H. Res. 831 
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
October 28, 2009. 
Whereas there are nearly 500,000 children in the foster care 
system in the United States, approximately 130,000 of 
whom are waiting for families to adopt them; 
Whereas nearly 54 percent of the children in foster care are 
age 10 or younger; 
Whereas the average length of time a child spends in foster 
care is more than 2 years; 
Whereas, for many foster children, the wait for a permanent, 
adoptive, ‘‘forever’’ family in which they are loved, nur-
tured, comforted, and protected seems endless; 
Whereas the number of youth who ‘‘age out’’ of the foster 
care system by reaching adulthood without being placed 
in a permanent home has increased by more than 60 per-
cent since 1998, as nearly 28,000 foster youth ‘‘aged 
out’’ of foster care during 2007; 
Whereas every day loving and nurturing families are 
strengthened and expanded when committed and dedi-
cated individuals make an important difference in the life 
of a child through adoption; 
Whereas, while 3 in 10 people in the United States have con-
sidered adoption, a majority of them have misconceptions
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about the process of adopting children from foster care 
and the children who are eligible for adoption; 
Whereas 71 percent of those who have considered adoption 
consider adopting children from foster care above other 
forms of adoption; 
Whereas 45 percent of people in the United States believe 
that children enter the foster care system because of ju-
venile delinquency, when in reality the vast majority of 
children in the foster care system were victims of neglect, 
abandonment, or abuse; 
Whereas 46 percent of people 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 in the form of an adoption assist-
ance subsidy is available to adoptive families of eligible 
children adopted from foster care and continues after the 
adoption is finalized until the child is 18, so that income 
will not be a barrier to becoming a parent to a foster 
child who needs to belong to a family; 
Whereas significant tax credits are available to families who 
adopt children with special needs; 
Whereas the Department of Health and Human Services, Ad-
ministration for Children and Families, in a partnership 
with the Ad Council, supports a national recruitment 
campaign for adoptive parents; 
Whereas the Collaboration to AdoptUsKids features a 
photolisting Website for waiting foster children and pro-
spective adoptive families at www.adoptuskids.org, and in 
Spanish at www.adopte1.org;
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Whereas National Adoption Day is a collective national effort 
to find permanent, loving families for children in the fos-
ter care system; 
Whereas, since the first National Adoption Day in 2000, 
25,000 children have joined forever families during Na-
tional Adoption Day; 
Whereas in 2008, adoptions were finalized for over 4,600 
children through more than 325 National Adoption Day 
events in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and 
Puerto Rico; 
Whereas National Adoption Month celebrates the gift of 
adoption, recognizing the adoptive and foster families 
who share their hearts and homes with children in need, 
and raises awareness of the need for families for the 
many waiting children, particularly older children and 
teens, children of color, members of sibling groups, and 
children with physical and emotional challenges; and 
Whereas November 2009 is National Adoption Month, and 
November 21, 2009, is National Adoption Day, and ac-
tivities and information about both are available at 
www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/nam/activities.cfm: 
Now, 
therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) supports the goals and ideals of National Adop-
tion Day and National Adoption Month; 
(2) recognizes that every child in foster care de-
serves a permanent and loving family; 
(3) recognizes the significant commitment of tax-
payers 
to 
support 
adoption, 
including 
the
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$1,900,000,000 provided to support adoption through 
the Title IV–E Adoption Assistance program, as well as 
the assistance provided through the Title IV–E Foster 
Care program to 130,000 children waiting for adoptive 
families, among other important programs; and 
(4) encourages the citizens of the United States to 
consider adoption of children in foster care who are wait-
ing for a permanent, loving family. 
Attest: 
Clerk.