Whereas there are over 423,000 children in the foster care
system in the United States, and more than 114,000 of whom are waiting for
families to adopt them;
Whereas 56 percent of the children in foster care are age
10 or younger;
Whereas the average length of time a child spends in
foster care is more than 2 years;
Whereas for many foster children, the wait for a
permanent, adoptive, “forever” family in which they are loved, nurtured,
comforted, and protected seems endless;
Whereas the number of youth who “age out” of the foster
care system by reaching adulthood without being placed in a permanent home has
increased by more than 55 percent since 1999, as more than 27,000 foster youth
aged out
of foster care during 2010;
Whereas every day loving and nurturing families are
strengthened and expanded when committed and dedicated individuals make an
important difference in the life of a child through adoption;
Whereas while 3 in 10 people in the United States have
considered adoption, a majority of them have misconceptions about the process
of adopting children from foster care and the children who are eligible for
adoption;
Whereas 71 percent of those who have considered adoption
consider adopting children from foster care above other forms of
adoption;
Whereas 45 percent of people in the United States believe
that children enter the foster care system because of juvenile delinquency,
when in reality the vast majority of children in the foster care system were
victims of neglect, abandonment, or abuse;
Whereas 46 percent of people in the United States believe
that foster care adoption is expensive, when in reality there is no substantial
cost for adopting from foster care, and financial support in the form of an
adoption assistance subsidy is available to adoptive families of eligible
children adopted from foster care and continues after the adoption is finalized
until the child is 18, so that income will not be a barrier to becoming a
parent to a foster child who needs to belong to a family;
Whereas significant tax credits are available to families
who adopt children with special needs;
Whereas the Department of Health and Human Services,
Administration for Children and Families, in a partnership with the Ad Council,
supports a national recruitment campaign for adoptive parents;
Whereas the Collaboration to AdoptUsKids features a
photolisting Web site for waiting foster children and prospective adoptive
families at www.adoptuskids.org, and in Spanish at www.adopte1.org;
Whereas National Adoption Day is a collective national
effort to find permanent, loving families for children in the foster care
system;
Whereas since the first National Adoption Day in 2000,
over 30,000 children have joined forever families during National Adoption
Day;
Whereas in 2010, adoptions were finalized for 4,800
children through National Adoption Day events in all 50 States, the District of
Columbia, and Puerto Rico;
Whereas National Adoption Month celebrates the gift of
adoption, recognizing the adoptive and foster families who share their hearts
and homes with children in need, and raises awareness of the need for families
for the many waiting children, particularly older children and teens, children
of color, members of sibling groups, and children with physical and emotional
challenges; and
Whereas November 2011 is National Adoption Month and
November 19, 2011, is National Adoption Day, and activities and information
about both are available at www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/nam/activities.cfm:
Now, therefore, be it
That the House of
Representatives—
(1)supports the goals and ideals of National
Adoption Day and National Adoption Month;
(2)recognizes that
every child in foster care deserves a permanent and loving family; and
(3)encourages the
citizens of the United States to consider adoption of children in foster care
who are waiting for a permanent, loving family.