No official summary available for this bill.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3223 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3223
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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 19, 2025
Mr. Husted (for himself and Mr. Mullin) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
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.
Congress finds the following:
(1) 24 percent of people of the United States 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 people of the United States consider
hospitals and health care facilities to be trustworthy sources
of information about adoption.
(5) 98.2 percent of nurses have no formal professional
training in the sensitivities around adoption.
(6) Fewer than 1 percent of women with unintended
pregnancies place their children through adoption.
SEC. 3. DEVELOPMENT AND DISSEMINATION OF ADOPTION RESOURCES.
Title II of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Adoption
Reform Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 5111 et seq.) is amended--
(1) by redesignating section 205 as section 208;
(2) by inserting after section 204 the following:
``SEC. 205. DEVELOPMENT AND DISSEMINATION OF ADOPTION RESOURCES.
``(a) In General.--
``(1) Development and dissemination of resources.--The
Secretary shall develop and nationally disseminate accurate,
relevant, and accessible resources to promote understanding
about--
``(A) the sensitivities in the health care industry
regarding adoption; and
``(B) best practices when interacting with
prospective birth mothers and adoptive families.
``(2) Requirements.--The resources described in 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 web page on adoption resources to improve
the awareness and understanding of health care workers regarding
adoption.
``(c) Development Process.--
``(1) Committee.--The Secretary shall develop the resources
under subsections (a) and (b) in consultation with a committee
of adoption experts.
``(2) Membership.--The membership of the committee
described 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. 206. EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR CARE PROVIDERS
REGARDING PATIENT CARE FOR PROSPECTIVE BIRTH MOTHERS AND
POTENTIAL ADOPTIVE FAMILIES.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Assistant
Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families, directly or
through grants or contracts awarded 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 providers.
``(b) Grants or Contracts.--With respect to a grant or contract
awarded for the purposes described in subsection (a), the following
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 care 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 health
care 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; and
``(C) shall submit an application to the Secretary
at such time, in such manner, and containing such
information and assurances as the Secretary may
require.
``(2) Period.--The period of a grant or contract awarded
under this section shall not exceed 3 fiscal years.
``(3) Reports.--As a condition on receipt of a grant or
contract under this section, an eligible entity shall 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.
``(4) Supplement not supplant.--Activities carried out
using funds made available through a grant or contract awarded
under this section shall supplement, and not supplant,
activities carried out by such entity 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 the Hospital Adoption Education Act of
2025, the Secretary shall complete the evaluation under
paragraph (1) and submit to Congress a report that contains the
results of such evaluation, including the calculations under
subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1).
``SEC. 207. DEFINITIONS.
``In this title:
``(1) The term `birth mother' means a woman who terminates
parental rights with respect to her baby and allows for
placement of such baby with adoptive parents.
``(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.'';
(3) in section 203(d)(3)(A) (42 U.S.C. 5113(d)(3)(A)), by
striking ``section 205(a)'' and inserting ``section 208(a)'';
and
(4) in section 208, as so redesignated--
(A) in subsection (a), by striking ``this
subtitle'' and inserting ``this title (other than
sections 205 and 206)'';
(B) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection
(d); and
(C) by inserting after subsection (b) the
following:
``(c) The Secretary shall carry out sections 205 and 206 using
amounts otherwise made available to the Administration for Children and
Families.''.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line