Mrs. Clinton: "Good Afternoon. Thank you. Thank you.
Please be seated and please be welcomed to the White House. This is a very special day for
all of us. And there have been many very important events that have occurred here in the
East Room of the White House, but I honestly don't believe there is any that is more
important than what we are doing by celebrating National Adoption Month. And November is a
particularly appropriate time to highlight the importance of adoption in this country.
It's hard to believe, but Thanksgiving and the Holiday Season are a little more than a week away. And during this season, we traditionally focus on family. And we recognize how much we need and depend on the love of our parents and spouses and children and other relatives. So for all of you who are gathered here to begin this celebration, that we hope will ignite a fire of enthusiasm throughout the country about adoption, I want to say thank you.
There are several members of Congress here and I am delighted that all of you could join us. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Donna Shalala, a long-time advocate of family and children services is here with us because all of us believe that there isn't anything more important than our families and that the families formed by adoption are special and deserve the support of all the rest of us. And we want to emphasize that there's a need in our country to bring the richness and love and support and guidance and discipline and attention of family life to every one of America's waiting children.
As we go into the Holiday Season, I hope every American will recognize that there are tens of thousands of children waiting for the love of a mother, a father, a sister, a brother, to have grandparents and aunts and uncles, to have a dog or a cat like Socks. Tens of thousands of those children, every single day, are growing up without mothers or fathers to help teach them, to nurture them and to tell them that they are special. We know they are, but they need someone in their family to tell them that.
Often when we think of adoption, we have a picture in our mind of infants being welcomed into a family. But adoption today involves children and teenagers of all ages, backgrounds and circumstances. In this room today are adoptive families and waiting children who demonstrate the range of adoptive experiences. Adoption has provided a new beginning for school-aged children, for adolescents, for children with physical and emotional and educational disabilities, children of different races and cultures, and brothers and sisters who want to remain together.
Let me give you a picture of the children in America who are waiting. Six out of ten of them are school-aged children. Four out of ten are white. Four out of ten are African-American. The rest, Hispanic, Native American and every other race and color that you can imagine. Two out of three have special needs. Each one of these children has the capacity to love, to bring new joy and energy into a family. Most of you who are here, the families that already know that, are living proof of how adoption can be successful and emotionally rewarding. But we need more of you.
I recently met with Shane Salter, a young man who grew up in foster care without ever being placed in a permanent family. He described what that meant to him. He talked about his continued longing for parents who would not only care for him, but who could be grandparents to his own children. Adoption can change lives, not only of those in the immediate family, but through generations.
I know that adoption in America today can be frustrating and emotionally draining and expensive. A newspaper column I wrote about adoption this summer generated more responses than any other I've written. I meet people throughout the country who come up and say they have read my column and they're an adoptive parent. Or they have read my column and they're a foster parent. Or they read my column, and they were adopted. Prospective parents have written to tell me of the numerous obstacles, the red tape, and the costs, particularly the legal costs, that have led them to despair of ever being able to adopt a child.
I want you to know that the President is committed to easing and encouraging the adoption process. And I recently convened a group of experts to discuss how to make the government a better partner, and more responsive to the needs of prospective parents and children. In particular, the Administration is working hard to ease the adoption of minority and special-needs children. The President is committed to enforcing the Multi-Ethnic Placement Act which prohibits adoption agencies from denying the placement of a child solely on the basis of race, color, or national origin of a child or prospective adoptive parents.
The Administration also championed -- and the first bill the President signed -- was the Family and Medical Leave Act which ensures that parents can take time off when they adopt a child without fearing the loss of their jobs. And the Administration has launched a public education campaign about adoption. A campaign in which I am very honored to participate. These are just some of the many initiatives, both in the government and in the private sector, and in partnership between both the public and private sectors, that are designed to support the placement of children in loving homes.
