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Records of the First Lady's Office (Clinton Administration)
Margaret “Maggie” Williams' Subject Files
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File children
articlis
Results
legarding James
Generating Political Will to End Hunger
P. Grant was Summut
March 23, 1995
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
for children
Hon. Sherwood Boehlert
Margaret Williams, Chief of Staff
implimentation Act
U.S. House of Representatives
Off. of Hillary Rodham Clinton
Barbara Charbonnet
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Grassroots Board Member
Washington DC 20500
Bill Clapp
President and CEO
Matthew G. Norton Co.
Dear Ms. Williams,
Susan George
Associate Director
Enclosed are recent newspaper editorials supporting the James P. Grant World Summit
Transnational Institute
for Children Implementation Act (HR 966). The Act, which was introduced in the
Author
House of Representatives on February 15 by Reps. James T. Walsh (R-NY), Tony P.
Vicky Guzman, MD
Hall (D-OH) and others, has over 50 cosponsors. A Senate version will be introduced
President, ASAPROSAR
this month by Senator Jim Jeffords (R-VT) and others. The Act, which calls for
continuing U.S. commitment of resources toward meeting the goals set at the 1990
Valerie Harper
Actress
World Summit for Children, is named in memory of the late UNICEF Director.
Sam Harris
Below are excerpts from the most recent editorials:
Executive Director
RESULTS
RESULTS Educational Fund
Countries do contract obligations, just as individuals do when they
pledge donations to charities and non-profit groups. The United States,
Carol Kane
Actress
for example, has pledged to help save the lives of millions of the
world's children. Congress can begin fulfilling that pledge by passing
Scott A. Leckman, MD
the [James P. Grant] World Summit for Children Implementation Act
Grassroots Board Member
this year.
Ernest Loevinsohn
Dir. General, Food Aid Center
Half-blessed Are the Poor, The Miami Herald, March 11, 1995
Canadian International
Development Agency
Priorities must be set, but it would be a mistake to do away with the
T. Brient Mayfield
modest investments that have proven to be so cost- and health-effective
President
Resource Optimization, Inc.
or to otherwise compromise delivery of these critical goods and
services. With the developing nations themselves providing two-thirds
Carol Pierce
of the resources, the United States must continue to fulfill its
Grassroots Board Member
commitment to these life-saving programs.
Hon. Maxine Waters
U.S. House of Representatives
Kids and U.S. Foreign Aid, The State, Columbia, SC, February 27,
1995
Chuck Woolery
Grassroots Board Member
We will send additional editorials and columns as we receive them. A list of endorsers
Prof. Muhammad Yunus
Managing Director
of the James P. Grant World Summit for Children Implementation Act appears on the
Grameen Bank
reverse side of this letter.
Organizations listed for
Sincerely,
informational purposes
only.
Sam Harris
Sam Harris
Executive Director
236 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E., Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 20002, U.S.A. Tel: (202) 543-9340 Fax: (202) 546-3228
Australia Canada Germany Japan Mexico United Kingdom United States
A
ffiliates:
El
Salvador
I
Russia
Ukraine
Endorsers of the
James P. Grant World Summit for Children Implementation
Act of 1995 (HR966)
As of March 22, 1995
Advocates for Youth
Katalysis North/South Development
Alliance for Child Survival
Partnership
American Association for World Health
Laubach Literacy Action
American College of Nurse-Midwives
MAP International
American Jewish World Service
Maryknoll Justice and Peace Office
Appropriate Technology International
Maryknoll Mission Association of the
Association for Childhood Education
Faithful
International
Maryknoll Sisters Office of Social
Association of Third World Affairs
Concerns
Bread for the World
National Council for International Health
CEDPA-Center for Development
National Peace Corps Association
and Population Activities
National Wildlife Federation
Center of Concern
Near East Foundation
Child Health Foundation
Nicaragua-United States Friendship Office
CHILDHOPE International
Nurture/ Center to Prevent Childhood
Childreach
Malnutrition
Children's Aid International
Operation USA
Children's Survival Fund, Inc.
