Presidential Document2022-09759
National Foster Care Month, 2022
Primary source
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Published
May 5, 2022
Signed
April 29, 2022
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 87 (Thursday, May 5, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 87 (Thursday, May 5, 2022)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 26657-26658]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-09759]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 87 , No. 87 / Thursday, May 5, 2022 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 26657]]
Proclamation 10379 of April 29, 2022
National Foster Care Month, 2022
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Every May, we renew our commitment to ensuring that all
youth in foster care have the love, support, and
resources they need to thrive. We also celebrate the
families who provide safe and loving homes for our
Nation's foster children. We share our appreciation for
the dedicated volunteers and professionals who help our
Nation's foster youth find permanent homes and connect
with their biological families when appropriate--many
of whom are working hard to safely reunite with their
children.
Today, nearly a third of children in foster care are
being raised by kin--many of whom are grandparents.
This helps children retain family bonds and a sense of
cultural identity, which are so important to a child's
resilience and well-being. As children and families of
color are disproportionately overrepresented in foster
care, it is essential that we invest in culturally
supportive services to nurture all children and
families who are impacted by the child welfare system.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact
on young people in foster care. That is why my
Administration implemented the Supporting Foster Youth
and Families through the Pandemic Act--helping foster
youth aging out of the system access services to stay
in school, participate in job training programs, pay
rent and other bills, and transition to adulthood. My
Administration also funded grants that help agencies
connect kinship caregivers and foster parents to
programs and services for children in their care and we
continue to promote best practices that identify and
notify relatives when a child has been placed into
foster care.
This month, we also recognize the history of injustice
in America's foster care system--particularly against
Black and Native Americans. Relative to their white
peers, Black and Native American children stay in
foster care longer and are less likely to be adopted or
reunited with their birth parents. Furthermore, foster
care systems do not provide children with disabilities
or LGBTQI+ youth with the individualized support,
resources, and safety measures they need and deserve.
My Administration stands with transgender youth in
foster care and with all families that love and care
for their children.
To improve our foster care system, I have proposed a
significant funding increase and a package of reforms
to expand prevention services so more children can
remain safely in their own homes. For children who need
to be placed into foster care, my proposal provides
States with incentives to place more children with
relatives or adults with whom they are emotionally
bonded, when appropriate. It will also increase
resources for youth who are aging out of foster care.
In addition, I have called for competitive grants for
States to advance racial equity, expand prevention
services, and improve education outcomes in our child
welfare system. My proposal would also help more low-
and moderate-income families afford the costs of
adoption and legal guardianship of children who would
otherwise be in foster care.
National Foster Care Month is an opportunity for us to
celebrate foster youth and the people who provide them
with love and support. It is our
[[Page 26658]]
duty to help vulnerable children, and child welfare
professionals and the families they serve. Through
education, volunteering, and partnerships, we can
strengthen our communities and ensure that youth in
foster care have the support they need for a future
they deserve.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States of America, by virtue of the
authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws
of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 2022 as
National Foster Care Month. I call upon all Americans
to observe this month by reaching out in their
neighborhoods and communities to the children and youth
in foster care and their families, to those at risk of
entering foster care, and to kin families and other
caregivers.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-two, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
sixth.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2022-09759
Filed 5-4-22; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F2-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on May 5, 2022.
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