(1) You must have a preservice training plan of at least sixteen hours for new staff that includes:

(a) Relevant state law;

(b) Agency goals, ethical and professional guidelines, organizational lines of accountability, policies and procedures;

(c) The cultural diversity of the populations(s) you serve;

(d) Potential short and long term effects of prenatal exposure to alcohol, drugs and poor nutrition;

(e) The potential effects of separation and loss by the child in respect to their family of origin;

(f) The process of developing emotional ties to an adoptive family;

(g) Attachment and post-traumatic stress disorders;

(h) Normal child and adolescent development;

(i) The potential effects of abuse, neglect and institutionalization on child development;

(j) The potential issues of race and culture;

(k) The emotional adjustment of adopted children and their families;

(l) Open adoption, benefits of continued relations with siblings;

(m) Adoption support;

(n) The most frequent medical and psychological problems experienced by children from the countries of origin you serve;

(o) Acculturation and assimilation issues, including those that arise from race, ethnicity, religion, and culture; and

(p) Child, adolescent and adult development as affected by adoption.

(2) If you provide intercountry adoption services, there is additional training required. Preservice training must also include:

(a) The requirements of the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-Operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, the federal Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, Public Law 106-279, Immigration and Nationality Act and the applicable Code of Federal Regulations;

(b) The adoption laws of any country where your agency provides adoption services;

(c) Ethical considerations in intercountry adoption and prohibitions on child buying;

(d) The effects of having been adopted internationally;

(e) Factors in the countries of origin that lead to children needing adoptive families; and

(f) Outcomes for children placed for adoption internationally.

(3) Employees may be exempt from elements of the intercountry adoption services training requirements when the employee has demonstrated experience with intercountry adoption and knowledge of the Hague Convention and the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000.

(4) You must have a written in-service training program of at least fifteen hours annually that includes current and emerging adoption practice issues. If you provide specialized adoption services, such as interstate adoption services or adoption services for children with special needs, you must have a written in-service training program for staff for the specialized adoption services you provide.