BAAS Hague accreditation

BAAS is Hague Accredited by COA

December 10, 2012
Bay Area Adoption Services
465 Fairchild Drive #215
Mountain View, CA 94943

BAY AREA ADOPTION SERVICES
ACHIEVES HAGUE ACCREDITATION

Dear Ms. Stawitcke:

Bay Area Adoption Services has received notification that it has achieved Hague Accreditation through the Council on Accreditation (COA) as authorized by the U.S. Department of State, according to an announcement made to Andrea Stawitcke, Executive Director of the organization. Bay Area Adoption Services is located at 465 Fairchild Drive, Suite 215, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States.

Hague Accreditation attests that Bay Area Adoption Services is in substantial compliance with the Hague Convention Accreditation Standards. Bay Area Adoption Services's Hague Accreditation Expiration Date is March 31, 2017.

The Hague Convention is an international treaty created to ensure that intercountry adoptions are in the best interests of children and to prevent abduction, exploitation, sale, or trafficking of children. In 1994 the United States signed this treaty and agreed to develop regulations and a monitoring process for adoption service providers in the U.S. that worked with agencies in countries that signed onto the Convention. For more information about the Hague Convention, including a full list of participating countries, please visit the Hague Conference on Private International Law's website at www.hcch.net.

Congress passed The Intercountry Adoption Act (IAA) in October 2000, which serves as the implementing legislation for the United States. The IAA names the U.S. Department of State (State Department) as the Central Authority for the United States and the federal agency responsible for implementing the Convention. The IAA requires agencies and persons providing adoption services in cases involving Convention countries to be accredited or approved. In July, 2006 the U.S. Department of State named COA as the only national accreditor for adoption service providers under the Hague Convention.

Richard Klarberg
President & CEO