[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2475 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2475

     To realign structures and reallocate resources in the Federal 
Government, in keeping with the core American belief that families are 
  the best protection for children and the bedrock of any society, to 
  bolster United States diplomacy and assistance targeted at ensuring 
   that every child can grow up in a permanent, safe, nurturing, and 
 loving family, and to strengthen intercountry adoption to the United 
  States and around the world and ensure that it becomes a viable and 
fully developed option for providing families for children in need, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 17, 2014

Ms. Landrieu (for herself, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Burr, Mr. Casey, Mr. Cochran, 
    Mr. Coons, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. King, Mr. Kirk, Ms. 
   Klobuchar, Mr. Levin, Mr. Markey, Mrs. McCaskill, Mr. Pryor, Mr. 
   Sanders, Mr. Schumer, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Thune, Ms. 
 Warren, and Mr. Wicker) introduced the following bill; which was read 
        twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To realign structures and reallocate resources in the Federal 
Government, in keeping with the core American belief that families are 
  the best protection for children and the bedrock of any society, to 
  bolster United States diplomacy and assistance targeted at ensuring 
   that every child can grow up in a permanent, safe, nurturing, and 
 loving family, and to strengthen intercountry adoption to the United 
  States and around the world and ensure that it becomes a viable and 
fully developed option for providing families for children in need, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Children in 
Families First Act of 2014''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings; purposes.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
      TITLE I--REALIGNMENT OF CERTAIN INTERNATIONAL CHILD WELFARE 
                     RESPONSIBILITIES AND FUNCTIONS

Sec. 101. Establishment of the Office of Vulnerable Children and Family 
                            Security in the Department of State.
Sec. 102. Responsibilities of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 
                            for accreditation of adoption service 
                            providers.
Sec. 103. Transfer of functions and savings provisions.
Sec. 104. Responsibilities of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 
                            for adoption-related case processing.
                       TITLE II--ANNUAL REPORTING

Sec. 201. Annual report on children living without families.
Sec. 202. Country reports regarding severe forms of trafficking.
   TITLE III--PROMOTION OF A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH FOR CHILDREN IN 
                               ADVERSITY

Sec. 301. Establishment of a USAID Center for Excellence for Children 
                            in Adversity.
                 TITLE IV--FUNDING AND EFFECTIVE DATES

Sec. 401. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 402. Effective dates.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The people of the United States recognize and believe 
        that children must grow up in permanent, safe, and nurturing 
        families in order to develop and thrive.
            (2) Science proves that children, and particularly infants, 
        living in impersonal, socially deprived institutions suffer 
        lasting, and in many cases, irreversible damage, including--
                    (A) reduced brain activity and brain size;
                    (B) lower intelligence quotients;
                    (C) serious behavioral and emotional problems; and
                    (D) disturbed relationships with others.
            (3) Governments in other countries seek models that promote 
        the placement of children who are living outside family care in 
        permanent, safe, and nurturing families, rather than in foster 
        care or institutions; but many governments lack the resources 
        or infrastructure to adequately address this need.
            (4) Despite the good efforts of countless governments and 
        nongovernmental organizations, millions of children remain 
        uncounted and outside of the protection, nurturing care, 
        permanence, safety, and love of a family.
            (5) No reliable data currently exists to define and 
        document the number and needs of children in the world 
        currently living without families, but available evidence 
        demonstrates that there are millions of children in this 
        situation needing immediate help.
            (6) The December 2012 Action Plan for Children in Adversity 
        commits the United States Government to achieving a world in 
        which all children grow up within protective family care and 
        free from deprivation, exploitation, and danger. To effectively 
        and efficiently accomplish this goal, it is necessary to 
        realign the United States Government's current operational 
        system for assisting orphans and vulnerable children, and 
        processing intercountry adoptions.
            (7) Significant resources are already dedicated to 
        international assistance for orphans and vulnerable children, 
        and a relatively small portion of these resources can be 
        reallocated to achieve more timely, effective, nurturing, and 
        permanent familial solutions for children living without 
        families, resulting in fewer children worldwide living in 
        institutions or on the streets, more families preserved or 
        reunified, and increased domestic and international adoptions.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to support the core American value that families are 
        the bedrock of any society;
            (2) to protect the fundamental human right of all children 
        to grow up within the loving care of permanent, safe, and 
        nurturing families;
            (3) to address a critical gap in United States foreign 
        policy implementation by adjusting the Federal Government's 
        international policy and operational structures so that seeking 
        permanent families for children living without families 
        receives more prominence, focus, and resources (through the 
        reallocation of existing personnel and resources);
            (4) to harness the diplomatic and operational power of the 
        United States Government in the international sphere by helping 
        to identify and implement timely, permanent, safe, and 
        nurturing familial solutions for children living without 
        families, including refugee or stateless children, through 
        effective implementation of the 3 principal objectives of the 
        Action Plan on Children in Adversity;
            (5) to ensure that intercountry adoption by United States 
        citizens becomes a viable and fully developed option for 
        creating permanent families for children who need them;
            (6) to protect against abuses of children, birth families, 
        and adoptive parents involved in intercountry adoptions, and to 
        ensure that such adoptions are in the individual child's best 
        interests; and
            (7) to harmonize and strengthen existing intercountry 
        adoption processes under United States law--
                    (A) by ensuring that the same set of procedures and 
                criteria govern suitability and eligibility 
                determinations for prospective adoptive parents seeking 
                to complete intercountry adoptions, whether or not the 
                child is from a foreign state that is a party to the 
                Hague Adoption Convention; and
                    (B) by aligning the definitions of eligible child 
                for Convention adoptions and non-Convention adoptions 
                to the maximum extent possible.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Action plan on children in adversity.--The term 
        ``Action Plan on Children in Adversity'' means the policy 
        document entitled ``United States Government Action Plan on 
        Children in Adversity: A Framework for International 
        Assistance: 2012-2017'', released on December 19, 2012, 
        including any subsequent amendments or revisions released by 
        the United States Government before the end of 2017.
            (2) Appropriate, protective, and permanent family care.--
        The term ``appropriate, protective, and permanent family care'' 
        means a nurturing, lifelong, commitment to a child by an adult, 
        or adults with parental roles and responsibilities that--
                    (A) provides physical and emotional support;
                    (B) provides the child with a sense of belonging; 
                and
                    (C) generally involves full legal recognition of 
                the child's status as child of the parents and of the 
                parents' rights and responsibilities regarding the 
                child.
            (3) Central authority.--The term ``central authority'' has 
        the meaning given the term in section 3 of the Intercountry 
        Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14902).
            (4) Children in adversity.--The term ``children in 
        adversity'' means children and youth--
                    (A) who are younger than 18 years of age;
                    (B) who live inside or outside of family care; and
                    (C) whose safety, well-being, growth, and 
                development are at significant risk due to inadequate 
                care, protection, or access to essential services.
            (5) Convention adoption.--The term ``Convention adoption'' 
        has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the Intercountry 
        Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14902).
            (6) Convention country.--The term ``Convention country'' 
        has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the Intercountry 
        Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14902) and for which the Hague 
        Adoption Convention has entered into force.
            (7) Family.--The term ``family'' means a collective body of 
        persons, consisting of at least 1 child and 1 parent, legal 
        custodian, or adult relative, in which--
                    (A) the persons reside in the same house or living 
                unit; or
                    (B) the parent, legal custodian, or adult relative 
                has a legal responsibility by blood, marriage, or legal 
                order to support or care for the child.
            (8) Guardianship.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``guardianship'' means a 
                permanent legal relationship between an adult and a 
                child, in which the adult is lawfully invested with the 
                power, and charged with the duty, of taking care of the 
                child.
                    (B) Permanent guardianship.--While some forms of 
                guardianship are not truly permanent, the form of 
                guardianship referred to and supported under this Act 
                is permanent guardianship.
                    (C) Kefala order.--A Kefala order issued by a 
                country that follows traditional Islamic law does not 
                qualify as an adoption under United States law, but may 
                be a form of guardianship in some circumstances.
                    (D) Family-like group homes.--Individual parent-
                child relationships in a small, family-like group home 
                in which caretaking is provided only by 1 or more 
                unpaid caretakers might, in some circumstances, qualify 
                as a guardianship if legalized in that form.
                    (E) Paid guardianship.--The term ``guardianship'' 
                does not include a paid guardianship, although an 
                exception may be appropriate in cases involving 
                children with disabilities.
            (9) Habitual residence determination.--The term ``habitual 
        residence determination'' means a factual determination of 
        where a prospective adoptive parent (or parents) resides and 
        where the child resides for purposes of an intercountry 
        adoption case.
            (10) Hague adoption convention.--The term ``Hague Adoption 
        Convention'' means the Convention of Protection of Children and 
        Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, concluded at 
        The Hague May 29, 1993.
            (11) Institutional care.--The term ``institutional care'' 
        means care provided in any nonfamily-based group setting, 
        including--
                    (A) orphanages;
                    (B) transit or interim care centers;
                    (C) children's homes;
                    (D) children's villages or cottage complexes; and
                    (E) boarding schools used primarily for care 
                purposes as an alternative to a children's home.
            (12) Kinship care.--The term ``kinship care''--
                    (A) means the full-time care, nurturing, and 
                protection of children by relatives, members of their 
                tribes or clans, godparents, stepparents, or any adult 
                who has a kinship bond with a child, if such persons 
                have the capacity and commitment to function as true 
                parents for the child on a permanent basis; and
                    (B) does not include paid kinship foster care, 
                except in the case of children with disabilities.
            (13) Non-convention adoption.--The term ``non-Convention 
        adoption'' means--
                    (A) an adoption by United States parents of a child 
                from a non-Convention country in accordance with 
                subparagraph (F) of section 101(b)(1) of the 
                Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1));
                    (B) an adoption by United States parents of a child 
                under the laws of the child's country of origin 
                (generally when the parents are living in the child's 
                country of origin and therefore able legally to 
                complete a domestic adoption); or
                    (C) in certain circumstances (generally with 
                respect to relative adoptions or adoptions by dual 
                national parents), an adoption by United States parents 
                of a child from a Convention country if that country 
                allows legal and valid adoptions to take place outside 
                the scope of the Convention.
            (14) Non-convention country.--The term ``non-Convention 
        country'' means a country in which the Hague Adoption 
        Convention has not entered into force, regardless of whether or 
        not that country has signed the Convention.
            (15) Unparented children.--The term ``unparented children'' 
        means children lacking the legal, permanent, safe, and 
        nurturing care of a parental figure or figures, either inside 
        their country of origin, in the country of their habitual 
        residence, or elsewhere, regardless of their lawful or unlawful 
        immigration status in their current country of residence.

