[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Page 23349]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         MILLIE MAIRS AWARDED 2003 ``ANGELS IN ADOPTION'' AWARD

 Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I rise today in honor of Mrs. 
Millie Mairs, a woman who has demonstrated her enormous capacity for 
love by serving some of West Virginia's most vulnerable children. 
Through her work with the West Virginia Children's Home Society 
Adoption Program, Millie has touched the lives of many new families in 
my home state and is a cornerstone of adoption services there. Later 
this month, Millie will be honored alongside other ``Angels in 
Adoption.'' This is a special award created by the Congressional 
Adoption Caucus. I would like to take a moment to tell you more about 
the work and accomplishments of this quiet, gentle lady who has worked 
on behalf of children for more than twenty years at the West Virginia 
Children's Home Society.
  The West Virginia Children's Home Society was created in 1896 and has 
long provided care for children in need. Today, the Society offers 
adoptive, child protective, and emergency services through an expanded 
mission. Twenty-eight years ago, Millie Mairs came to the Children's 
Home Society Adoption Program as an adoption secretary in order to 
assist West Virginia families who hoped to adopt a child. Since then, 
Millie has served those families in a variety of roles and has 
maintained a strong relationship with many of them, including some of 
her very first clients. From administering support services to meeting 
with perspective parents to guiding birth mothers through appropriate 
after care, Millie's name has become synonymous with adoption advocacy 
in West Virginia.
  Those who know Millie best say that no one is better suited to serve 
as an adoption advocate than she. Her colleagues use words such as 
``rare,'' ``special,'' ``kind,'' and ``considerate'' in order to 
describe her. Her clients depend on her as they complete necessary 
paperwork and interviews, and as they work through the many emotions 
that adoption brings. And while Millie serves as a valuable resource 
for those entering into the adoption system today, her knowledge of 
previous adoptions is priceless to those who seek even the smallest 
amount of information about their past. Millie has provided a 
comforting ear and soothing words to these individuals since her first 
days at the Children's Home Society and has also reunited birth mothers 
and their children from that time. She has always understood and has 
tried to convey to others that adoption is a selfless act of love from 
the perspective of both birth mothers and adoptive parents. As you can 
imagine, this has brought great comfort to children, birth mothers, and 
adoptive parents alike.
  The Angels in Adoption Award recognizes individuals like Millie who 
work every day to better the lives of others through the field of 
adoption. On September 30, Millie and other Angels will come to 
Washington in order to be recognized for their good works. While they 
will look just as any other visitors to the Capitol complex that day, I 
have been assured by Millie's colleagues and by others that they truly 
are angels in our midst. I hope that you will help me in welcoming them 
and honoring them. Further, I hope that you will carry their message 
with you: that all children deserve a safe, healthy, and permanent home 
and that, for some children, this is only possible through adoption.
  I have worked for many years in bipartisan coalitions to promote 
adoption and improved services for abused and neglected children. While 
these issues rarely command headlines, they change the lives of 
children and families across our country. People like Millie Mairs and 
programs like Angels in Adoption remind us of the importance of our 
adoption and child welfare programs. In 1997, Congress passed the 
Adoption and Safe Families Act to ensure that a child's health and 
safety are paramount, and to express the belief that every child 
deserves a permanent home. Since then, adoptions from foster care have 
nearly doubled. While this is wonderful news, more than 100,000 
children remain in foster care. As Millie and her peers would tell us, 
we clearly have more work to do.
  I am delighted to have had this opportunity to tell you more about 
Millie Mairs and her work with the West Virginia Children's Home 
Society. I have long believed that the people of West Virginia are its 
greatest resource; individuals such as Millie prove this point again 
and again.

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