[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 188 (Tuesday, October 26, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7366-S7367]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO JON AND CAROL MIELKE

 Mr. CRAMER. Madam President, every October, the Congressional 
Coalition on Adoption Institute--CCAI--

[[Page S7367]]

sponsors its annual Angels in Adoption recognition gala. This event 
honors individuals across the Nation who are making a difference in the 
lives of young people in need of foster and forever homes.
  As adoptive parents ourselves, the dedication and commitment to 
adoption and foster care by CCAI and every Angels in Adoption honoree 
this year are extremely near and dear to the hearts of my wife Kris and 
me.
  I want to recognize the Angels in Adoption couple I nominated and who 
are being honored this year. I have known Jon and Carol Mielke of 
Bismarck, ND, for many years. Yet I am not sure our home community has 
any idea of all they have done to foster such vulnerable young children 
for nearly 20 years.
  Jon and Carol became foster parents in early 2003, when their 
daughter was in college and their son a senior in high school. They 
made the decision to foster infants, they said, because they had ``room 
in their home and room in their hearts.''
  To date, they have taken into their home some 45 infants. Some were 
with them for only a couple of days. Others stayed nearly 3 years.
  Always keeping in mind the main goal of foster care is family 
reunification, they have made an effort to remain in contact with the 
biological families of these children. Their first foster child was a 
newborn who had been abandoned at the bus station. They cared for her 
for 2-and-a-half months. This girl, who recently graduated from high 
school, is one of the children with whom Jon and Carol have stayed in 
touch. Another set of twins, now teenagers, visited them for a week 
earlier this year.
  Jon was a longtime administrative manager for a State agency, and 
Carol's profession was accounting. He has since retired, and she later 
became a licensed practical nurse, keeping flexible work hours to be 
available for the children when they come into their home.
  Because of Jon's background in legislation and lobbying, he has 
provided testimony on foster care issues before the legislature. This 
has helped bring positive statutory changes to some State laws.
  Jon and Carol have been active in the regional foster care 
association, with Jon serving as president one year. They also mentor 
new foster parents and have appeared in media campaigns promoting 
foster care. In 2006, they were named North Dakota's Foster Parents of 
the Year.
  The lifelong impact of the love and care they have given to each and 
every baby coming into their home will never be accurately measured. 
And, after nearly two decades, they continue to remain dedicated to 
foster care because of their unwavering belief they can make a 
difference in the life of a child.
  I join all North Dakotans and the entire Congressional Coalition on 
Adoption Institute in congratulating and honoring Jon and Carol Mielke. 
We thank you for your years of dedication and the work you continue to 
do fostering infants in your home. You are exceptionally deserving of 
recognition as Angels in Adoption.

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