But all of your efforts and all of the Administration's efforts to strengthen our families and children could be jeopardized by actions in Congress. The government currently provides essential recruitment and training services for prospective adoptive parents, as well as subsidies to families who adopt special-needs children -- those living with Cerebral Palsy, or HIV, or some other disability, since those children have large medical and educational expenses. Many of the children who are special-needs, when they are adopted into families, bring with them such large medical costs, that if Medicaid is cut back substantially, the medical insurance for many of those special-needs children will no longer be available after they are adopted. This would be a great tragedy, because there are so many parents who just need a little bit of financial help with the costs. They need a little bit of a subsidy, and they need continuing medical help to be able to open their lives to these children. Putting our nation's economic house in order does not mean sweeping out compassion and caring for our neediest children and families, making it less likely they will ever have a home of their own.
We have to work together to improve our adoption system. In the Proclamation for National Adoption Month, the President said, "Citizens from all communities and organizations from the public and private sectors must join together to renew our commitment to finding permanent homes for each one of America's children." Two of the private foundations doing this important work are the Ann E. Casey Foundation which is active in five states, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's Families For Kids, active in ten states.
I wish we could re-double, re-triple our efforts. I believe that if we really put our minds to it, if we could recruit qualified volunteers out of our judicial system and our legal system and our social work system, to be assigned to each child who is waiting to be adopted, we could make it possible for thousands and thousands more children to be adopted by this time next year. We have to put our minds to it, but there is no more important task than trying to do everything in our power to ensure that every child has a family.
Perhaps no person has been a more effective advocate for children waiting to be adopted, than our next speaker. The founder of Wendy's, the star of TV., Dave Thomas started speaking out on adoption in 1990 when he became the national spokesperson for the White House Initiative on Adoption. As an adopted child himself, he says he would not have become the successful father, husband and businessman he is today, had he not been able to grow up in a supportive family.
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption seeks to make adoption more affordable, streamline the adoption process, and educate the public about the potential joys of adoption. Mr. Thomas believes that no child is unadoptable and every child deserves a home and a loving family. But he knows, as we all do, that we have to overcome some misconceptions about adoption. We have to make it very clear that the children who are waiting are children just like yours and mine and every other child who goes to school and plays in playgrounds. They are America's children. And we have to make it clear to America that they would benefit greatly from having one of these children in their lives.
Mr. Thomas has also been a leader in the campaign to encourage corporations to extend maternity benefits to adoptive parents. This is so important. We do a terrible job in our country of ensuring maternity benefits, in nearly every instance, in most of the businesses in our country. It's important for new parents to be able to spend time with their child. Think how important it is for a new child coming into a strange home, filled with anticipation to have some time where he or she is the center of that family's attention, and that at least one parent gets a chance to spend time with the child.
Within Wendy's, adoption benefits are paid leave and financial assistance with adoption costs available to employees who have been with the Company for at least one year. All of us are very proud of Mr. Thomas' leadership and grateful to him for it.
Following him to the podium will be the Reverend Wayne Thompson, President of One Church-One Child. This is one of the great ideas in America. And I wish every church would join One Church-One Child. Because through One Church-One Child, we have seen literally hundreds of thousands of children being given homes who might otherwise not have been known to anyone. And the church serves as a back-up extended family for the members who adopt children. Through this work, thousands of African-American children have found loving homes and supportive church congregations.
You will also be hearing from the Marshall Family. The proud parents of two beautiful little girls, they have experienced so much love and happiness with their two daughters, that they have spent considerable time promoting adoption in their own community. In fact, they are the family featured in the posters supporting adoption that appear in Wendy's restaurants around the world.
And then finally, we will hear from a young woman who knows exactly what's at stake. Deanna is 13. She lived in a foster home for seven years before moving into a group home in Topeka, Kansas. Though she no longer lives with her two foster sisters, she is still close to them and she is still waiting. She is a cheerleader, an avid reader, and a budding poet -- and a lovely young woman based on my experience with her a few minutes ago. So these people who will be speaking to you have the experience that we would like to see transmitted to very American. They know what it's like to form a family by choice. To be able to say, I choose you to be my son or daughter. And in return to know what it's like as a child to have the love and support that can only come from one's own family. So please join me in welcoming Mr. Dave Thomas."