Oxfam America
Christian Children's Fund, Inc.
Partners of the Americas
Community Action International Alliance
Population Action International
CONCERN/America
Population Communication
Congressional Hunger Center
Refugees International
The Debt-for-Development Coalition
RESULTS
Direct Relief International
Save the Children
End Hunger Network
Southeast Asia Resource Action Center
FINCA International
Trickle Up
Freedom from Hunger
United Church Board for World Ministries
Heifer Project International
United Church of Christ - Hunger Action
Helen Keller International
United Church of Christ, Office for
The Hunger Project
Church in Society
Immigration and Refugee Services
U.S. Coalition for Education for All
of America
U.S. Committee for Refugees
International Aid, Inc.
U.S. Committee for UNICEF
International Center for Research
Women's International League for
on Women
Peace and Freedom
International Eye Foundation
World Concern
International Lifeline
World Education
International Medical Services
World Hunger Year
for Health (INMED)
World Neighbors
International Reading Association
YWCA of the USA
International Rescue Committee
International Voluntary Services
Islamic African Relief Agency, USA
The Miami Herald
SATURDAY, MARCH 11, 1995
Half-blessed are the poor
he
United
T
policies and inept
Nations-spon-
AT U.N. SUMMIT
administration of for-
sored summit
eign handouts worsens
on social development.
Global poverty is
a desperate situation.
which convened this
worsening. So is the
In
Copenhagen.
week in Copenhagen
and is scheduled to end
willingness of rich
then, the haves were
right to warn the have-
tomorrow, isn't stir-
countries to help stem it.
nots that they could no
ring any interest in the
longer view foreign
United States. We suf-
assistance as a no-
fer. perhaps, from an excess of summits
strings-attached entitlement.
and of the grandiose declarations that
Even so, warranted criticism of the
these gatherings generate.
venality of some aid recipients should
Yet worldwide misery should matter
not become a pretext for casting the
to developed nations far more than it
poor adrift. Innumerable nongovern-
does. if only for pragmatic reasons. Poor
mental organizations working to allevi-
people may not create a profitable de-
ate poverty and to stimulate develop-
mand for the sorts of goods and services
ment have demonstrated probity and
that developed countries export in the
effectiveness. If anything, public funds
global economy. But large numbers of
for these groups should increase.
poor people do increase emigration pres-
Countries do contract obligations.
sures. And they are more likely to emi-
just as individuals do when they pledge
grate - through legal or illega! means -
donations to charities and nonprofit
than those who manage to earn a digni-
groups. The United States, for example,
fied living in their native lands.
has pledged to help save the lives of mil-
At earlier U.N. meetings, wealthy
lions of the world's children.
nations pledged to set aside a substantial
Congress can begin fulfilling that
portion of their gross domestic product
pledge by passing the World Summit for
for assisting their poorest brethren. In
Children Implementation Act this year.
practice. however. the "haves" are actu-
The measure assigns funds to programs
ally decreasing the percentage of their
designed to improve the well-being of
GDP that they devote to development
the world's poorest children.
aid. If Congress has its way, America's
Washington and its prosperous allies
share will be even smaller next year.
can also act to ease the poor countries'
Admittedly, diminished aid from the
crushing external debt burden; and to
haves is not the cause of soaring poverty
curtail conventional arms sales to
among the have-nots. Governments in
down-and-out governments.
developing countries must shoulder
Turning swords into plowshares has
much of the blame for the growing mis-
never made more sense as a creed for
ery of their people. Their wrongheaded
action than it does today.
