Lutheran Social Services Achieves Hague Accreditation

ROCKY HILL, CT, April 05, 2013 (Press-News.org) Lutheran Social Services of New England (LSS) 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 Angela Bovill, President/CEO of the organization. Hague Accreditation attests that LSS is in substantial compliance with the Hague Convention Accreditation Standards. The accreditation is valid through 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 http://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.

Founded in 1977, COA is an independent, not-for-profit accreditor of the full of the continuum of community-based behavioral health care and social service organizations. COA's mission is to partner with human service organizations worldwide to improve service delivery outcomes by developing, applying and promoting accreditation standards. COA envisions excellence in the delivery of human services globally, resulting in the well-being of individuals, families and communities.

COA is endorsed by leading consumer and professional groups and by many regulatory bodies and managed care organizations. COA is sponsored by the Alliance for Children and Families, Association of Jewish Family and Children's Agencies, Catholic Charities USA, Child Welfare League of America, Children's Home Society of America, Employee Assistance Society of North America, Foster Family-based Treatment Association, Joint Council on International Children's Services, Lutheran Services in America, National Council For Adoption, National Foundation for Credit Counseling, National Network for Youth, National Organization of State Associations for Children, Prevent Child Abuse America and Volunteers of America.

COA's supporting endorsers include the following organizations: American Association of Children's Residential Centers, American Network of Community Options and Resources, Child Welfare League of Canada, EAGLE Program of the United Methodist Association, Mental Health Corporations of America, Inc., National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, National Association of Family-Based Services, National Association of Psychiatric Treatment Centers for Children, National Association of Social Workers, National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors, Inc., National Association of Therapeutic Wilderness Camps and National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare.

LSS has a 140 year history of assisting those seeking to build their families through all kinds of adoption - domestic infant, international, kinship, and the adoption of waiting children.

Adoption is a life-long journey that touches the lives of many. The LSS Post Adoption Resource Center (PARC) offers counseling services and an array of programs geared to the unique joys and challenges of adoption and adoptive family life. The PARC educates and supports individuals and families impacted by adoption, whether personally or professionally.

LSS Adoption is a program of Lutheran Social Services, one of the largest social service organizations in New England. Each year LSS touches the lives of tens of thousands individuals helping to move them forward and realize their full potential. To learn more, visit http://www.lssne.org.