Adoption Awareness Month

By virtue of the authority vested by the Constitution of Virginia in the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, there is hereby officially recognized:

WHEREAS, the health and safety of all Virginians is important to the happiness, prosperity, and well-being of our Commonwealth’s families and communities; and,

WHEREAS, every child in Virginia, regardless of physical, medical or emotional challenges, age or race, needs love, support, security, and a place to call home; and,

WHEREAS, children can thrive, reach their full potential, and spread their wings when given the loving and firm foundation of family — a family with a desire to parent a child who would otherwise not have permanency in their lives; and,

WHEREAS, in addition to adoption from foster care, many Virginians have chosen other adoption options to build their families including international and private adoptions; and,

WHEREAS, it is important for every child - who cannot be raised by a birth parent, relative, or fictive kin - to have a permanent home, and children have better outcomes when they are raised in loving families; and,

WHEREAS, the more than 4,800 children in Virginia’s foster care program are in transition and deserve permanent placement in a stable and caring family and over 700 children need a family to adopt them; and,

WHEREAS, not all children waiting to be adopted are newborns; many older youth who live in foster care desire to be adopted, just as many siblings who are separated in foster care long to be adopted by the same family, and all these children want a sense of belonging that adoptive parents can provide; and,

WHEREAS, community partnerships have provided much needed exposure of the faces of waiting children throughout the Commonwealth, and these endeavors can continue their unprecedented successes in finding loving and permanent homes;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Glenn Youngkin, do hereby recognize November 2022 as ADOPTION AWARENESS MONTH in the COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, and I call this observance to the attention of our citizens.

Governor of Virginia

Proclamations