The Families for Orphans Coalition is a group of organizations and individuals working to attract attention and resources to children worldwide who are growing up without permanent parental care.

Leaders Needed for Kids Left Behind

Networkers, communicators, cheerleaders, adoptive moms and dads who remember the kids they left behind in the orphanages. We need you!!!

Applications are now being accepted for:
• State Managers – Leaders who will build a network of supporters for the Bill in the above states, share information and inspire people to get involved and
• Committee Members for each state – Individuals to support State Managers, build state networks supportive of the Bill and bring awareness of the plight of children languishing in orphanages and foster care worldwide.

If you are interested please submit an application by August 9th. If questions contact Carri Booth at 202-280-6320 or carri@kidsave.org.

The Coalition seeks to

• Create policy and system change so that the millions of orphans children growing up without permanent families worldwide will have an opportunity for permanent family care and lasting connections with caring adults, and
• Address barriers that place a child’s ability to be part of a permanent family at risk.

Working to move the federal government toward a greater focus on permanent parental care, we believe it is time the United States steps forward to provide leadership and focus on what is most important for children without parents – permanent family care. Without U.S. leadership, it is apparent that the abandonment of children will continue and countries will fail to develop systems to find a permanent family for every child in need. And without a shift in U.S. policy, ‘a permanent family’ will remain a catch phrase, rather than the right of every child. Our current diplomatic structure and USAID infrastructure is not set up to engage in this level of diplomacy.

No office within the federal government currently prioritizes finding families for orphans.

• USAID is clear that with so many other pressing problems, permanent family care will not be a global program priority
• The Department of State Office of Children’s Issues is limited, by law, to represent only American citizens. They have no mandate, capacity or competency to build child welfare infrastructure.
• Orphan programs funded in the U.S. are disorganized, disconnected, and neglectful of millions of children in low-profile countries. So while the Presidents Emergency Fund for AIDS Research supports orphans in countries with high-HIV prevalence, funding for orphan programs in other parts of the world are largely unfunded.

The Families for Orphans Act

To address these barriers and shift U.S. policy, the Families for Orphans Coalition supports the Families for Orphans Act (HR 3070; S 1458), establishing the Office of Orphan Policy, Development and Diplomacy - a specialized office within the U.S. Department of State. This Office would:

• Appoint a coordinator and policy committee, responsible for developing and implementing a comprehensive, evidence-based strategy to support the preservation of families and the provision of permanent family care for children growing up without parental care.
• Provide grant support for non-governmental organizations that are providing technical assistance to and support for foreign governments’ family preservation and permanent family care programs.
• Provide funding for countries to use to develop and meet minimum standards in family preservation, reunification and the provision of permanent parental care.
• Launch the “Global Best Practices Pilot Program” to discover and replicate best practices in achieving permanent family care. Read more about the Families for Ophans Act here »

The Families for Orphans Coalition also supports the FACE Act, providing U.S. citizenship to internationally adopted children of U.S. parents when the adoption is finalized abroad. Current legislation grants citizenship upon entering the U.S. but the FACE Act eliminates the immigration process after a child has been deemed eligible for adoption by the U.S. government. This is a step in the right direction towards treating internationally adopted children as equals to children born abroad to U.S. citizens. Read more about the FACE Act here »

We Need Your Support!

You can join the Coalition to support all our work
or engage in support of our individual activities.

• Our organization will become a member of the Families For Orphans Coalition.
  We would like to receive all legislative updates on all activities and would like our name included in the list of Coalition members.
• Our organization supports the Families for Orphans Act.
  To add your organization’s name to the list of supporting organizations, and receive alerts on the Families for Orphans Act only.
• Our organization supports the FACE Act.
  To add your organization’s name to the list of supporting organizations and receive all alerts for the FACE Act only.