[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 111 (Wednesday, June 10, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 32869-32870]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-14066]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

22 CFR Part 96

[Public Notice 9165]
RIN 1400-AD82


Intercountry Adoptions: Regulatory Change To Prevent 
Accreditation and Approval Renewal Requests From Coming Due at the Same 
Time

AGENCY: Department of State.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: This proposed rule would amend the Department of State 
(Department) regulation on the accreditation and approval of adoption 
service providers in intercountry adoptions. Most agencies and persons 
currently accredited received that accreditation at approximately the 
same time, which has resulted in a surge of concurrent renewal 
applications for consideration by the Council on Accreditation (COA), 
the designated accrediting entity. Permitting some agencies or persons 
to qualify for an extension by one year of the accreditation or 
approval period will result in a more even distribution of applications 
for renewal in a given year. By distributing renewals, and the 
resources needed to process them, COA will be further enabled to 
effectively and consistently carry out its other functions.

DATES: Comments are due by July 10, 2015.

ADDRESSES:  Internet: You may view this proposed rule and 
submit your comments by visiting the Regulations.gov Web site at 
www.regulations.gov, and searching for docket number DOS-2014-0015.
     Mail or Delivery: You may send your paper, disk, or CD-ROM 
submissions to the following address: Comments on Proposed Rule 22 CFR 
part 96, Office of Legal Affairs, Overseas Citizen Services, U.S. 
Department of State, CA/OCS/L, SA-17, Floor 10, Washington, DC 20522-
1710.
     All comments should include the commenter's name and the 
organization the commenter represents (if applicable). If the 
Department is unable to read your comment for any reason, the 
Department might not be able to consider your comment. Please be 
advised that all comments will be considered public comments and might 
be viewed by other commenters; therefore, do not include any 
information you would not wish to be made public. After the conclusion 
of the comment period, the Department will publish a final rule (in 
which it will address relevant comments) as expeditiously as possible.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carine Rosalia, Office of Legal 
Affairs, Overseas Citizen Services, U.S. Department of State, CA/OCS/L, 
SA-17, Floor 10, Washington, DC 20522-1710; (202) 485-6079.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Why is the Department promulgating this rulemaking?

    This proposed rule amends procedural aspects of the Intercountry 
Adoption Accreditation Regulations concerning the length of 
accreditation or approval found in 22 CFR part 96. Subpart G governs 
decisions on applications for accreditation and approval. Section 96.60 
provides for accreditation or approval for a period of four years. 
Section 96.60 does not currently provide the opportunity to stagger the 
renewal applications, which results in many renewal applications coming 
due at the same time.
    This proposed rule will aid the accrediting entity in managing its 
workload. In particular, the amendments to this section will allow for 
a one-year extension of previously-granted accreditation or approval, 
not to exceed five years total, based on criteria included in the rule, 
and summarized here.
    There will be criteria for selecting which agencies or persons are 
eligible for the one-year extension. As a threshold matter, only 
agencies and persons that have no pending adoption-related complaint 
investigations or adverse actions will be eligible for an extension 
under this procedure. Also, those entities that have undergone a change 
in corporate or internal structure (such as a merger or a leadership 
change in chief executive or chief financial officer) since their 
initial accreditation/approval or last renewal will not qualify for an 
extension under this procedure. If the agency or person meets the 
threshold criteria, in order to ensure that the extension achieves its 
purpose of staggering renewals thereafter, the Secretary, in his 
discretion may consider additional factors including, but not limited 
to, the agency's or person's volume of intercountry adoption cases in 
the year preceding the application for renewal or extension, the 
agency's or person's U.S. state licensure record, and the number of 
extensions available.
    Since the President signed into law the Universal Accreditation Act 
of 2012, approximately 40 new agencies received accreditation, all in 
the same year. The resulting surge in the number of agencies requiring 
review in certain years argued strongly for establishing a mechanism 
that would allow COA to better manage the distribution of renewals. The 
procedure outlined in this rulemaking will allow a more even 
distribution of the number of renewals an accrediting entity must 
review in a given year.
    The Department invites comment on the procedures described above.

Administrative Procedure Act

    The Department is publishing this notice of proposed rulemaking 
with a 30-day period for public comments.

