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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-11-14 Proclamation (2) PROCLAIMING NOVEMBER, 2007 AS ADOPTION AWARENESS MONTH WHEREAS, all children need love, support, security, and a place to call home; and WHEREAS, in the State of Maine, 2,217 children live in substitute care away from their birth families; and WHEREAS, the Bangor office of the State Department of Health and Human Services has 176 licensed foster homes, many of which are adoptive homes; and WHEREAS, the Bangor office completed 38 adoptions in 2007, with 76 more children seeking adoption; and WHEREAS, many of these children have special needs as a result of abuse and neglect; and WHEREAS, there are families that are able and willing to adopt children with special needs; and WHEREAS, in 2006, 344 foster children were adopted in Maine including 45 in Bangor, representing 15% of the total population of children in care, the highest percentage since 1997; and WHEREAS, children waiting for adoptive parents and families who have adopted these children deserve public and agency support; NOW, THEREFORE, I, SUSAN M. HAWES, COUNCIL CHAIR OF THE CITY OF BANGOR, on behalf of the City Council and citizens of Bangor, do hereby proclaim November 2007 as Adoption Awareness Month in the City of Bangor. I encourage our community, agencies, religious organizations, businesses, and others to celebrate adoption awareness, honor families that grow through adoption, further the awareness of the challenges and issues in adoption, and focus attention on those who live in the shadow of an uncertain future while they await forever families. Given this the 14th day of November, 2007. _______________________________ Susan M. Hawes, Council Chair