Governor Stein Proclaims Foster Care Month
Foster Care Month 2026
By The Governor Of The State Of North Carolina
A Proclamation
Whereas, the youth of North Carolina are our most precious resource and hope for the future, and all children deserve safe, loving, and nurturing place to call home; and
Whereas, the foster care system in North Carolina serves approximately 10,678 children and youth ages zero to seventeen, and approximately 1,013 young adults ages eighteen to twenty are in extended foster care; and
Whereas, the purpose of foster care is to provide temporary safe, secure, and stable homes through the compassion and nurturing of a foster family or a kinship family; and
Whereas, foster families and kinship families open their homes and hearts to children whose families are in crisis; and foster families and kinship families play vital roles in helping children and families heal and reunify while launching children into successful adulthood; and
Whereas, dedicated foster families and kinship families sometimes adopt foster children, resulting in a greater need for more foster, kinship, and adoptive families; and
Whereas, numerous individuals, communities, and public and private organizations work to increase public awareness of the needs of children in foster care and of those exiting foster care and of the enduring and valuable contributions made by foster and kinship families; and
Whereas, Foster Care Month is an opportunity to recognize the foster parents, kinship families, child welfare professionals, and advocates working to ensure children’s safety, permanence, and well-being and to spread awareness on behalf of the thousands of children in foster care in North Carolina; and
Whereas, the State of North Carolina encourages people to volunteer their time, energy, and talents on behalf of children in foster care and their biological families, kinship caregivers, and foster parents during this month and throughout the year;
Now, Therefore, I, Josh Stein, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim May 2026 as “Foster Care Month” in North Carolina and commend its observance to all residents.
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this twenty-seventh day of April in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-sixth and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fiftieth.
