Press Release

For Immediate Release
May 19, 2010

(pictured from left to right): Lindsay Bragdon, Birthparent Counselor and Caseworker, Sharon Abrams, Executive Director, Cindy Smith, Administrative Assistant and Caroline Hutchinson, Social Worker/Trainer Consultant display the Hague Accreditation certificate outside the agency's Waterville campus.

"This accreditation means so much to our agency and everyone that has helped to make us who we are today," said Sharon Abrams, executive director of Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderers. "This achievement is a credit to our entire staff that works tirelessly to ensure our adoption procedures are completed with the highest integrity."

Hague Accreditation attests that the Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderers is in substantial compliance with the Hague Convention Accreditation Standards. Adoption agencies that meet Hague Accreditation meet the requirements put forth by the U.S. government. U.S. agencies conducting international adoption in Hague countries need to either become accredited, cease adoptions or work through another agency.

"With all the recent press about adoption services, we place tremendous value on the accreditation. Hague is based on basic principles of what's the best practice for children. There are about 70 countries that have signed up and agreed to uphold those standards."

The COA accreditation process commences 18 months prior to an organization's accreditation expiration date through written notification from COA.  Organizations that come up for reaccreditation following publication of new standards are required to comply with the new standards.

In order to attain accreditation, a team of six employees at The Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderers worked for a period of over seven months, meeting six hours per week in order to meet the accreditation requirements and obtain proper documentation for submission. The information required to apply for accreditation included updated policies, recent procedures and comprehensive financial records from the agency's 111 year history. Once the request for accreditation was submitted, two representatives from COA met with members of The Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderers. The representatives also interviewed adoptive families as well as staff and board members to decide if the agency was worthy of accreditation.

The agency has been approved for full Hague Accreditation with an expiration date of April 3, 2014, at which time the agency will have to reapply.   

The Hague Convention is an international treaty created to ensure that intercountry adoptions are in the best interest of children and to prevent abduction, exploitation, sale or trafficking of children. In 1994, the United States signed this treaty and agreed to develop regulations and a monitoring process for adoptions service providers in the U.S. that worked with agencies in countries that signed onto the Convention.

Congress passed The Intercountry Adoption Act (IAA) in October 2000, which serves as the implementing legislation for the United States. The IAA names the U.S. Department of State (State Department) as the Central Authority for the United States and the federal agency responsible for implementing the Convention. The IAA requires agencies and persons to be accredited or approved. In July, 2006 the U.S. Department of State named COA and the only nation accreditor for adoption service providers under Hague Accreditation. 

Representatives of The Maine Children's Home are available for interviews about the Hague Accreditation process. To arrange, contact Greg Glynn at 207-623-4177.