      TITLE I--REALIGNMENT OF CERTAIN INTERNATIONAL CHILD WELFARE 
                     RESPONSIBILITIES AND FUNCTIONS

SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF VULNERABLE CHILDREN AND FAMILY 
              SECURITY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established within the Department of 
State the Office of Vulnerable Children and Family Security (referred 
to in this Act as the ``VCFS''), which shall be located in the 
Secretariat for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights and shall 
promote and support the following activities:
            (1) The development and implementation in foreign countries 
        of child welfare laws, regulations, policies, best practices, 
        and procedures in keeping with the goals articulated in the 
        Action Plan for Children in Adversity, including--
                    (A) the sound development of children through the 
                integration of health, nutrition, and family support;
                    (B) supporting and enabling families to care for 
                children through family preservation, reunification, 
                and support of kinship care, guardianship, and domestic 
                and intercountry adoption; and
                    (C) facilitating the efforts of national 
                governments and partners to prevent, respond to, and 
                protect children from violence, exploitation, abuse, 
                and neglect.
            (2) Addressing the gap in United States Government 
        diplomacy, policy, and operations with respect to promoting 
        appropriate, protective, and permanent family care for children 
        living without families by leading the development and 
        implementation of policies that will ensure the timely 
        provision of appropriate, protective, and permanent family care 
        for children living without families, including refugee and 
        stateless children, through the full continuum of permanence 
        solutions, including family preservation and reunification, 
        kinship care, guardianship, and domestic and intercountry 
        adoption.
    (b) Ambassador-at-Large.--
            (1) Appointment.--The VCFS shall be headed by an 
        Ambassador-at-Large, who shall be appointed by the President by 
        and with the consent of the Senate.
            (2) Qualifications.--The Ambassador-at-Large shall--
                    (A) have experience in the development of policies 
                and systems and the implementation of programs that 
                promote the goals of the Action Plan for Children in 
                Adversity;
                    (B) be knowledgeable of international child 
                welfare, family permanence, and family creation through 
                domestic and intercountry adoption; and
                    (C) be committed to developing an integrated United 
                States Government approach to international child 
                welfare that places equal emphasis on--
                            (i) early childhood survival and 
                        development;
                            (ii) family permanence; and
                            (iii) protection from abuse and 
                        exploitation.
            (3) Authority.--The Ambassador-at-Large shall report to the 
        Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human 
        Rights.
    (c) Functions.--
            (1) Advisory.--The Ambassador-at-Large shall serve as a 
        primary advisor to the Secretary of State and the President in 
        all matters related to vulnerable children and family security 
        in foreign countries.
            (2) Diplomatic representation.--Subject to the direction of 
        the President and the Secretary of State, and in consultation 
        and coordination with the Senior Coordinator for Children in 
        Adversity of the United States Agency for International 
        Development, and the Secretary of Homeland Security, the 
        Ambassador-at-Large shall represent the United States in 
        matters relevant to international child welfare, family 
        preservation and reunification, and provision of permanent, 
        safe parental care through kinship, domestic and intercountry 
        adoption in--
                    (A) contacts with foreign governments, 
                nongovernmental organizations, intergovernmental 
                agencies, and specialized agencies of the United 
                Nations and other international organizations of which 
                the United States is a member;
                    (B) multilateral conferences and meetings relevant 
                to family preservation, reunification, and creating 
                appropriate, protective, and permanent care for 
                unparented children; and
                    (C) fulfillment of the diplomatic responsibilities 
                designated to the central authority under title I of 
                the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14911 
                et seq.), as amended by this Act.
            (3) Policy development with respect to permanence for 
        unparented children.--
                    (A) In general.--The Ambassador-at-Large shall--
                            (i) develop and advocate for policies and 
                        practices to ensure that children in foreign 
                        countries who are living without families find 
                        appropriate, protective, and permanent family 
                        care which is in the best interest of each 
                        child;
                            (ii) give consideration to family 
                        preservation and reunification, kinship care, 
                        guardianship, and domestic and intercountry 
                        adoption; and
                            (iii) seek to develop and implement 
                        policies that lead to the use of all options 
                        for providing appropriate, protective, and 
                        permanent family care to children living 
                        without families as quickly as possible.
                    (B) Best interest determination.--In carrying out 
                subparagraph (A), the Ambassador-at-Large shall give 
                preference to options that optimize the best interests 
                of children, including options which provide children 
                with fully protected legal status as children and 
                parents with full legal status as parents, including 
                full parental rights and responsibilities.
                    (C) Subsidiarity.--
                            (i) In general.--All options for providing 
                        appropriate, protective, and permanent family 
                        care to children living without families must 
                        be considered concurrently and permanent 
                        solutions must be put in place as quickly as 
                        possible. Solutions include family preservation 
                        and reunification, kinship care, guardianship, 
                        domestic and intercountry adoption, and other 
                        culturally acceptable forms of care that will 
                        result in appropriate, protective, and 
                        permanent family care. Preference should be 
                        given to options that optimize the child's best 
                        interests, which generally means options which 
                        provide children with fully protected legal 
                        status and parents with full legal status as 
                        parents, including full parental rights and 
                        responsibilities. The principle of 
                        subsidiarity, which gives preference to in-
                        country solutions, should be implemented within 
                        the context of a concurrent planning strategy, 
                        exploring in- and out-of-country options 
                        simultaneously. If an in-country placement 
                        serving the child's best interest and providing 
                        appropriate, protective, and permanent care is 
                        not quickly available, and such an 
                        international home is available, the child 
                        should be placed in that international home 
                        without delay.
                            (ii) Interim placements.--Nothing in this 
                        subsection may be construed to preclude interim 
                        placements, including in kinship care, foster 
                        care, and small group homes, to temporarily 
                        improve children's living conditions in 
                        individual circumstances in which--
                                    (I) a permanent solution is not 
                                immediately available if ongoing 
                                efforts are made to move the child from 
                                interim to permanent placement as soon 
                                as possible; and
                                    (II) the child's best interests 
                                will be served.
                            (iii) Exceptions.--Exceptions to the 
                        general rule set forth in clauses (i) and (ii) 
                        may be made, as needed in individual cases, to 
                        serve the child's best interests, including the 
                        following:
                                    (I) Permanent guardianship may be 
                                preferable to adoption in certain cases 
                                where the child has developed a 
                                powerful bond to a loving guardian who 
                                prefers not to adopt because of the 
                                child's ties to birth parents who love 
                                the child, but are not in a position to 
                                provide appropriate nurturing.
                                    (II) Options generally viewed as 
                                interim solutions, such as foster care 
                                and small group homes, may be 
                                preferable to family reunification when 
                                the parents are not in a position to 
                                provide appropriate nurturing.
                                    (III) For children with 
                                disabilities, solutions to prevent 
                                institutionalization and to assist with 
                                reintegration into the community from 
                                institutions, include payment and 
                                support to families, substitute 
                                families, small group homes, or kinship 
                                care.
                    (D) Best practices.--In developing policies and 
                programs under this Act, the Ambassador-at-Large shall 
                identify and utilize evidence-based programs and best 
                practices in family preservation and reunification and 
                provision of permanent parental care through 
                guardianship, kinship care, and domestic and 
                intercountry adoption as derived from a wide variety of 
                domestic, foreign, and global policies and practices.
                    (E) Technical assistance.--The Ambassador-at-Large, 
                in consultation with other appropriate Federal 
                agencies, shall provide technical assistance to 
                governments of foreign countries to help build their 
                child welfare capacities, particularly pertaining to 
                family-based permanence. Such assistance should aim to 
                strengthen family preservation and reunification and 
                the provision of appropriate, protective, and permanent 
                family care through kinship care, guardianship, and 
                domestic and intercountry adoption, including 
                assistance with--
                            (i) the drafting, disseminating, and 
                        implementing of legislation;
                            (ii) the development of implementing 
                        systems and procedures;
                            (iii) the establishment of public, private, 
                        and faith- and community-based partnerships;
                            (iv) the development of workforce training 
                        for governmental and nongovernmental staff; and
                            (v) infrastructure development and data 
                        collection techniques necessary to identify and 
                        document the number and needs of children 
                        living without appropriate, protective, and 
                        permanent family care.
            (4) Responsibilities with respect to intercountry 
        adoption.--
                    (A) In general.--The VCFS, in coordination with 
                other offices of the Department of State and U.S. 
                Citizenship and Immigration Services, shall have lead 
                responsibility for representing the United States 
                Government in discussions, negotiations, and diplomatic 
                contacts pertaining to intercountry adoptions.
                    (B) Central authority responsibility under the 
                intercountry adoption act of 2000.--Section 101(b)(2) 
                of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 
                14911(b)(2)) is amended by striking ``Office of 
                Children's Issues'' and inserting ``Office of 
                Vulnerable Children and Family Security''.
                    (C) Determinations of hague adoption convention 
                compliance.--The VCFS, in consultation with other 
                offices of the Department of State, and the Department 
                of Homeland Security, shall have lead responsibility 
                for determining whether a Convention partner country 
                has met its obligations under the Hague Adoption 
                Convention and is eligible to participate in 
                intercountry adoptions in accordance with United States 
                law. Such determinations shall be documented in 
                writing, based on standardized criteria, and available 
                for public review and comment.
                    (D) Negotiation of bilateral agreements.--The VCFS, 
                in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland 
                Security, shall have lead responsibility for the 
                negotiation of bilateral agreements with other 
                countries pertaining to intercountry adoption and in 
                conformity with the provisions of the Hague Adoption 
                Convention when the other country is a Convention 
                partner.
            (5) Policy coordination.--The Ambassador-at-Large shall 
        coordinate with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the 
        Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
        Development to maintain consistency in United States foreign 
        and domestic policy and operations with respect to children 
        living outside family care in foreign countries, particularly 
        those living without families.
            (6) Information coordination.--The Ambassador-at-Large 
        shall transmit--
                    (A) any intercountry adoption related case 
                information received from the Central Authority of 
                another Convention country to the Secretary of Homeland 
                Security; and
                    (B) any intercountry adoption related case 
                information that the Secretary of Homeland Security 
                requests to the Central Authority of another Convention 
                country.

