At a Glance: The Hague Impact
The Hague is expected to bring many changes to the international adoption community, including:
+ U.S. will not be able to conduct adoptions with Guatemala at year's end, unless that country implements Hague provisions.
+ Families with non-traditional structures or with certain medical conditions will be shut out of Hague countries with strict requirements. Hague will require agencies provide full disclosure of prospective family backgrounds.
+ Training hours will increase to 10 hours and more specific training will be required.
+ Fee structures will become standard, allowing families to compare agencies.
+ Agency-to-agency relationships will change to a formal structure with a primary provider "overseeing'' other agencies. Parents must make sure the agencies they want will work together.
+ Overall adoption cost may increase, if agencies pass on their Hague accreditation
Massachusetts Agencies: Moving Towards Accreditation
Currently, 17 agencies in Massachusetts have applied for accreditation from the Council on Accreditation. These agencies are in various stages of this process, which calls for the submission of an application, documentation review, assessments, a site visit, additional reviews, and, finally, accreditation.
For many agencies, the process is formalizing procedures and policies that they already use. Nonetheless, documenting and formalizing these processes is time consuming. What's more, it is not cheap. The cost to apply for accreditation is at least several thousand dollars and more for the larger agencies. That doesn't include any additional staff that may be required to bring an agency up to Hague standards.
Wide Horizons for Children in Waltham has submitted its paperwork and is expecting to receive a site visit from accreditation representatives in August, said Sarah Mraz, director of programs. Mraz estimates the process will cost about $20,000 when the application fees are combined with manpower costs.
Mraz described the process as "a lot of work,'' even for a larger agency like Wide Horizons. But, Mraz said the Council is approaching this process with the plan to help bring agencies up to standard, not weed out agencies.
"Their plan is to leave no one behind,'' Mraz added.
Jayne Schmidt, Hague accreditation project manager at the Council on Accreditation, said the process "is designed to give agencies technical assistance and support. Our mission is to partner with them.''
In fact, several smaller agencies are applying for a temporary accreditation status, which will give them more time to complete all the necessary steps to become Hague compliant. The Florence Crittenton League of Lowell, for example, is seeking temporary status.
"This will give me another year,'' said Ilze Keegan, executive director. "A large agency can delegate. Here, it's me and my office manager."
For more information on the accreditation process, go to www.coanet.org
- Rose Cafasso