Regulatory Flexibility Act/Executive Order 13272: Small Business

    Consistent with section 605(b) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 
U.S.C. 605(b)), the Department certifies that this proposed rule does 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. For

[[Page 32870]]

the small business entities affected by the amendments, the cost is 
neutral because it does not change the cost per year of accreditation 
or renewal, but in only potentially the year in which renewal takes 
place.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

    Section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, (codified 
at 2 U.S.C. 1532) does not apply to this rulemaking.

 Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996

    This proposed rule is not a major rule as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804, 
for purposes of congressional review of agency rulemaking under the 
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 
104-121).

Executive Order 12866

    The Department of State has reviewed this proposed rule to ensure 
its consistency with the regulatory philosophy and principles set forth 
in Executive Order 12866 and has determined that the benefits of this 
final regulation justify its costs. The Department does not consider 
this rulemaking to be an economically significant action under the 
Executive Order. The proposed rule will not add any new legal 
requirements to Part 96; it merely adds administrative flexibility to 
the work of the Department-designated accrediting entity.

 Executive Orders 12372 and 13132: Federalism

    This proposed rule will not have substantial direct effects on the 
States, on the relationship between the national government and the 
States, or the distribution of power and responsibilities among the 
various levels of government. Nor will it have federalism implications 
warranting the application of Executive Orders 12372 and No. 13132.

Executive Order 12988: Civil Justice Reform

    The Department has reviewed the proposed rule in light of Executive 
Order No. 12988 to eliminate ambiguity, minimize litigation, establish 
clear legal standards, and reduce burden.

Executive Order 13563: Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review

    The Department has considered this proposed rule in light of 
Executive Order 13563, dated January 18, 2011, and affirms that it is 
consistent with the guidance therein.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This proposed rule does not impose information collection 
requirements subject to the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, 
44 U.S.C. Chapter 35.

List of Subjects in 22 CFR Part 96

    Adoption, Child welfare, Children, Immigration, Foreign persons, 
Accreditation, Approval.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Department of State 
proposes to amend 22 CFR part 96 as follows:

PART 96--INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION ACCREDITATION OF AGENCIES AND 
APPROVAL OF PERSONS

0
1. The authority citation for part 96 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  The Convention on Protection of Children and Co-
operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (done at the Hague, 
May 29, 1993), S. Treaty Doc. 105-51 (1998), 1870 U.N.T.S. 167 (Reg. 
No. 31922 (1993)); The Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, 42 U.S.C. 
14901-14954; The Intercountry Adoption Universal Accreditation Act 
of 2012, Pub. L. 112-276, 42 U.S.C. 14925.

0
2. Revise Sec.  96.60 to read as follows:


Sec.  96.60  Length of accreditation or approval period.

    (a) The accrediting entity will accredit or approve an agency or 
person for a period of four years, except as provided in Sec.  
96.60(b). The accreditation or approval period will commence on the 
date that the agency or person is granted accreditation or approval.
    (b) In order to stagger the renewal requests from agencies and 
persons applying for accreditation or approval and to prevent the 
renewal requests from coming due at the same time, the accrediting 
entity may extend the period of accreditation it has previously granted 
for no more than one year and such that the total period of 
accreditation does not exceed five years, as long as the agency or 
person remains in substantial compliance with the applicable standards 
in subpart F of this part. The only agencies and persons that may 
qualify for an extension are:
    (1) Those that have no pending Complaint Registry investigations or 
adverse actions (see Sec.  96.70); and
    (2) Those that have not undergone a change in corporate or internal 
structure (such as a merger or change in chief executive or financial 
officer) during their current accreditation or approval period. For 
agencies and persons that meet these two criteria, the Secretary, in 
his or her discretion, may consider additional factors in deciding upon 
an extension including, but not limited to, the agency's or person's 
volume of intercountry adoption cases in the year preceding the 
application for renewal or extension, the agency's or person's state 
licensure record, and the number of extensions available.

    Dated: June 2, 2015.
Michele T. Bond,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs, U.S. Department of 
State.
[FR Doc. 2015-14066 Filed 6-9-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4710-06-P