[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 127, 113th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
PROCLAMATION 9049--OCT. 31, 2013

Proclamation 9049 of October 31, 2013

National Adoption Month, 2013
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Every young person deserves the chance to learn and grow under the care
of a loving family. Across our Nation, adoptive families give that
chance to over a million children and teenagers. During National
Adoption Month, we celebrate these families and stand alongside every
child still looking for the warmth and stability of a permanent home.
Today, nearly 400,000 American children are in foster care, and each
year, thousands age out of care without the security that comes from a
permanent family or a place to call home. On November 23, National
Adoption Day will offer a sense of hope to children waiting for adoptive
parents. As we observe this day, courts across our country will open
their doors to finalize adoptions that move young people out of foster
care.
My Administration has worked to simplify adoption laws; reduce the
amount of time young children go without parents; and ensure adoption
rights for all qualified couples and individuals. We are calling for an
end to discriminatory barriers that keep children from loving and stable
homes. And we are working across all levels of government to eliminate
roadblocks to adoption and encourage cooperation between adoption
advocates, private organizations, and community and faith-based groups.
This January, I was proud to sign legislation to permanently extend the
Adoption Tax Credit. And to protect the young people of every nation, I
signed the Intercountry Adoption Universal Accreditation Act. This law
will promote safe and lawful adoptions by setting Federal standards for
all adoption service providers, and it will provide greater safeguards
to both parents and children.
This month, we celebrate adopted children, teenagers, and their diverse
families. We work to give more young people permanent families and
promising futures. And we encourage our friends and neighbors to open
their hearts and their homes to children in need.
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 2013 as
National Adoption Month. I encourage all Americans to observe this month
by answering the call to find a permanent and caring family for every
child in need, and by supporting the families who care for them.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of
October, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
eighth.
BARACK OBAMA