National Foster Care Month, 2011

Proclamation 8661 of April 29, 2011

National Foster Care Month, 2011

By the President of the United States

A Proclamation

Progress in America can be measured by the
opportunities we pass on to our children. For nearly
half a million youth in foster care across our country,
the best path to success we can give them is the chance
to experience a loving home where they can feel secure
and thrive. During National Foster Care Month, we renew
our commitment to ensuring a brighter future for foster
youth, and we celebrate the selfless individuals who
make a meaningful difference in their lives.

Young people in foster care are in the system through
no fault of their own, and each of our Nation's
children deserves a stable home and a devoted family.
Strong support structures provide children with the
environment needed to learn, grow, and reach their
greatest potential. Permanence is critical to the
future success of foster youth and must be a key
component of foster care initiatives.

My Administration is committed to achieving security
for every child and supporting adolescents in foster
care as they transition to adulthood. The Permanency
Innovations Initiative, spearheaded by the Department
of Health and Human Services, is providing support to
public-private partnerships focused on decreasing the
number of children in long-term foster care. Over the
next 5 years, this program will invest $100 million in
new intervention strategies to help foster youth move
into permanent homes, test new approaches to reducing
time spent in foster care placements, and remove the
most serious barriers to finding lasting, loving
environments. Over 110,000 children in foster care
today are waiting to be adopted. Across America, there
are families who need these children as much as these
children need families. I encourage those interested in
adopting a child in need of a home to explore the life-
changing resources available at www.AdoptUSKids.org.

We are also investing in the health and well-being of
our young people in foster care. Through the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act, we have significantly
increased funding for the Title IV-E adoption and
foster care assistance program to provide safe and
stable out-of-home care for children. As a result of
the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act I signed into law
last year, all children enrolled in foster care
automatically qualify for free meals in all Department
of Agriculture child nutrition programs. Additionally,
beginning in 2014, the Affordable Care Act will require
States to extend Medicaid coverage up to age 26 for all
youth who have aged out of the foster care system.

As a Nation, we all have a responsibility to remain
persistent in the charge to provide the best care
possible for children when they cannot remain in their
own homes. During National Foster Care Month, we
recognize the efforts of foster families, social
workers, faith-based and community organizations, and
others that are improving the lives of young people in
foster care across our country, and I encourage all
Americans to partake in efforts to serve these children
in the year ahead.

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 2011 as National
Foster Care Month. I call upon all Americans to observe
this month by taking an active role in activities
across our country that recognize not only these
cherished children and youth, but also the commitment
of so many that touch their lives at a most challenging
time.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord two
thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.