I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2375 

To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide services 

for mothers who are considering placing or have placed a child for 

adoption, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 5, 2021 

Mr. SMUCKER (for himself, Mr. BACON, and Mr. MOORE of Utah) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 

Labor 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

to provide services for mothers who are considering placing or have placed a child for adoption, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Improving Adoption 

5 Outcomes and Affordability Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF PRE-ADOPTION SERVICES FOR 

2 MOTHERS CONSIDERING ADOPTION. 

3 (a) SERVICES AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of 

4 Health and Human Services acting through the Adminis5 tration for Children and Families (in this section referred 

6 to as the ‘‘Secretary’’), either directly or by grant to or 

7 contract with eligible entities described in subsection (b), 

8 shall provide services described in subsection (c) for moth9 ers who are considering placing or have placed a child for 

10 adoption. 

11 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The eligible entities re12 ferred to in subsection (a) are States, local governmental 

13 entities, and public or private agencies or organizations, 

14 including public or private licensed child welfare or adop15 tion agencies and faith-based organizations, focused on 

16 adoption services or education in health care to promote 

17 hospital-based programming. 

18 (c) TYPES OF SERVICES.—The types of services re19 ferred to in subsection (a) are— 

20 (1) counseling services for mothers who are 

21 considering placing or have placed a child for adop22 tion, including— 

23 (A) individual and support group coun24 seling; 

25 (B) mental health counseling; 

26 (C) substance abuse counseling; and 


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1 (D) grief counseling; 

2 (2) providing post-adoption or post-placement 

3 support services and benefits for mothers, including 

4 support groups or retreats, licensed professional 

5 counseling, complementary or alternative therapy, 

6 and workforce or educational development training, 

7 as appropriate; and 

8 (3) training of staff at hospitals and other ap9 propriate birth care facilities relating to interaction 

10 of such staff with families pursuing adoption, includ11 ing both expectant mothers and potential adoptive 

12 families. 

13 (d) APPLICATION.—Each eligible entity referred to in 

14 subsection (a) that desires to receive a grant or enter into 

15 a contract with the Secretary under subsection (a) shall 

16 submit an application to the Secretary that describes the 

17 manner in which the entity will use funds under the grant 

18 or contract during the 3 fiscal years subsequent to the 

19 date of the application to accomplish the purposes of this 

20 section. Such application shall be submitted in a form and 

21 manner determined to be appropriate by the Secretary. 

22 (e) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall require each eli23 gible entity referred to in subsection (a) that receives a 

24 grant or enters into a contract with the Secretary under 

25 subsection (a) to submit to the Secretary a report on the 


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1 services provided or activities carried out by the entity for 

2 each fiscal year for which the entity receives amounts 

3 under the grant or contract. The report shall contain such 

4 information as the Secretary determines is necessary to 

5 provide an accurate description of the services provided 

6 or activities carried out with such amounts. 

7 (f) SERVICES TO SUPPLEMENT AND NOT SUP8 PLANT.—Services provided under a grant or contract 

9 under subsection (a) shall supplement, and not supplant, 

10 services provided using any other funds made available for 

11 the same general purposes. 

12 (g) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE

13 PROVISIONS.—The Secretary shall— 

14 (1) provide technical assistance to eligible enti15 ties referred to in subsection (a) that receive a grant 

16 or enter into a contract with the Secretary under 

17 subsection (a) for purposes of providing the services 

18 described in subsection (c); 

19 (2) as appropriate, coordinate the provision of 

20 services described in subsection (c) with other adop21 tion-related research, training, services, and assist22 ance activities carried out by the Department of 

23 Health and Human Services; and 

24 (3) either directly, or by grant to or contract 

25 with a public or private agency or organization— 


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1 (A) evaluate the implementation and effec2 tiveness of the provision of services described in 

3 subsection (c) and other activities carried out 

4 under this section; 

5 (B) identify different pre-placement serv6 ices provided for mothers, the availability and 

7 utilization of such services, and how pre-place8 ment services might be improved; and 

9 (C) not later than 3 years after the date 

10 of the enactment of this Act, submit to Con11 gress a report that contains the results of the 

12 evaluation under subparagraph (A) and the in13 formation described in subparagraph (B). 

14 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—To carry out this Act, there are 

16 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Health 

17 and Human Services— 

18 (1) $45,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; and 

19 (2) such sums as may be necessary for each of 

20 fiscal years 2023 through 2026. 

21 (b) ALLOCATION.—Of the amounts authorized to be 

22 appropriated by subsection (a) for each of fiscal years 

23 2022 through 2026— 


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(1) 2 1 ⁄3 of such amounts shall be used for serv2 ices described in subsection (c) in connection with 

3 prenatal care; and 

(2) 1 4 ⁄3 of such amounts shall be used for serv5 ices described in subsection (c) in connection with 

6 post-adoption or post-placement services. 

7 (c) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS.—Sec8 tions 506 and 507 of division H of the Consolidated Ap9 propriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116–260) shall apply 

10 with respect to funds made available for any fiscal year 

11 to carry out this Act to the same extent and in the same 

12 manner as such sections 506 and 507 apply with respect 

13 to funds appropriated for fiscal year 2021 to the Depart14 ment of Health and Human Services by such division H. 

15 (d) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pursuant 

16 to the authorization of appropriations under subsection (a) 

17 are authorized to remain available until expended. 

Æ 


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