WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), Co-Chairs of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, sent a letter urging the Bureau of Consular Affairs at the U.S. Department of State (DOS) to ensure that the dialogue between DOS, Congress and the Adoption Service Providers (ASPs) continues and that members and experts in the adoption community are consulted in efforts to develop and implement policies that advance intercountry adoption. Given ongoing changes to the accreditation policies and procedures for ASPs, the senators requested more information from DOS about strategies to improve intercountry adoption.

“We continue to hear concerns, both from inside and outside of Congress, about the policy changes faced by intercountry adoption service providers, including concerns about the new fee structure,” the senators wrote. “We appreciate the ongoing dialogue between DOS, Congress, the Adoption Service Providers (ASPs), and other members of the adoption community, and want to ensure that the dialogue continues and that adoption stakeholders are consulted in ongoing efforts to develop and implement policies that facilitate intercountry adoption.”

Blunt and Klobuchar have long worked together in an effort to ease the adoption process. In 2015, Blunt and Klobuchar introduced the Supporting Adoptive Families Act to provide pre- and post-adoption support services, including mental health treatment, to help adoptive families stay strong. Blunt and Klobuchar also introduced the Accuracy for Adoptees Act, which was signed into law in early 2014. This legislation cuts red tape for adoptive families and ensures that corrections made to adoptees’ birth certificates by state courts would be recognized by the federal government.

The full text of the letter can be found here