The Intercountry Adoption Accreditation and Maintenance Entity (IAAME) notified the Department that Bethany Christian Services voluntarily relinquished its Accreditation to provide intercountry adoption services, effective February 11, 2022.

Agencies or persons that are not accredited or approved may not offer, provide, or facilitate adoption services unless they are under the supervision of an accredited or approved adoption service provider or are an exempted provider, in accordance with the regulations. When an agency or person decides not to seek renewal of its accreditation or approval, the agency or person is responsible for taking all necessary steps to complete its intercountry adoption cases and transfer its pending cases and adoption records before its accreditation or approval expires, as required by 22 CFR 96.63(a). Agencies and persons are required to have plans to transfer cases and records if they cease to provide or are no longer permitted to provide adoption services.

Families working with Bethany Christian Services should contact the agency directly with questions about case or record transfer. We also encourage families to review the information published by IAAME about selecting a primary provider/adoption service provider and the accreditation/approval requirements.

The Department of State does not review or approve case or record transfer plans and has a limited role in their execution. The Department does, however, communicate with competent adoption authorities about the accreditation status of agencies and persons and case transfer plans, as needed.

Affected families may wish to review information about Case Transfer Responsibilities on the Department of State’s website and information about If Your Agency is No Longer Accredited/Approved on the USCIS website.

We also encourage families with outstanding post-adoption reports to contact their ASP for guidance on how to proceed. Information about post-adoption reporting requirements is available on the country-specific information pages on the Department of State’s website. Requirements vary by country with respect to frequency of submission, information to be included, and methods of submission.