National Adoption Month, 2009

Proclamation 8445 of October 30, 2009

National Adoption Month, 2009

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

All children deserve a safe, loving family to protect
and care for them. In America, thousands of young
people are waiting for that opportunity. During
National Adoption Month, we honor those families that
have strengthened America through adoption, and we
recommit to reducing the number of children awaiting
adoption into loving families.

America is a country rich in resources and filled with
countless caring men and women who hope to adopt. These
individuals come from all walks of life, united in
their commitment to love a child who is in need of the
protective arms of a parent. We must do more to ensure
that adoption is a viable option for them. By
continually opening up the doors to adoption, and
supporting full equality in adoption laws for all
American families, we allow more children to find the
permanent homes they yearn for and deserve.

This month, we also focus on children in foster care.
These children are not in the system by their own
choosing, but are forced into it by unfortunate or
tragic circumstances. These young people have specific
needs and require unique support. Federal, State, and
local governments, communities, and individuals all
have a role to play in ensuring that foster children
have the resources and encouragement they need to
realize their hopes and dreams.

The course of our future will depend on what we do to
help the next generation of Americans succeed. This
month, we celebrate those families brought together by
adoption and renew our commitments to children in the
foster care system.

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 2009 as
National Adoption Month. I call upon all Americans to
observe this month by reaching out to support and honor
adoptive families, as well as to participate actively
in efforts to find permanent homes for waiting
children.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
thirtieth day of October, in the year of our Lord two
thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.