SEC. 102. RESPONSIBILITIES OF U.S. CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES 
              FOR ACCREDITATION OF ADOPTION SERVICE PROVIDERS.

    (a) General Responsibilities Under the Intercountry Adoption Act of 
2000.--
            (1) In general.--The Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 
        (Public Law 106-279; 114 Stat. 825) is amended by inserting 
        after section 103 (42 U.S.C. 14913) the following:

``SEC. 103A. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.

    ``(a) Accreditation and Approval Responsibilities.--The Secretary 
of Homeland Security, working through the Director of U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration Services, shall carry out the functions prescribed by 
the Convention with respect to the accreditation of agencies and the 
approval of persons to provide adoption services in the United States 
in cases subject to the Convention as provided in title II. Such 
functions may not be delegated to any other Federal agency.
    ``(b) Investigations.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall be 
responsible for managing and overseeing investigations related to the 
operation and services of adoption service providers, whether directly 
or indirectly.
    ``(c) Liaison With Foreign Governments on Post-Placement Reports 
and Certain Adoption Cases.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
serve as the liaison with foreign governments with respect to queries 
about required post-placement reports and about specific intercountry 
adoption cases once the adopted children are living in the United 
States, including queries about the status of adopted children who are 
living in the United States in cases involving allegations of abuse, 
neglect, abandonment, or death.''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--Section 1 of such Act is amended 
        by inserting after the item relating to section 103 the 
        following:

