Project Description

The National Council for Adoption (NCFA) will work with a team of experienced partners to improve health-care providers’ access to adoption-sensitive care training by updating and enhancing the current Understanding Infant Adoption (UIA) curriculum. These partners (i.e., Spaulding for Children, the Adoption and Foster Care Clinic, and the University of Washington School of Social Work) offer decades of expertise in providing adoption-specific health care and education, equipping them to successfully develop and deliver infant adoption training nationwide. The partners also will develop resources, including supplemental training modules and educational materials, for health­care professionals to meet the needs of expectant parents, prospective adoptive parents, adoptees, and other patients. The new UIA 7 curriculum will be section 508 compliant and accessible on a national website. This website will enable recruited and selected adoption experts, health-care educators, and hospital-based service providers to access train-the-trainer materials as well as online asynchronous courses.

Use of Program Funds

NCFA will use program funds to revise the UIA curriculum and adapt it into online asynchronous courses for hospital-based adoption support service providers (HBSs) and professionals nationwide. It will provide up to 30 train-the-trainer sessions to prepare qualified trainers for conducting the UIA 7 training at their local hospitals. NCFA also will offer technical assistance (TA) to assist health-care providers in integrating the online curriculum into their systems and to answer specific queries as they assist individuals engaged in adoption.

Expected Outcomes

The updated curriculum will improve access to adoption-sensitive care training and TA for HBSs. HBSs will have increased knowledge of state and federal laws, nondirective counseling, adoption types and practices. They also will have increased knowledge of local adoption information, resources, agencies, and sources of TA. HBSs will learn basic case management skills for counseling expectant parents, including the ability to assess service needs and make appropriate referrals. As a result, HBSs will feel competent in providing expectant parents with options, including adoption, in a nondirective manner.