What This Bill Does
This bill directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to create and share educational materials about adoption sensitivities in hospitals and health care facilities. The bill also requires the Secretary to provide training and professional development to hospital staff about caring for birth mothers and families pursuing adoption.
Who It Affects
Care providers at hospitals and birthing centers, including nurses and staff who interact with patients. Birth mothers considering adoption. Families seeking to adopt. The Administration for Children and Families (a part of the Department of Health and Human Services).
Key Provisions
The Secretary must develop and spread accurate, accessible resources about adoption sensitivities and best practices for interacting with birth mothers and adoptive families, including digital resources (Sec. 3a).
The Secretary must maintain a webpage on the Administration for Children and Families public website with adoption resources for health care workers (Sec. 3b).
The Secretary must create these resources through a committee that includes adoption education organizations, maternal health experts, child welfare experts, licensed social workers, hospital case managers, and adoption attorneys (Sec. 3c).
The Secretary must provide education and professional development to hospital and birthing center staff about caring for families pursuing adoption, either directly or through grants and contracts (Sec. 4a).
If the Secretary gives grants or contracts, eligible organizations must be health care-based education organizations that focus on adoption and cannot be child-placing agencies or provide abortions (Sec. 4b).
The Secretary must evaluate how many hospitals and birthing centers adopt this training and how many care providers receive the education by 3 years after the law passes, and report results to Congress (Sec. 4d).
What Changes
Hospitals and birthing centers will have access to new educational resources about adoption. Staff at these facilities will have opportunities to receive training about how to interact respectfully with birth mothers and families pursuing adoption. The government will measure whether this training reaches hospitals and care providers.
Important Definitions
Birth mother: A woman who places her baby with adoptive parents and gives up parental rights.
Care provider: Any health care workers including bedside staff and other support staff who interact with expectant mothers, birth mothers, and families seeking to adopt in a hospital or birthing center.
Child-placing agency: A business that finds homes for newborn infants by arranging adoptions or foster care placements.
Potential adoptive family: One or more individuals actively seeking to adopt a child.
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1475
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and nation-
ally disseminate accurate, relevant, and accessible resources to promote
understanding about sensitivities regarding adoption in the health care
industry, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 8, 2023
Mr. SMUCKER (for himself and Mr. DAVIS of North Carolina) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the
Workforce
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to
develop and nationally disseminate accurate, relevant,
and accessible resources to promote understanding about
sensitivities regarding adoption in the health care indus-
try, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Hospital Adoption
4
Education Act of 2023’’.
5
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
6
The Congress finds the following:
7
VerDate Sep 11 2014
23:45 Mar 21, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1475.IH
H1475
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
2
•HR 1475 IH
(1) 24 percent of Americans say that they have
1
considered adopting a child.
2
(2) 81 percent of birth parents report that easy
3
access to objective information is important to them
4
when making the decision to choose adoption.
5
(3) 93 percent of Americans consider hospitals
6
and health care facilities to be trustworthy sources
7
of information about adoption.
8
(4) 98.2 percent of nurses have no professional
9
development in the sensitivities around adoption.
10
(5) Only 4 percent of women with unintended
11
pregnancies place their children through adoption.
12
SEC. 3. DEVELOPMENT AND DISSEMINATION OF ADOPTION
13
RESOURCES.
14
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and
15
Human Services—
16
(1) shall develop and nationally disseminate ac-
17
curate, relevant, and accessible resources to promote
18
understanding about—
19
(A) the sensitivities regarding adoption in
20
the health care industry; and
21
(B) best practices when interacting with
22
prospective birth mothers and adoptive families;
23
and
24
(2) in carrying out paragraph (1)—
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
23:45 Mar 21, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1475.IH
H1475
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
3
•HR 1475 IH
(A) shall include digital resources; and
1
(B) may include other types of resources,
2
such as print resources.
3
(b) ONLINE ADOPTION RESOURCES FOR HEALTH
4
CARE WORKERS.—The Secretary shall maintain on the
5
public website of the Administration for Children and
6
Families a webpage on adoption resources for health care
7
workers to improve the awareness and understanding of
8
such workers regarding adoption.
9
(c) DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.—
10
(1) COMMITTEE.—The Secretary shall develop
11
the resources required by subsections (a) and (b)
12
through a committee of adoption experts.
13
(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The membership of the
14
committee referred to in paragraph (1) shall in-
15
clude—
16
(A) representatives of organizations in-
17
volved in adoption education;
18
(B) maternal health experts;
19
(C) child welfare experts;
20
(D) licensed social workers;
21
(E) hospital case managers; and
22
(F) adoption attorneys.
