On October 31, 2017, President Donald J. Trump became the fourth United States President to proclaim November National Adoption Month. President Ronald Reagan was the first President to recognize National Adoption Week in 1984. President Bill Clinton expanded the week to an entire month in 1995.
President Trump’s Proclamation of National Adoption Month recognizes “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.” The President continues by recognizing the importance of adoption for American families and that adoption shows that no child in America is unwanted or unloved. President Trump’s call to action at the end of the Proclamation is to encourage Americans to help children in need of a forever family with a permanent home.
President Trump’s Proclamation does not mention the number of children living outside of family care or number of children living in foster care in the United States and eligible for adoption. However, the President did mark May 2017 as National Foster Care Month with a Presidential Proclamation.
President Trump’s Proclamation acknowledged this year’s National Adoption Month focus on older children finding permanency. The President mentioned that “A child is never too old for adoption.” He recognized the need for all children, regardless of age to find a supportive, forever family. He stated that permanency provides older children with “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.”
