National Adoption Month, 2011

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 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.