November 30, 2023
National Adoption Day was Saturday, November 18, 2023. Nationwide, courts celebrated on both the state and county level: Lewis County, Washington finalized the adoptions of four children and celebrated with a community-focused reception; Hilo County in Hawaii decorated its courtroom and organized gifts for adoptees; and New Jersey increased its emphasis on online adoptions, resulting in 89 children being adopted on National Adoption Day.
Led by nonprofits (the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, Alliance for Children’s Rights, and Children’s Action Network), National Adoption Day channels the mission of these organizations into concrete action. Since 1999, over 400 community partners nationwide have supported the adoptions of over 75,000 children. November is National Adoption Month, an initiative through the Children’s Bureau that was established by President Clinton in 1995. Initially founded as National Adoption Week in 1984, the Bureau has shifted its focus in recent years to the importance of adoptive families for teens in the foster care system.
There are currently more than 114,000 children in the foster care system, with more than 20% over the age of 13. Despite this, 29% of adoptees are over the age of 9. With the increased risk of aging out of the system, the health and well-being of these children are in far more jeopardy than their younger peers from both an emotional and legal standpoint. Non-adopted children in the foster care system face higher rates of trauma, substance abuse, and financial instability. National Adoption Month makes the experiences of teenagers in foster care more visible to increase their chances of being placed in a forever home.
The 2023 Children’s Bureau theme for National Adoption Month is “Empowering Youth: Finding Points of Connection.” Empowerment recognizes teens as having choice and autonomy in their adoption processes and reframes permanency planning as something that happens with and not just to them. The second part, connection, emphasizes the importance of youth developing significant and meaningful relationships with mentors, coaches, peers, and other supporters.
This dual theme acknowledges both the difficulty and importance of teens in foster care developing a strong sense of self and connection to supportive adults from their cultural backgrounds. Despite making up only 14% of the national population, Black children make up 20% of the foster care population, and American Indian and Alaska Native children represent 1% of the national population but 2% of the foster care population. By encouraging authentic, trusting conversations around race, ethnicity, culture, and identity, the Children’s Bureau aims to help all children in the foster care system feel proud of and comfortable in their identity as a significant step in the permanency-planning process.
The Child Welfare Information Gateway has action steps like subscribing to their mailing list and spreading awareness on social media using the hashtag #NationalAdoptionMonth. Additionally, educational materials about Permanency Planning with Youth and Relationship-Building Tools are available.
Does your court celebrate and spread awareness for National Adoption Day or Month? Share it with us. Email us at Knowledge@ncsc.org or call 800-616-6164 and let us know. Follow the National Center for State Courts on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and Vimeo. For more Trending Topic posts, visit ncsc.org/trendingtopics or subscribe to the LinkedIn newsletter.