In a speech on the Senate floor today, Klobuchar pushed efforts to strengthen the adoption system to further develop guardianship services, help children and parents adjust to their new lives together, prevent disruptions and reunite families

Last night, Klobuchar received the Champion for Children Award from Kidsave International for her work supporting families and children through adoption 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As part of National Adoption Month, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) today pushed efforts to support adoptions and provide children a permanent home. In a speech on the Senate floor today, Klobuchar called for strengthening the U.S. adoption system to further develop guardianship services, help children and parents adjust to their new lives together, prevent disruptions and reunite families. Last night, Klobuchar received the Champion for Children Award from Kidsave International for her work supporting families and children through adoption.

“For too many children in our own country and around the world, having a stable, loving family and a permanent home is a distant dream,” Klobuchar said. “We need to keep fighting for all these children. Our kids – all kids – deserve so much more than just a roof over their heads and a bed to sleep in: each and every child deserves a loving home, a nurturing family, and a brighter future.”

Klobuchar has been a strong advocate for adoptive families and children. She has worked closely with adoptive Minnesota families to help them bring their children home from countries such as Guatemala, Vietnam, Ethiopia, and Russia. Following the devastating earthquake in Haiti, her office helped Minnesota families who had pending Haitian adoptions bring their children home.

Last year, Klobuchar successfully passed the Accuracy for Adoptees Act to help families who adopt abroad correct errors to birth certificates. She has introduced the Supporting Adoptive Families Act to help provide pre- and post- adoption support services, including mental health treatment, to help adoptive families stay strong. In addition, Klobuchar authored the International Adoption Simplification Act to help siblings stay together during an international adoption and protect adoptees from unsafe immunizations in foreign countries. The bill was signed into law on November 30, 2010.

Broadcast-quality video of Klobuchar’s remarks area available here.

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