[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 125, 112th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
Proclamation 8744 of November 1, 2011

National Adoption Month, 2011
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
As a Nation, one of our highest responsibilities is to ensure the health
and well-being of our children. With generous hearts and open minds, we
strive to make sure all children grow up knowing they have a family that
shares with them the warmth, security, and unconditional love that will
help them succeed. And yet, more than 100,000 children in America await
this most basic support, and still more children abroad live without
families. During National Adoption Month, we celebrate the acts of
compassion and love that unite children with adoptive families, and we
rededicate ourselves to the essential task of providing all children
with the comfort and safety of a permanent home.
The decision to adopt a child has brought profound joy and meaning into
the lives of Americans across our country. Parents are moved to adopt
for reasons as unique and varied as the children they embrace, but they
are unified by the remarkable grace of their acts. Adoptive families
come in all forms. With so many children waiting for loving homes, it is
important to ensure that all qualified caregivers are given the
opportunity to serve as adoptive parents, regardless of race, religion,
sexual orientation, or marital status.
My Administration remains steadfast in our support of adoptive families
and children in need of homes. Earlier this year, I signed the Child and
Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act, which reauthorizes child
welfare programs and makes new provisions to help reduce the amount of
time young children are without permanent families. I also signed the
Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act to provide balanced, nutritious meals to
all children in the foster care system. Last year, during National
Adoption Month, I signed the International Adoption Simplification Act,
which removed unnecessary regulations and barriers to international
adoption. These efforts come in addition to the Adoption Tax Credit,
which was extended and expanded as part of the Affordable Care Act to
make adoption more accessible to American families. Through these key
pieces of legislation, my Administration is moving forward with our
commitment to stand with youth in foster care and find new ways to
encourage adoption.
Adoption has become a part of many Americans' lives and has contributed
to the character of our Nation. As parents and as family members, it is
our task to do all we can to give our children the very best. In caring
for our youth and putting them before ourselves, we make a lasting
investment not only in their future, but also in the prosperity and
strength of our Nation in the years to come. This month and throughout
the year, let us recommit to ensuring every child is given the
sustaining love of family, the assurance of a permanent home, and the
supportive upbringing they deserve.
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 November 2011 as
National Adoption Month. I encourage all Americans to observe this month
by answering the call to find homes for every child

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in America in need of a permanent and caring family, and to support the
families who care for them.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of
November, in the year of our Lord two thousand eleven, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
sixth.
BARACK OBAMA