Sec. 101. Establishment of the Office of Vulnerable Children and Family Security in the Department of State
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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: 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— the sound development of children through the integration of health, nutrition, and family support; supporting and enabling families to care for children through family preservation, reunification, and support of kinship care, guardianship, and domestic and intercountry adoption; and facilitating the efforts of national governments and partners to prevent, respond to, and protect children from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect.
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.
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. The Ambassador-at-Large shall— 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; be knowledgeable of international child welfare, family permanence, and family creation through domestic and intercountry adoption; and be committed to developing an integrated United States Government approach to international child welfare that places equal emphasis on— early childhood survival and development; family permanence; and protection from abuse and exploitation.
The Ambassador-at-Large shall report to the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights. 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. 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— 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; multilateral conferences and meetings relevant to family preservation, reunification, and creating appropriate, protective, and permanent care for unparented children; and 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.
The Ambassador-at-Large shall— 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; give consideration to family preservation and reunification, kinship care, guardianship, and domestic and intercountry adoption; and 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.
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. 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. 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— 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 the child’s best interests will be served.
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: 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. 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. 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. 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. 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— the drafting, disseminating, and implementing of legislation; the development of implementing systems and procedures; the establishment of public, private, and faith- and community-based partnerships; the development of workforce training for governmental and nongovernmental staff; and 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. 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. 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 . 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. 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. 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. The Ambassador-at-Large shall transmit— any intercountry adoption related case information received from the Central Authority of another Convention country to the Secretary of Homeland Security; and any intercountry adoption related case information that the Secretary of Homeland Security requests to the Central Authority of another Convention country.
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Sec. 101
Establishment of the Office of Vulnerable Children and Family Security in the Department of State
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