U.S. Representative Christopher Smith (R-Nj) Holds a Hearing On International Adoptions

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U.S. Representative Christopher Smith (R-Nj) Holds a Hearing On International Adoptions

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA, GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS HOLDS A HEARING ON INTERNATIONAL ADOPTIONS

NOVEMBER 14, 2006

SPEAKERS: U.S. REPRESENTATIVE CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH (R-NJ) CHAIRMAN U.S. REPRESENTATIVE EDWARD R. ROYCE (R-CA) VICE CHAIRMAN U.S. REPRESENTATIVE TOM TANCREDO (R-CO) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE JEFF FLAKE (R-AZ)) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE MARK GREEN (R-WI) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE JOHN BOOZMAN (R-AR) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE JEFF FORTENBERRY (R-NE) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE HENRY J. HYDE (R-IL) EX OFFICIO

U.S. REPRESENTATIVE DONALD M. PAYNE (D-NJ) RANKING MEMBER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE BARBARA LEE (D-CA) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE BETTY MCCOLLUM (D-MN) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE BRAD SHERMAN (D-CA) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE GREGORY W. MEEKS (D-NY) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE DIANE E. WATSON (D-CA) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE TOM LANTOS (D-CA) EX OFFICIO

WITNESSES: CATHERINE BARRY, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE, OVERSEAS CITIZENS SERVICE

LORI SCIALABBA, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, REFUGEE, ASYLUM AND INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS DIRECTORATE, U.S. CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES

RICHARD KLARBERG, PRESIDENT AND CEO, COUNCIL ON ACCREDITATION

DANA ANDREWS, LICENSING ADMINISTRATOR, DIVISION OF CHILD CARE, COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES

THOMAS DIFILIPO, PRESIDENT AND CEO, JOIN COUNCIL ON INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN'S SERVICES

THOMAS ATWOOD, PRESIDENT AND CEO, NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR ADOPTION

[*] SMITH: We'll begin momentarily. We're waiting for Ranking Member Payne to join us, and then we'll gavel this hearing to an opening. And I thank you for your patience.

Thank you for joining us. And we will be joined again, momentarily, by Ranking Member Payne.

This hearing is held in November to coincide with National Adoption Month. Unlike the usual celebrations for this month that focus the building of a family through adoption or on the child who thrives in a loving, adoptive family, this hearing will focus on the complex issues facing the United States as we moved to ratify it the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation and Respect of Intercountry Adoption.

Adoption, as I think we all believe in, and I certainly believe that passionately, remains one of the most compassionate, humane, courageous, and loving options available to a child who has been orphaned or abandoned.

Due to a variety of reasons, including the fact that unwed mothers are increasingly keeping and raising their children, and because more than 1.3 million unborn children in the United States are aborted every year -- more than 47 million children have been aborted since 1973 -- the number of domestic children eligible for adoption has declined dramatically, prompting many prospective adoptive parents to look overseas.

Thus, over the last decade, the number of foreign children adopted annually by American citizens has doubled from 11,340 to 22,739. It is worth noting parenthetically that in the United States, there are more children adopted from abroad than all of the other countries of the world combined.

In 1993 at the seventh session of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, 66 countries came to a Convention to ensure that intercountry adoptions are made in the best interest of the child and with respect to his or her fundamental rights and to prevent the abduction -- the sale of or traffic of children.

The Convention, which entered into force in 1995, contains 48 articles and it seeks to ensure that the child is, indeed, adoptable; that an intercountry adoption is in the child's best interest; that prospective adoptive parents are eligible and suited to adopt, and that competent transparent mechanisms including a central authority are in place in each country.

The Convention and the United States implementing legislation -- The Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, or the IAA -- makes the child's best interest the paramount concern of the adoption proceedings. In fact, the first statement in the preamble of the Convention calls for recognizing that the child, for the full and harmonious development of his or her personality, should grow up in a family environment in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding.

The Convention also provides safeguards for birth parents and the prospective adoptive parents. The Convention is very clear that birth parents must not be induced by payment or compensation of any kind. In additi...

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