Dave Thomas: "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I thank you, Mrs.
Clinton. I asked Mrs. Clinton about, something like about a year ago, if she would help.
And she said, "I will." And that's the reason why we're here today so I just
want everyone to know that Mrs. Clinton and the President are dedicated to adoption. So
let's give them a big hand, because they
did it.
Let me tell you why I'm interested in adoption. I was adopted as Mrs. Clinton said, and my mother, my foster mother died when I was about five years old. And I was born out of wedlock and I had nothing to do with it -- trust me. And I had nothing to do about being adopted, it wasn't my fault. But I was adopted and I had six, no not six, I had three more foster mothers and step-mothers and then I left when I was 15 years old. But I do know how important it is, a family. And all through my life I've always been envious of mothers and fathers. Because I've never seen my mother and father. And if you have never seen your mother and father and the nurturing, you know everyone deserves the love and nurturing, when you grow up. I never had it, and I've always been kind of jealous of it.
And my kids, I have five children, fourteen grandchildren, and I probably spoil them for that reason. Now whether that's good or bad, but it's one of the things that, I wasn't spoiled. But I know one thing, I did have a grandmother who did care for me. She was my foster grandmother and I didn't find out until I was 13 years old that I was adopted, and I was really hurt. So I do know how important it is and I feel so sorry for these children today, in particular, parents who don't take care of their children. I mean I just think it's a crime. I think we need to have an education to educate these parents about responsibility. I don't know how you feel about it, but I'm real strong on responsibility.
You know there are almost one-half million children in foster care right now. And there are about 100,000 waiting to be adopted. And when we started the Foundation, we said, well, we need to have some goals. And our objective was to make adoption affordable and take the red tape out of adoption, and so that's what we've really been trying to do. And so the first thing we did, we put adoption benefits right with the maternity benefits. And I want everybody to understand it's kind of a no-brainer. If you have maternity benefits, add adoption benefits. And we've done that --
I'm even trying to get the federal government to do the same. Right, Mrs. Clinton? Mrs. Clinton said she's going to support me. Congressmen? -- Congresswomen? -- Senators? Don't forget now, because it's really important. But right now we have, in about thirty-five states, we have adoption benefits. And in cities and in corporations. We wrote all kinds of letters and it's really the right thing to do. We have not said how much, but just to help.
And we also have a bill in the Congress for a tax-credit. And I think it's something for -- adoption is expensive. And we need to help people to adopt as Mrs. Clinton said. And I hope this bill is going to work out real well. I hope everybody supports it because it's really an important thing.
And then, I think that the next thing that we've been working on, is that we've tried something that we call a computer. Does everybody understand what computers are? And Jan Heffner is the Director of the Dave Thomas Foundation -- stand up Jan -- Jan has been working on this real, real hard.
You know what it is, it's really children with willing parents. Now the children need to be matched with willing parents. And what's happened is IBM, AT&T and Marriott have helped with some government agencies working to make this happen. And the first example case of adoption's waiting children on-line through the National Adoption Center, there were 100,000 inquiries. Am I right, Jan? Over 100,000. So Internet is really something that we're really trying to work on.
We're trying to do everything we can to make it possible and remind people about adoption. Because, what happens, these kids are out there, and they go from foster home to foster home. I was in Chicago not too long ago and a little boy, six years old, was in sixteen foster homes. Can you imagine that? I mean that's not fair. So that's what we're really trying to do and if we can get the federal government -- that would really be a good example to put in for all the federal workers adoption benefits. Don't you think so? So, I'd just like to say this, I'd like to just say this. I think this is really a great event. I think it's something that we need to work on. And the more awareness and the more we talk about it. And I just keep talking about, and some people like to listen to me and some don't. But I'm going to keep talking because every boy and every girl deserves a loving family. So thank you, and God bless you."
