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When the U.S. Congress passed the Infant Adoption Awareness Act as part of the Children's Health Act in 2000, it established the Infant Adoption Awareness Training Program. Through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a grant was awarded to the National Council For Adoption (NCFA) in Washington, DC to raise Infant Adoption Awareness among health service professionals and the public. Primarily focused on reaching teens and women facing an unplanned pregnancy, the National Council For Adoption went about designing both a training program and a mass media campaign to say to all involved "Thanks for Considering Adoption."
Now called the Infant Adoption Training Initiative (IATI), IATI has training as its centerpiece. In the first five years of the program training was offered to workers across the country in federally-funded family planning clinics, community health centers, and other entities. Currently, one- and two day trainings are being offered to professional and lay counselors who work with those impacted by an intended pregnancy in Health Region 3, which includes Delaware, Washington, DC, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. The purpose is to enable those teens and adults who face an unintended pregnancy to make a fully-informed choice. Since these workers are often the first contact with these clients, their ability to present all the options in a careful, non-directive, and caring manner is critical in a decision-making process that leads to fully-informed decision-making. In order to reach the thousands of workers who help these clients each day, IATI has enlisted the help of experienced adoption professionals in providing training opportunities. The "Train the Trainer" model allowed NCFA to train adoption workers who then train clinic workers. It's a partnership that facilitates training and builds a corps of workers dedicated to the goals of the Infant Adoption Training Initiative.
To support the training effort, a mass media campaign is available to raise adoption awareness in the general public. The images and themes developed by Infant Adoption Awareness can be used in both print and electronic media. The campaign is designed around a simple message—to say privately and publicly, to all involved "Thanks for considering adoption."
The parent organization of the Infant Adoption Training Initiative is the National Council For Adoption (NCFA). NCFA was founded in 1980 as an organization of adoption professionals. Dedicated to the preservation of adoption, NCFA works "to promote the well being of children, birthparents, and adoptive families by advocating for the positive option of adoption." Its history of leadership in the adoption field both domestically and internationally has resulted in maintaining and improving standards of practice. The tireless efforts of the staff, member agencies, and volunteers working around the world with practitioners, legislators, jurists, business leaders, and government officials have made it possible for many children who need families to find a family, a home, and a future. To learn more about NCFA, click here.
Marcie Velen
Arizona's Children's Association
www.arizonaschildren.org
Pam Wolf
Harmony Adoptions
www.harmonyadoptions.com
Patti Colston
Independent Adoption Center
www.adoptiontoday.org
Frances Marron-Zamarripa
Latino Family Institute Inc.
www.californiainfantadoption.com
Julie Klinger
Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota
www.lsssd.org
Kris Henneman
Spaulding for Children
www.spaulding.org
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What trainees are saying ...
I was a bit hesitant about a two-day training before attendace. However, the days were filled with information, sharing and interaction, and I was never disappointed during the entire training.
-Adoption Specialist,
New York
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