[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 18092]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        NATIONAL ADOPTION MONTH

  Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Mr. President, I rise today to 
acknowledge November as National Adoption Month and National Adoption 
Day on Nov. 19, 2011. With over 107,000 children waiting to be adopted 
from the U.S. foster care system, I think it is crucial to celebrate 
the parents, social workers, judges, lawyers, teachers, doctors, 
nurses, police officers, and other dedicated advocates who help 
children find safe, permanent and loving homes.
  It seems quite appropriate that as we prepare to celebrate 
Thanksgiving, we also celebrate the ways in which families grow through 
adoption. My own family has been personally touched by adoption, and I 
can't express enough the positive impact that adoption can have on 
children and families.
  Together, National Adoption Month and National Adoption Day aim to 
raise awareness of the 408,000 children living in the nation's foster 
care system and encourage individuals to consider opening their homes 
and hearts through adoption. Each year more than 20,000 children age 
out of the foster care system without finding a permanent family to 
call their own. The majority of these children struggle to meet the 
demands of adult life on their own. Only 50 percent earn a high school 
diploma, barely 3 percent go on to obtain a college degree, and one out 
of four will experience homelessness at some point in their lives. 
While we generally recognize adult independence at age 18, children 
rarely stop needing the stability, support and guidance that families 
provide. The benefits of being adopted into a loving home extend well 
into adulthood.
  Each year I recognize one South Dakota family as Angels in Adoption 
in order to highlight the many ways in which exemplary individuals and 
families across the State have made a positive impact in the lives of 
children through adoption. I recently had the opportunity to honor Nora 
and Randy Boesem of Newell, SD, as Angels in Adoption. Nora and Randy 
have adopted nine children, all of whom are affected by Fetal Alcohol 
Spectrum Disorders and face a range of physical and mental birth 
defects that occur as a result of alcohol use during pregnancy. In 
addition to their adopted children, the Boesems have opened their home 
to nearly 70 children in foster care over the last 10 years.
  As a founding member of the bipartisan Congressional Coalition on 
Adoption, which sponsors Angels in Adoption, I am committed to 
assisting children in the United States to find stable, loving and 
permanent homes. Additionally, I support the goals of National Adoption 
Day, which encourage others to adopt children from foster care, build 
stronger ties between local adoption agencies, courts and adoption 
advocacy organizations, and learn more about children waiting to be 
adopted and the families looking to grow through adoption.
  I was proud to support the Fostering Connections to Success and 
Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 and the recent passage of the Child 
and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act, which made some of 
the most important improvements to the foster care and adoption system 
we have seen in the last 10 years. I am also proud that Members of the 
Senate continue to support ways to make adoption easier and more 
affordable. Since the cost of adoption can be very high, we ought to do 
what we can to minimize this initial burden for the exceptional people 
who provide caring homes for children. Adoption proceedings and legal 
fees for some domestic adoptions can cost more than $40,000. If we ask 
individuals to care for and adopt children, we must provide some relief 
from the financial burdens associated with that care. The adoption tax 
credit is an effective way to help lessen the financial burden families 
face when adopting a child and I support making the adoption tax credit 
permanent.
  The commitment of adoptive parents in South Dakota and throughout our 
country to provide children with safe, permanent, and loving homes 
will, of course, have a positive impact on their lives. As we celebrate 
National Adoption Month and National Adoption Day on November 19, 2011, 
I call on my colleagues to continue finding ways to support the 
children, parents, and other important players involved in the child 
welfare system and to work to ensure all children have stable, 
permanent and loving families.

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