[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 22088-22089]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  CELEBRATING NATIONAL ADOPTION MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DANNY K. DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 15, 2006

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate 
November as National Adoption Month. Originating in Massachusetts in 
1976 as National Adoption Week under Governor Michael Dukakis, the 
honor was celebrated nationally by President Ford in 1976 and then 
extended to the month of November in 1990. It is a time during which we 
celebrate the families who have shown their commitment to children in 
need by opening their homes and a time to promote awareness of the need 
to find permanent homes for our most vulnerable children.
  Permanency is important in the life of a child; with over 523,000 
children in foster care, we must focus our attention on finding 
permanent, stable, and caring relationships for these children. 
Approximately 20 percent of the children in foster care have the 
ultimate end goal of adoption. This equals around 104,600 who are 
awaiting or working toward adoption. The need for quality, loving and 
permanent homes for these children is great. Children who age out of 
the foster care system are more likely to be homeless and more likely 
to end up in jail than their counterparts.
  The issue of safe and permanent homes is of particular concern to my 
district, the Seventh Congressional District of Illinois. The Seventh 
District has the highest percentage of kinship care providers in the 
entire United States. I hope that our efforts in the 110th Congress 
will promote permanency for these children and support them and their 
families.
  I urge organizations to continue their hard work advocating for 
adoption and permanency. Organizations such as the National Council for 
Adoption, Voice for Adoption, the Child Welfare League of America, the 
Children's Defense Fund, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, and 
the North American Council on Adoptable Children, just to name a few. 
Parents who adopt face many challenges and deserve our recognition and 
thanks. These families commit themselves to a child, emotionally, 
financially and mentally. The bonds they form are lifelong, and, most 
importantly, they positively affect the life of a child.
  Mr. Speaker, as John F. Kennedy once said, ``Children are the world's 
most valuable resource and its best hope for the future.'' We must make 
sure that all of our Nation's children have hope for their future. To 
do this, we must ensure them loving, stable, and caring environments. 
Adoptive parents provide this for thousands of children every year. I 
thank adoptive parents as well as the numerous organizations dedicated 
to helping promote permanency for their commitment and sacrifice.

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