Every year, more than 100,000 children in foster care are available for adoption. Many spend more than five years waiting for permanent, loving homes, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
To raise awareness and help these children find permanent adoptive homes, each November the Children’s Bureau, in partnership with AdoptUSKids and Child Welfare Information Gateway, sponsors National Adoption Month. The initiative, which has been held yearly since 1995, also serves to celebrate adoption and recognize families with adopted children.
The month-long celebration also includes National Adoption Day, when courthouses nationwide participate in finalizing hundreds and hundreds of adoptions simultaneously. This year it is being held on November 23rd. In 2012, more than 4,500 children were adopted during the National Adoption Day celebration in almost 400 cities across the United States.
Prospective adoptive parents can learn more from such organizations as the Children’s Bureau (childwelfare.gov/adoption/nam/) and the National Adoption Day Coalition (nationaladoptionday.org), which has helped nearly 44,500 children move from foster care to permanent families.
All across the country, local state and county departments of child and family services are hard at work seeking people who are considering starting or expanding their families through permanent adoption.
