Political Quotes

“Mr. President, November is National Adoption Month. Each November, families across the country finalize adoptions and celebrate the creation of new families and connections. On National Adoption Day, which is celebrated on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, a special effort is made to finalize as many pending adoptions as possible. Last year, over 4,000 adoptions were finalized on that day. While I am sure that this day will look a little different this year due to the coronavirus, I am confident that family courts and child welfare agencies will still make it a special day for many, many families--happy families--because they will be able to bring new ones into their families. The pandemic has created significant challenges for the children and families in our child welfare system. With travel restrictions and limits on visitors in hospitals, adoptive parents are meeting their children for the first time ever over video chat instead of in person. Kids in foster care are having to wait longer for placements, and foster parents are facing the added stress of school closures. Court proceedings are taking place over Zoom. Despite the challenges, both new challenges and old challenges that can accompany adoption, parents in Iowa and across the country are still making the choice to open their hearts and homes to children in need. Congress has worked in the past to reduce barriers that would-be adoptive parents face.…”