[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 212 (Friday, November 3, 2023)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 75453-75454]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-24483]




                        Presidential Documents 



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

[[Page 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.

[[Page 75454]]

                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.
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                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2023-24483
Filed 11-2-23; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P