Blunt, Klobuchar Commend Unanimous Senate Passage of Resolution Marking November as National Adoption Month

Press Release

U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), co-chairs of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption (CCA), today announced that their resolution marking November as National Adoption Month passed the Senate with unanimous support. As co-chairs of the bipartisan CCA, Blunt and Klobuchar work to engage Members of Congress on issues pertaining to children in need of permanent homes, children in the foster care system, and domestic and international child welfare.

"There are more than 400,000 children in the U.S. foster care system and millions of children around the world without a safe, stable home," said Blunt. "As a proud adoptive parent, I hope that bringing awareness to issues around adoption will encourage more families to consider opening their home to a child in need. I'll continue advocating for policies to improve the adoption process, support adoptive families, and get us closer to our goal of seeing every child in the permanent, loving home they deserve.

This is the sixth consecutive year that Blunt and Klobuchar have led legislation to recognize November as National Adoption Month and to mark National Adoption Day.

"National Adoption Month is an opportunity to bring attention to, and support, adoptive families who open their hearts and homes to deserving children," said Klobuchar. "As Senate co-chairs of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, Senator Blunt and I continue to work with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to help make the adoption process better for children and families across our country. It's important to increase awareness about children in need of loving homes and to honor the hard work of these nurturing adoptive families."

Blunt and Klobuchar have been leaders in the fight to give every child a permanent home.

Last month, legislation they helped introduce - the Intercountry Adoption Information Act of 2019 - was signed into law. The bipartisan bill provides updated, quality information to Americans trying to adopt children from other countries. Also last month, Blunt and Klobuchar sent a letter encouraging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of State (DOS) to take action to raise awareness of the importance of adoption and foster care during National Adoption Month.

In October, they led a letter urging DOS to prioritize policies to promote intercountry adoption as the department searches for new accrediting entities for intercountry adoption service providers.

In April, they led a letter asking DOS to use all available resources to ensure that intercountry adoptions proceed in a safe and timely manner during the coronavirus pandemic and that American families stranded abroad while completing these adoptions return home safely. Blunt and Klobuchar also requested information on the steps DOS is taking to issue visas for intercountry adoptions that have been finalized as well as how DOS is providing detailed and consistent communications to families attempting to complete an intercountry adoption.

In May 2019, they introduced the Supporting Adoptive Families Act to help ensure adoptive families have access to pre- and post- adoption services, including mental and behavioral health treatment.

In February 2019, they introduced legislation to improve the intercountry adoption process. The bipartisan Intercountry Adoption Advisory Committee Act would provide Secretary of State the authority to establish an Intercountry Adoption Advisory Committee within the Bureau of Consular Affairs to focus on coordinating the development, refinement, and implementation of policy and programs on intercountry adoption.

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