Growing out of legislation by the U.S. Congress in 2000, the primary purpose of the program was to train pregnancy and health counselors in federally funded clinics to present adoption as an option to women with unintended pregnancies.
In 2002, the National Council For Adoption (NCFA) was awarded the original national grant by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families to conduct the Infant Adoption Awareness Training Program. In 2007, the NCFA was designated as the Infant Adoption Training Initiative (IATI) Grantee for Health Region 3, which includes Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Since 2002, the NCFA's IATI has trained more than 17,665 individuals, 94 percent of whom rated the trainings "Excellent."
The NCFA works in conjunction with five other grantees to train health care workers, counselors, and professional staff to provide counseling and support services to those impacted by an unintended pregnancy.