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HR 218

Honoring Daniela Scheffler on securing first place at the 2025 Division I State Track and Field Championship.

136th Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Scott Oelslager

Designates November 2025 as Adoption Month to honor adoptive families and raise awareness, without creating new rights or funding; ceremonial acknowledgment.

Adopted
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Bill Summary · HR 218

Summary — Michigan House Resolution HR 218 (2025): “Adoption Month”

Status: Adopted
Introduced: January 7, 2025
Primary sponsor: Rep. Sharon MacDonell (with numerous co-sponsors)

Purpose

HR 218 designates November 2025 as “Adoption Month” in the State of Michigan. The resolution is intended to recognize adoptive families and adoptees, raise public awareness of adoption (including foster-care and intercountry adoption), and acknowledge the roles of adoptive parents and state support programs.

Key findings and provisions

  • Declares November 2025 as Adoption Month in Michigan (symbolic, commemorative resolution).
  • Describes three common categories of adoption (per the National Council for Adoption):
    • Private domestic adoption (voluntary placement through private agencies),
    • Adoption from foster care, and
    • Intercountry adoption.
  • Notes recent trends for intercountry adoptees’ countries of origin (Colombia, China, Ukraine, South Korea).
  • Provides 2023 Michigan adoption data: estimated 2,745 total adoptions — about 1,610 from foster care, 1,099 private domestic adoptions, and 36 intercountry adoptions.
  • Recognizes challenges facing adoptees and adoptive families: many foster-care adoptees have histories of abuse/neglect; intercountry adoptees may come from environments affected by conflict, hunger, or disease; adopted children have higher likelihood of mental and emotional health needs.
  • Observes typical private domestic and intercountry adoption costs (commonly $25,000–$50,000).
  • Highlights the State’s Adoption and Guardianship Assistance Office (AGAO), which provides cash assistance to eligible adoptive parents of foster-care children and reimburses eligible health-care expenses.

Who is affected / impacted

  • Adoptive families and adoptees (recognition and public awareness).
  • Child welfare stakeholders (adoption agencies, foster parents, social-service providers).
  • State agencies that administer adoption/guardianship assistance (AGAO).
  • The resolution does not create new legal rights, funding, or regulatory changes — its impact is informational and ceremonial.

Procedural / timeline notes

  • Introduced in the Michigan House on January 7, 2025.
  • The resolution moved through the House and was adopted (final recorded roll-call: read by title and adopted; enrolled and signed by the Speaker).
  • As a House resolution, it is nonbinding and does not require gubernatorial signature to be effective as a formal expression of the legislative body’s sentiment.

Bottom line

HR 218 is a commemorative resolution that formally recognizes November 2025 as Adoption Month in Michigan, highlights adoption categories and statistics, calls attention to challenges adoptees and adoptive parents may face, and affirms recognition of state assistance programs — but it does not authorize new programs or appropriate funds.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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