The State
THE STATE, COLUMBIA, S.C.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1995
Kids and U.S. foreign aid
James Grant is not a name that automatical-
foreign aid spending. Specifically, it provides
ly leaps out as a force in the never-ending
for increased allocations for child survival,
fight against global misery.
basic education, vitamin A and other micro-
Mr. Grant, who died of cancer recently at
nutrient programs, AIDS prevention and care,
the age of 72, was for a decade and a half the
family planning and refugee assistance.
outspoken director of UNICEF. the branch of
Thanks to strong bipartisan congressional
the United Nations devoted to children's
support - mobilized, in part, by the strong
problems.
moral suasion of people like James Grant -
Under his leadership, the percentage of
U.S. investment in child survival grew from
children immunized against deadly diseases
zero in 1984 to a high of $275 million in 1993.
in the developing world rose from 20 percent
A new Congress, dominated by Republi-
to 80 percent. He helped formulate the 1989
cans, is weighing suggestions the United
U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child
States abandon many of its development as-
which recognized their political and econom-
sistant programs abroad and abolish the U.S.
ic rights. Last year, Mr. Grant received the
Agency for International Development.
Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Priorities must be set, but it would be a
In commemoration of the work that enno-
mistake to do away with the modest invest-
bled his earthly mission, Congressmen Jim
ments that have proven to be so cost- and
Walsh, R-N.Y., and Tony Hall, D-Ohio, have
health-effective or to otherwise compromise
introduced the James P. Grant World Summit
delivery of these critical goods and services.
for Children Implementation Act of 1995.
With the developing nations themselves pro-
The legislation calls for shifting funds with-
viding two-thirds of the resources, the United
in the foreign assistance budget to meet the
States must continue to fulfill its commitment
needs of children without increasing overall
to these life-saving programs.
ContraCostaTimes
Sunday, February 19, 1995
Reforming foreign aid
Don't spend more; use
primary education, family planning
and immunizations.
tax money more wisely
About 13 million children die an-
nually from preventable malnutri-
N
ot all foreign aid goes down
tion and disease.
a rat hole, like Senate
A million children still die annu-
Foreign Relations
ally from measles and 500,000 new-
Committee Chairman Jesse Helms,
borns endure torturous deaths from
R-N.C., claims. A small portion of
tetanus.
foreign assistance is responsible for
More than 100 million children,
keeping alive children in Third
mostly girls, are not in school.
World countries where 35,000
These are solvable problems.
youngsters needlessly die each day.
Lack of funding is the biggest ob-
A bipartisan group of House
stacle. Only 25 percent of the
members is calling for a reform of
worldwide aid goes to the 40 poor-
foreign aid priorities.
est countries.
This group wants more of the
The total U.S. foreign aid budget
pie spent where it can do the most
for 1995 was $13.7 billion. Of that
good: meeting the basic needs of
amount, Israel and Egypt receive
the world's children.
40 percent for military and security
assistance.
Rep. Jim Walsh, R-N.Y., and
Tony Hall, D-Ohio, have introduced
Bilateral aid - money that
the World Summit for Children Im-
would actually save and improve
the lives of millions of children -
plementation Act of 1995.
is about $2.1 billion.
Despite its complicated name, its
Foreign aid should go where it
goals are simple. The mandate calls
can lift nations out of poverty, dis-
for shifting funds within the for-
ease and illiteracy. Congress should
eign aid budget to meet the needs
stop pouring money into rat holes
of children, without increasing
and use it instead to help the
overall spending.
world's children. That's a goal that
Specifically it calls for increased
makes sense in the short and long
allocations for nutrition programs,
terms.
