PAS :: COA ACCREDITATION

PAUQUETTE ADOPTION SERVICES PHONE: 608-742-8004 FAX: 608-742-7937 MAIL: 315 CONANT ST. P.O. Box 162 PORTAGE, WI 53901 EMAIL: info@pauquetteadoption.org

COA - Hague Accreditation

Pauquette Adoption Services is proud to announce
Two-Year Temporary Hague Accreditation.

The Council on Accreditation (COA) has granted Pauquette Adoption Services' application for Two-Year Temporary Hague Accreditation pursuant to the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (IAA). This achievement of Hague Accreditation demonstrates Pauquette Adoption Services commitment to providing ethical and professional services to children and families both in the United States and abroad.

The Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, a multilateral treaty signed by the U.S., requires international adoption service providers to be accredited, supported and monitored. Hague regulations establish uniform requirements and ensure sound ethical practices designed to protect children, birthparents and adoptive parents from the vagaries of a complicated process.

To learn more about the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, go to http://travel.state.gov/pdf/JCICS_fact_sheet.pdf.

May 13, 2008

To: Hague Accredited/Approved adoption service providers
From: Deborah Waterman, COA Interim Hague Project Manager
Re: Explanation of the Staggering of Hague Accreditation/Approval cycles

Recently, the Council on Accreditation (COA) issued Hague accredited/approved adoption service providers a hard copy notification letter, a certificate of accreditation/approval and a sample press release. Both the notification letter and the certificate cited the expiration date of the adoption service provider's accreditation/approval cycle. What follows is an explanation of the staggered cycles as approved by the Department of State:

22 CFR Section 96.60(b) permits accrediting entities to accredit or approve adoption service providers (ASPs) who applied by the transitional application deadline for initial terms ranging from 3 to 5 years.

The Staggered Renewal System will apply to all agencies and persons who submitted an application to COA for accreditation or approval by the transitional application deadline, November 17, 2007. An agency or person that applied on November 18, 2007 or later will be eligible only for an initial accreditation or approval period of 4 years.

The Staggered Renewal System does not apply to adoption service providers that applied for temporary accreditation. When a temporarily accredited provider achieves full accreditation, the expiration date of its full accreditation will be 4 years from the last day of the month in which it achieved accreditation.

COA's proposed Staggered Renewal System focuses on the performance of adoption service providers. The system is designed to ensure that:

providers that are granted an initial accreditation or approval period of more than 4 years have demonstrated a higher level of overall compliance with the standards, and
providers that are granted an initial accreditation or approval period for less than 4 years have demonstrated a lower level of overall compliance with the standards

A performance based-system promotes a higher level of overall compliance, and allows COA to initiate the renewal process earlier for providers that demonstrated lower overall performance.

Any length of accreditation/approval does not guarantee that a provider will maintain its accreditation/approval for the entire period. A provider must remain in substantial compliance with applicable standards and comply with COA's ongoing monitoring and oversight activities in order to maintain its accreditation or approval.

Each adoption service provider will be notified and will begin its renewal cycle one year in advance of the expiration date of its initial accreditation or approval. At that time, a provider will need to submit an application for renewal, enter into a new accreditation/approval agreement, and pay the accreditation/approval fee, in accordance with COA's Hague Accreditation/Approval Policies and Procedures Manual.