National Adoption Month, 2017

Proclamation 9666 of October 31, 2017

National Adoption Month, 2017

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Every year, generous and loving families adopt
thousands of children and provide them with the
affection, attention, and opportunity they deserve.
Adoption is a true blessing that greatly enriches the
lives of parents and children alike. During National
Adoption Month, we celebrate the thousands of families
who have expanded through adoption, and we acknowledge
the strength and resiliency of the children who are
still waiting to find their forever home.

My Administration recognizes the profound importance of
adoption for the American family. Adoption is a life-
changing and life-affirming act that signals that no
child in America--born or unborn--is unwanted or
unloved. Adoptive parents are a selfless and loving
part of God's plan for their future children. As a
Nation, we extend sincere appreciation and gratitude to
those families who have welcomed a young person into
their hearts and homes, sharing the precious gift of
family and a lifetime of support.

We must continue to remove barriers to adoption
whenever we can, so that the love and care of
prospective adoptive parents can be directed to
children waiting for their permanent homes. This year's
National Adoption Month, we focus on our commitment to
helping older youth experience the transformative value
of permanency and love. A child is never too old for
adoption. A supportive family can provide the critical
direction that older children need as they enter
adulthood, helping them attain educational and
employment goals, and, in certain cases, avoid
homelessness or incarceration. We never outgrow the
need for family, and older youth who are adopted are
more likely to finish high school and feel emotionally
secure than those who age out of foster care without a
permanent family.

This month, let us celebrate the gift of adoption--an
act of love that provides deserving young people with
the foundation they need to achieve their potential and
pursue the American Dream.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, 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 2017 as
National Adoption Month. I encourage all Americans to
observe this month by helping children in need of a
permanent home secure a more promising future with a
forever family, so they may enter adulthood with the
love we all deserve.

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