What Does Hague Mean?
01/03/2010
Brooke Randolph, LMHC
 We were so thankful to find out on Thanksgiving day that we had received our Hague Approval. It was no small feat, and we are very thankful for the hours of planning, preparation, and meetings our directors put in over several months to complete our application. Our approval means that the Council on Accreditation (COA) as authorized by the U.S. Department of State, determined that MLJ Adoptions, Inc. is in substantial compliance with the Hague Convention Accreditation Standards and granted approval through November 2013.
The Hague Convention is an international treaty created to ensure that intercountry adoptions are in the best interests of children and to prevent abduction, exploitation, sale, or trafficking of children. In 1994 the United States signed this treaty and agreed to develop regulations and a monotoring process for adoption service providers in the U.S. that worked with agencies in countries that signed onto the Convention. We are proud to be the third agency in Indiana recognized by COA and certainly the youngest.
Congress passed the Intercountry Adoption Act (IAA) in October 2000, which serves as the implementing legislation for the Hague Convention treaty in United States. The IAA names the U.S. Department of State as the Central Authority for the United States and the federal agency responsible for implementing the Convention. The IAA requires agencies and persons providing adoption services in cases involving Convention countries to be accredited or approved. In July 2006 the U.S. Department of Stated named COA as the only national accreditor for adoption service providers under the Hague Convention.
As an approved agency, MLJ Adoptions, Inc. can provide adoption services, including home study and adoption preparation education, for adoptions in any Hague country. This is especially important for Indiana residents who choose to use an out of state agency. We are also looking into creating new adoption programs in Hague countries and hope to announce those programs in the next few months. The protection of children is extremely important to our the entire MLJ Adoptions team, and we are happy that has been recognized by COA. Be the first to comment on this item.
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