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S 1530 113th Congress Senate International Affairs Adoption and foster care Child care and development Child health Child safety and welfare Congressional oversight Department of Homeland Security Department of State Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad Domestic violence and child abuse Executive agency funding and structure Family relationships Family services Federal officials Foreign aid and international relief Government information and archives Government studies and investigations Human rights Human trafficking Immigration status and procedures

Children in Families First Act of 2013

Introduced: September 19, 2013 See on congress.gov
This bill died when the 113th Congress ended
It never became law before the 113th Congress (2013–2014) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Sep 19, 2013
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Sep 19, 2013
Introduced in Senate
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 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Children in Families First Act of 2013 - Establishes within the Department of State the Bureau of Vulnerable Children and Family Security which shall: (1) support the implementation in foreign countries of child welfare laws and policies; and (2) establish within the Bureau a Senior Coordinator for Permanence who shall lead the implementation of policies to ensure permanent family care for children living without families, including refugee and stateless children.

States that the Bureau shall be headed by an Assistant Secretary and have lead responsibility for representing the U.S. government in diplomatic contacts pertaining to intercountry adoptions.

Amends the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), to carry out the functions prescribed by the Convention regarding the accreditation of U.S. adoption services providers.

Establishes data bases for: (1) internationally adopted children, and (2) adoption service providers.

Transfers from the Secretary of State to the Field Operations Directorate of USCIS specified adoption-related functions, including accreditation of agencies and approval of persons to provide adoption services and oversight of provider investigations.

Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), through USCIS, to: (1) be responsible for processing and case-specific decision-making on all intercountry adoption cases, (2) ensure that all intercountry adoption suitability and eligibility determinations of prospective adoptive parents are made in accordance with criteria that comply with the Hague Adoption Convention, (3) ensure that all non-Convention adoption cases undergo specified preprocessing, and (4) be responsible for all case-processing steps in Convention and non-Convention adoption petitions on behalf of children whom U.S. parents propose to immigrate to the United States.

Directs the Secretary of State to submit an annual report to Congress regarding children living without families.

Establishes within the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) a Center of Excellence on Children in Adversity.

Authorizes the President to provide assistance for programs in developing countries for nutrition, education, care, and protection of children.

Requires USAID to carry out a priority country demonstration program implementing the (December 2012) Action Plan for Children in Adversity over a period of five years in at least six countries.

What's happening now September 19, 2013

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

 Related & companion bills 3
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
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APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 1530: Children in Families First Act of 2013. 113th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/113-S-1530/
MLA
"S. 1530: Children in Families First Act of 2013." 113th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/113-S-1530/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 1530, 113th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/113-S-1530/.
Markdown link
[S. 1530: Children in Families First Act of 2013](https://openamerica.io/bill/113-S-1530/)
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