WHEREAS, the annual observance of Adoption Month celebrates all North Carolina adoptions; and
WHEREAS, the 2020 national theme for Adoption Month is Engage Youth: Listen and Learn; North Carolina families are encouraged to share their hearts and homes with older youth at risk of aging out of foster care waiting to be adopted; and
WHEREAS, the nationwide ALL-IN Foster Adoption Challenge supports the idea that every waiting child deserves the opportunity to grow up in a loving, stable family and that adoption is one way to build a family; and
WHEREAS, caring adults and committed families can make all the difference in the lives of young people, sibling groups, children with special needs, and teenagers; and
WHEREAS, 10,658 children in North Carolina are currently in foster care, and 1,629 children were adopted in 2019; and
WHEREAS, each County Department of Social Services in North Carolina works diligently to place foster children in adoptive homes; and
WHEREAS, NC Kids Adoption and Foster Care Network within the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Social Services, recruits approved adoptive families with the hope of placing current children in foster care who are awaiting adoption; and
WHEREAS, the State of North Carolina encourages communities, businesses, schools, faith-based organizations, families, and individuals to participate in efforts to recruit permanent, loving families for North Carolina’s waiting children;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, ROY COOPER, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim November, 2020, as “ADOPTION MONTH” and November 21, 2020, as “ADOPTION DAY” in North Carolina, and commend observance to all citizens.