During National Adoption Month, Klobuchar, Cramer Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Raise Adoption Awareness, Support Adoptive Families

November 16, 2023

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Senate co-chairs of the bipartisan Congressional Coalition on Adoption, introduced two pieces of bipartisan legislation – the Supporting Adopted Children & Families Act and a resolution to mark November as National Adoption Month and November 18 as National Adoption Day – to increase support for adoptive families and raise awareness about adoption.

The resolution to mark November as National Adoption Month and November 18 as National Adoption Day passed the Senate on November 16.

“We’re grateful for the dedication and commitment of adoptive families who open their homes and hearts to children,” said Klobuchar. “Every child deserves a safe, stable, and loving place to call home. That’s why as co-chair of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, I will continue to work with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to raise awareness about adoption and improve the adoption process for families and children across our country.”

“As adoptive parents, my wife Kris and I are keenly aware of the many blessings of adoption. It is crucial to pass policies ensuring children receive the support and unconditional love of a permanent family,” said Cramer. “Recognizing National Adoption Month and Day is an important opportunity to promote adoption, and these pieces of legislation will offer adoptive families and their children the resources and support before, during, and after the process.”

Klobuchar and Cramer introduced the Supporting Adopted Children & Families Act to provide pre- and post-adoption resources, including mental health treatment, to support adoptive families. This legislation will promote:

• Training and counseling on behavioral issues, including issues relating to emotional, behavioral, or developmental health needs;
• Peer-to-peer mentoring and support groups that permit a new adoptive parent to communicate and learn from more experienced adoptive parents, including programs that enhance communication between adoptive parents with children of similar geographic, ethnic, or cultural backgrounds;
• Treatment services specialized for adopted children, including psychiatric residential services, outpatient mental health services, social skills training, intensive in-home supervision services, recreational therapy, suicide prevention, and substance abuse treatment; and
• Crisis and family preservation services, including crisis counseling and a 24-hour emergency hotline for adoptive parents.

Klobuchar and Cramer also introduced a bipartisan resolution marking November as National Adoption Month and November 18 as National Adoption Day to raise awareness about adoption, recognize that every child should have a permanent and loving family, and encourage the people of the United States to consider adoption during the month of November and throughout the year. This resolution passed the Senate on November 16.

The resolution is cosponsored by Senators Baldwin (D-WI), Barrasso (R-WY), Bennet (D-CO), Blackburn (R-TN), Blumenthal (D-CT), Booker (D-NJ), Boozman (R-AR), Braun (R-IN), Capito (R-WV), Casey (D-PA), Collins (D-ME), Cornyn (R-TX), Crapo (R-ID), Daines (R-MT), Duckworth (D-IL), Durbin (R-IL), Fischer (R-NE), Grassley (R-IA), Hagerty (R-TN), Hassan (D-NH), Hoeven (R-ND), Hyde-Smith (R-MS), King (I-ME), Lankford (R-OK), Lummis (R-WY), Manchin (D-WV), Mullin (R-OK), Risch (R-ID), Rosen (D-NV), Rubio (R-FL), Scott (R-FL), Scott (R-SC), Smith (D-MN), Stabenow (D-MI), Thune (R-SD), Tuberville (R-AL), Van Hollen (D-MD), Warren (D-MA), Whitehouse (D-RI), Wicker (R-MS), and Wyden (D-OR). The resolution is led in the House by Representatives Robert Aderholt (R-AL) and Adam Smith (D-WA), the House co-chairs of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption.

Full text of the resolution is available HERE.

As co-chairs of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, Klobuchar and Cramer have led efforts to give every child a permanent home and improve the adoption process. The Congressional Coalition on Adoption (CCA) is the largest bipartisan, bicameral caucus in Congress. CCA brings together members of Congress from both parties who share the goal of  ensuring all children know the love and support of a family through legal permanency in the forms of adoption, guardianship, and kinship care.

In March 2023, Klobuchar and Senator John Hoeven (R-ND) reintroduced the Tribal Adoption Parity Act to provide tribal governments with parity in accessing the adoption tax credit.

In June 2021, provisions of Klobuchar and former Senator Roy Blunt’s (R-MO) legislation to protect adopted children from unregulated custody transfers passed the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

In November 2020, Klobuchar and Blunt’s legislation to provide updated and timely information to help American families trying to adopt internationally passed the Senate. Later that month, the senators encouraged the Department of State and the Department of Health and Human Services to raise awareness for National Adoption Month and for the importance of domestic and intercountry adoption.

Klobuchar and Blunt also partnered on the Accuracy for Adoptees Act, which became law in early 2014. This legislation cuts red tape for adoptive families and ensures that corrections made to adoptees’ state vital records would be recognized by the federal government.

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