``Sec. 103A. Responsibilities of the Department of Homeland 
                            Security.''.
            (3) Conforming amendments.--Section 102 of such Act (42 
        U.S.C. 14912) is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (a), by striking ``The 
                Secretary'' and inserting ``Except as provided for 
                under section 103A, the Secretary'';
                    (B) in subsection (b), by inserting ``, in 
                coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security,'' 
                after ``The Secretary'';
                    (C) by striking subsection (c);
                    (D) by redesignating subsections (d) and (f) as 
                subsections (c) and (d), respectively; and
                    (E) by striking subsection (e).
    (b) Accreditation Responsibilities Under the Intercountry Adoption 
Act of 2000.--
            (1) Designation of accrediting agencies.--Section 202 of 
        the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14922) is 
        amended by inserting ``of Homeland Security'' after 
        ``Secretary'' each place it appears.
            (2) Standards and procedures for providing accreditation or 
        approval.--Section 203 of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 
        (42 U.S.C. 14923) is amended by inserting ``of Homeland 
        Security'' after ``Secretary'' each place it appears in 
        subsections (a) and (b).
            (3) Oversight of accreditation and approval.--Section 204 
        of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14924) is 
        amended--
                    (A) by inserting ``of Homeland Security'' after 
                ``Secretary'' each place it appears; and
                    (B) in subsection (c)--
                            (i) in paragraph (1), by amending the 
                        paragraph heading to read as follows:
            ``(4) Authority of the secretary of homeland security.--''; 
        and
                            (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking 
                        ``Secretary's debarment order'' and inserting 
                        ``debarment order of the Secretary of Homeland 
                        Security''.
            (4) Administrative provisions.--
                    (A) Access to convention records.--Section 401(b) 
                of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 
                14941(b)) is amended--
                            (i) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``, the 
                        Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 
                        Services,'' after ``Secretary''; and
                            (ii) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``the 
                        Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 
                        Services,'' after ``Secretary,''.
                    (B) Assessment of fees.--Section 403(b) of the 
                Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14943(b)) 
                is amended--
                            (i) in paragraph (1)--
                                    (I) by inserting ``or the Director 
                                of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 
                                Services'' after ``Secretary''; and
                                    (II) by inserting ``or U.S. 
                                Citizenship and Immigration Services, 
                                respectively,'' after ``Department of 
                                State''; and
                            (ii) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``or 
                        U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 
                        appropriation, as the case may be,'' after 
                        ``Department of State appropriation''.
    (c) Intercountry Adoption Functions of U.S. Citizenship and 
Immigration Services.--
            (1) Definitions.--In this subsection and in section 103:
                    (A) Adoption service.--The term ``adoption 
                service'' has the meaning given the term in section 3 
                of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 
                14902).
                    (B) Associate director.--The term ``Associate 
                Director'' means the Associate Director of the 
                Directorate.
                    (C) Directorate.--Except as otherwise provided in 
                this subsection, the term ``Directorate'' means the 
                Field Operations Directorate of U.S. Citizenship and 
                Immigration Services.
            (2) Intercountry adoption functions.--The Associate 
        Director shall carry out--
                    (A) the functions described in section 103A(a) of 
                the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, relating to 
                accreditation of agencies and approval of persons to 
                provide adoption services;
                    (B) the functions described in section 103A(b) of 
                such Act, relating to management and oversight of 
                investigations related to the operation of such 
                providers; and
                    (C) the functions described in section 103A(c) of 
                such Act, relating to liaison responsibilities 
                regarding post-placement reports and certain adoption 
                cases.
            (3) Informational responsibilities.--
                    (A) Database on adoption service providers.--
                            (i) In general.--The Associate Director 
                        shall establish and operate, in conjunction 
                        with the Secretary of State, a publicly 
                        accessible database of adoption service 
                        providers.
                            (ii) Agreement.--The Associate Director, 
                        the Director, and the Secretary of State shall 
                        enter into an agreement under which the 
                        Director and the Secretary shall provide, for 
                        the database, data on intercountry adoption 
                        cases relating to adoption service providers.
                            (iii) Contents.--The database shall 
                        include, with respect to each accredited agency 
                        and approved person, who is an adoption service 
                        provider individually, and to the aggregate of 
                        all adoption service providers--
                                    (I) information identifying such a 
                                provider;
                                    (II) information on the 
                                accreditation status of an agency, or 
                                the approval status of a person, as an 
                                adoption service provider;
                                    (III) information on the number of 
                                applications or petitions filed 
                                respecting adoption and the numbers of 
                                approvals and denials of the 
                                applications or petitions;
                                    (IV) the number of substantiated 
                                grievances filed with respect to an 
                                adoption service provider; and
                                    (V) a description of any sanctions 
                                an adoption service provider, or 
                                corrective actions that the provider is 
                                required to take to maintain 
                                accreditation or approval described in 
                                subclause (II).
                    (B) Database on internationally adopted children.--
                            (i) In general.--The Associate Director, in 
                        conjunction with the Secretary of State, shall 
                        establish and operate a database containing 
                        data respecting children involved in 
                        intercountry adoption cases who have immigrated 
                        to the United States.
                            (ii) Information tracking.--Although the 
                        data available for adoptions finalized before 
                        the date of the enactment of this Act will 
                        likely be incomplete, the Associate Director 
                        should seek to import available data on all 
                        adoptions involving children who are younger 
                        than 18 years of age on the date of the 
                        enactment of this Act. In operating the 
                        database established under clause (i), the 
                        Associate Director shall track information 
                        about each such child before attaining United 
                        States citizenship, including--
                                    (I) information identifying a child 
                                and the adoptive or prospective 
                                adoptive parents, including--
                                            (aa) the full name of the 
                                        child in the country of origin 
                                        and the full name of the child 
                                        after the adoption is 
                                        finalized;
                                            (bb) the gender, date of 
                                        birth, nationality, and 
                                        citizenship of the child;
                                            (cc) the physical address 
                                        of the child at the time of the 
                                        adoption;
                                            (dd) the type of visa 
                                        issued to the child; and
                                            (ee) the date on which the 
                                        child entered the United 
                                        States;
                                    (II) information on the particular 
                                adoption service provider, if any, 
                                providing services in the particular 
                                case; and
                                    (III) information on immigration or 
                                citizenship status of the child.
                            (iii) Interagency agreement.--The Associate 
                        Director, the Director, and the Secretary of 
                        State shall enter into an agreement under which 
                        the Secretary of State shall provide, for the 
                        database, data on intercountry adoption cases 
                        concerning the adopted children, and the 
                        adoption service providers.

