscal year;
(3) an action plan covering proposed programming and
activities for the next fiscal year in support of family
permanency solutions, including goals for each country in which
programming will occur, proposed allocations of resources by
country, types of projects proposed by country, amounts of
awards proposed for each project, and desired outcomes for each
country;
(4) a review of trends over the last five years, including
changes in the numbers and locations of unparented children and
the reasons for the changes, such as new refugee arrivals,
growing numbers of children abandoned at birth, and decreases
in number of children in institutions;
(5) an overall analysis of highest priority situations of
concern for unparented children, including analysis of whether
the children are in a location that provides a cooperative
environment for assistance programming and intercountry
adoptions;
(6) a description of how intercountry adoption and refugee
resettlement for unparented refugee children has played a role
in each country over the last 10 years and the current status
of such programs, including analysis of the situation with
respect to the Hague Adoption Convention and how the Convention
has affected intercountry adoptions from the country;
(7) aggregate reporting on intercountry adoptions to the
United States, distinguishing between Convention adoptions and
non-Convention adoptions and including--
(A) the total number of intercountry adoptions
involving immigration to the United States by year over
the past 10 years and projected data for the next
fiscal year, distinguishing between Convention and non-
Convention adoptions, including aggregate data on the
country from which each child emigrated, the State of
residence of the adoptive parents, and the country in
which the adoption was finalized;
(B) the number of intercountry adoptions involving
emigration from the United States, regardless of
whether the adoption occurred under the Convention and
distinguishing between Convention and non-Convention
adoptions, including the country to which each child
immigrated and the State from which each child
emigrated;
(C) the average time required for completion of the
immigration portion of intercountry adoptions,
distinguishing between Convention and non-Convention
adoptions, calculated as the time between filing of the
initial immigration-related adoption petition on behalf
of a child and the approval of that child's immigrant
visa; and
(D) the range of adoption fees charged in
connection with intercountry adoptions involving
immigration to the United States and the median of such
fees; and
(8) such additional information as may be requested by
members of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and
the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives.
(c) Consultations.--To the extent possible, designated
representatives of the President should meet with members of the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives not later than 2 weeks
before the Secretary of State submits the report required under
subsection (a) to discuss the information described in subsection (b).
The substance of such consultations should be printed in the
Congressional Record.
(d) Repeal.--Section 104 of the Intercountry Adoption Act (42
U.S.C. 14914) is repealed.
SEC. 202. COUNTRY REPORTS REGARDING SEVERE FORMS OF TRAFFICKING.
Section 502B(h)(1)(B) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2304(h)(1)(B)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(x) What steps the government of that country has
taken to reduce the number of children living outside
of family care.
``(xi) What steps the government of that country
has taken to reduce the number of children abused,
neglected, or exploited.''.
TITLE III--PROMOTION OF A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH FOR CHILDREN IN
ADVERSITY
SEC. 301. ESTABLISHMENT OF A USAID CENTER FOR EXCELLENCE FOR CHILDREN
IN ADVERSITY.
(a) Center for Excellence for Children in Adversity.--
(1) In general.--There is established within the United
States Agency for International Development a Center of
Excellence on Children in Adversity.
(2) Coordinator.--The Center for Excellence shall be headed
by the Children in Adversity Coordinator, who shall be
appointed by the Secretary of State, in consultation with the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development.
(3) Objectives.--The Center of Excellence on Children in
Adversity shall work in consultation with the Assistant
Secretary of the Bureau of Vulnerable Children and Family
Security of the Department of State to promote greater United
States Government coherence and accountability for whole-of-
government assistance to children in adversity and ensure that
United States foreign assistance and development programs are
focused on the following objectives:
(A) The sound development of children through the
integration of health, nutrition, and family support.
(B) Supporting and enabling families to care for
children through family preservation, reunification,
and support of kinship care, guardianship, and domestic
and intercountry adoption.
(C) Facilitating the efforts of national
governments and partners to prevent, respond to, and
protect children from violence, exploitation, abuse,
and neglect.
(4) Authorities.--The Children in Adversity Coordinator,
acting through nongovernmental organizations (including faith-
based and community-based organizations), partner country
finance, health, education, social welfare, and other
ministries, and relevant executive branch agencies, is
authorized to--
(A) operate internationally to carry out the
programs and activities outlined in the Action Plan for
Children in Adversity;
(B) provide grants to, and enter into contracts and
cooperative agreements with, nongovernmental
organizations (including faith-based organizations) to
carry out this section; and
(C) transfer and allocate United States Agency for
International Development funds that have been
appropriated for the purposes described in
subparagraphs (A) and (B).
(5) Functions.--In consultation with the Assistant
Secretary of the Bureau of Children's Affairs in the Department
of State, the Children in Adversity Coordinator shall, through
the Center of Excellence--
(A) facilitate program and policy coordination
related to the goals and objectives of the Action Plan
for Children in Adversity among relevant executive
branch agencies and nongovernmental organizations by
auditing, monitoring, and evaluating such programs;
(B) ensure that each relevant executive branch
agency undertakes responsibility for activities related
primarily to those areas in which the agency has the
greatest expertise, technical capability, and potential
for success;
(C) coordinate relevant executive branch agency
activities related to the Action Plan for Children in
Adversity;
(D) establish due diligence criteria for all
recipients of funds appropriated by the United States
Government for assistance to children in adversity; and
(E) oversee the administration of the priority
country demonstration program as described in
subsection (f).
