Congressman Dennis Cardoza
18th Congressional District of California

CONTACT:  John Bray
(202) 225-6131

WASHINGTON – Congressman Dennis Cardoza today delivered the following remarks on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to commemorateNational Adoption Day:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Saturday, November 18^th as National Adoption Day and to celebrate all adoptive families.

On the Saturday before Thanksgiving, courtrooms across the country will come together to dedicate the resources of our judicial system to finalize adoptions of kids currently in the foster care system.

In the five years since National Adoption Day was established, it has truly grown into a national celebration.  Last year, 3,300 adoptions were finalized as part of 227 nationwide events. 

Unfortunately, despite the declining number of children waiting in foster care, there are still 118,000 children seeking adoption.

This is simply unacceptable.  It is our duty as a prosperous nation to unite and ensure these children find safe, loving homes.

6 years ago, my wife and I decided to expand our family and open our home to two foster care children.

Like many adoptive families, we faced many challenges during this process.  But these experiences have only made our family stronger.

The adoption process is often complicated and riddled with paperwork, meetings, and home studies—important factors when accessing the ability of a family to care for a new child – but they can also discourage qualified parents from embarking on the adoption process. 

The foster care community has been working with Congress and state governments across the country to streamline the adoption process and focus on limited resources, such as requiring frequent home visits and experienced caseworkers.

As Members of Congress, it is our job to be the voice for foster children and make sure their dreams are recognized.  We owe it to them to streamline the adoption process to ensure positive outcomes for these kids.

It is important that we continue to make this process more accessible to families so that these children can be welcomed into loving homes. 

Despite the obstacles that we still need to overcome, this is a time to celebrate those families that have decided to make a difference in the life of a child.

I commend these families and hope that children across the nation will find a place to call home this Saturday as part of National Adoption Day.