SEC. 103. TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS AND SAVINGS PROVISIONS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section, unless otherwise provided or 
contextually indicated--
            (1) the term ``Federal agency'' has the meaning given to 
        the term ``agency'' under section 551(1) of title 5, United 
        States Code;
            (2) the term ``function'' means any duty, obligation, 
        power, authority, responsibility, right, privilege, activity, 
        or program; and
            (3) the term ``office'' includes any office, 
        administration, agency, institute, unit, organizational entity, 
        or component thereof.
    (b) Transfer of Functions.--There are transferred to the 
Directorate, all functions described in section 103A(a) of the 
Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, as added by section 102(a) of this 
Act, which were exercised by the Secretary of State before the date of 
the enactment of this Act (including all related functions of any 
officer or employee of the Department of State), including functions 
relating to--
            (1) the accreditation of agencies and approval of persons 
        to provide adoption services;
            (2) the management and oversight of investigations related 
        to the operation of such providers; and
            (3) liaison responsibilities with respect to required post-
        placement reports.
    (c) Determinations of Certain Functions by the Office of Management 
and Budget.--If necessary, the Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget shall make any determination with respect to the transfer of 
functions under subsection (b).
    (d) Personnel Provisions.--
            (1) Appointments.--The Associate Director may appoint and 
        fix the compensation of such officers and employees, including 
        investigators, attorneys, and administrative law judges, as may 
        be necessary to carry out the respective functions transferred 
        under this section. Except as otherwise provided by law, such 
        officers and employees shall be appointed in accordance with 
        the civil service laws and their compensation fixed in 
        accordance with title 5, United States Code.
            (2) Experts and consultants.--The Associate Director may 
        obtain the services of experts and consultants in accordance 
        with section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, and 
        compensate such experts and consultants for each day (including 
        travel time) at rates not in excess of the rate of pay for 
        level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of such 
        title. The Associate Director may pay experts and consultants 
        who are serving away from their homes or regular place of 
        business travel expenses and per diem in lieu of subsistence at 
        rates authorized by sections 5702 and 5703 of such title for 
        persons in Government service employed intermittently.
    (e) Delegation and Assignment.--Except where otherwise expressly 
prohibited by law or otherwise provided under this section--
            (1) the Associate Director may--
                    (A) delegate any of the functions transferred to 
                the Associate Director under this section and any 
                function transferred or granted to the Associate 
                Director after the date of the enactment of this Act to 
                such officers and employees of the Directorate as the 
                Associate Director may designate; and
                    (B) authorize successive redelegations of such 
                functions as may be necessary or appropriate; and
            (2) no delegation of functions by the Associate Director 
        under this subsection or under any other provision of this 
        section shall relieve such Associate Director of responsibility 
        for the administration of such functions.
    (f) Reorganization.--The Associate Director is authorized--
            (1) to allocate or reallocate any function transferred 
        under subsection (b) among the officers of the Directorate; and
            (2) to establish, consolidate, alter, or discontinue such 
        organizational entities in the Directorate as may be necessary 
        or appropriate.
    (g) Rules.--The Associate Director is authorized to prescribe, in 
accordance with the provisions of chapters 5 and 6 of title 5, United 
States Code, such rules and regulations as the Associate Director 
determines necessary or appropriate to administer and manage the 
functions of the Directorate.
    (h) Transfer and Allocations of Appropriations and Personnel.--
Except as otherwise provided under this section and subject to section 
1531 of title 31, United States Code, the personnel employed in 
connection with, and the assets, liabilities, contracts, property, 
records, and unexpended balances of appropriations, authorizations, 
allocations, and other funds employed, used, held, arising from, 
available to, or to be made available in connection with the functions 
transferred under subsection (b), shall be transferred to the 
Directorate. Unexpended funds transferred pursuant to this subsection 
may only be used for the purposes for which the funds were originally 
authorized and appropriated.
    (i) Incidental Transfers.--The Director of the Office of Management 
and Budget--
            (1) may, at such time or times as the Director may 
        prescribe--
                    (A) make such determinations as may be necessary 
                with regard to the functions transferred under 
                subsection (b); and
                    (B) make such additional incidental dispositions of 
                personnel, assets, liabilities, grants, contracts, 
                property, records, and unexpended balances of 
                appropriations, authorizations, allocations, and other 
                funds held, used, arising from, available to, or to be 
                made available in connection with such functions, as 
                may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this 
                section; and
            (2) shall provide for--
                    (A) the termination of the affairs of all entities 
                terminated under this section; and
                    (B) such further measures and dispositions as may 
                be necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.
    (j) Effect on Personnel.--
            (1) In general.--Except as otherwise provided under this 
        section, the transfer under this section of full-time personnel 
        (except special Government employees) and part-time personnel 
        holding permanent positions shall not cause any such employee 
        to be separated or reduced in grade or compensation during the 
        1-year period beginning on the date of such transfer.
            (2) Executive schedule positions.--Except as otherwise 
        provided under this section, any person who, on the day 
        preceding the date of the enactment of this Act, held a 
        position compensated in accordance with the Executive Schedule 
        prescribed in chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, and 
        who, without a break in service, is appointed in the 
        Directorate to a position having duties comparable to the 
        duties performed immediately preceding such appointment shall 
        continue to be compensated in such new position at not less 
        than the rate provided for such previous position, for the 
        duration of the service of such person in such new position.
            (3) Termination of certain positions.--All positions whose 
        functions are transferred under subsection (b) and whose 
        incumbents have been appointed by the President, by and with 
        the advice and consent of the Senate, shall terminate on the 
        date of the enactment of this Act.
    (k) Savings Provisions.--
            (1) Continuing effect of legal documents.--All orders, 
        determinations, rules, regulations, permits, agreements, 
        grants, contracts, certificates, licenses, registrations, 
        privileges, and other administrative actions which--
                    (A) have been issued, made, granted, or allowed to 
                become effective by the President, any Federal agency 
                or official thereof, or by a court of competent 
                jurisdiction, in the performance of functions which are 
                transferred under this section; and
                    (B) are in effect on the date of the enactment of 
                this Act, or were final before such date of enactment 
                and are to become effective on or after the date of the 
                enactment of this Act,
        shall continue in effect according to their terms until 
        modified, terminated, superseded, set aside, or revoked in 
        accordance with law by the President, the Associate Director or 
        other authorized official, a court of competent jurisdiction, 
        or by operation of law.
            (2) Proceedings not affected.--Nothing in this section may 
        be construed to affect any proceeding, including a notice of 
        proposed rulemaking, or any application for any license, 
        permit, certificate, or financial assistance pending before the 
        Department of State on the effective date of this section, with 
        respect to functions transferred under subsection (b). Orders 
        shall be issued in such proceedings, appeals shall be taken 
        therefrom, and payments shall be made pursuant to such orders, 
        as if this section had not been enacted. Orders issued in any 
        such proceedings shall continue in effect until modified, 
        terminated, superseded, or revoked by a duly authorized 
        official, by a court of competent jurisdiction, or by operation 
        of law. Nothing in this paragraph may be construed to prohibit 
        the discontinuance or modification of any such proceeding under 
        the same terms and conditions and to the same extent that such 
        proceeding could have been discontinued or modified if this 
        section had not been enacted.
            (3) Suits not affected.--Nothing in this section may be 
        construed to affect suits commenced before the date of the 
        enactment of this Act. In all such suits, proceedings shall be 
        had, appeals taken, and judgments rendered in the same manner 
        and with the same effect as if this section had not been 
        enacted.
            (4) Nonabatement of actions.--No suit, action, or other 
        proceeding commenced by or against the Department of State, or 
        by or against any individual in the official capacity of such 
        individual as an officer of the Department of State, shall 
        abate by reason of the enactment of this section.
            (5) Administrative actions relating to promulgation of 
        regulations.--Any administrative action relating to the 
        preparation or promulgation of a regulation by the Department 
        of State relating to a function transferred under subsection 
        (b) may be continued by the Directorate with the same effect as 
        if this section had not been enacted.
    (l) Separability.--If a provision of this section or its 
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, neither the 
remainder of this section nor the application of the provision to other 
persons or circumstances shall be affected.
    (m) Transition.--The Associate Director is authorized to utilize--
            (1) the services of such officers, employees, and other 
        personnel of the Department of State with respect to functions 
        transferred to the Directorate by this section; and
            (2) funds appropriated to such functions for such period of 
        time as may reasonably be needed to facilitate the orderly 
        implementation of this section.
    (n) References.--Reference in any other Federal law, Executive 
order, rule, regulation, or delegation of authority, or any document of 
or relating to--
            (1) the Secretary of State with regard to functions 
        transferred under subsection (b), shall be deemed to refer to 
        the Associate Director; and
            (2) the Department of State with regard to functions 
        transferred under subsection (b), shall be deemed to refer to 
        the Directorate.
    (o) Additional Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Recommended legislation.--After consultation with the 
        appropriate committees of Congress and the Director of the 
        Office of Management and Budget, the Associate Director shall 
        prepare and submit to Congress recommended legislation 
        containing technical and conforming amendments to reflect the 
        changes made by this section.
            (2) Submission to congress.--Not later than 180 days after 
        the date of the enactment of this Act, the Associate Director 
        shall submit the recommended legislation referred to under 
        paragraph (1) to Congress.

SEC. 104. RESPONSIBILITIES OF U.S. CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES 
              FOR ADOPTION-RELATED CASE PROCESSING.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through 
the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services--
            (1) shall be responsible for processing and case-specific 
        decisionmaking on all intercountry adoption cases (up to the 
        point of application for an immigrant visa on behalf of the 
        adopted child), including cases being processed pursuant to the 
        Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14901 et seq.) and 
        section 2 of the Intercountry Adoption Universal Accreditation 
        Act of 2012 (42 U.S.C. 14925);
            (2) shall ensure that all intercountry adoption suitability 
        and eligibility determinations of prospective adoptive parents 
        required under subparagraph (F) or (G) of section 101(b)(1) of 
        the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)) are 
        made in accordance with standard criteria that comply with the 
        Hague Adoption Convention so that any such determination 
        justifies a Convention adoption or a non-Convention adoption;
            (3) to the maximum extent possible, and to the extent 
        permitted by the country in which the child resides, shall 
        ensure that all non-Convention adoption cases undergo 
        preprocessing, including--
                    (A) the filing of a petition and the review of a 
                child's eligibility to immigrate to the United States 
                before the adoption or grant of legal custody (for 
                purposes of emigration and adoption in the United 
                States) of that child is completed in the country of 
                origin; and
                    (B) the completion of all necessary and relevant 
                investigations associated with the petition before the 
                country of origin finalizes the adoption or grants 
                legal custody for purposes of emigration and adoption 
                in the United States;
            (4) except as provided in paragraph (5), shall be 
        responsible for all case processing steps in Convention and 
        non-Convention adoption petitions on behalf of children whom 
        United States parents propose to immigrate to the United States 
        (except for the processing of immigrant visas), including 
        processing of all necessary Hague Adoption Convention 
        certifications and the final adjudication of the immigration 
        petitions; and
            (5) may delegate the responsibility for completing certain 
        elements of case adjudication to the Secretary of State if the 
        Department of Homeland Security--
                    (A) cannot adequately complete such elements due to 
                the need for physical presence in the country of origin 
                or other processing-related circumstances; and
                    (B) defines and monitors the parameters for the 
                elements delegated to the Secretary of State and 
                retains final decisionmaking authority.
    (b) Foreign Adoption Decrees.--
            (1) Convention countries.--The 2-year legal custody and 
        joint residence requirements set forth in section 101(b)(1)(E) 
        of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)(E)) 
        shall not apply if the documentation submitted on behalf of a 
        child includes--
                    (A) an adoption decree issued by a competent 
                authority (as such term is used in the Hague Adoption 
                Convention) of the child's country of origin and 
                evidence that the adoption was granted in compliance 
                with the Hague Adoption Convention; or
                    (B) a custody or guardianship decree issued by the 
                competent authority of the child's country of origin to 
                the adoptive parents, and a final adoption decree, 
                verifying that the adoption of the child was later 
                finalized outside the United States by the adoptive 
                parents, in addition to evidence that the custody or 
                guardianship was granted in compliance with the Hague 
                Adoption Convention.
            (2) Substantial compliance with hague adoption 
        convention.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply unless--
                    (A) on the date on which the underlying adoption, 
                custody, or guardianship decree was issued by the 
                child's country of origin--
                            (i) that country's adoption procedures 
                        complied with the requirements of the Hague 
                        Adoption Convention (as determined by the 
                        United States central authority); and
                            (ii) the competent authority of the country 
                        of origin certified that the adoption is 
                        consistent with Article 23 of the Hague 
                        Adoption Convention; and
                    (B) the adoption was a Convention adoption that was 
                completed between 2 Convention countries other than the 
                United States.
            (3) Non-convention countries.--The Secretary of Homeland 
        Security may accept the filing of petitions on behalf of 
        children living in non-Convention countries in the absence of a 
        final adoption decree.
    (c) Cooperation With Foreign Governments.--The Secretary of 
Homeland Security may interact directly with the central authority of a 
Convention country or a competent authority of a non-Convention 
country, as appropriate--
            (1) to facilitate the processing of intercountry adoption 
        cases, including making habitual residence determinations 
        relevant to children and prospective adoptive parents in 
        adoption proceedings; and
            (2) to negotiate, in coordination with the Department of 
        State, and to implement bilateral agreements with respect to 
        intercountry adoptions.
    (d) Amendments to the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000.--
            (1) Transfer of responsibilities to the secretary of 
        homeland security.--The Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42 
        U.S.C. 14901 et seq.) is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``Attorney General'' each place it 
                appears and inserting ``Secretary of Homeland 
                Security''; and
                    (B) in the heading of section 103, by striking 
                ``attorney general'' and inserting ``secretary of 
                homeland security''.
            (2) Hague convention certificates.--Section 301 of such Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 14931) is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (a)--
                            (i) in the subsection heading, by striking 
                        ``Secretary of State'' and inserting 
                        ``Secretary of Homeland Security''; and
                            (ii) in the heading to paragraph (1), by 
                        striking ``Secretary of state'' and inserting 
                        ``Secretary of homeland security''; and
                    (B) by striking ``Secretary of State'' each place 
                it appears and inserting ``Secretary of Homeland 
                Security''.
            (3) Clerical amendment.--The table of contents of such Act 
        is amended by striking the item relating to section 103 and 
        inserting the following:

