Sam Brownback: “as the father of five children--two of whom came into our family through international adoption--I take special interest…”

“as the father of five children--two of whom came into our family through international adoption--I take special interest in the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. The treaty signers hope to improve the international adoption system and provide more homes for the children who need them. Like many active adoption professionals and leaders of the American adoption community, I support the mission of the treaty to protect the rights of, and prevent abuses against, children, birth families, and adoptive parents, involved in adoptions. The treaty will not only reassure countries who send their children outside their borders, it will also improve the ability of the United States to assist its citizens who seek to adopt children from abroad. While the treaty will provide significant benefits, I had serious concerns that the proposed method of implementation would have caused more harm than good. After study, it became clear to me that there are few nonprofit private entities in existence that have the funding, staff, and experience necessary to develop and administer standards for entities (agencies) providing child welfare services.”