Wayne Thompson:
"Thank you, Mrs. Clinton, for the opportunity to be a part of this historic day, and for your help in raising the awareness of the need for adoptions in our nation. The importance of adoption of children throughout our country can never be overstated. For these children are fortunate enough to have loving, permanent homes, in which they have been nurtured and cared for. They're led into adulthood with the support of parents which every child is entitled to and every child requires.The family values are embodied by those parents who choose to bring children into their families and experience the joys of parenthood. The mission of the national One Church-One Child is to challenge each and every African-American congregation to adopt one African-American child. We believe that this furthers our need in our community for taking responsibility for our children. Believe me, this plan works.
In our church, we have had over sixteen adoptions since my involvement in this worthwhile program. In fact, there's one little boy who thinks he's pastor. When he was adopted I noticed that -- I always go to the door to greet the members as they leave -- I noticed that my line was shorter than usual, and I became a little bit concerned. I looked around and saw him shaking hands. And he had been adopted by a single-parent, a young woman who was an accountant, so I went over to him and I said, 'Now listen, there are some ground rules in this church. I'm the pastor -- and I shake everybody's hands, so if you want to shake hands, come stand by me.' Well the brightness of his eyes told the whole story. That where he had had no friends, no extended family, no church home, he was rejoicing, because now he had a new family and new friends.
We've had enormous success in placing children in our community in much needed adoptive homes. Many families, however, cannot adopt children without the help of the federal guarantee of financial assistance for every child and especially for special-needs children. This includes the children with Downs Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy and HIV AIDS and crack-cocaine addictive. These children are important, too. And children are important to God and so our mission is one that we feel that we must continue to fight until the battle has been won.
The average family could not accept the responsibility for these children without the federal guarantee of financial assistance that is currently provided. This guarantee enables these families to care for children who would otherwise languish in the foster care system. And we are aware that there are welfare reform proposals that are pending now in Congress that would eliminate this much-needed guarantee. And so our aim, and our struggle continues as we sound the alarm throughout our communities and from out pulpits, that there are children who are needed to be adopted, but that the government needs to accept the partnership which we offer. We offer it willingly. We offer it gladly. Two out of three children who are waiting for adoption in this country have special-needs, making this federal guarantee more essential than ever before. In the history of One Church-One Child, since 1980, more than 90,000 children have found homes through our congregations across this nation.
We thank God for the vision of Father Clements many years ago and we thank you, Mrs. Clinton, for the vision you've cast forth today, because with your support and the support of those who represent and make up our government, we know that the prayers of the righteous will be answered. And so we offer, in this partnership consortium, the prayers of many people who want children to have permanent loving homes. Many pastors who work in our programs have themselves, like me, become adoptive parents and so we know that we practice what we preach. And we know that the children are the ones who get the blessing.
Again, thank you for making this a special day for children across this nation. We know that they long for and deserve permanent, loving homes. And so that the need for further guaranteed federal protection must come and we believe with the help of God, it will come. Thank you."
Mrs. Marshall:
"I'd like to thank Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Thomas and all others involved, for inviting my family to be a part of this special event for a very important issue.First of all, I would like to say that if everyone out there knew how much joy and happiness Kayla and Terry have brought into my and my husband's life, everyone would be lined up at all adoption agencies everywhere to adopt a child.
My husband and I have been married for 12 years. After being married 9 years, we decided we wanted children. I went to the doctor and found out that I wasn't able to have children. I used to always watch a local spot on our local news program called, 'Wednesday's Child'. They highlight children that are up for adoption and need homes. So we decided to call Franklin County Children's Services and see how we could go through the adoption process.
They invited us to an adoption party in April of 1992. We were there for about an hour and there were hundreds of kids there from the ages of newborn to 7 years of age. We were there and we played with kids. We made balloons. We jumped rope. And then all of a sudden, a little girl came in. She was late. She came in and she had her little friend's hand and I looked at my husband and I said, 'Look at those jaws, I just love her.' When I first saw her, we knew that she was the one.
