The Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-Country Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention) is an international agreement to safeguard intercountry adoptions. Concluded on May 29, 1993 in The Hague,the Netherlands, the Convention establishes international standards of practices for intercountry adoptions. The United States signed the Convention in 1994, and the Convention entered into force for the United States in April 2008. If you adopt from a country that is party to the Convention (Convention countries), your adoption has additional protections as well as some added requirements.

One of the most important protections is that your adoption agency or service provider must be accredited to conduct intercountry adoptions. The standards for accreditation ensure that your agency is qualified to provide services.

The Department of State has designated two accrediting entities to performthe accreditation functions: (1) the Council on Accreditation and (2) the Colorado Department of Human Services.

An important new Convention requirement for you is that adoptive parents must participate in at least ten hours of pre-adoption training before traveling overseas to complete an adoption. Under the Convention, there is greater transparency in the adoption process, including written procedures on fees and transmission of medical records for the child.