Every Child Deserves A Loving Family
November 22, 2006, More than ten years ago, I traveled to Romania and saw haunting images of physical and emotional neglect in that country’s orphanages. What troubled me most about the situation was that many international families wanted to adopt these children, but the country’s cumbersome adoption laws stood in the way.
During my visits in 1994 and 1995, I met with Romanian officials to discuss the problems that were stemming from the unreasonable restrictions on adoptions. My visits led Romania to ease restrictions on Americans wanting to adopt Romanian children. But after years of friendlier adoption laws, Romania is reverting to the burdensome laws that hamper adoptions, and I am again encouraging officials there to relax those restrictions.
As our nation celebrates National Adoption Month this November, I am reminded of those visits and our country’s own adoption process. In foster homes across our nation, thousands of American children are awaiting adoption. While their surroundings are an immeasurable improvement over the Romanian orphanages I visited, we still owe them our best efforts in providing them a loving home.
I have worked in Congress to ensure our nation’s adoption laws do not hinder parents who want to adopt. I was proud to co-sponsor the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 in an effort to improve our adoption laws. Since the passage of the 1997 law, the number of children adopted from foster care has increased significantly. In 2004 alone, approximately 51,000 children were adopted from foster care. Earlier this year, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a resolution to recognize the success of that law and to encourage adoption throughout the year.
But more needs to be done. In spite of the progress we have made, approximately 118,000 children in the foster care system are waiting to be adopted. In Tennessee, more than 850 children are awaiting adoption. These children also need to find the stable, loving environment of family life.
As a member of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, I am working to ensure our laws are written to help children in foster care find permanent, loving homes. I also am partnering with other members of Congress to encourage other countries to become more open to international adoption by American families.
Adoption should be a more feasible option for parents. Many who are interested in adoption say cost is a prohibitive factor. It shouldn’t be, and that’s why I have co-sponsored legislation to ease the financial burden through tax credits to help manage the expense of adopting a child.
For the sake of children waiting in foster homes across our country and in orphanages around the world, it’s important we take steps to ease the adoption process and allow these children to know the comforts and love provided by a stable family.
For more information on adoption in Tennessee, contact Tennessee’s Department of Children's Services at (877) 327-5437 or www.tennessee.gov/youth. To find out more about international adoption, contact the U.S. Department of State at (888) 407-4747 or www.travel.state.gov/family.
