Whereas there are 400,540 children in the foster care
system in the United States, approximately 104,000 of whom are waiting for
families to adopt them;
Whereas 59 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 approximately 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, and 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 website 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 2011, a total of 365 events were held in 47
States and the District of Columbia, finalizing the adoptions of 4,187 children
from foster care and celebrating an additional 1,030 adoptions finalized during
November or earlier in the year;
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 2012 is National Adoption Month and
November 17, 2012, is National Adoption Day, and activities and information are
available at www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/nam and www.nationaladoptionday.org:
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.