The Council on Accreditations (COA) has officially withdrawn as an accrediting entity (AE) for adoption service providers under the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. Intercountry Adoption Accreditation and Maintenance Entity, Inc. (IAAME) will take over full accrediting duties as of December 2018.

This news comes in the wake of COA’s October 2017 announcement that it “would be unable to continue to perform its duties as an accrediting entity (AE) due to ‘unforeseen circumstances.’” Consultations between COA and the U.S. Department of State (DOS) did not end in a new agreement, and COA confirmed that it would withdraw. The DOS has stated that it does not anticipate any interruptions in the intercountry adoption process for agencies or adopting families.