November is National Adoption Month, first celebrated (as a single week) in 1976. The observance culminates on National Adoption Day, November 18, when “courts and communities coast-to-coast will come together to finalize thousands of adoptions of children from foster care and to celebrate all families who adopt.”
President Bush, like his predecessors back to Gerald Ford, has made an official proclamation of the event:
During National Adoption Month, we encourage the adoption of young people in need, and we honor the adoptive and foster families who have offered children a loving and supportive home.
The best of America is reflected in the many citizens who have adopted children as their own. . . .
I call upon all Americans to observe this month with appropriate programs and activities to honor adoptive families and to participate in efforts to find permanent homes for waiting children.
This from a man who opposes adoption by LGBT people (PDF link) and whose brother is governor of a state with some of the most anti-LGBT adoption laws in the country.
Seems like an opportunity for some visibility:
If you are in the process of adopting and on track to finalize it around November 18, visit the National Adoption Day site (and talk with your attorney) to see what you can do to have your local court participate and include your adoption among those completed that day. Be as visible as you safely can be in any related community celebrations.
If you’ve already adopted, hope to do so, or just want to celebrate adoptive families, you can simply join in the community events, or organize one yourself. The National Adoption Day site has resources to help you plan your event and reach out to local businesses, faith communities, and media for support and coverage.
Let’s use National Adoption Day to showcase the loving homes LGBT parents provide for children.
The Mombian Resource Directory has a number of links about adoption and fostering for those of you starting or considering either one.