This document (also in Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian language versions) provides guidelines for practice on national and intercountry adoption and foster family care, developed under the aegis of the International Council on Social Welfare and incorporating the work of over 200 practitioners, experts, and government officials representing nearly 30 countries. Chapter 1 discusses the need for guidelines and presents the guideline principles. Chapter 2 provides guidelines for national and intercountry adoption with regard to the biological and adoptive parents, the child, competent authorities and accredited bodies, the child study, and the adoptive family home study. Chapter 3 presents guidelines for foster family care related to the biological parents, children in foster care, the foster family, competent authorities and agencies, the child study, and a foster family home study. Each guideline is related to a specific article in either the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child or the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. (KB)