119-hr2892

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2892 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 2892

 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

 April 10, 2025

Mr. Smucker (for himself, Mr. Davis of North Carolina, and Mr. Kelly of 
Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Education and 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 
2025''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

 The Congress finds the following:

    (1) 24 percent of Americans say that they have considered 
 adopting a child.

    (2) 80 percent of women who consider adoption do so after 
 their sixth month of pregnancy.

    (3) 81 percent of birth parents report that easy access to 
 objective information is important to them when making the 
 decision to choose adoption.

    (4) 93 percent of Americans consider hospitals and health 
 care facilities to be trustworthy sources of information about 
 adoption.

    (5) 98.2 percent of nurses have no professional development 
 in the sensitivities around adoption.

    (6) Less than 1 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--
            (i) be a health care-based, nonprofit 
 education organization that focuses on 
 adoption;
            (ii) partner with healthcare professionals, 
 hospitals, birthing centers, and community 
 organizations to implement patient-centered 
 care models;
            (iii) emphasize holistic parenting support 
 in the perinatal setting; and
            (iv) have demonstrated experience providing 
 non-directive education to healthcare 
 professionals supporting expectant parents 
 considering adoption, parenting, and kinship 
 care;
        (B) shall not--
            (i) be or represent a child-placing agency;
            (ii) provide or refer for abortions; or
            (iii) hold any other vested interest in a 
 particular pregnancy outcome.

    (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 2026 through 2029.
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