About National Adoption Month

As of September 30, 2022, there were nearly 109,000 children waiting to be adopted who were at risk of aging out of foster care without permanency. The following are additional statistics about this population:

• More than one in five children waiting for adoption were ages 13–17.
• The average age of all children waiting to be adopted was 7.6 years old.
• The average time in care for all children waiting to be adopted was 34.9 months. 
• The average time in care for children waiting to be adopted after termination of parental rights was 19.1 months.

The three racial and ethnic groups with the largest percentages of children waiting for adoption were White (43 percent), Hispanic (23 percent), and Black or African American (21 percent). Black or African American (non-Hispanic), multiracial (non-Hispanic), and American Indian/Alaska Native (non-Hispanic) children were overrepresented among children waiting to be adopted, as shown by the following data:

• Black or African American children (non-Hispanic) were 14 percent of the U.S. child population but 21 percent of those waiting to be adopted.
• Multiracial children (non-Hispanic) were 5 percent of the U.S. child population but 9 percent of those waiting to be adopted.
• American Indian/Alaska Native children (non-Hispanic) were 1 percent of the U.S. child population but 2 percent of those waiting to be adopted.

The Children’s Bureau offers a variety of activities in support of the National Adoption Month initiative each year. 

National Adoption Month Event
This link provides access to the 2023 National Adoption Month Event video. The event amplifies the voices and stories of teens adopted from foster care and their families.  A link to the 2024 National Adoption Month event will be available after the event occurs in November 2024. 

National Adoption Recruitment Campaign
This campaign promotes adoption from foster care and raises awareness of the more than 109,000 children and teens who are waiting to be adopted.

National Adoption Month 2023 Webinar
This webinar provides adoption professionals with strategies on how they can connect with youth so they can work together to find connections for the youth that foster positive identity and permanency. The 2024 National Adoption Month Webinar is scheduled to occur on September 26, 2024. Use this link to register for the 2024 webinar.

Presidential Proclamation
This is a proclamation on National Adoption Month 2024 from President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

If you are looking for other adoption-related information, you can explore the Adoption section of the Child Welfare Information Gateway website. If you are interested in adopting teens from foster care, please visit the resources and photo listing available from AdoptUSKids

The mission of AdoptUSKids is to raise public awareness about the need for foster and adoptive families for children living in foster care and to assist States, Territories, and Tribes in recruiting, engaging, developing, and supporting foster and adoptive families. AdoptUSKids is a project of the Children’s Bureau.

Supporting Professionals 
AdoptUSKids supports child welfare professionals and agencies through the following free resources. 

National Photolisting
Child welfare professionals can use the free national photolisting to match children in need of permanent homes with approved adoptive parents who can meet their needs.

Publications 
AdoptUSKids publishes guides, tip sheets, and webinars on topics such as writing strengths-based narratives, engaging youth, creating effective recruitment and response systems, and supporting families.

Capacity Building Services
AdoptUSKids offers consultation services, webinars, onsite and offsite training, and other opportunities for agency leaders to connect, learn, and ultimately improve their offerings for children and families.

Leadership Development
AdoptUSKids helps emerging leaders develop skills and networks through the Minority Professional Leadership Development program.

National Ad Campaign
The National Adoption Recruitment Campaign promotes adoption from foster care and raises awareness of the 122,000 children and teens waiting to be adopted.

Speakers Bureau
The AdoptUSKids speakers bureau is a group of nearly 100 spokespeople who help raise public awareness of the need for foster and adoptive families and inspire others by sharing their experiences of adopting from foster care.

Communications
AdoptUSKids' newsletters and active X (formerly Twitter) channel keep professionals informed about new resources, tools, and best practices.

Supporting Families
AdoptUSKids helps families. It supplies information, resources, and referrals that connect families and their caseworkers. It offers the only federally funded are provided to families and professionals free of charge.
 

The Children’s Bureau, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, provides discretionary funds for projects designed to eliminate barriers to adoption and help find permanent families for children who would benefit from adoption, particularly children with special needs and teens, who are at higher risk of aging out of foster care than younger children. This section provides a brief overview of each grant recipient as well as resources for supporting youth and families on their adoption journey; recruiting racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse adoptive families; and cultivating lifelong connections for teens.

Minority Professional Leadership Development Program 
Fellows in AdoptUSKids' Minority Professional Leadership Development program design and implement action research projects to address issues in child welfare. The following projects are centered on permanency for teens and youth engagement:

• Increasing Permanency for Youth by Decreasing Congregate Care
• Nothing About Us Without Us: Older Youth Permanency Matters
• The Value of Partnering With Youth in Foster Care
• Young Adult Readiness

National Center for Diligent Recruitment
The National Center for Diligent Recruitment works to improve outcomes for children in foster care by helping child welfare systems and professionals develop and implement strategic, data-driven diligent recruitment plans. The center also assists States, Tribes, and Territories in their work to recruit, develop, support, and retain foster, adoptive, and kinship families who reflect the races and ethnicities of the children in foster care and can meet those children’s needs. 

National Center for Enhanced Post-Adoption Support 
The National Center for Enhanced Post-Adoption Support provides technical assistance and other resources to support States, Tribal nations, and Territories as they develop, implement, and sustain comprehensive, culturally responsive, and accessible postpermanency services. Child welfare professionals and others can access tools and resources about postpermanency services, including articles, webinars, podcasts, and more.

National Center for Adoption Competent Mental Health Services 
The National Center for Adoption Competent Mental Health Services provides technical assistance and evidence-informed training to strengthen coordination and capacity among child welfare and mental health systems. The center also works to help children, youth, and families locate and access mental health professionals who are trained to provide culturally and linguistically relevant child welfare-competent mental health services.

National Adoption Competence Mental Health Training Initiative (NTI)
The National Adoption Competence Mental Health Training Initiative aims to improve outcomes for children in foster, adoptive, and guardianship families by infusing enhanced permanency, adoption, and mental health competency into casework and clinical practice. NTI developed two state-of-the-art, standardized, web-based trainings to build the capacity of child welfare and mental health professionals in all States, Tribes, and Territories to effectively support children, youth, and their foster, adoptive, and guardianship families.

National Training and Development Curriculum
The National Training and Development Curriculum provides potential foster, kinship, and adoptive parents with the information and tools needed to parent children who have experienced trauma, separation, or loss. This cutting-edge resource offers culturally relevant and flexible education to support them through classroom-based and on-demand training.

Quality Improvement Center on Engaging Youth in Finding Permanency (QIC-EY)
Led by Spaulding for Children and including four national partners and several implementation sites, the Quality Improvement Center on Engaging Youth works to make systemic changes in how child welfare systems authentically engage children and youth, as reflected in intentional shifts in policy, practice, and culture. The QIC-EY aims to transform how child welfare and professionals center their work around children and youth and help them authentically engage children and youth throughout their time in the child welfare system.

The Adoption Excellence Awards honor States, local agencies, private organizations, courts, businesses, individuals, and families for outstanding achievements in providing stable, permanent homes for children in foster care.

How to Submit a Nomination

Please review the criteria and eligibility requirements explained in the nomination guidelines.

For all awards, follow the nomination submission process:

1. Fill in the appropriate form, which includes a space to write in the key reasons why your nominee should be considered.
   • Application for Families and Individuals
   • Application for Business, Media, Child Welfare, and Judicial Systems Change
2. Email your nomination to June.Dorn@acf.hhs.gov with the subject line "AEA Nomination."

Nominations will open in the Summer of 2025.

You can find information about past recipients on the Children's Bureau website.