[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 86 (Friday, May 3, 2013)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 26219-26220]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-10748]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 86 / Friday, May 3, 2013 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 26219]]


                Proclamation 8968 of April 30, 2013

                
National Foster Care Month, 2013

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                As a Nation, we have no task more important than 
                ensuring our children grow up healthy and safe. It is a 
                promise we owe to the hundreds of thousands of youth in 
                foster care--boys and girls who too often go without 
                the love, protection, and stability of a permanent 
                family. This month, we recommit to giving them that 
                critical support, and we recognize the foster parents 
                and professionals who work every day to lift up the 
                children in their care toward a bright, productive 
                future.

                Thanks to those efforts, the number of young people in 
                foster care is falling and fewer children are waiting 
                for adoption. But even now, more than 400,000 kids are 
                looking for permanency with caring parents. Many are 
                struggling to find the meaningful, long-term 
                relationships that will help them transition into 
                adulthood. Some young men and women are aging out of 
                the system without a permanent home, making it harder 
                for them to get a good education, find a job, and build 
                a better life.

                To give foster youth the support they need, Americans 
                in every community are stepping up to serve. They are 
                mentors, teachers, faith leaders, caseworkers, 
                advocates, family members--individuals dedicated to 
                making a difference. As they lend their strength to our 
                most vulnerable children, my Administration will 
                continue to invest in services that strengthen the 
                foster care system and encourage adoption. We will keep 
                working to ensure every qualified caregiver has the 
                chance to be an adoptive or foster parent. And we will 
                support programs that help increase permanency, reduce 
                rates of re-entry into foster care, and address the 
                issues that bring young people in the child welfare 
                system in the first place.

                Whether as a friend, a role model, or a guardian, any 
                of us can be a supportive adult for a child in need. As 
                we honor the countless Americans who are answering that 
                call to action, let us mark this month by showing 
                children and youth in foster care the best our country 
                has to offer.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States, do hereby proclaim May 2013 as National 
                Foster Care Month. I call upon all Americans to observe 
                this month by taking time to help youth in foster care 
                and recognizing the commitment of all who touch their 
                lives at a most challenging time.

[[Page 26220]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
                seventh.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2013-10748
Filed 5-2-13; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F3