[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3678 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3678
To modify the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 to provide a limited
accreditation option for performing certain adoption services.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 15, 2026
Mr. Wicker (for himself and Ms. Klobuchar) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign
Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To modify the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 to provide a limited
accreditation option for performing certain adoption services.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Voluntary Limited Accreditation for
Adoption Services Act''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) prospective adoptive parents should receive high-
quality services from experienced providers for their child
background studies, home studies, and post-placement reports;
(2) the number of accredited adoption service providers is
declining in the United States, leading to fewer options of
accredited service providers;
(3) some foreign countries, primary providers and many
adoptive families have a preference that only accredited
adoption service providers conduct intercountry home studies
and post-placement/post-adoption reporting, if required;
(4) accreditation and approval helps to ensure compliance
with standards and requires accrediting entities to provide
oversight, enforcement, and data and report collection for
accredited and approved adoption service providers; and
(5) United States intercountry adoption practices can be
enhanced by supporting an accreditation system that includes a
new, limited accreditation option for the provision of a
background study on a child, a home study on the prospective
adoptive parents, or a post-placement report, in addition to
current, comprehensive, mandatory accreditation for primary
providers.
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION ACT OF 2000.
(a) Definitions.--Section 3 of the Intercountry Adoption Act of
2000 (42 U.S.C. 14902) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``or limited
accreditation'' after ``adoption services'';
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (13) through (17) as
paragraphs (14) through (18), respectively; and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (12) the following:
``(13) Limited accreditation.--The term `limited
accreditation' means voluntary accreditation that is limited to
the provision of 1 or more of the following services:
``(A) Performing a background study on a child in
an outgoing case and reporting on such a study.
``(B) Performing a home study on a prospective
adoptive parent in an incoming case and reporting on
such a study.
``(C) Monitoring a case after a child has been
placed with prospective adoptive parents until final
adoption, including preparing post-placement
reports.''.
(b) Accreditation and Approval.--
(1) In general.--Section 202(b)(1) of the Intercountry
Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14922(b)(1)) is amended to read
as follows:
``(1) Accreditation and approval.--Accreditation or limited
accreditation of agencies, and approval of persons, to provide
adoption services in the United States in cases subject to the
Convention or Intercountry Adoption Universal Accreditation Act
of 2012 (Public Law 112-276). At the time of initial or renewal
of accreditation or limited accreditation of agencies, and
approval of persons, the applying entity shall indicate whether
the entity seeks accreditation as--
``(A) an accredited agency or approved person; or
``(B) an agency with a limited accreditation.''.
(2) Exemption from paperwork reduction act.--Section 503(c)
of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14953(c))
is amended by inserting ``202(b)(1),'' after ``104,''.
SEC. 4. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.
(a) In General.--Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this
Act may be construed to require that intercountry adoption service
providers have a limited accreditation (as defined in section 3(13) of
the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, as amended by section 3(a)(3)),
to provide a home study on prospective adoptive parents pursuing an
intercountry adoption.
(b) Definition of Adoption Service.--Nothing in this Act or in the
amendments made by this Act may be construed to modify the definition
of ``adoption service'' under section 3 of the Intercountry Adoption
Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14902).
SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act shall take effect on the date that is 90 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
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