Senators propose removing barriers to children finding loving homes.
In a bipartisan effort, U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced the “Voluntary Specialized Accreditation for Background Studies and Home Studies Act.” The legislation would help to remove barriers to intercountry adoption by increasing flexibility for adoption service providers and providing a new track for accreditation for agencies providing specialized services.
This bill would enable agencies that only offer “home studies” or “background studies” to be accredited in their area of expertise without having to be certified in other areas. This would allow specialized adoption agencies to continue operating and would lower the cost and time needed to stay accredited.
Senator Wicker said there are countless children around the world with no parents or family to care for them, yet Americans who want to adopt these children are finding fewer adoption agencies available to help.
“This bipartisan bill would lower barriers for intercountry adoption, making it easier to welcome children into loving families,” Wicker stated.
Senator Klobuchar said local adoption agencies help children around the world find the loving homes they deserve, but too often, families struggle to find accredited adoption service providers to assist them during the adoption process
“By creating a specialized accreditation for small and medium-size providers that offer background and home studies, our bipartisan legislation ensures that families have trusted local agencies to help them navigate the adoption process and give children safe, stable homes,” Klobuchar continued.
Click here to read the full text of the bill.
Anne Summerhays
