Section 8900.5 Of Chapter 4. Intercountry Adoptions From California Family Law Code >> Division 13. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 4.
8900.5
. As used in this chapter:
(a) "Accredited agency" means an agency that has been accredited
by an accrediting entity, in accordance with the standards in Subpart
F (commencing with Section 96.29) of Part 96 of Title 22 of the Code
of Federal Regulations, to provide adoption services in the United
States in cases subject to the convention. Accredited agency does not
include a temporarily accredited agency.
(b) "Adoption service" means any of the following services:
(1) Identifying a child for adoption and arranging an adoption.
(2) Securing the necessary consent to termination of parental
rights and to adoption.
(3) Performing a background study on a child or a home study on
any prospective adoptive parent, and reporting on the study.
(4) Making nonjudicial determinations of the best interests of a
child and the appropriateness of an adoptive placement for the child.
(5) Monitoring a case after a child has been placed with any
prospective adoptive parent until final adoption.
(6) If necessary because of a disruption before final adoption,
assuming custody and providing or facilitating child care or any
other social service pending an alternative placement.
(c) "Central authority" means the entity designated under
paragraph (1) of Article 6 of the convention by a convention country.
The United States Department of State is designated as the United
States Central Authority pursuant to the federal Intercountry
Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 14911).
(d) "Convention" means the Hague Convention on Protection of
Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, May
29, 1993.
(e) "Convention adoption" means the adoption of a child resident
in a convention country by a United States citizen, or an adoption of
a child resident in the United States by an individual or
individuals residing in a convention country, if, in connection with
the adoption, the child has moved or will move between the United
States and the convention country.
(f) "Convention country" means a country that is party to the
convention and with which the convention is in force for the United
States.
(g) "Exempted provider" means a social work professional or
organization that performs a home study on any prospective adoptive
parent, or a child background study, or both, in the United States in
connection with a convention adoption, and who is not currently
providing and has not previously provided any other adoption service
in the case.
(h) "Hague adoption certificate" means a certificate issued by the
secretary in an outgoing case (where the child is emigrating from
the United States to another convention country) certifying that a
child has been adopted in the United States in accordance with the
convention and, except as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 97.4
of Title 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the Intercountry
Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 14901 et seq.; the IAA).
(i) "Hague custody declaration" means a declaration issued by the
secretary in an outgoing case (where the child is emigrating from the
United States to another convention country) declaring that custody
of a child for purposes of adoption has been granted in the United
States in accordance with the convention and, except as provided in
subdivision (b) of Section 97.4 of Title 22 of the Code of Federal
Regulations, the IAA.
(j) "Legal service" means any service, other than those defined in
this section as an adoption service, that relates to the provision
of legal advice and information or to the drafting of legal
instruments. Legal service includes, but is not limited to, any of
the following services:
(1) Drafting contracts, powers of attorney, and other legal
instruments.
(2) Providing advice and counsel to an adoptive parent on
completing forms for the State Department of Health Care Services or
the United States Department of State.
(3) Providing advice and counsel to accredited agencies,
temporarily accredited agencies, approved persons, or prospective
adoptive parents on how to comply with the convention, the IAA, and
any regulations implementing the IAA.
(k) "Primary provider" means the accredited agency that is
identified pursuant to Section 96.14 of Title 22 of the Code of
Federal Regulations as responsible for ensuring that all adoption
services are provided and responsible for supervising any supervised
providers when used.
(l) "Public domestic authority" means an authority operated by a
state, local, or tribal government.
(m) "Secretary" means the United States Secretary of State, and
includes any official of the United States Department of State
exercising the authority of the Secretary of State under the
convention, the IAA, or any regulations implementing the IAA,
pursuant to a delegation of authority.
(n) "Supervised provider" means any agency, person, or other
nongovernmental entity that is providing any adoption service in a
convention adoption under the supervision and responsibility of an
accredited agency that is acting as the primary provider in the case.