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November 2021Vol. 22, No. 10November Is National Adoption Month

Each November during National Adoption Month, the Children's Bureau, in partnership with Child Welfare Information Gateway and AdoptUSKids, brings to the forefront the need to find loving, stable, and permanent homes for children and youth waiting to be adopted. According to Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System data for 2019, there were over 122,000 children and youth in the United States waiting to find permanent homes. The theme of this year's National Adoption Month is "Every Conversation Matters" to emphasize the importance of youth engagement and truly listening to what the young person has to say, what their goals are, and how they feel about adoption. Youth are the experts of their own lives and should be a partner in their own permanency planning and the decisions about their future.

The National Adoption Month 2021 website features resources, tips, and tools from Children's Bureau adoption grant recipients to help child welfare and legal professionals cultivate relationships and start conversations with youth about permanency. This year's website also contains resources designed specifically for youth, including about how to get involved and ways to share their stories effectively. In addition, the following are a few of the new developments to the website:

  • There is a new Ask Youth Challenge for social media that encourages the use of the Ask Youth graphics and the #AskYouthChallenge hashtag to show our commitment to listening to teens and making their voices heard in every conversation. 
  • The About page includes more background information about National Adoption Month.
  • All National Adoption Month activities and events are now on the National Adoption Month Partners page.
  • The Youth Engagement Practice Examples page features resources from Children's Bureau adoption grantees related to building relationships with teens.
Visit the National Adoption Month website throughout November and beyond to learn more about this year's initiative and to find resources, stories, and tools to help engage youth in the important decisions that affect their lives and lead to loving, permanent homes.