Results
MISSANNSTOM: MAK
PM DC 200
HASHITA
CHECK OUT USTIMATADE
NEW FOOD ABEL
MAR 2 05
TODAY! 222 32 z
236 Massachusetts Ave., N.E.
1995
Suite 300
********
BIF
METER
Washington, D.C. 20002
370085
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
Printed on
recycled paper
File Children - New Big File' "FAMILIES, Un This file
HOUSE REPUBLICANS: CUTTING EDUCATION AND TRAINING Women
TO PAY FOR TAX BREAKS FOR THE WEALTHY
Children
Republicans still have not presented a budget with the $1.6 trillion in savings needed to fulfill
their promises to cut taxes and balance the budget. However, Republican efforts to date do
reflect a pattern: paying for tax cuts heavily targeted at the wealthiest by cutting spending for
education and training. The New York Times calls these "the deepest cuts proposed for
education spending in more than a decade." The cuts include:
Budget Committee Chairman John Kasich's "illustrative spending cuts," which make deep
reductions in job training and Goals 2000.
The House welfare and child block grants, which cut child nutrition in school.
The House rescissions, which gut national service and funding for drug-free schools. While
the bill theoretically will put savings in a deficit "lockbox," Kasich has said that the lockbox is
a "game" that will be "dropped"--thus admitting that the savings are necessary because of the
tax cuts.
BIG TAX CUTS FOR THE WEALTHY
The "Contract with America Tax Relief Act" includes $630 billion in tax cuts over 10 years
--with 51.5% of the benefits going to families making over $100,000 (Treasury estimates).
The wealthiest 1% (1.1 million families making over $350,000) get more tax breaks
than the bottom 60%-over 65 million families.
The average tax cut for the wealthiest 1% is over $20,000--over 75 times bigger than
the average break for the 65 million families in the bottom 60%.
Over a quarter trillion dollars of the tax cuts are targeted almost entirely at the very
wealthy and large corporations: a capital gains tax cut ($92 billion) with 46% of benefits for
the top 1% of Americans; a "neutral cost recovery system" that will encourage distorting, tax-
sheltering activities ($120 b); repeal of the corporate Alternative Minimum Tax, designed to
prevent major companies from paying no taxes ($36 b); and cuts in the gift and estate tax ($23 b).
DEEP CUTS IN EDUCATION
The cuts below are just a sampling of the Republicans' proposals for education. Cuts show 5-year
savings for block grants and Kasich's cuts and 1-year savings for rescissions.
1. K-12 EDUCATION
Cut Goals 2000 ($174 million rescission; further cuts by Kasich in Goals 2000 and School-
to-Work total $723 million). The rescission alone would cut off funds for 4,000 schools to
raise academic standards and improve teaching. Specifically eliminated are parental
assistance initiatives to ensure that parents play a strong role in school improvement.
Eliminate Drug-Free Schools and Communities funding ($472 million rescission). These
funds help schools prevent drug use and violence, through efforts that include buying metal
detectors and hiring security personnel.
Cut School Lunches and Breakfasts ($2.3 billion block grant cut). The Republicans accept
CBO scoring that shows $2.3 billion in savings from their "School Nutrition block grant," with
only 2.5% growth in 1996. That rate is inadequate to keep pace with annual inflation (3.2%)
and increases in the number of children (1.6%). Had the block grant been in place in 1989,
over 1 million children who received nutritious free lunches in 1994 could not have gotten
them. Since-the block grant provides inadequate funding in case of recession and eliminates
nutritional standards and guaranteed free lunches for poor children, the result will be either
lower quality meals or fewer children served, or both.
-- Cut Education Technology and Improvement (Kasich cuts $214 million above a $97 million
rescission). Most of these funds help schools to put state-of-the-art technology and
computers in classrooms. Some funding is for building and supporting public libraries.
Cut Teacher Training in Math and Science (Rescission cuts $100 million). Eisenhower
grants help teachers develop top skills for teaching core subjects like math and science.
-- Eliminate the Department of Education. Republican leaders, including Speaker Gingrich
and Majority Leader Dole, have called for eliminating the Department and its programs.
This would not just cut "bureaucracy," but would slash billions of dollars in education aid.
2. JOB TRAINING
-- Cut Education, Training and Employment Services (Kasich cuts $10.2 billion above
rescissions, including literacy and adult education). President Clinton has proposed a major
consolidation that will put funds directly into workers' hands as Skill Grants. The cuts
would eliminate over 3 million training opportunities and Skill Grants.
