III 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 331 

Expressing support for the goals of National Adoption Day and National 

Adoption Month by promoting national awareness of adoption and the 

children awaiting families, celebrating children and families involved in 

adoption, and encouraging the people of the United States to secure 

safety, permanency, and well-being for all children. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 14, 2017 

Mr. BLUNT (for himself, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. WICKER, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. 

ENZI, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. MORAN, Mr. RISCH, Mr. GRASSLEY, 

Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. DAINES, Mr. GRAHAM, Mrs. ERNST, 

Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. LANKFORD, Mr. 

SCOTT, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. PETERS, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. 

BENNET, Mr. CASEY, Ms. HASSAN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. 

BOOKER, and Mr. ROUNDS) submitted the following resolution; which was 

considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing support for the goals of National Adoption Day 

and National Adoption Month by promoting national 

awareness of adoption and the children awaiting families, 

celebrating children and families involved in adoption, 

and encouraging the people of the United States to secure safety, permanency, and well-being for all children. 

Whereas there are millions of unparented children in the 

world, including 427,910 children in the foster care sysVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:18 Nov 15, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR331.ATS SR331

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•SRES 331 ATS 

tem in the United States, approximately 111,820 of 

whom are waiting for families to adopt them; 

Whereas 62 percent of the children in foster care in the 

United States are age 10 or younger; 

Whereas the average length of time a child spends in foster 

care is approximately 2 years; 

Whereas, for many foster children, the wait for a loving family in which the children are nurtured, comforted, and 

protected seems endless; 

Whereas, in 2015, over 20,000 youth ‘‘aged out’’ of foster 

care by reaching adulthood without being placed in a permanent home; 

Whereas, every day, loving and nurturing families are 

strengthened and expanded when committed and dedicated individuals make an important difference in the life 

of a child through adoption; 

Whereas, while nearly a quarter of individuals in the United 

States have considered adoption, a majority of individuals 

in the United States have misperceptions about the process of adopting children from foster care and the children 

who are eligible for adoption; 

Whereas 50 percent of individuals in the United States believe that children enter the foster care system because 

of juvenile delinquency, when in reality the vast majority 

of children who have entered the foster care system were 

victims of neglect, abandonment, or abuse; 

Whereas 39 percent of individuals in the United States believe that foster care adoption is expensive, when in reality there is no substantial cost for adopting from foster 

care and financial support is available to adoptive parents 

after an adoption is finalized; 


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•SRES 331 ATS 

Whereas family reunification, kinship care, and domestic and 

intercountry adoption promote permanency and stability 

to a far greater degree than long-term institutionalization 

or long-term, often disrupted, foster care; 

Whereas November is National Adoption Month, and National Adoption Day occurs in November; 

Whereas National Adoption Day is a collective national effort 

to find permanent, loving families for children in the foster care system; 

Whereas, since the first National Adoption Day in 2000, 

more than 60,000 children have joined permanent families on National Adoption Day; and 

Whereas the President traditionally issues an annual proclamation to declare the month of November as National 

Adoption Month, and National Adoption Day is on November 18, 2017: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) supports the goals and ideals of National 

3 Adoption Day and National Adoption Month; 

4 (2) recognizes that every child should have a 

5 permanent and loving family; and 

6 (3) encourages the people of the United States 

7 to consider adoption during the month of November 

8 and throughout the year. 

Æ 


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