HR2892-119

What This Bill Does

The Hospital Adoption Education Act directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to create and disseminate adoption resources for health care workers and to support adoption-sensitive education and professional development for care providers at hospitals and birthing centers. HHS must maintain an Administration for Children and Families adoption-resource webpage and develop resources through a committee that includes adoption education organizations, maternal health experts, child welfare experts, licensed social workers, hospital case managers, and adoption attorneys. HHS may provide education, professional development, and consultation directly or through grants or contracts to health care-based nonprofit education organizations that focus on adoption, use patient-centered models, do not place children, do not provide or refer for abortions, and have no vested interest in a pregnancy outcome. The bill requires annual reports from awardees, technical assistance, a 3-year HHS evaluation of hospital and provider uptake, and authorizes 5 million dollars for fiscal years 2026 through 2029.

Who Benefits and How

Hospital and birthing center care providers benefit because HHS must provide adoption-sensitive education, professional development, and consultation resources. Prospective birth mothers benefit from more objective and accessible adoption information in trusted health care settings. Potential adoptive families benefit if hospital and birthing center staff understand adoption processes and patient-centered care models. Adoption education nonprofit organizations benefit from eligibility for grants or contracts to deliver training and consultation.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The Department of Health and Human Services must create resources, maintain the ACF webpage, manage grants or contracts, provide technical assistance, evaluate implementation, and report to Congress. Hospitals and birthing centers must coordinate provider training and standardized adoption-sensitive policies if they participate. Grant or contract recipients must submit annual activity reports and cannot supplant existing funding. Federal taxpayers bear the 5 million dollar authorization cost.

Key Provisions

• Directs HHS to develop and disseminate adoption resources for health care workers.
• Creates an Administration for Children and Families webpage for adoption resources.
• Authorizes grants or contracts for provider education, professional development, and consultation at hospitals and birthing centers.
• Limits eligible awardees by excluding child-placing agencies, abortion providers or referral entities, and entities with vested pregnancy-outcome interests.
• Appropriates a 5 million dollar authorization for fiscal years 2026 through 2029.