Cut School-to-Work (Kasich cuts $723 million above rescissions from this program and
Goals 2000 together). These funds support a 50-state movement that is creating thousands
of paths out of high school and into jobs with good wages and a future. This proposal
would delay reforms in 22 states not already receiving support.
3. NATIONAL SERVICE
-- Gut AmeriCorps (rescission would cut the program by $416 million, or 72%; Kasich
would cut an additional $681 million). The rescission would break a contract with tens of
thousands of young people serving their communities and earning aid for education. This
year and next, 30,000 young people would be sent home or prevented from serving, and
over 100,000 young people would lose the chance to serve over the next 5 years.
4. STUDENT AID
-- Eliminate Student Loan In-School Interest Subsidy for 4 million students: (Kasich's
1995 budget proposal and "Contract with America" options from September 1994: $9.6
billion). For a four-year student who borrowed the maximum amount ($17,125) at the
maximum interest rate (8.25%), this proposal would increase costs by $3,150-18 percent.
Cut back the new Direct Lending program. By cutting out middlemen, the initiative has
saved billions of dollars for taxpayers, lowered costs for students, and allowed borrowers to
choose flexible repayments like pay-as-you-earn. Leading Republicans want to limit the
program and prevent hundreds of schools and millions of students from participating.
File
Filldren
Impact of GOP Welfare Reform and 1995 Rescissions
on Children
Executive Summary
I. WELFARE REFORM
AFDC/JOBS Block Grant
Caps and block grants AFDC, JOBS and Emergency Assistance.
Cuts Federal funds for the programs by $6 billion/5 years (preliminary CBO.)
Child Welfare Services Block Grant
3 House committees propose to reduce child welfare spending:
-- Ways & Means proposes to block grant and substantially reduce Federal
funding for foster care, adoption assistance, family preservation and
discretionary child welfare service programs;
-- Labor/HHS appropriations proposes to rescind over $100 million in 1995;
-- Economic & Educational Opportunities proposes to repeal about $100
million in discretionary child abuse prevention grants.
Together, funding for child welfare services drops about $2.6 billion/5 years
(preliminary CBO).
Child Care
Education and Economic Opportunities Committee would consolidate the four
major child care programs under revised Child Care and Development Block Grant.
Reduce funding by $2.1 billion, or 18 percent, over 5 years.
Over 300,000 children could lose child care assistance in 2000.
Child Nutrition
Combine food assistance programs, including WIC, into two discretionary block
grants.
1
Capped Federal funding authorization level represents $6.5 billion cut over current
spending path.
School-Based Block Grant would no longer guarantee free meal to needy children.
The block grants would eliminate the mandatory national nutrition standards which
ensure that children have access to healthy meals at school.
Food Stamps
House proposal calls for $16.5 billion (maybe more) in cuts over 5 years.
14 million food stamp recipients are children.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Ways & Means Human Resources Subcommittee would remove estimated 280,000
children and adults from SSI due to tightened eligibility standards for children and for
adults with substance abuse.
Total Federal funding for disabled individuals receiving benefits would drop by
over $13 billion over five years (CBO preliminary).
II. 1995 RESCISSIONS
Foster Care
Noted above, House Labor/HHS appropriations proposes to rescind over $100
million in 1995 from Foster Care funding for States.
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
$25 million rescission from WIC would cut, by 600,000, number of benefit
packages that could be provided in 1995 and 1996.
Equivalent to not serving 50,000 monthly participants for a year.
Education Department
Goals 2000 -- About 4,000 fewer schools in 46 states will receive seed money to
implement reforms based on challenging academic standards.
Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities -- Eliminates program providing
2
counseling, instructional and other drug prevention services in 94 percent of all school
districts, serving 93 percent of public school children and 82 percent of all public and
private school students.