23
VerDate Sep 11 2014
23:45 Mar 21, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1475.IH
H1475
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
4
•HR 1475 IH
SEC. 4. EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
1
FOR CARE PROVIDERS REGARDING PATIENT
2
CARE FOR FAMILIES PURSUING ADOPTION,
3
INCLUDING PROSPECTIVE BIRTH MOTHERS
4
AND POTENTIAL ADOPTIVE FAMILIES.
5
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the
6
Administration for Children and Families, directly or
7
through grants or contracts in accordance with subsection
8
(b), shall—
9
(1) provide to care providers at hospitals and
10
birthing centers education and professional develop-
11
ment regarding patient care for families pursuing
12
adoption, including prospective birth mothers and
13
potential adoptive families; and
14
(2) provide consultation services to hospitals
15
and birthing centers employing care providers on
16
standardized policies, guidelines, and procedures re-
17
garding such education and professional development
18
for such care providers
19
(b) GRANTS OR CONTRACTS.—If the Secretary choos-
20
es to provide education, professional development, or con-
21
sultation services under subsection (a) through the award
22
of a grant or contract, the following provisions shall apply:
23
(1) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for such an
24
award, an entity—
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
23:45 Mar 21, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1475.IH
H1475
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
5
•HR 1475 IH
(A) shall be a health care-based education
1
organization that focuses on adoption; and
2
(B) shall not—
3
(i) be a child-placing agency; or
4
(ii) provide or refer for abortions.
5
(2) APPLICATION.—To seek such an award, an
6
eligible entity shall submit an application to the Sec-
7
retary at such time, in such manner, and containing
8
such information and assurances as the Secretary
9
may require.
10
(3) PERIOD.—The period of such an award
11
shall not exceed 3 fiscal years.
12
(4) REPORTS.—As a condition on receipt of
13
such an award, an eligible entity shall agree to sub-
14
mit to the Secretary each fiscal year a report on the
15
activities carried out through the award. Each such
16
report shall include such information as the Sec-
17
retary determines is necessary to provide an accu-
18
rate description of such activities.
19
(5) SUPPLEMENT
NOT
SUPPLANT.—Activities
20
carried out using funds made available through such
21
an award shall supplement, and not supplant, activi-
22
ties carried out using other funds made available
23
from the Federal Government or other sources.
24
VerDate Sep 11 2014
23:45 Mar 21, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1475.IH
H1475
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
6
•HR 1475 IH
(c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE; COORDINATION.—The
1
Secretary shall—
2
(1) provide technical assistance to eligible enti-
3
ties regarding activities carried out through an
4
award under this section; and
5
(2) as appropriate, coordinate the provision of
6
education, professional development, and consulta-
7
tion services under subsection (a) with other adop-
8
tion-related research, professional development, serv-
9
ices, and assistance activities carried out by the De-
10
partment of Health and Human Services.
11
(d) EVALUATION.—
12
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall evaluate
13
the implementation and effectiveness of the activities
14
carried out (directly or through grants or contracts)
15
under this section, including by calculating—
16
(A) the number of hospitals and birthing
17
centers that implement adoption-sensitive pro-
18
gramming and education and professional devel-
19
opment as a result of the activities under this
20
section; and
21
(B) the number of care providers who re-
22
ceive adoption education or professional devel-
23
opment as a result of the activities under this
24
section.
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
23:45 Mar 21, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1475.IH
H1475
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
7
•HR 1475 IH
(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 3
1
years after the date of enactment of this Act, the
2
Secretary shall complete the evaluation under para-
3
graph (1) and submit to the Congress a report that
4
contains the results of such evaluation, including the
5
calculations under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of
6
paragraph (1).
7
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
8
In this Act:
9
(1) The term ‘‘birth mother’’ means a woman
10
who places her baby with the adoptive parents and
11
terminates parental rights.
12
(2) The term ‘‘care provider’’ includes any
13
health care personnel (including bedside staff) and
14
ancillary staff who have contact in a hospital or
15
birthing center with expectant mothers, birth moth-
16
ers, and potential adoptive families.
17
(3) The term ‘‘child-placing agency’’ means a
18
business or service conducted, maintained, or oper-
19
ated by a person engaged in finding homes for new-
20
born infants by placing, or arranging for the place-
21
ment of, such newborn infants for adoption or foster
22
care.
23
VerDate Sep 11 2014
23:45 Mar 21, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1475.IH
H1475
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
8
•HR 1475 IH
(4) The term ‘‘potential adoptive family’’ means
1
one or more individuals who are actively seeking to
2
adopt a child.
3
(5) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary
4
of Health and Human Services.
5
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
6
To carry out this Act, there is authorized to be appro-
7
priated to the Secretary of Health and Human Services
8
$5,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2023 through
9
2026.
10
Æ
VerDate Sep 11 2014
23:45 Mar 21, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H1475.IH
H1475
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB