• What is it?
  • If it passes, this will enact a federal law that prohibits unlicensed adoption agencies (facilitators) to advertise or operate their services, ensuring only licensed agencies and attorneys can facilitate adoptions.
• Why do we support it?
  • As a licensed agency that has prioritized ethical adoption practices since 1990, we are disturbed by the continual growth of unlicensed “adoption facilitators”. These facilitators are not regulated, meaning that they are not held accountable by any external measure. They have massive advertising and marketing budgets intended to target desperate expectant parents and adoptive families. We have firsthand experience with the harm these entities have on both expectant/birth parents and adoptive families, causing trauma without negative repercussions. Expectant parents have been pressured or coerced into making an adoption plan when they are simply seeking compassionate counseling. These practices which put profit over everything else are unacceptable and have no place in our field.

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• What is it?
  • This bill will require states to report adoption statistic data to the government so we can start tracking how many domestic infant adoptions happen per state in this country.
• Why do we support it?
  • The lack of comprehensive data on private domestic adoptions leads to a lack of accountability and transparency. This act will allow agencies, advocates, and third parties to follow trends and identify prevalent issues that may be obscured without data.

Take Action

• What is it?
  • This bill will provide a federal list of safe and licensed adoption agencies per state so expectant parents can more easily avoid facilitators.
• Why do we support it?
  • Right now, hospitals may have unethical unlicensed facilitator agencies on the list of resources for pregnant people considering their options. This legislation will require all agencies on this list to be licensed, significantly decreasing the likelihood of a pregnant person or person who has just given birth encountering these harmful and exploitative entities.

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• What is it?
  • This bill will fund adoption education for hospitals so their nursing staff can become adoption competent.
• Why do we support it?
  • Training nurses and social workers to best give ethical and compassionate care to pregnant people or people who gave birth is a critically important measure. We have heard many stories of the incomplete, biased, or even harmful information that this vulnerable population encounters in the hospital. Ensuring that nurses and social workers are empowered to provide informed knowledge and guidance is crucial in the health of both parents and babies.

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