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From zero to sixteen thousand in just over three years. Pretty impressive!

Not to mention the fact that some 94% of the 14,000 training participants rated the experience “excellent.” Not to mention the fact that the attendant curriculum and resource materials have been widely applauded, and some are even national award winners.

The National Council For Adoption’s Infant Adoption Awareness Training Program has been a “marvelous and productive experience,” according to NCFA President and CEO Thomas C. Atwood. “We are most grateful for what has been accomplished.”

Since this was a new program, initiated by the United States Congress, it was a “from the ground-up” operation. No program existed in October 2001 when NCFA was awarded a grant. No print or electronic resources existed. No staff members or trainers were in place. All that existed was the vision of NCFA for a training effort to take adoption information to those who counsel women with unplanned pregnancies. That vision was contained in a grant application submitted to the Department of Health and Human Services, the entity that would provide funds for the effort. With this vision as the outline, NCFA put a program into place that has been a resounding success.

Talented and dedicated individuals became part of a team that managed and implemented the Program. Trainings began in the spring of 2002. More than 170 experienced adoption professionals became Master Trainers who would log a total of 1,700 training days in all 50 states. Curricular materials, brochures, videos, posters, and even award-winning radio and television commercials were produced. Since the Program began, more than 16,000 pregnancy counselors, healthcare professionals, social workers, and others who have regular contact with women with unplanned pregnancies have attended NCFA trainings. Each attendee received information on adoption that could be shared with clients so that women could make fully informed choices when faced with crisis pregnancies.

Early on in the Program, National Project Director Devantier summarized the goal: “Through the Infant Adoption Awareness Training Program, we want to share complete and accurate information, strengthen the abilities of counselors to serve their clients well, and to say privately and publicly to all those involved, ‘Thanks for considering adoption!’” This statement became the “mission” statement of the Program, and in a relatively short period of time, this goal of the Program was achieved throughout the United States.

Former Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, who referred to Project Director Devantier as “a true hero,” shared a message (via videotape) with all the NCFA trainees. He spoke of the strong congressional support for this Program. He expressed his gratitude for all clinic and health center workers “who share up-to-date information about adoption,” and encouraged them to assist in what he called “this vital effort.”

Words of support and encouragement have come from many in government, especially following a 2003 Capitol Hill Briefing hosted by the Project. The briefing shared information about the progress of the Program. Perhaps the most meaningful comments have come from those who attended the trainings. One counselor captured the thoughts of many when she said: “Before the training I never talked about adoption. Now I do it all the time.” Another summarized his thoughts and the sentiment of many others in saying: “I have a real understanding and excitement about adoption as a result of the training.”

The results of extensive evaluation efforts conducted by the highly respected researcher, Dr. Edmund Mech, provide scientific proof of the success of NCFA’s Adoption Awareness Program. “The results are remarkably positive and remarkably consistent across the variety of public and private clinics, hospitals, and other entities from which trainees came,” said Dr. Mech.

Through the Program, NCFA reached many more than those who attended trainings. Television commercials it produced appeared on the ABC Network, CNN, Lifetime, and on local television stations throughout the United States. From May 2004 through July 2005, a tracking service showed that local television stations alone donated more than $4 million in free airtime for the “Thanks for considering adoption” messages. Publications such as Oprah Winfrey’s “O” magazine donated space for an ad. Advertising giants Viacom and Lamar provided free billboard space. More than 500,000 brochures and some 20,000 posters were distributed in English and Spanish to clinics and other entities. NCFA-produced videotapes featuring the former Miss New Jersey and the former Miss Nevada (who were adopted as an infant) are now in clinics throughout the country and available to birthmothers.

“As I look back, I am amazed,” said President Atwood. “We are grateful for the grant provided by the Department of Health and Human Services and for being part of an effort that has been every bit as successful as anyone could have imagined just a few short years ago.”

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