Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 106 Part 6.djvu/723

 PROCLAMATION 6441—MAY 20, 1992 106 STAT. 5281 Proclamation 6441 of May 20, 1992 National Foster Care Month, 1992 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation As the first and most fundamental of all social institutions and as the primary source of love, identity, and support that every individual needs and deserves, the family is the very foundation of our communities and Nation. The future of the United States depends on the stability and well-being of its families, and we are deeply indebted to those Americans who work to assist them—particularly in times of need. This month, we express special gratitude toward the providers of foster care. Foster families are called on most frequently to supply guardianship and guidance to children whose biological parents are unable to provide an acceptable level of care for them. The Department of Health and Human Services reports that approximately 407,000 children in the United States currently live in foster care. The more than 250,000 licensed foster families who have generously accepted these children for temporary or perhaps permanent alternative placement not only meet their basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter but also offer them affection, encouragement, moral direction, and discipline. Because foster parents shape young hearts and minds in addition to ensuring the physical well-being of children in their care, the support and training that these adults receive are highly important. Indeed, foster parents merit recognition as vital members of a team that includes social service providers, attorneys and law enforcement officials, members of the clergy, and others who are dedicated to assisting children and families. Together with fellow members of our Nation's foster care system, foster parents play an essential role in efforts to strengthen and reunite troubled families or, when appropriate, in efforts to ease a child's transition to a permanent, loving adoptive home—perhaps even the foster family's own. In recognition of the contributions that foster families make to the well-being of children and the Nation, the Congress, by House Joint Resolution 388, has designated the month of May 1992 as "National Foster Care Month" and has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this month. NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the month of May 1992 as National Foster Care Month. I call on all Americans to observe this month with appropriate programs and activities in honor of those generous individuals who share their lives with foster children. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and sixteenth. GEORGE BUSH

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