Hospital Adoption Education Act of 2023

Subjects: Health

Summary:  <p><b>Hospital Adoption Education Act of 2023</b></p> <p>This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop resources to promote the understanding of adoption in the health care industry.</p> <p>Specifically, HHS must develop and disseminate digital resources about adoption for the health care industry, including best practices for interacting with prospective birth mothers and adoptive families. In addition, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) must maintain resources on its website for health care workers to improve their awareness and understanding of adoption.</p> <p>The ACF must also provide professional development (and related consultation services) about families pursuing adoption for care providers at hospitals and birthing centers. The ACF may carry out these activities directly or through grants or contracts with education organizations that are health care-based and focused on adoption. However, the ACF may not award grants to or enter contracts with (1) agencies that place newborn children for adoption or in foster care, or (2) organizations that provide abortion services.</p>

<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1475 Introduced in House (IH)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Hospital Adoption Education Act of 
2023''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) 24 percent of Americans say that they have considered 
        adopting a child.
            (2) 81 percent of birth parents report that easy access to 
        objective information is important to them when making the 
        decision to choose adoption.
            (3) 93 percent of Americans consider hospitals and health 
        care facilities to be trustworthy sources of information about 
        adoption.
            (4) 98.2 percent of nurses have no professional development 
        in the sensitivities around adoption.
            (5) Only 4 percent of women with unintended pregnancies 
        place their children through adoption.

SEC. 3. DEVELOPMENT AND DISSEMINATION OF ADOPTION RESOURCES.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services--
            (1) shall develop and nationally disseminate accurate, 
        relevant, and accessible resources to promote understanding 
        about--
                    (A) the sensitivities regarding adoption in the 
                health care industry; and
                    (B) best practices when interacting with 
                prospective birth mothers and adoptive families; and
            (2) in carrying out paragraph (1)--
                    (A) shall include digital resources; and
                    (B) may include other types of resources, such as 
                print resources.
    (b) Online Adoption Resources for Health Care Workers.--The 
Secretary shall maintain on the public website of the Administration 
for Children and Families a webpage on adoption resources for health 
care workers to improve the awareness and understanding of such workers 
regarding adoption.
    (c) Development Process.--
            (1) Committee.--The Secretary shall develop the resources 
        required by subsections (a) and (b) through a committee of 
        adoption experts.
            (2) Membership.--The membership of the committee referred 
        to in paragraph (1) shall include--
                    (A) representatives of organizations involved in 
                adoption education;
                    (B) maternal health experts;
                    (C) child welfare experts;
                    (D) licensed social workers;
                    (E) hospital case managers; and
                    (F) adoption attorneys.

SEC. 4. EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR CARE PROVIDERS 
              REGARDING PATIENT CARE FOR FAMILIES PURSUING ADOPTION, 
              INCLUDING PROSPECTIVE BIRTH MOTHERS AND POTENTIAL 
              ADOPTIVE FAMILIES.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Administration 
for Children and Families, directly or through grants or contracts in 
accordance with subsection (b), shall--
            (1) provide to care providers at hospitals and birthing 
        centers education and professional development regarding 
        patient care for families pursuing adoption, including 
        prospective birth mothers and potential adoptive families; and
            (2) provide consultation services to hospitals and birthing 
        centers employing care providers on standardized policies, 
        guidelines, and procedures regarding such education and 
        professional development for such care providers
    (b) Grants or Contracts.--If the Secretary chooses to provide 
education, professional development, or consultation services under 
subsection (a) through the award of a grant or contract, the following 
provisions shall apply:
            (1) Eligibility.--To be eligible for such an award, an 
        entity--
                    (A) shall be a health care-based education 
                organization that focuses on adoption; and
                    (B) shall not--
                            (i) be a child-placing agency; or
                            (ii) provide or refer for abortions.
            (2) Application.--To seek such an award, an eligible entity 
        shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in 
        such manner, and containing such information and assurances as 
        the Secretary may require.
            (3) Period.--The period of such an award shall not exceed 3 
        fiscal years.
            (4) Reports.--As a condition on receipt of such an award, 
        an eligible entity shall agree to submit to the Secretary each 
        fiscal year a report on the activities carried out through the 
        award. Each such report shall include such information as the 
        Secretary determines is necessary to provide an accurate 
        description of such activities.
            (5) Supplement not supplant.--Activities carried out using 
        funds made available through such an award shall supplement, 
        and not supplant, activities carried out using other funds made 
        available from the Federal Government or other sources.
    (c) Technical Assistance; Coordination.--The Secretary shall--
            (1) provide technical assistance to eligible entities 
        regarding activities carried out through an award under this 
        section; and
            (2) as appropriate, coordinate the provision of education, 
        professional development, and consultation services under 
        subsection (a) with other adoption-related research, 
        professional development, services, and assistance activities 
        carried out by the Department of Health and Human Services.
    (d) Evaluation.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall evaluate the 
        implementation and effectiveness of the activities carried out 
        (directly or through grants or contracts) under this section, 
        including by calculating--
                    (A) the number of hospitals and birthing centers 
                that implement adoption-sensitive programming and 
                education and professional development as a result of 
                the activities under this section; and
                    (B) the number of care providers who receive 
                adoption education or professional development as a 
                result of the activities under this section.
            (2) Report to congress.--Not later than 3 years after the 
        date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall complete the 
        evaluation under paragraph (1) and submit to the Congress a 
        report that contains the results of such evaluation, including 
        the calculations under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph 
        (1).

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) The term ``birth mother'' means a woman who places her 
        baby with the adoptive parents and terminates parental rights.
            (2) The term ``care provider'' includes any health care 
        personnel (including bedside staff) and ancillary staff who 
        have contact in a hospital or birthing center with expectant 
        mothers, birth mothers, and potential adoptive families.
            (3) The term ``child-placing agency'' means a business or 
        service conducted, maintained, or operated by a person engaged 
        in finding homes for newborn infants by placing, or arranging 
        for the placement of, such newborn infants for adoption or 
        foster care.
            (4) The term ``potential adoptive family'' means one or 
        more individuals who are actively seeking to adopt a child.
            (5) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Health 
        and Human Services.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    To carry out this Act, there is authorized to be appropriated to 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services $5,000,000 for the period of 
fiscal years 2023 through 2026.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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