Statement for the Congressional Record on Gillie Hopkins
Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.)
September 18, 2024

Mr. WELCH. Mr. President, today I celebrate Rachel Gilbert Hopkins, a dedicated Vermonter who has worked to improve our State’s adoption system and connect children to a loving family.

Vermont’s team within the Department for Children and Families, Family Services Division (FSD) is critically important and does life-changing work every day for children in need. Rachel Gilbert Hopkins, or ‘‘Gillie’’ as she is known by all, has made an incredible impact. As codirector of Project Family, a partnership between Lund and DCF, Gillie has overseen the completion of more than 2,260 adoptions, advancing child welfare and permanency in our State and changing the lives of children and families.

For this reason alone, she is an excellent nominee for the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute’s Angels in Adoption honor. But it is also Gillie’s far-reaching impact beyond adoption and permanency that has inspired this honor, and at the recommendation of her friends and peers who have witnessed her dedication, I submit her name and this honor to the RECORD today.

As her peers say, Gillie has an ‘‘unwavering commitment to prioritizing the best interests of every child.’’ She conducts trainings to empower her colleagues with the tools to advocate for children. She also works with the regional offices and the judiciary to address the barriers to permanency, using research to establish procedures that cultivate efficiency and smoother processes. Gillie has created inclusive spaces, groups, and supportive environments for people to live authentically and has worked on actions that enhance adoption competence among FSD staff.

Gillie Hopkins is champion for children, families, and Vermont communities and is well-deserving of the Angels in Adoption honor because of her extraordinary work and dedicated commitment to our State.

Download the Statement for the Congressional Record.