``Sec. 103. Responsibilities of the Secretary of Homeland Security.''.
    (e) Definition of Child.--Section 101(b)(1) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (E)--
                    (A) in clause (i), by striking ``(i) a child 
                adopted while under the age of sixteen years'' and 
                inserting ``a child adopted while younger than 18 years 
                of age''; and
                    (B) by striking clause (ii);
            (2) by amending subparagraph (F) to read as follows:
                    ``(F)(i) a child, younger than 18 years of age at 
                the time a petition is filed on the child's behalf to 
                accord a classification as an immediate relative under 
                section 201(b), and who has been adopted in a foreign 
                state that is not a party to the Convention on 
                Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of 
                Intercountry Adoption, done at The Hague May 29, 1993, 
                or who is emigrating from such a foreign state to be 
                adopted in the United States by a United States citizen 
                and spouse jointly, or by an unmarried United States 
                citizen who is at least 25 years of age, if--
                            ``(I) the Secretary of Homeland Security is 
                        satisfied that proper care will be furnished 
                        the child if admitted to the United States;
                            ``(II) the child's natural parents (or 
                        parent, in the case of a child who has 1 sole 
                        or surviving parent), or other persons or 
                        institutions that retain legal custody of the 
                        child, have freely given their written 
                        irrevocable consent to the termination of their 
                        legal relationship with the child, and to the 
                        child's emigration and adoption;
                            ``(III) the child has a living parent or 
                        parents who has or have relinquished, or will 
                        relinquish, the child voluntarily for the 
                        purposes of intercountry adoption, and the 
                        parent or parents are incapable of providing 
                        proper care for the child;
                            ``(IV) the Secretary of Homeland Security, 
                        after considering whether there is a petition 
                        pending to confer immigrant status on 1 or both 
                        natural parents, is satisfied that the purpose 
                        of the adoption is to form a bona fide parent-
                        child relationship, and the parent-child 
                        relationship of the child and the natural 
                        parents has been terminated; and
                            ``(V) in the case of a child who has not 
                        been adopted--
                                    ``(aa) the competent authority of 
                                the foreign state has approved the 
                                child's emigration to the United States 
                                for the purpose of adoption by the 
                                prospective adoptive parent or parents; 
                                and
                                    ``(bb) the prospective adoptive 
                                parent or parents has or have complied 
                                with any preadoption requirements of 
                                the child's proposed residence; and
                    ``(ii) except that no natural parent or prior 
                adoptive parent of any such child shall thereafter, by 
                virtue of such parentage, be accorded any right, 
                privilege, or status under this chapter;''; and
            (3) in subparagraph (G)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking 
                ``16'' and inserting ``18'';
                    (B) in clause (i)--
                            (i) in subclause (II), by striking 
                        ``because of the death or disappearance of, 
                        abandonment or desertion by, the other 
                        parent''; and
                            (ii) in subclause (III), by striking ``two 
                        living natural parents, the natural parents 
                        are'' and inserting ``a living parent or 
                        parents, who have relinquished or will 
                        relinquish the child voluntarily for the 
                        purposes of intercountry adoption, the parent 
                        or parents are'';
                    (C) in clause (ii), by striking ``; or'' and 
                inserting a period; and
                    (D) by striking clause (iii).
    (f) Relative Adoptions; Waiver Authority.--Section 502 of the 
Intercountry Adoption Act (42 U.S.C. 14952) is amended to read as 
follows:
    ``(a) Authority To Establish Alternative Procedures for Adoption of 
Children by Relatives.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the 
enactment of the Children in Families First Act of 2014, the Secretary 
of Homeland Security shall establish, by regulation, alternative 
procedures for completing the intercountry adoption of children by 
United States citizens who are related to such children by blood, 
marriage, or adoption.
    ``(b) Waiver Authority.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting 
through the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, may 
waive, on a case-by-case basis, applicable requirements for meeting the 
definition of a child under subparagraph (E), (F), or (G) of section 
101(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)), 
or regulations issued with respect to such definitions, in the 
interests of justice or to prevent or respond to the threat of grave 
physical or emotional harm to the child if the petitioner establishes 
that--
            ``(1) the child substantially complies with the 
        requirements under 1 of such subparagraphs; and
            ``(2) such a waiver would be in the child's best 
        interests.''.
    (g) Determination of Applicability of the Hague Adoption Convention 
in Certain Cases.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through 
the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, may 
determine, on a case-by-case basis, that a specific intercountry 
adoption case may proceed as a non-Convention adoption if--
            (1) the child's country of origin or habitual residence is 
        a Convention country;
            (2) the central authority of the child's country of origin 
        or habitual residence has issued, or will issue, an adoption 
        decree which that country considers to be legal and valid under 
        that country's laws to the United States adoptive or 
        prospective adoptive parents; and
            (3) the central authority of the child's country of origin 
        or habitual residence has informed the Secretary or the 
        Director that it does not consider the specific case to fall 
        within the scope of the Hague Adoption Convention.
    (h) Special Use of Parole Authority.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting 
        through the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 
        Services, may grant parole to a child if the Secretary or the 
        Director determines that--
                    (A) the child's circumstances indicate that 
                immediate unification with the parties seeking parole 
                is in the child's best interests;
                    (B) waiting to complete other, more time consuming 
                immigration processing could be significantly harmful 
                to the child's well-being;
                    (C) the party or parties seeking parole on behalf 
                of the child--
                            (i) have a pre-existing legal relationship 
                        with the child, as evidenced by an adoption 
                        decree or a custody order; or
                            (ii) demonstrate a pre-existing 
                        relationship with the child and an intent to 
                        establish a legal relationship with the child, 
                        which may be evidenced by--
                                    (I) a familial relationship with 
                                the child;
                                    (II) a close personal relationship 
                                with the child, such as--
                                            (aa) being matched with the 
                                        child for an international 
                                        adoption by an adoption service 
                                        provider or the competent 
                                        authority of the child's 
                                        country of origin; or
                                            (bb) documentation showing 
                                        that the child's parents, if 
                                        deceased or otherwise 
                                        incapacitated and unable to 
                                        provide proper care for the 
                                        child, intended for the parties 
                                        seeking parole to take custody 
                                        of the child; or
                                    (III) the filing of adoption-
                                related applications or petitions 
                                related to the adoption of the child; 
                                and
                    (D) the child will receive proper care in the 
                United States by the party or parties who seek parole 
                on behalf of the child, based on a review of the 
                suitability of the party or parties, which may include 
                background check or completion of a home study 
                conducted by a competent authority.
            (2) Meeting the 2-year periods for the purposes of filing 
        an immediate relative petition on behalf of an adopted child.--
        If a child is granted parole under paragraph (1), is 
        subsequently adopted by the parties who sought parole, and such 
        parties seek permanent immigration status for the child under 
        section 101(b)(1)(E) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
        U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)(E))--
                    (A) the 2-year period for legal custody of the 
                child shall begin to accrue on the effective date of a 
                grant of custody in the child's country of origin or 
                habitual residence or in the United States;
                    (B) the 2-year period for physical custody of the 
                child shall begin to accrue on the date on which the 
                party or parties seeking parole for the child begin 
                joint residence with the child, in the child's country 
                of origin or habitual residence or in the United 
                States; and
                    (C) the 2-year periods of joint residence and legal 
                custody may accrue within or outside the United States.
    (i) Rulemaking.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, in 
consultation with the Secretary of State and the Director of U.S. 
Citizenship and Immigration Services, shall issue regulations to carry 
out this section and the amendments made by this section.

