To: Board of Supervisors
From: Marla Stuart, Employment and Human Services Director
Report Title: Proclaim November 2025 as Adoption Awareness Month
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
ADOPT a resolution proclaiming November 2025 Adoption Awareness Month in Contra Costa County, as recommended by the Employment & Human Services Director.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None.
BACKGROUND:
The 2025 National Adoption Month theme is “Honoring Youth: Strengthening Pathways for Lasting Bonds.” By honoring every youth and their network, professionals can work toward an adoption that is meaningful and purposeful, paving the way for healing, well-being, and long-term stability.
President Bill Clinton named November as National Adoption Month in 1995. In recent years, the national focus has been on adoption of teens since teens in foster care wait longer for permanency and are at higher risk of aging out without permanent connections, placing them at risk for negative outcomes.
Children and Family Services (CFS) of the Contra Costa County Employment & Human Services Department (EHSD) work to find caregivers who can offer children and youth permanent homes through adoption. During Fiscal Year 2024-25, CFS completed 53 adoptions in Contra Costa County.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
No recognition of Adoption Awareness Month.
CHILDREN’S IMPACT STATEMENT:
This resolution supports all five of Contra Costa County’s community outcomes of the Children’s Report Card: (1) “Children Ready for and Succeeding in School”; (2) “Children and Youth Healthy and Preparing for Productive Adulthood”; (3) “Families that are Economically Self-Sufficient”; (4) “Families that are Safe, Stable and Nurturing”; and (5) “Communities that are Safe and Provide a High Quality of Life for Children and Families.”
The Board of Supervisors of Contra Costa County, California
body
IN THE MATTER OF proclaiming November 2025 as National Adoption Awareness Month in Contra Costa County.
WHEREAS, all children, infants, toddlers, school-aged and older youth, deserve a safe, loving, supportive environment and a place to call home; and
WHEREAS, National Adoption Month raises awareness about the need for adoptive families and the importance of cultivating a support network for youth in foster care, embracing and affirming their identity, and promoting family, community, and cultural connections; and
WHEREAS, reunifying children with their own families is the primary goal when it is safe and in the child’s best interest to do so and, when reunification is not possible, Children and Family Services (CFS) of the Contra Costa County Employment & Human Services Department (EHSD) help to find caregivers who can offer children and youth permanent homes through adoption; and
WHEREAS, during Fiscal Year 2024-2025 EHSD’s Children & Family Services completed 53 adoptions; and
WHEREAS, of the 53 adoptions, 22 of the adoptions were with relatives, 37 of the adopted children were under 5 years old, and 9 of the youth adopted were teens; and
WHEREAS, CFS and community partners provided adoption assistance and post-adoption support to 1,464 families during Fiscal Year 2024-2025 in Contra Costa County; and
WHEREAS, we recognize that we can work toward meaningful adoption journeys for teens and older youth who generally tend to have a longer wait for permanent homes, and help them secure lifelong connections to pave the way for healing, well-being, and long-term stability; and
WHEREAS, there are no restrictions on who can adopt based on race, ethnicity, religion, physical ability, income, sexual orientation or expression, gender identity, marital status; and
WHEREAS, adoption secures supportive and nurturing families and homes, including those of relative caregivers, for children and teens, and can play a role in preventing recurring child abuse and neglect.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Supervisors hereby proclaims November 2025 as National Adoption Month in Contra Costa County to celebrate our community’s adoptive families and raise awareness about the number of children and teens who are still waiting for a permanent home.