The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) is an American

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organization "dedicated to raising awareness about the millions of children around the world in need of permanent, safe, and loving families and to eliminating the barriers that hinder these children from realizing their basic right to a family." CCAI was founded in 2001 by advocates of children in the U.S. and around the world in need of families. CCAI seeks to support Congress' Adoption Caucus, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, through educating and informing its members on adoption, foster care, and child welfare issues. Additionally, CCAI serves as a resource for Members of Congress and their staff through the offering of information, resources, and opportunities to engage in adoption and foster care programs year-round. This is done through congressional briefings, leadership training programs, educational trips, and other notable programs. The Institute's work is entirely funded by donations and gifts from organizations and individuals. Kate McLean currently serves as the Executive Director of CCAI.

History

In 1985, U.S. Senators

Lloyd Bentsen Lloyd Millard Bentsen Jr. (February 11, 1921 – May 23, 2006) was an American politician who was a four-term United States Senator (1971–1993) from Texas and the Democratic Party nominee for vice president in 1988 on the Michael Dukakis ti ...

(D-TX) and

Gordon Humphrey Gordon John Humphrey (born October 9, 1940) is an American politician from New Hampshire who served two terms in the U.S. Senate as a Republican from 1979 to 1990, and twice ran for Governor of New Hampshire, though both bids were unsuccessful. E ...

(R-NH) and U.S. Representatives Tom Bliley (R-VA) and

Jim Oberstar James Louis Oberstar (September 10, 1934 – May 3, 2014) was an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 2011. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, he represented nor ...

(D-MN) united to form the Congressional Coalition on Adoption (CCA) caucus. In 1998, the four CCA co-chairs at the time consisting of U.S. Representatives Tom Baily (R-VA) and Jim Oberstar (D-MN) and U.S. Senators

Mary Landrieu Mary Loretta Landrieu ( ; born November 23, 1955) is an American entrepreneur and politician who served as a United States senator from Louisiana from 1997 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, Landrieu served as the Louisiana State Treasure ...

(D-LA) and

Larry Craig Lawrence Edwin Craig (born July 20, 1945) is an American retired politician from the state of Idaho. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, he served 18 years in the United States Senate (1991–2009), preceded by 10 years in the U.S. ...

(R-ID) hired a full-time fellow, Kerry Marks Hasenbalg, to support the CCA. In 2001, the aforementioned CCA co-chairs and Hasenbalg founded CCAI. Today CCA is the largest bicameral, bipartisan caucus in Congress with 160 members of the 117th Congress.

Angels in Adoption

CCAI is known for its annual Angels in Adoption award, which allows Members of Congress to nominate a constituent for their extraordinary work in the adoption, foster care, and child welfare community. Angels in Adoption® honorees travel to Washington, D.C. to celebrate their hard work and dedication to the issues and participate in special events to engage them in using their personal experience to effect change. Each year, there are several National Angels, individuals or groups that work on a national or global level, are honored. Past recipients include

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Laura Bush Laura Lane Welch Bush (''née'' Welch; born November 4, 1946) is an American teacher, librarian, memoirist and author who was First Lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009. Bush previously served as First Lady of Texas from 1995 to 2000. ...

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (c. 150824 October 1537) was List of English consorts, Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England from their Wives of Henry VIII, marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen followi ...

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, Muhammad Ali, Shonda Rhimes, Bill Klein and Jen Arnold, NBC Stuios, Hallmark Channel, PEOPLE Magazine, Miranda and Luke Caldwell, This Is Us, Hoda Kotb, and Alec Ingold.

Foster Youth
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The Foster Youth Internship Program® places undergraduate and graduate college students who have been in the foster care system in congressional offices for a summer. The purpose of the program is "to bring attention to the policy and procedural barriers that trap children in the foster care system." The experience includes the researching and writing of a policy report that is presented to Members of Congress and the press, highlighting urgent and continuing issues in foster child welfare."Members of Congress Honor Foster Youth Interns, Highlight Need for Foster Children to Have Permanent Families", accessed October 19, 2009
/ref> The Foster Youth Internship Program® "began in 2003 as an effort to raise awareness to federal policymakers about the needs and unique perspectives of children and youth in foster care." To date, there are 234 exceptional alumni of the Foster Youth Internship Program®.

National Adoption Day

A coalition of national partners - The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, Alliance for Children's Rights and Children's Action Network, and the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute - founded National Adoption day. The day is a "collective effort to raise awareness of the more than 123,000 children waiting to be adopted from foster care in the United States."{{Cite web , title=About , url=https://www.ccainstitute.org/programs/view/national-adoption-day-about , access-date=2022-11-07 , website=www.ccainstitute.org National Adoption Day is generally the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Courts open to finalize adoptions. More than 700,000 children in foster care have been adopted as part of National Adoption Day. Today, more than 400 cities across the United States participate in National Adoption Day events.

References

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