What is the Infant Adoption Awareness Act?
On October 17, 2000, the U.S. Congress advised the Public Health Services Act to commission specific activities pertaining to Infant Adoption Awareness (title XII, Subtitle A), thus called the Infant Adoption Awareness Act. This required the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to award grants to adoption organizations to develop and implement programs to train the designated staff of eligible health centers, or public and nonprofit private entities that provide health services to pregnant women. The programs train eligible health center personnel to provide adoption information and referrals to pregnant women on an equal basis with all other courses of action included in non-directive counseling for pregnant women.
The legislation also required the Secretary to establish a set of best-practice guidelines that the DHHS-funded training programs would adhere to while providing training to the staff of the eligible health centers. These “best-practice” guidelines were critical for attaining the primary IAATP goal, which was enhancing the ability of health center staff to provide adoption information and referrals on an equal basis with all other courses of action included in non-directive counseling for pregnant women. Consistent with the intent of the legislation, these guidelines were developed in consultation with 29 experts in the fields of adoption, child welfare, health services, medicine, law, and adoption counseling, as well as adoptive parents. The guidelines specific to the Infant Adoption Awareness training program included training goals such as:
- Imparting up-to-date information about adoption, such as the various types of adoptions.
- Conveying accurate information regarding the decision in which a birth parent may or may not choose adoptive parents for the child.
- Locating the various adoption services available within the community and assessing the quality and appropriateness of their services for a particular woman.
The training provides basic skills to the eligible health center staff, such as:
- Increasing their awareness of their attitudes and biases pertaining to adoption so that they are able to present the option of adoption in an objective, non-biased manner.
- Increasing their sensitivity, understanding and skills regarding the influences that both a birth mother and birth father may experience from family, peers, and community members.
- Training participants who will counsel pregnant women. That these counselors will be skilled in non-directive counseling to ensure that adoption information, and information about other pregnancy options, is presented objectively, without bias or judgment.
- Training participants to increase their knowledge of available adoption-related referral resources and how to assess the quality and appropriateness of these resources.
Is this training still ongoing?
The most recent reauthorization of the Infant Adoption Awareness Act was included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. This continued the program’s focus on training healthcare providers and increasing awareness about adoption options. The Act is part of ongoing efforts to ensure that expectant parents have access to comprehensive information about adoption, as well as resources for support and counseling.
Another Alternative?
The National Council For Adoption currently provides a free online pregnancy training, “Exploring Adoption”: Adoptioncouncil.org/exploringadoption. The National Council For Adoption conveys that this free training course combines recent research, best practices, and personal stories to educate and equip those serving today’s expectant and birth parent population.
What else can we do?
Inquire at your local abortion center about whether their staff and counselors are required to undergo training in adoption counseling. Additionally, consider signing the Talk About Adoption™’s petition to mandate that abortion center workers and counselors complete ethical and comprehensive adoption training.
