I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1475 

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 

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 industry, 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 ‘‘Hospital Adoption 

5 Education Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) 24 percent of Americans say that they have 

2 considered adopting a child. 

3 (2) 81 percent of birth parents report that easy 

4 access to objective information is important to them 

5 when making the decision to choose adoption. 

6 (3) 93 percent of Americans consider hospitals 

7 and health care facilities to be trustworthy sources 

8 of information about adoption. 

9 (4) 98.2 percent of nurses have no professional 

10 development in the sensitivities around adoption. 

11 (5) Only 4 percent of women with unintended 

12 pregnancies place their children through adoption. 

13 SEC. 3. DEVELOPMENT AND DISSEMINATION OF ADOPTION 

14 RESOURCES. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

16 Human Services— 

17 (1) shall develop and nationally disseminate ac18 curate, relevant, and accessible resources to promote 

19 understanding about— 

20 (A) the sensitivities regarding adoption in 

21 the health care industry; and 

22 (B) best practices when interacting with 

23 prospective birth mothers and adoptive families; 

24 and 

25 (2) in carrying out paragraph (1)— 


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1 (A) shall include digital resources; and 

2 (B) may include other types of resources, 

3 such as print resources. 

4 (b) ONLINE ADOPTION RESOURCES FOR HEALTH

5 CARE WORKERS.—The Secretary shall maintain on the 

6 public website of the Administration for Children and 

7 Families a webpage on adoption resources for health care 

8 workers to improve the awareness and understanding of 

9 such workers regarding adoption. 

10 (c) DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.— 

11 (1) COMMITTEE.—The Secretary shall develop 

12 the resources required by subsections (a) and (b) 

13 through a committee of adoption experts. 

14 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The membership of the 

15 committee referred to in paragraph (1) shall in16 clude— 

17 (A) representatives of organizations in18 volved in adoption education; 

19 (B) maternal health experts; 

20 (C) child welfare experts; 

21 (D) licensed social workers; 

22 (E) hospital case managers; and 

23 (F) adoption attorneys. 


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1 SEC. 4. EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 

2 FOR CARE PROVIDERS REGARDING PATIENT 

3 CARE FOR FAMILIES PURSUING ADOPTION, 

4 INCLUDING PROSPECTIVE BIRTH MOTHERS 

5 AND POTENTIAL ADOPTIVE FAMILIES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the 

7 Administration for Children and Families, directly or 

8 through grants or contracts in accordance with subsection 

9 (b), shall— 

10 (1) provide to care providers at hospitals and 

11 birthing centers education and professional develop12 ment regarding patient care for families pursuing 

13 adoption, including prospective birth mothers and 

14 potential adoptive families; and 

15 (2) provide consultation services to hospitals 

16 and birthing centers employing care providers on 

17 standardized policies, guidelines, and procedures re18 garding such education and professional development 

19 for such care providers 

20 (b) GRANTS OR CONTRACTS.—If the Secretary choos21 es to provide education, professional development, or con22 sultation services under subsection (a) through the award 

23 of a grant or contract, the following provisions shall apply: 

24 (1) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for such an 

25 award, an entity— 


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1 (A) shall be a health care-based education 

2 organization that focuses on adoption; and 

3 (B) shall not— 

4 (i) be a child-placing agency; or 

5 (ii) provide or refer for abortions. 

6 (2) APPLICATION.—To seek such an award, an 

7 eligible entity shall submit an application to the Sec8 retary at such time, in such manner, and containing 

9 such information and assurances as the Secretary 

10 may require. 

11 (3) PERIOD.—The period of such an award 

12 shall not exceed 3 fiscal years. 

13 (4) REPORTS.—As a condition on receipt of 

14 such an award, an eligible entity shall agree to sub15 mit to the Secretary each fiscal year a report on the 

16 activities carried out through the award. Each such 

17 report shall include such information as the Sec18 retary determines is necessary to provide an accu19 rate description of such activities. 

20 (5) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Activities 

21 carried out using funds made available through such 

22 an award shall supplement, and not supplant, activi23 ties carried out using other funds made available 

24 from the Federal Government or other sources. 


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1 (c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE; COORDINATION.—The 

2 Secretary shall— 

3 (1) provide technical assistance to eligible enti4 ties regarding activities carried out through an 

5 award under this section; and 

6 (2) as appropriate, coordinate the provision of 

7 education, professional development, and consulta8 tion services under subsection (a) with other adop9 tion-related research, professional development, serv10 ices, and assistance activities carried out by the De11 partment of Health and Human Services. 

12 (d) EVALUATION.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall evaluate 

14 the implementation and effectiveness of the activities 

15 carried out (directly or through grants or contracts) 

16 under this section, including by calculating— 

17 (A) the number of hospitals and birthing 

18 centers that implement adoption-sensitive pro19 gramming and education and professional devel20 opment as a result of the activities under this 

21 section; and 

22 (B) the number of care providers who re23 ceive adoption education or professional devel24 opment as a result of the activities under this 

25 section. 


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1 (2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 3 

2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

3 Secretary shall complete the evaluation under para4 graph (1) and submit to the Congress a report that 

5 contains the results of such evaluation, including the 

6 calculations under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 

7 paragraph (1). 

8 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this Act: 

10 (1) The term ‘‘birth mother’’ means a woman 

11 who places her baby with the adoptive parents and 

12 terminates parental rights. 

13 (2) The term ‘‘care provider’’ includes any 

14 health care personnel (including bedside staff) and 

15 ancillary staff who have contact in a hospital or 

16 birthing center with expectant mothers, birth moth17 ers, and potential adoptive families. 

18 (3) The term ‘‘child-placing agency’’ means a 

19 business or service conducted, maintained, or oper20 ated by a person engaged in finding homes for new21 born infants by placing, or arranging for the place22 ment of, such newborn infants for adoption or foster 

23 care. 


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1 (4) The term ‘‘potential adoptive family’’ means 

2 one or more individuals who are actively seeking to 

3 adopt a child. 

4 (5) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

5 of Health and Human Services. 

6 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 To carry out this Act, there is authorized to be appro8 priated to the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

9 $5,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2023 through 

10 2026. 

Æ 


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