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National Foster Care Month is observed in the United States during the month of May every year. It began with President Ronald Reagan in 1988. Since 1988, National Foster Care Month continues to be recognized and celebrated. ==Overview== The original focus was to give foster parents the recognition they deserved for opening their homes to foster children in need and caring for them.〔(Adoption.com Press Releases - Adoption.com Distributes, Page 2 )〕 However, the main focus and theme changes with every passing year. For example, in 2012, the theme for National Foster Care Month was "Achieving well-being with children and youth in care."〔(National Foster Care Month 2013: Supporting Youth in Transition )〕 Some of the main focuses of National Foster Care Month include the encouragement of adopting children from the foster care system, appreciation of social workers and other professionals who work with foster children and families, and mentoring programs for foster children who have aged out of the system. During this month, there are volunteer opportunities and information meetings that take place across the country. The topics of the those meetings include how to become a foster parent, how to support the local foster community, and how to adopt from foster care. Currently, it's estimated that over 408,000 children are in foster care.〔(National Foster Care Month )〕 Some of these children aren't eligible for adoption, but many of them are. Every year, over 30,000 children age out of the foster system without a chance at permanence, which means the foster children are reaching the age of eighteen, no longer wards of the state, and out on their own.〔 This means that the youth over the age of eighteen have no familial support, resources, or even job or life skills.〔(Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative )〕 These facts have fueled the motivation behind National Foster Care Month. Every year the current President of the United States issues a Presidential Proclamation specifically on National Foster Care Month. On April 29, 2012, President Barack Obama "issued a proclamation recognizing May as National Foster Care Month." The president also included recognition of the Children's Bureau's 100th anniversary and extended "Medicaid coverage up to age 26 for former foster youth."〔(Presidential Proclamation - National Foster Care Month | The White House )〕 Presidential Proclamations are each unique, but they have a common thread, which is to take an active role in the foster community. When President Obama declared May 2015 to be National Foster Care Month, he included words never before included in a White House proclamation about adoption, stating in part, "With so many children waiting for loving homes, it is important to ensure all qualified caregivers have the opportunity to serve as foster or adoptive parents, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status. That is why we are working to break down the barriers that exist and investing in efforts to recruit more qualified parents for children in foster care." Thus it appears he is the first president to explicitly say gender identity should not prevent anyone from adopting or becoming a foster parent. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「National Foster Care Month」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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