                       TITLE II--ANNUAL REPORTING

SEC. 201. ANNUAL REPORT ON CHILDREN LIVING WITHOUT FAMILIES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than September 30, 2014, and annually 
thereafter, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Director 
of the United States Agency for International Development and the 
Secretary of State, shall submit a report to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 
House of Representatives that--
            (1) identifies the number of children living without 
        families; and
            (2) describes the degree to which the various family 
        permanence solutions are being utilized.
    (b) Content.--The report required under subsection (a) shall 
include--
            (1) a description of the world's unparented children, 
        including--
                    (A) a description and quantitative analysis of the 
                world's unparented children by country, identifying the 
                nationality of the children physically present in each 
                country and distinguishing among children who are 
                citizens of the country, noncitizen children lawfully 
                present in the country, and noncitizen children 
                unlawfully in the country, irrespective of a child's 
                particular immigration status; and
                    (B) available data about such children broken into 
                detailed categories and including--
                            (i) information on their nationality, age, 
                        gender, and status;
                            (ii) whether they have a living parent or 
                        parents and the status of those parents;
                            (iii) whether the unparented children are 
                        considered abandoned, separated, relinquished, 
                        or have some other status;
                            (iv) whether they are institutionalized or 
                        homeless;
                            (v) information on how they are documented, 
                        including through birth registries, orphanage 
                        registries, United Nations High Commissioner 
                        for Refugees registration, or identity cards; 
                        and
                            (vi) an assessment of their living 
                        conditions based on indicators such as crude 
                        mortality rate, malnutrition rate, or other 
                        similar indicators;
            (2) a review of the previous fiscal year's programming in 
        support of appropriate, protective, and permanent family care 
        solutions, including project descriptions for each project by 
        country, goals of each project, amount awarded for each 
        project, and evaluation of outcomes during the fiscal year;
            (3) an action plan covering proposed programming and 
        activities for the next fiscal year in support of family 
        permanency solutions, including goals for each country in which 
        programming will occur, proposed allocations of resources by 
        country, types of projects proposed by country, amounts of 
        awards proposed for each project, and desired outcomes for each 
        country;
            (4) a review of trends over the last five years, including 
        changes in the numbers and locations of unparented children and 
        the reasons for the changes, such as new refugee arrivals, 
        growing numbers of children abandoned at birth, and decreases 
        in number of children in institutions;
            (5) an overall analysis of highest priority situations of 
        concern for unparented children, including analysis of whether 
        the children are in a location that provides a cooperative 
        environment for assistance programming and intercountry 
        adoptions;
            (6) a description of how intercountry adoption and refugee 
        resettlement for unparented refugee children has played a role 
        in each country over the last 10 years and the current status 
        of such programs, including analysis of the situation with 
        respect to the Hague Adoption Convention and how the Convention 
        has affected intercountry adoptions from the country;
            (7) aggregate reporting on intercountry adoptions to the 
        United States, distinguishing between Convention adoptions and 
        non-Convention adoptions and including--
                    (A) the total number of intercountry adoptions 
                involving immigration to the United States by year over 
                the past 10 years and projected data for the next 
                fiscal year, distinguishing between Convention and non-
                Convention adoptions, including aggregate data on the 
                country from which each child emigrated, the State of 
                residence of the adoptive parents, and the country in 
                which the adoption was finalized;
                    (B) the number of intercountry adoptions involving 
                emigration from the United States, regardless of 
                whether the adoption occurred under the Convention and 
                distinguishing between Convention and non-Convention 
                adoptions, including the country to which each child 
                immigrated and the State from which each child 
                emigrated;
                    (C) the average time required for completion of the 
                immigration portion of intercountry adoptions, 
                distinguishing between Convention and non-Convention 
                adoptions, calculated as the time between filing of the 
                initial immigration-related adoption petition on behalf 
                of a child and the approval of that child's immigrant 
                visa; and
                    (D) the range of adoption fees charged in 
                connection with intercountry adoptions involving 
                immigration to the United States and the median of such 
                fees; and
            (8) such additional information as may be requested by 
        members of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and 
        the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
        Representatives.
    (c) Consultations.--To the extent possible, designated 
representatives of the President should meet with members of the 
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives not later than 2 weeks 
before the Secretary of State submits the report required under 
subsection (a) to discuss the information described in subsection (b). 
The substance of such consultations should be printed in the 
Congressional Record.
    (d) Repeal.--Section 104 of the Intercountry Adoption Act (42 
U.S.C. 14914) is repealed.

SEC. 202. COUNTRY REPORTS REGARDING SEVERE FORMS OF TRAFFICKING.

    Section 502B(h)(1)(B) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
U.S.C. 2304(h)(1)(B)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(x) What steps the government of that country has 
                taken to reduce the number of children living outside 
                of family care.
                    ``(xi) What steps the government of that country 
                has taken to reduce the number of children abused, 
                neglected, or exploited.''.

   TITLE III--PROMOTION OF A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH FOR CHILDREN IN 
                               ADVERSITY

SEC. 301. ESTABLISHMENT OF A USAID CENTER FOR EXCELLENCE FOR CHILDREN 
              IN ADVERSITY.

