Families and leaders celebrate adoption at Montana Capitol

Families and leaders celebrate adoption at Montana Capitol

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Families, Leaders Celebrate Adoption at Montana Capitol

HELENA, Mont. – Families, social workers, and state leaders gathered at the Montana Capitol on Thursday to celebrate the profound impact adoption has on children’s lives. The event marked the 28th year the Adoption Celebration has been held in the State Capitol rotunda, showing a system that is not only changing individual lives but is undergoing a significant transformation itself.

Montana has seen the number of children in foster care decrease from over 3,300 in 2021 to 1,716 this month. This decline, coupled with more than 250 adoptions and guardianships facilitated this year alone by the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS), shows a change in how the state approaches foster care and permanency for children.

“As we come together to celebrate the beautiful gift of adoption, know that I am cheering on each of your families,” said Meagan Hogue, an adoptive and foster mother from Helena. “Every child deserves a forever family, and adoption offers a path for children to belong in a loving home.” Hogue and her husband, Wesley, embody the Montana family—a blend of biological, foster, and adoptive children. They’ve adopted two while maintaining connections with their children’s biological families, a practice central to the state’s philosophy.

Helena families share their adoption stories at Montana Capitol ceremony

The New Math of Family

In June, Gov. Greg Gianforte signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for their “A Home for Every Child” initiative. The aim is to guarantee that a licensed foster home or family is accessible for any child who becomes part of the foster care system. This is a response to the reality that children often had to be placed far from their communities, schools, and siblings.

Adoption is more than a legal milestone. It is a lifelong commitment to helping a child feel safe, supported and loved.

DPHHS Director Doug Harrington

The state isn’t just asking families to open their doors; it’s offering tangible support. In 2023, the Montana Legislature enacted a tax credit of $5,000—or $7,500 for children adopted within Montana—to assist with the expenses related to welcoming a new individual into a household.

Helena montana april department public heath human services office building downtown near capitol square health safety

Family, Redefined

Wesley Hogue put it with a simple clarity that cuts through policy jargon. “I think we like to overcomplicate it and do a lot of different things,” he said. “But even if you’re just fostering or you’re adopting or whatever it is, right, you’re family. If they’re in your home for a week or if they’re in your home for 18 years, you’re family and just providing a loving, safe home for those kids is all they need.”

A major focus of Thursday’s celebration was the effort to keep biological families in contact with children who are being fostered or put up for adoption. For the Hogues, this isn’t an abstract principle; it’s their lived experience.

Montana Adoption Month Celebration – November 5, 2026

“There really is a lot of opportunities for foster families and adoptive families to be able to tailor that to the situation,” noted Meagan Hogue. “And so our experience has been that for a lot of the birth families we’ve interacted with, they’ve been wonderful to be able to have in our kids lives, whether our foster kids who had different unifying or our children who we’ve adopted, it’s been an honor to get to know them.” This approach prioritizes the child’s entire well-being, recognizing that a child’s identity is tied to all the people who love them, not just the ones who raise them.

Gov. Gianforte, who proclaimed November as Adoption Month in Montana, praised this commitment. “Adoption is a precious, life-changing gift,” he said. “It brings families together and gives children the stability and security they need to thrive. But as every parent in this room knows, being a family isn’t just about the big milestones. It’s about all the little things that happen every day.”

Despite the progress, the need remains. There are still Montana children in need of a home.

For more information on how you can become a foster or adoptive parent in Montana, you can explore resources directly from the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services.

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