(6) Assistance.--The President is authorized to provide
assistance, including through international, nongovernmental,
or faith-based organizations, for programs in developing
countries--
(A) to increase the percentage of children
achieving age-appropriate growth and developmental
milestones;
(B) to increase the percentage of children under 5
years of age demonstrating secure attachment with a
primary caregiver;
(C) to integrate health, nutrition, developmental
protections, and caregiving support for vulnerable
children and their families;
(D) to increase the percentage of children living
within appropriate, permanent, safe, and protective
family care, through family preservation and
reunification, and through kinship care, guardianship,
and domestic and intercountry adoption, and to reduce
the percentage of children living in institutions;
(E) to increase the percentage of families
providing adequate nutrition, education opportunities,
care, and protection for their children;
(F) to reduce the percentage of children who
experience violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect;
(G) to increase the percentage of children who
receive appropriate care and protection after
experiencing violence, exploitation, abuse, or neglect;
(H) to increase public awareness that violence,
exploitation, abuse, or neglect of children as
unacceptable;
(I) to increase the percentage of countries that
ratify and implement relevant conventions or formally
adopt internationally recognized principles, standards,
and procedural safeguards to protect children from
violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect;
(J) to increase the percentage of children who have
legal documentation and birth registration;
(K) to increase the number of laws, policies, and
practices in partner states that promote and strengthen
child welfare and protection at household, community,
and national levels is increased;
(L) to increase national and local human resource
capacity for child welfare and protection;
(M) to increase the number of national and
community systems effectively monitoring child welfare
and protection concerns, programs, and outcomes;
(N) to encourage and assist in the collection of
data related to children outside of family care;
(O) to increase the number of prevalence studies
that measure and track trends in children's exposure to
violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect;
(P) to increase the number of published outcome/
impact evaluations on interventions to assist children
outside of family care or minimize exposure to
violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect that can be
generalized to larger target groups;
(Q) to increase the number of national governments
and universities leading rigorous data collection,
research, and monitoring and evaluation studies related
to child welfare and protection; and
(R) to increase the number of United States
Government-supported interventions for children in
adversity designed using data from rigorous research
methodologies.
(b) Monitoring and Evaluation.--
(1) Establishment of system.--To maximize the sustainable
development impact of assistance authorized under this section,
and pursuant to the primary objective of the Action Plan for
Children in Adversity, the President shall establish a
monitoring and evaluation system to measure the effectiveness
of United States assistance to children in adversity.
(2) Requirements.--The monitoring and evaluation system
shall--
(A) be aligned with the objectives and outcomes
outlined by the Action Plan for Children in Adversity;
and
(B) provide a basis for recommendations for
adjustments to the assistance provided under this part.
(c) Priority Country Demonstration Program.--
(1) In general.--The Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development, in consultation with the
Secretary of State, shall establish and carry out a priority
country demonstration program implementing the Action Plan for
Children in Adversity over a period of 5 years in at least 6
countries.
(2) Purposes.--The purposes of the programs established
under subparagraph (1) shall be--
(A) to demonstrate how research-based policies and
programs to achieve the core objectives of the Action
Plan for Children in Adversity can be successfully
implemented on a national level;
(B) to establish model programs that, once tested
for efficacy, will be available for replication on a
global basis;
(C) to identify a comprehensive series of
interventions which result in meeting the outcomes and
objectives of the Action Plan for Children in
Adversity; and
(D) to determine which in-country factors advance
or negate the successful achievement of the outcomes
and objectives of the action plan.
(3) Criteria for selection of countries.--The criteria for
selection of countries shall include--
(A) magnitude and severity of the problems to be
addressed;
(B) partner country interest in participation in a
comprehensive implementation of all 3 goals of the
Action Plan for Children in Adversity, including, with
respect to the second objective (Families First),
expressed willingness to support the full complement of
permanence solutions (including family preservation,
reunification, kinship care, guardianship, and domestic
and intercountry adoption), and commitments to support
and allow monitoring and evaluation, as well as
transparent reporting;
(C) potential to leverage bilateral, multilateral,
and foundation investments;
(D) potential to leverage other United States
development investments;
(E) regional diversity to maximize learning
opportunities; and
(F) level of economic development, with a focus on
low- and middle-income countries.
(d) Repeals.--
(1) Assistance to orphans and other vulnerable children.--
Section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.
2152f) is repealed.
(2) Annual report.--Section 5 of the Assistance for Orphans
and Other Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act of
2005 (22 U.S.C. 2152g) is hereby repealed.
TITLE IV--FUNDING AND EFFECTIVE DATES
SEC. 401. FUNDING.
(a) Prohibition on New Appropriations.--No additional funds are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act and the amendments
made by this Act. This Act and such amendments shall be carried out
using amounts otherwise available for such purposes, including
unobligated balances of funds made available to carry out activities
under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.).
(b) Limitations on Use of Funds.--
(1) United nations.--No funds obligated in accordance with
this Act may be awarded to the United Nations or any of its
subsidiaries.
(2) Administrative expenses.--Not more than two percent of
the amounts described in subsection (a) may be used for
administrative expenses.
(c) Focus of Assistance.--Assistance provided under this Act--
(1) shall focus primarily on promoting international child
welfare, as set forth in this Act, for all children in
adversity; and
(2) may be provided on such terms and conditions as the
President determines appropriate.
SEC. 402. EFFECTIVE DATES.
(a) Effective Upon Enactment.--Sections 104 and 202 and title III
and IV shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b) Delayed Effective Date.--Sections 101, 102, 103, and 201 shall
take effect on the date that is 1 year after the date of the enactment
of this Act.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security.
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