[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2375 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2375
To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide
services for mothers who are considering placing or have placed a child
for adoption, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 5, 2021
Mr. Smucker (for himself, Mr. Bacon, and Mr. Moore of Utah) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education
and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide
services for mothers who are considering placing or have placed a child
for adoption, 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 ``Improving Adoption Outcomes and
Affordability Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF PRE-ADOPTION SERVICES FOR MOTHERS CONSIDERING
ADOPTION.
(a) Services Authorized.--The Secretary of Health and Human
Services acting through the Administration for Children and Families
(in this section referred to as the ``Secretary''), either directly or
by grant to or contract with eligible entities described in subsection
(b), shall provide services described in subsection (c) for mothers who
are considering placing or have placed a child for adoption.
(b) Eligible Entities.--The eligible entities referred to in
subsection (a) are States, local governmental entities, and public or
private agencies or organizations, including public or private licensed
child welfare or adoption agencies and faith-based organizations,
focused on adoption services or education in health care to promote
hospital-based programming.
(c) Types of Services.--The types of services referred to in
subsection (a) are--
(1) counseling services for mothers who are considering
placing or have placed a child for adoption, including--
(A) individual and support group counseling;
(B) mental health counseling;
(C) substance abuse counseling; and
(D) grief counseling;
(2) providing post-adoption or post-placement support
services and benefits for mothers, including support groups or
retreats, licensed professional counseling, complementary or
alternative therapy, and workforce or educational development
training, as appropriate; and
(3) training of staff at hospitals and other appropriate
birth care facilities relating to interaction of such staff
with families pursuing adoption, including both expectant
mothers and potential adoptive families.
(d) Application.--Each eligible entity referred to in subsection
(a) that desires to receive a grant or enter into a contract with the
Secretary under subsection (a) shall submit an application to the
Secretary that describes the manner in which the entity will use funds
under the grant or contract during the 3 fiscal years subsequent to the
date of the application to accomplish the purposes of this section.
Such application shall be submitted in a form and manner determined to
be appropriate by the Secretary.
(e) Reports.--The Secretary shall require each eligible entity
referred to in subsection (a) that receives a grant or enters into a
contract with the Secretary under subsection (a) to submit to the
Secretary a report on the services provided or activities carried out
by the entity for each fiscal year for which the entity receives
amounts under the grant or contract. The report shall contain such
information as the Secretary determines is necessary to provide an
accurate description of the services provided or activities carried out
with such amounts.
(f) Services To Supplement and Not Supplant.--Services provided
under a grant or contract under subsection (a) shall supplement, and
not supplant, services provided using any other funds made available
for the same general purposes.
(g) Technical Assistance and Administrative Provisions.--The
Secretary shall--
(1) provide technical assistance to eligible entities
referred to in subsection (a) that receive a grant or enter
into a contract with the Secretary under subsection (a) for
purposes of providing the services described in subsection (c);
(2) as appropriate, coordinate the provision of services
described in subsection (c) with other adoption-related
research, training, services, and assistance activities carried
out by the Department of Health and Human Services; and
(3) either directly, or by grant to or contract with a
public or private agency or organization--
(A) evaluate the implementation and effectiveness
of the provision of services described in subsection
(c) and other activities carried out under this
section;
(B) identify different pre-placement services
provided for mothers, the availability and utilization
of such services, and how pre-placement services might
be improved; and
(C) not later than 3 years after the date of the
enactment of this Act, submit to Congress a report that
contains the results of the evaluation under
subparagraph (A) and the information described in
subparagraph (B).
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General.--To carry out this Act, there are authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary of Health and Human Services--
(1) $45,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; and
(2) such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years
2023 through 2026.
(b) Allocation.--Of the amounts authorized to be appropriated by
subsection (a) for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026--
(1) \2/3\ of such amounts shall be used for services
described in subsection (c) in connection with prenatal care;
and
(2) \1/3\ of such amounts shall be used for services
described in subsection (c) in connection with post-adoption or
post-placement services.
(c) Applicability of Certain Provisions.--Sections 506 and 507 of
division H of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law
116-260) shall apply with respect to funds made available for any
fiscal year to carry out this Act to the same extent and in the same
manner as such sections 506 and 507 apply with respect to funds
appropriated for fiscal year 2021 to the Department of Health and Human
Services by such division H.
(d) Availability.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to the
authorization of appropriations under subsection (a) are authorized to
remain available until expended.
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