RAISING CONSCIOUSNESS ABOUT ADOPTION

By Dave Andrusko

One would think that adoption would be right up there (so to speak) with motherhood and apple pie. After all, who can be against facilitating arrangements whereby kids who are in need can be matched up with adoptive parents who would love to bring them into their homes?

Well, some do, and often numbered among their ranks is the pro- abortion set. While rarely hammering adoption outright, they will tinge even their (at best) neutral responses with the equivalent of a raised eyebrow. And that may be because in so many instances the birth mother may be unmarried and ambivalent about what path to take.

It's as if the pro-abortion types view adoption as a competitor rather than what ought to be a win-win alternative. Planned Parenthood, which bills itself as a full-service provider, aborted 61 babies for every one adoption referral it made in 1999. (And even as Planned Parenthood continued to raise its abortion profile, the number of its adoption referrals from 1998 to 1999 declined by 39%.)

In many prior administrations, it was clear that promoting adoption was not a high priority. As you would expect from the administration of pro-life President George W. Bush, this is changing.

Reprinted below is the press release sent out by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) October 16. Its emphasis is providing federal dollars to train health care workers at federally funded health centers and clinics so that they can help raise the consciousness of pregnant women to the adoption option.

The Department of Health and Human Services consulted with some 29 experts in a number of fields to come up with what HHS describes as "a set of best-practice guidelines for the grantees to follow when providing this training." This demonstrates a welcomed seriousness about making adoption a real-life option.

No doubt the $8.6 million in grants for this new program will be put to good use by such organizations as the National Council for Adoption. This is good news for everyone.

HHS AWARDS FIRST-EVER GRANTS TO PROMOTE ADOPTION AWARENESS

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced the release of $8.6 million in grants to start a new program to raise awareness about adoption as an option for pregnant women.

The four grant recipients will train health care workers at federally funded health centers and clinics to provide pregnant women with information about adoption, as well as other options, when providing counseling and other services.
"Women should know that adoption often makes sense both for themselves and for their unborn children," Secretary Thompson said. "These grants are an important step in making sure that every pregnant woman who is considering her alternatives understands the benefits of adoption."

Congress authorized the new training program as part of the Infant Adoption Awareness Act included in the Children's Health Act of 2000. The law requires HHS to develop and implement programs to train staff at federally funded health centers and clinics to provide adoption information and referral to pregnant women on an equal basis with other alternatives presented to the women.

HHS has developed a set of best-practice guidelines for the grantees to follow when providing this training. These guidelines were developed in consultation with 29 experts in the fields of adoption, child welfare, health services, and counseling.

"These grants are an important step in making sure that every pregnant woman who is considering her alternatives understands the benefits of adoption," HHS Assistant Secretary for Children and Families Wade F. Horn, Ph.D., said.
"Potential adoptive parents are waiting to welcome children into their homes, and all children deserve a chance to flourish in a loving, permanent family. This program will bring us closer to helping both parents and children."

The National Council for Adoption, based in Washington, D.C., received $6.1 million to implement a national training program.

The other grantees will develop state and regional training programs. The grants will be jointly administered by two HHS agencies, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).