[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 130, 114th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
Proclamation 9432 of April 28, 2016

National Foster Care Month, 2016

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

The success of our country tomorrow depends on the well-being of our
children today. As a Nation, we have a duty to empower each child so
they have the same sense of promise and possibility as any other young
person no matter who they are, where they come from, or what their
circumstances are. Foster youth deserve the security and strong support
structures they need to achieve their dreams. During National Foster
Care Month, we lift up our Nation's foster children, celebrate the
selfless men and women who embrace children in the foster care system,
and we recommit to helping more children find permanency so they can
feel stable, grounded, and free to fulfill their limitless potential.
With open hearts, families and professionals across America work each
day to give foster youth the resources, warmth, and care they need. Over
400,000 children remain in the foster care system, and tens of thousands
of youth age out of foster care before they find their forever family.
Only half of children in foster care complete high school by age 18, and
less than 5 percent graduate college. Young people who age out of foster
care without a permanent home are often at higher risk of entering the
criminal justice system, and they can face greater challenges to
completing an education, obtaining high-quality health care, and
securing gainful employment. We also know kids are better off when
raised by loving families, not institutions. These difficult outcomes
are often exaggerated further when children are placed in group homes.
I am committed to preventing youth from falling into these situations. I
have proposed allowing child welfare agencies to use Federal funds to
provide critical services and shelter to foster youth who have aged out
of the system until they are 23. My Administration is also working to
reduce abuse and neglect by focusing resources on strengthening families
so children stay out of foster care in the first place. Children living
in foster care are more likely than other children to be overprescribed
medication for social-emotional and mental health disorders. That is why
my Administration is encouraging greater use of evidence-based
screening, assessment, and treatment of trauma and mental health
disorders for kids in foster care. And because every child deserves
access to quality, affordable health insurance, the Affordable Care Act
requires each State to extend Medicaid coverage to foster children who
have aged out of the foster care system until the age of 26.

[[Page 3169]]

Children grow to become their best selves when they are surrounded by
supportive families. Caretakers support foster youth and help them see a
future of greater promise and hope. Last summer, the Supreme Court ruled
that the Constitution guarantees marriage equality, giving more kids in
foster care the opportunity to be part of a loving family. My
Administration will continue fighting to ensure eligible and qualified
caretakers have the chance to become an adoptive or foster parent
regardless of race, religion, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
The commitment and dependability of a family can provide foster youth
with the confidence to write and control their own destiny. Family is
the bedrock of the American story, and we must do everything we can to
support all young people so they can be free from harm, healthy, and
ready to chart the course of our Nation's unwritten history.
When we create environments for all young people to grow and flourish
and safely live as who they are regardless of race, background,
religion, sexual orientation or gender identity our country is stronger.
This month, and every month, let us pay tribute to the children in
foster care and the dedicated parents and professionals who tirelessly
work to shape their lives. And as a country, let us embrace the spirit
that every child matters and continue working to provide all of our
daughters and sons with an equal chance to lead productive and
fulfilling lives, limited by nothing but the power of their imaginations
and the scope of their dreams.
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 2016 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.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day
of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand sixteen, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
fortieth.
BARACK OBAMA