[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 87 (Thursday, May 5, 2022)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 26657-26658]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-09759]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 87 , No. 87 / Thursday, May 5, 2022 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 26657]]


                Proclamation 10379 of April 29, 2022

                
National Foster Care Month, 2022

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Every May, we renew our commitment to ensuring that all 
                youth in foster care have the love, support, and 
                resources they need to thrive. We also celebrate the 
                families who provide safe and loving homes for our 
                Nation's foster children. We share our appreciation for 
                the dedicated volunteers and professionals who help our 
                Nation's foster youth find permanent homes and connect 
                with their biological families when appropriate--many 
                of whom are working hard to safely reunite with their 
                children.

                Today, nearly a third of children in foster care are 
                being raised by kin--many of whom are grandparents. 
                This helps children retain family bonds and a sense of 
                cultural identity, which are so important to a child's 
                resilience and well-being. As children and families of 
                color are disproportionately overrepresented in foster 
                care, it is essential that we invest in culturally 
                supportive services to nurture all children and 
                families who are impacted by the child welfare system.

                The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact 
                on young people in foster care. That is why my 
                Administration implemented the Supporting Foster Youth 
                and Families through the Pandemic Act--helping foster 
                youth aging out of the system access services to stay 
                in school, participate in job training programs, pay 
                rent and other bills, and transition to adulthood. My 
                Administration also funded grants that help agencies 
                connect kinship caregivers and foster parents to 
                programs and services for children in their care and we 
                continue to promote best practices that identify and 
                notify relatives when a child has been placed into 
                foster care.

                This month, we also recognize the history of injustice 
                in America's foster care system--particularly against 
                Black and Native Americans. Relative to their white 
                peers, Black and Native American children stay in 
                foster care longer and are less likely to be adopted or 
                reunited with their birth parents. Furthermore, foster 
                care systems do not provide children with disabilities 
                or LGBTQI+ youth with the individualized support, 
                resources, and safety measures they need and deserve. 
                My Administration stands with transgender youth in 
                foster care and with all families that love and care 
                for their children.

                To improve our foster care system, I have proposed a 
                significant funding increase and a package of reforms 
                to expand prevention services so more children can 
                remain safely in their own homes. For children who need 
                to be placed into foster care, my proposal provides 
                States with incentives to place more children with 
                relatives or adults with whom they are emotionally 
                bonded, when appropriate. It will also increase 
                resources for youth who are aging out of foster care. 
                In addition, I have called for competitive grants for 
                States to advance racial equity, expand prevention 
                services, and improve education outcomes in our child 
                welfare system. My proposal would also help more low- 
                and moderate-income families afford the costs of 
                adoption and legal guardianship of children who would 
                otherwise be in foster care.

                National Foster Care Month is an opportunity for us to 
                celebrate foster youth and the people who provide them 
                with love and support. It is our

[[Page 26658]]

                duty to help vulnerable children, and child welfare 
                professionals and the families they serve. Through 
                education, volunteering, and partnerships, we can 
                strengthen our communities and ensure that youth in 
                foster care have the support they need for a future 
                they deserve.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., 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 2022 as 
                National Foster Care Month. I call upon all Americans 
                to observe this month by reaching out in their 
                neighborhoods and communities to the children and youth 
                in foster care and their families, to those at risk of 
                entering foster care, and to kin families and other 
                caregivers.

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

[FR Doc. 2022-09759
Filed 5-4-22; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F2-P