National Adoption Month Means Helping the Vulnerable

November is National Adoption Month and a time for us to remember the importance that adoption plays in the lives of countless American families. We know the importance that loving parents can make in a child’s life as they grow and mature, and we owe a debt of gratitude to the religious organizations, charities, and other groups that make adoption a reality.

In our society, it’s most often our youth that are most vulnerable — and those without loving parents even more so. It’s not just ensuring that both domestic and international adoption have lower barriers for prospective parents, but also making sure our foster care system is giving a children a place where they are cared for and an opportunity to succeed.

One of the toughest realities we’ve seen with the foster care system is the vulnerabilities that children face from sex trafficking. An estimated 60% of missing children who are likely trafficking victims were in foster care or group homes when they ran away. This needs to be addressed.

I’m working to tackle sex trafficking, which is prevalent in far too many communities around the country. Estimates have found that over 100,000 children are exploited every year by pimps and traffickers. Many of these young girls are first trafficked between the ages of 12 and 14 years old.

They often come from broken homes or tough lives where they are looking for love and attention. It’s estimated that one-third of young girls that run away from home will be approached by a trafficker within 48 hours of being out on the streets.

Congress has acted to combat this problem and find places for children where they can be loved and cared for. Just this year, Congress passed and the President signed the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Improving Opportunities for Youth in Foster Care Act. This law identifies youth in the child welfare system that are already trafficking victims and ensures they have access to important services. It also will improve coordination between child welfare, juvenile justice, and social service agencies in order to better assist victims of these crimes. An important provision I authored was included in this new law to collect better data on children in the foster care system that end up in trafficking. Our ability to find new solutions can only be as good as the data we have.

Additionally, the House passed — and the President signed into law — the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act, which requires state agencies to promote ‘normalcy’ for youth in foster care. Often times, children in foster care have difficulty participating in social activities like going to high school athletic events or school dances due to burdensome rules imposed the foster care system.

While these actions to improve the foster care system will go a long way in saving children from trafficking, finding a loving home for them through adoption is one of the best ways to make sure they are loved and protected. Right now, the burden on parents is still too much as they have to jump through countless hoops and use numerous resources to adopt a child.

Being a parent is an awe-inspiring responsibility. As the father of four daughters, I know the gravity of this role. Through the efforts of improving our foster care system or promoting adoption, we can help countless children find the loving home they deserve.