She talked to us at lunch and she asked for our fruit that we didn't want. She wasn't shy at all. And so we knew that she was the one and we called the next day and said that we wanted to start our class immediately, we wanted to get her as soon as possible. After we adopted Terry, she wanted sisters and brothers and so we said, 'Hey, we're willing to go and adopt another.' So then, Kayla comes into our life and there's not a day that doesn't go by that she just makes us smile and laugh so much. And if we had room in our home, we would adopt 1,000 kids, no matter what race, what religion, color. We just love kids, because children are our future.
I remember when one day we didn't have kids, back when we didn't have kids, we adopted 15 children, nieces, nephews, neighbors' kids, and we went to the Ice Capades. We took up a whole row. We came back to our one-bedroom apartment, we threw a big pajama party for 15 children. So, I mean, if we had room, we would adopt more, but we don't have the room in our home, but we do have the room in our hearts. And we would like to let the kids know that are waiting for families and homes to keep the faith and with a little bit of help, hope and prayer, you'll all have a family and a home someday. Thank you."
Deanna Moppin:
"My name is Deanna Lee Moppin. I have been in SRS custody ever since I was five years old. I was removed from by birth home because of sexual abuse. I was then placed in a new home where I remained for seven years, but then we seemed to have some problems so I was removed from that home along with two other girls that were there.We were placed in a shelter in Topeka, Kansas where we remained for a few nights before moving on to the villages. In the villages, I have two foster parents and there are nine other kids living with me. The foster parents try to help us feel good about ourselves and they try to help us with our problems and they do the best to find us all good homes that we will be happy in.
Some of the kids have nowhere to go, so they just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other and hope for the best while making goals for themselves until they reach their destination.
For most of them their destination is adoption. It is also one of mine. The reasons that I want to get adopted is usually if I want to go to the movies, I have to ask my house parents and they have to ask my village social worker who has to ask my social worker -- and then it has to come back the same way. That usually takes a while. And if I want clothes, I have to ask my house parents who have to ask my village social worker who has to ask my social worker. There is also paper work that needs to be done and that usually takes up to about three weeks.
The other reasons that I want to be adopted is I would have a place that I could call home. I would have a room that I could call my room. I would have a family that I could love and would love me back.
My nerves cringe with excitement as I must wait. I don't know when it will happen, there is no date. My one wish that I hope to come true. Will you make my wish come true, will you? I don't want to be here forever, I want a home. Please get me out of this system and out of this dome. Does anyone want me; it feels like three whole years. I am still waiting for you, I'm so close to tears. I want to live happy with my spirit so free. Only you can make it happen; when will it be? The papers are here, you have finally heard. I'd fly to you now if I were a bird. One question left; Do we make a pair? Are you somebody who will really care? I hope you're the one for other choices have come. I'll go through them all for my choice should not be dumb. I've always been hoping for this day to arrive. Without a good family, I could not survive. My nerves boil with excitement, I no longer wait. I know when it will happen, and I do know the date.
Mrs. Clinton: "I want to thank everyone who's here and
all of the participants. I want to invite all of you into the State Dining Room where
there will be a reception and some cookies and things for all of the children who have
demonstrated extraordinary patience this afternoon.
I just want to end with something that really, I think, echoes what everyone said. The primary responsibility for children lies with the parents and parents have the highest obligation to their own children and should do everything in their power to take care of their children. But sometimes, for a lot of reasons that go back to the beginning of human history, that responsibility is not accepted. And then all the rest of us, I think, have the responsibility. We are a part of every child's family whether we acknowledge it or not. And so in any way that we can, we should try to accept that responsibility and give the love and attention that every child who was born deserves to have. And so that's what we hope the result of this National Adoption Month campaign will lead to -- more and more Americans accepting responsibility for all our children. Thank you very much."
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An introduction to the CWA Project |
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Please read the J.A.M.A. editorial and the TIME magazine article |
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Hope you had a chance to read our story in Good Housekeeping magazine |
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Would you like to register as an Adoptive or Foster parent? |
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Like to request additional information about how we can help or how you can help us? |
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Who we are and what we do |
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White House Visit. |
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Hillary Clinton , Dave Thomas Speech at White House |
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Additional resources |
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