    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 124, 111th Congress, 2nd Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    PROCLAMATION 8505--APR. 28, 2010

    Proclamation 8505 of April 28, 2010
    National Foster Care Month, 2010
    By the President of the United States of America
    A Proclamation

    Nearly a half-million children and youth are in foster care in America,
    all entering the system through no fault of their own. During National
    Foster Care Month, we recognize the promise of children and youth in
    foster care, as well as former foster youth. We also celebrate the
    professionals and foster parents who demonstrate the depth and kindness
    of the human heart.
    Children and youth in foster care deserve the happiness and joy every
    child should experience through family life and a safe, loving home.
    Families provide children with unconditional love, stability, trust, and
    the support to grow into healthy, productive adults. Unfortunately, too
    many foster youth reach the age at which they must leave foster care and
    enter adulthood without the support of a permanent family.
    Much work remains to reach the goal of permanence for every child, and
    my Administration has supported States that increased the number of
    children adopted out of foster care, providing over $35 million in 2009
    through the Adoption Incentives program. We are also committed to
    meeting the developmental, educational, and health-related needs of
    children and youth in foster care. The American Recovery and
    Reinvestment Act provided a significant increase in funding for the
    Title IV-E adoption and foster care assistance program. States can use
    these funds to ensure those placed in foster care will enter a safe and
    stable environment.
    In addition, we are implementing the Fostering Connections to Success
    and Increasing Adoptions Act. This law promotes permanency and improved
    outcomes for foster youth through support for kinship care and adoption,
    support for older youth, direct access to Federal resources for Indian
    tribes, coordinated health benefits, improved educational stability and
    opportunities, and adoption incentives and assistance. Former foster
    youth will also benefit from the Affordable Care Act, which, beginning
    in 2014, will ensure Medicaid coverage for them in every State.
    This month, caring foster parents and professionals across our Nation
    will celebrate the triumphs of children and youth in foster care as they
    work to remove barriers to reaching a permanent family. Federal, State,
    and local government agencies, communities, and individuals all have a
    role to play as well. Together, we can ensure that young people in
    foster care have the opportunities and encouragement they need to
    realize their full potential.
    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 2010 as National
    Foster Care Month. I call upon all Americans to observe this month with
    appropriate programs and activities to honor and support young people in
    foster care, and to recognize the committed adults who work on their
    behalf each day.

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    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day
    of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the
    Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
    fourth.
    BARACK OBAMA