Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 212 / Friday, November 3, 2023 / Presidential Documents 75453 

Proclamation 10661 of October 31, 2023 

National Adoption Month, 2023 

By the President of the United States of America 

A Proclamation 

Children are the kite strings that hold our Nation’s ambitions aloft, and 

every one of them deserves to grow up in a safe and loving home. This 

National Adoption Month, we celebrate all the families made whole through 

adoption and recommit to ensuring that every child can build a life of 

happiness and well-being. 

Today, more than a hundred thousand children are awaiting adoption in 

our Nation’s foster care system, hoping for the love, connection, and a 

lasting foundation that a permanent family can provide. To help more families cover the cost of adoption, I have urged the Congress to make the 

adoption tax credit fully refundable so that every adoptive family benefit, 

regardless of income, and can focus on building supportive lives together. 

I have proposed making legal guardians eligible as well so that loving 

grandparents, aunts, uncles, and others can care for children and keep 

extended families together. I have also expanded the Military Parental Leave 

Program, allowing service members to spend more time with their families 

after a child is born, adopted, or placed with them through long-term foster 

care. At the same time, my Administration is working to remove barriers 

that make it harder for LGBTQI+ families to adopt, including by providing 

State child welfare agencies with training and funds to better support and 

place LGBTQI+ youth in safe and compassionate environments. 

Still, thousands of young people unfortunately will not be adopted before 

they age out of foster care. To help ease that transition, my latest budget 

called for $9 billion to provide housing vouchers to all 20,000 adolescents 

exiting foster care annually; and I sought another $1 billion to support 

job placement, health care, access to higher education, and other programs. 

My Administration is also working closely with States to help foster youth 

stay in school, train for jobs, pay their bills, and begin promising adult 

lives. 

During National Adoption Month, we recognize the bonds of love shared 

by adoptive families across America. We celebrate the millions of adoptive 

and kinship families who have opened their hearts to provide safe and 

caring homes. We thank the foster families and dedicated professionals 

who help so much along the way. We stand with foster youth and adoptees 

of all ages and want you to know that you are never alone. This month 

especially, we encourage anyone who is considering adoption to take that 

brave and loving step forward, growing their families and adding profound 

meaning to their lives. 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., 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 2023 

as National Adoption Month. I encourage all Americans to honor this month 

by helping the children and youth in your communities secure their forever 

homes and find the love and connection that they need to thrive. 


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75454 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 212 / Friday, November 3, 2023 / Presidential Documents 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day 

of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-three, and of 

the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 

forty-eighth. 

[FR Doc. 2023–24483 

Filed 11–2–23; 8:45 am] 

Billing code 3395–F4–P 


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