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National Council for Adoption Awards BanquetThank, you, Senator Ben Nelson, for that kind introduction. I'd also like to thank Bill Pierce. Thank you, Bill, for all the great work you have done through the National Council for Adoption, and the families and children you have helped bring together. You have a wonderful legacy, Bill. I get a lot of awards in my job. I sometimes think that maybe when I'm done being Secretary of Health and Human Services, I can go open up a store in Wisconsin and sell plaques and imitation crystal. But this award tonight is beautiful, and I consider it a great honor to accept it. Thank you. Every year, American families adopt tens of thousands of children. Yet sadly, the adoption process is often too long, difficult, and expensive for most families to afford. There are currently more than 542,000 children in foster care in the United States. Of these, more than 125,000 children are still waiting to be adopted into permanent homes. That's thousands of toddlers, teens, brothers and sisters, children from every race and every background, waiting and hoping for generous parents to open their hearts and their homes. Promoting adoption isn't a partisan issue - it's one where all Americans can agree. Every child deserves to be part of a loving family. For all of us who believe in the intrinsic value of every human life, we have a solemn responsibility to encourage lives of hope, health, and promise for all children. That's why I'm proud to say that this Administration is not accepting the status quo - we are acting for change, working to encourage adoption on several fronts. At the Department of Health and Human Services, we've given nearly $4 million in awards to 13 organizations to help eliminate barriers to adoption for children with special needs as part of the Adoption Opportunities Program. Last summer, President Bush launched a new Web site, Adopt-U-S-Kids-Dot-Org (adoptUSkids.org), which features photographs and biographies of more than three thousand children in foster care. We are working to extend the successful adoption incentive payment program. And we continue to support the wonderful work of the National Council For Adoption - especially the work of their Infant Adoption Awareness program. The best social program in the world is a strong, healthy, and independent family. Common sense and social science lead us to the same conclusion: Children thrive in secure, loving and stable homes. Providing that kind of home through adoption can be a long and a time-consuming process, one full of challenges for new parents. Yet adoption changes a life forever, and it brings countless blessings to the lives of mothers and fathers, as well as children. I'd like to share with you the story of Mitch Pearlstein and his wife, Diane, who live in Minneapolis. They adopted their daughter, Nicole, when she was five years old. Nicole was born to a mom who used crack cocaine during her pregnancy, and a dad who was a drug dealer. Nicole lived in more than a dozen foster care and emergency placement homes before Mitch and Diane adopted her. Here's what Mitch says now: "Adopting Nicole has been the most difficult thing we've done in our lives, period. And adopting Nicole has been the best thing we've done in our lives, period." I know that all of you here today understand that sentiment - and many of you know what it's like to experience the struggle and cost of adoption. But you also know what it feels like to replace loneliness and pain with hope and happiness. And that, my friends, is a wonderful feeling. Working together, we can make this dream a reality for children throughout America. We can strengthen and support the creation of strong families. And we can help create a world where every child is seen as a precious gift. Thank you for this kind award. Thank you for your selflessness and your compassion. Thank you for the wonderful work you do. May God bless you all. Last Revised: April 7, 2003 |
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