Department of Child Adoption

Pursuant to Decree No. 3139/QD-BTP dated 20 November 2014 of the Minister of Justice prescribing the functions, duties, powers and organizational structure of the Department of Child Adoption, the Department has functions, duties, powers and organizational structure as follows:

I. Role and functions

The Department of Child Adoption (hereafter called "the Department") which performs the advisory function to the Minister in state management over child adoption; settling child adoption cases involving foreign elements; assisting the Minister in performing the tasks of the Vietnam Central Agency for international child adoption.

The Department shall have a legal status, a head-quarter located in Ha Noi. The Department shall have its own seal and own bank account at the State Treasury as stipulated by law.

II. Tasks and powers

1. Formulating and submitting to the Minister long-term, five-year and annual work plans of the Department; taking part in formulating strategies, master plans and plans of the Ministry and the Justice sector for long-term, five-year and yearly periods.

2. Taking prime responsibility for or coordinating with other agencies in formulating and submitting to the Minister ideas and policies on domestic child adoption and child adoption involving foreign elements.

3. Taking prime responsibility for and coordinating with other units of the Ministry in developing and submitting schemes, projects, draft legal normative documents on child adoption to the Minister or competent agencies for approval; taking part in appraising and making comments on other projects and draft legal normative documents as assigned by the Minister.

4. Preparing procedures according to provisions of laws for the Minister to submit to competent agencies for signing, acceding and implementing international treaties on child adoption.

5. Developing and submitting to the Minister for issuance and implementation of forms, papers and notebooks related to child adoption.

6. Organizing the implementation of strategies, master plans, plans, schemes, projects, legal normative documents under the scope of management of the Department.

7. Monitoring and synthesizing the status, the results of implementation of the guideline, policies and legal normative documents under the scope of management of the Department.

8. Performing review, systematization and consolidation of legal normative documents under the scope of management of the Department.

9. Providing guidance and training on professional skills on child adoption registration.

10. Regarding the activity of domestic child adoption:

a) Proposing and organizing the implementation of solutions on ensuring the rights of the child to be adopted by domestic families before being adopted by foreign people; measures to encourage the registration of adoption for abandoned children, orphaned children and others with special circumstances;

b) Examining the exercising of rights and interests of domestic adopted children according to provisions of laws.

11. Regarding the activity of child adoption involving foreign elements:

a) Receiving, checking and processing dossiers of foreigners and Vietnamese people residing overseas who apply for adoption of Vietnamese children; checking dossiers of Vietnamese children to be introduced for foreign adoption;

b) Coordinating with the central agencies on adoption of recipients to complete the settlement documents for foreign adoptions; issuing certificates of adoption with foreign elements which have been resolved in accordance with provisions of the Law on Adoption and the international treaties on adoption of which Vietnam is a member;

c) Monitoring the development and examining the exercising of rights and interests of Vietnamese children being adopted overseas;

d) Settling procedures for Vietnamese citizens to adopt foreign children;

dd) Receiving, examining and appraising dossiers of application for establishment of foreign child adoption offices in Vietnam; submitting to the Minister for granting, extending and changing in the content, terminating and withdrawing the permits for setting up foreign child adoption offices in Vietnam; managing foreign child adoption offices in Vietnam according to provisions of laws.

e) Performing collection, disbursement, management and use of fees for registration of foreign adoptions, fees for granting, extending and amending the license to operate in Vietnam of foreign adoption agencies and the cost of settling foreign adoption; examining the use of the cost of settling foreign adoption and making annual report on the collection and use of the cost of settling foreign adoption nationwide.

12. Performing tasks and powers of the Central Agency on International Child Adoption of Vietnam; permanent interdisciplinary working teams ensuring implementation of The Hague Convention on the protection of children and cooperation in the field of international adoption in accordance with laws.

13. Performing international cooperation in child adoption according provisions of laws and as delegated by the Ministry.

14. Undertaking the regimes of information and report; managing files and documents on planning, finance-budget, assets, accounting, statistics, development investment of the Ministry according to provisions of laws.

15. Examining and involving in inspection and settlement of complaints and denunciations according to provisions of laws and as delegated by the Ministry.

16. Recommending policies and solutions and organizing anti-corruption, negative issue combat and prevention in the field of child adoption according to provisions of laws.

17. Implementing the activity of emulation and commendation, and managing officials of the Department according to provisions of laws and as delegated by the Ministry.

18. Performing finance-accounting regime, managing state budget and assets of the Department under the provisions of laws and as delegated by the Ministry.

19. Fulfilling other duties as assigned by the Minister.