How the Universal Accreditation Act Will Affect International Adoptions

The Universal Accreditation Act is now reality. How will it change international adoptions? If you have already applied to adopt, how will it affect you? Host Dawn Davenport interviewed: Robin Sizemore, Founder and Executive Director of Hopscotch Adoptionsan international adoption agency in North Carolina and New York; and Nicole Skellenger, an Adoption Attorney and Chief Operating Officer at MLJ Adoptions, an international adoption agency based in Indianapolis, IN.

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Hit the Highlights
  • What is the Universal Accreditation Act?
  • Does the Universal Accreditation Act apply to all internationals adoptions from all countries?
  • Are all adoption agencies that are already accredited under the Hague Treaty on Intercountry Adoption accredited for these non-Hague countries?
  • What about cases already in process? Can adoption cases in process be grandfathered in?
  • Can someone still adopt independently from a country that allows it by hiring an attorney in that country?
  • Are US citizens who are living in a country able to adopt privately from that country or do they have to use a US adoption agency?
  • What about countries that place very few children in the US and no agency has a program in that country?
  • How will the Universal Accreditation Act apply to adoptions from Ukraine after July 14, 2014?
  • How will the Universal Accreditation Act apply to adoptions from Jamaica after July 14, 2014?
  • How will the Universal Accreditation Act apply to kinship adoptions or relative adoptions?
  • How much will cost of adoption increase with the adoption of the Universal Accreditation Act?
  • Why are there so many regulations for international adoption?