National Adoption Month 2026

About National Adoption Month

The month focuses on adoption from foster care. The federal Children's Bureau, which runs the national campaign, has put particular weight on teenagers, who often wait longest for a family, and on the value of lifelong connections. Its figures from the federal AFCARS data system show that as of September 30, 2022, nearly 109,000 children in US foster care were waiting to be adopted, more than one in five of them aged 13 to 17, and they had spent an average of almost three years in care. The month also honors families formed through adoption and the social workers, judges and agencies behind each placement.

According to the federal Children's Bureau, the observance traces back to 1976, when Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis announced an adoption week to promote awareness. The idea spread to other states. President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the first National Adoption Week in 1984, and in 1995, under President Bill Clinton, the week was expanded to the whole of November. Presidents now issue a proclamation for it each year, such as Proclamation 10992, which President Donald Trump signed on November 17, 2025.

The Children's Bureau, part of the US Department of Health and Human Services, leads the national campaign each November with partner organizations. A related event, National Adoption Day, began on November 18, 2000, when a coalition of child-welfare groups encouraged courts in nine cities to open on or around the Saturday before Thanksgiving to finalize adoptions from foster care. The idea was inspired by Michael Nash, a former presiding judge of the Los Angeles County juvenile court, who had opened his court on Saturdays to clear a backlog of adoption cases.

Sources: Child Welfare Information Gateway (Children's Bureau): National Adoption Month, Administration for Children and Families, Children's Bureau: What is National Adoption Month? (archived 2024), Federal Register: National Adoption Month, 2025 (Proclamation 10992), National Adoption Day: About. How we check dates.

How to mark National Adoption Month

• Learn how foster care adoption works in your state through its child welfare agency or the federal Child Welfare Information Gateway.
• Attend a National Adoption Day celebration at a local courthouse if one is open to the public.
• Offer practical help to a family that has recently adopted, such as meals, rides or a few hours of babysitting.
• Volunteer or donate to a local organization that supports youth aging out of foster care.
• Read books about adoption with children, especially if a classmate or relative was adopted.
• Look into becoming a foster parent, respite caregiver or court-appointed volunteer advocate.

National Adoption Month dates