    (a) Center for Excellence for Children in Adversity.--
            (1) In general.--There is established within the United 
        States Agency for International Development a Center of 
        Excellence on Children in Adversity.
            (2) Coordinator.--The Center for Excellence shall be headed 
        by the Children in Adversity Coordinator, who shall be 
        appointed by the Administrator of the United States Agency for 
        International Development.
            (3) Objectives.--The Center of Excellence on Children in 
        Adversity shall work in consultation with the Ambassador-at-
        Large of the Office of Vulnerable Children and Family Security 
        of the Department of State to promote greater United States 
        Government coherence and accountability for whole-of-government 
        assistance to children in adversity and ensure that United 
        States foreign assistance and development programs are focused 
        on the following objectives:
                    (A) The sound development of children through the 
                integration of health, nutrition, and family support.
                    (B) Supporting and enabling families to care for 
                children through family preservation, reunification, 
                and support of kinship care, guardianship, and domestic 
                and intercountry adoption.
                    (C) Facilitating the efforts of national 
                governments and partners to prevent, respond to, and 
                protect children from violence, exploitation, abuse, 
                and neglect.
            (4) Authorities.--The Children in Adversity Coordinator, 
        acting through nongovernmental organizations (including faith-
        based and community-based organizations), partner country 
        finance, health, education, social welfare, and other 
        ministries, and relevant executive branch agencies, is 
        authorized to--
                    (A) operate internationally to carry out the 
                programs and activities outlined in the Action Plan for 
                Children in Adversity;
                    (B) provide grants to, and enter into contracts and 
                cooperative agreements with, nongovernmental 
                organizations (including faith-based organizations) to 
                carry out this section; and
                    (C) transfer and allocate United States Agency for 
                International Development funds that have been 
                appropriated for the purposes described in 
                subparagraphs (A) and (B).
            (5) Functions.--In consultation with the Ambassador-at-
        Large of the Office of Vulnerable Children and Family Security 
        in the Department of State, the Children in Adversity 
        Coordinator shall, through the Center of Excellence--
                    (A) facilitate program and policy coordination 
                related to the goals and objectives of the Action Plan 
                for Children in Adversity among relevant executive 
                branch agencies and nongovernmental organizations by 
                auditing, monitoring, and evaluating such programs;
                    (B) ensure that each relevant executive branch 
                agency undertakes responsibility for activities related 
                primarily to those areas in which the agency has the 
                greatest expertise, technical capability, and potential 
                for success;
                    (C) coordinate relevant executive branch agency 
                activities related to the Action Plan for Children in 
                Adversity;
                    (D) establish due diligence criteria for all 
                recipients of funds appropriated by the United States 
                Government for assistance to children in adversity; and
                    (E) oversee the administration of the priority 
                country demonstration program as described in 
                subsection (f).
            (6) Assistance.--The President is authorized to provide 
        assistance, including through international, nongovernmental, 
        or faith-based organizations, for programs in developing 
        countries--
                    (A) to increase the percentage of children 
                achieving age-appropriate growth and developmental 
                milestones;
                    (B) to increase the percentage of children under 5 
                years of age demonstrating secure attachment with a 
                primary caregiver;
                    (C) to integrate health, nutrition, developmental 
                protections, and caregiving support for vulnerable 
                children and their families;
                    (D) to increase the percentage of children living 
                within appropriate, permanent, safe, and protective 
                family care, through family preservation and 
                reunification, and through kinship care, guardianship, 
                and domestic and intercountry adoption, and to reduce 
                the percentage of children living in institutions;
                    (E) to increase the percentage of families 
                providing adequate nutrition, education opportunities, 
                care, and protection for their children;
                    (F) to reduce the percentage of children who 
                experience violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect;
                    (G) to increase the percentage of children who 
                receive appropriate care and protection after 
                experiencing violence, exploitation, abuse, or neglect;
                    (H) to increase public awareness that violence, 
                exploitation, abuse, or neglect of children as 
                unacceptable;
                    (I) to increase the percentage of countries that 
                ratify and implement relevant conventions or formally 
                adopt internationally recognized principles, standards, 
                and procedural safeguards to protect children from 
                violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect;
                    (J) to increase the percentage of children who have 
                legal documentation and birth registration;
                    (K) to increase the number of laws, policies, and 
                practices in partner states that promote and strengthen 
                child welfare and protection at household, community, 
                and national levels is increased;
                    (L) to increase national and local human resource 
                capacity for child welfare and protection;
                    (M) to increase the number of national and 
                community systems effectively monitoring child welfare 
                and protection concerns, programs, and outcomes;
                    (N) to encourage and assist in the collection of 
                data related to children outside of family care;
                    (O) to increase the number of prevalence studies 
                that measure and track trends in children's exposure to 
                violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect;
                    (P) to increase the number of published outcome/
                impact evaluations on interventions to assist children 
                outside of family care or minimize exposure to 
                violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect that can be 
                generalized to larger target groups;
                    (Q) to increase the number of national governments 
                and universities leading rigorous data collection, 
                research, and monitoring and evaluation studies related 
                to child welfare and protection; and
                    (R) to increase the number of United States 
                Government-supported interventions for children in 
                adversity designed using data from rigorous research 
                methodologies.
    (b) Monitoring and Evaluation.--
            (1) Establishment of system.--To maximize the sustainable 
        development impact of assistance authorized under this section, 
        and pursuant to the primary objective of the Action Plan for 
        Children in Adversity, the President shall establish a 
        monitoring and evaluation system to measure the effectiveness 
        of United States assistance to children in adversity.
            (2) Requirements.--The monitoring and evaluation system 
        shall--
                    (A) be aligned with the objectives and outcomes 
                outlined by the Action Plan for Children in Adversity; 
                and
                    (B) provide a basis for recommendations for 
                adjustments to the assistance provided under this part.
    (c) Priority Country Demonstration Program.--
            (1) In general.--The Administrator of the United States 
        Agency for International Development, in consultation with the 
        Secretary of State, shall establish and carry out a priority 
        country demonstration program implementing the Action Plan for 
        Children in Adversity over a period of 5 years in at least 6 
        countries.
            (2) Purposes.--The purposes of the programs established 
        under subparagraph (1) shall be--
                    (A) to demonstrate how research-based policies and 
                programs to achieve the core objectives of the Action 
                Plan for Children in Adversity can be successfully 
                implemented on a national level;
                    (B) to establish model programs that, once tested 
                for efficacy, will be available for replication on a 
                global basis;
                    (C) to identify a comprehensive series of 
                interventions which result in meeting the outcomes and 
                objectives of the Action Plan for Children in 
                Adversity; and
                    (D) to determine which in-country factors advance 
                or negate the successful achievement of the outcomes 
                and objectives of the action plan.
            (3) Criteria for selection of countries.--The criteria for 
        selection of countries shall include--
                    (A) magnitude and severity of the problems to be 
                addressed;
                    (B) partner country interest in participation in a 
                comprehensive implementation of all 3 goals of the 
                Action Plan for Children in Adversity, including, with 
                respect to the second objective (Families First), 
                expressed willingness to support the full complement of 
                permanence solutions (including family preservation, 
                reunification, kinship care, guardianship, and domestic 
                and intercountry adoption), and commitments to support 
                and allow monitoring and evaluation, as well as 
                transparent reporting;
                    (C) potential to leverage bilateral, multilateral, 
                and foundation investments;
                    (D) potential to leverage other United States 
                development investments;
                    (E) regional diversity to maximize learning 
                opportunities; and
                    (F) level of economic development, with a focus on 
                low- and middle-income countries.
    (d) Repeals.--
            (1) Assistance to orphans and other vulnerable children.--
        Section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 
        2152f) is repealed.
            (2) Annual report.--Section 5 of the Assistance for Orphans 
        and Other Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act of 
        2005 (22 U.S.C. 2152g) is hereby repealed.

                 TITLE IV--FUNDING AND EFFECTIVE DATES

SEC. 401. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Prohibition on New Appropriations.--
            (1) In general.--Nothing in this Act may be construed as 
        authorizing additional funds to be appropriated to carry out 
        this Act or the amendments made by this Act.
            (2) Use of existing funds.--This Act, and the amendments 
        made by this Act, shall be carried out using amounts otherwise 
        available for such purposes, including unobligated balances of 
        funds made available to carry out activities under the Foreign 
        Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.).
    (b) Limitations on Use of Funds.--
            (1) United nations.--No funds obligated in accordance with 
        this Act may be awarded to the United Nations or any of its 
        subsidiaries.
            (2) Segregated services.--No funds obligated in accordance 
        with this Act may be awarded for building, renovating, or 
        refurbishing residential facilities that segregate children 
        with disabilities from society. The limitation under this 
        paragraph does not prohibit funding for small, community-based 
        group homes that house up to 6 children.
            (3) Administrative expenses.--Not more than 2 percent of 
        the amounts described in subsection (a)(2) may be used for 
        administrative expenses.
    (c) Focus of Assistance.--Assistance provided under this Act--
            (1) shall focus primarily on promoting international child 
        welfare, as set forth in this Act, for all children in 
        adversity; and
            (2) may be provided on such terms and conditions as the 
        President determines appropriate.

SEC. 402. EFFECTIVE DATES.

    (a) Effective Upon Enactment.--Sections 104 and 202 and titles III 
and IV shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Delayed Effective Date.--Sections 101, 102, 103, and 201 shall 
take effect on the date that is 1 year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act.
                                 <all>