ESEA Title I -- $105 million cut for Grants to Local Educational Agencies could
deprive estimated 100,000 educationally disadvantaged children of special services
designed to achieve to challenging academic standards.
Labor Department
JTPA Summer Jobs -- Eliminate funding for the Summer Youth Employment
Program in summers of 1995 and 1996, wiping out job opportunities for 615,000
disadvantaged youth in each summer.
Job Corps -- $10 million rescission eliminates DOL's ability to initiate four new
residential training centers, to serve 2,300 severely disadvantaged youth per year
when fully operational.
Housing and Urban Development Department
Public Housing -- $5.7 billion rescission will impact 630,000 families with children.
Homeless Families -- Rental assistance will be reduced and 12,000 homeless families
with children will be denied assistance.
National Service
Cut 15,000 Americorps members from the 33,000 Congress authorized and funded
to begin service in the latter half of 1995.
Examples of National Service activities at risk of being cut:
-- providing thousands of low-income and migrant children with
immunizations;
-- working with children in environmental clean-up activities; and
-- working in inner-city recreation areas against drug trafficking and violence.
3
Children
File
Impact of GOP Welfare Reform and 1995 Rescissions
on Children
Executive Summary
I. WELFARE REFORM
AFDC/JOBS Block Grant
Caps and block grants AFDC, JOBS and Emergency Assistance.
Cuts Federal funds for the programs by $6 billion/5 years (preliminary CBO.)
Child Welfare Services Block Grant
3 House committees propose to reduce child welfare spending:
-- Ways & Means proposes to block grant and substantially reduce Federal
funding for foster care, adoption assistance, family preservation and
discretionary child welfare service programs;
-- Labor/HHS appropriations proposes to rescind over $100 million in 1995;
-- Economic & Educational Opportunities proposes to repeal about $100
million in discretionary child abuse prevention grants.
Together, funding for child welfare services drops about $2.6 billion/5 years
(preliminary CBO).
Child Care
Education and Economic Opportunities Committee would consolidate the four
major child care programs under revised Child Care and Development Block Grant.
Reduce funding by $2.1 billion, or 18 percent, over 5 years.
Over 300,000 children could lose child care assistance in 2000.
Child Nutrition
Combine food assistance programs, including WIC, into two discretionary block
grants.
1
Capped Federal funding authorization level represents $6.5 billion cut over current
spending path.
School-Based Block Grant would no longer guarantee free meal to needy children.
The block grants would eliminate the mandatory national nutrition standards which
ensure that children have access to healthy meals at school.
Food Stamps
House proposal calls for $16.5 billion (maybe more) in cuts over 5 years.
14 million food stamp recipients are children.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Ways & Means Human Resources Subcommittee would remove estimated 280,000
children and adults from SSI due to tightened eligibility standards for children and for
adults with substance abuse.
Total Federal funding for disabled individuals receiving benefits would drop by
over $13 billion over five years (CBO preliminary).
II. 1995 RESCISSIONS
Foster Care
Noted above, House Labor/HHS appropriations proposes to rescind over $100
million in 1995 from Foster Care funding for States.
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
$25 million rescission from WIC would cut, by 600,000, number of benefit
packages that could be provided in 1995 and 1996.
Equivalent to not serving 50,000 monthly participants for a year.
Education Department
Goals 2000 -- About 4,000 fewer schools in 46 states will receive seed money to
implement reforms based on challenging academic standards.
Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities -- Eliminates program providing
2
counseling, instructional and other drug prevention services in 94 percent of all school
districts, serving 93 percent of public school children and 82 percent of all public and
private school students.
ESEA Title I -- $105 million cut for Grants to Local Educational Agencies could
deprive estimated 100,000 educationally disadvantaged children of special services
designed to achieve to challenging academic standards.
Labor Department
JTPA Summer Jobs -- Eliminate funding for the Summer Youth Employment
Program in summers of 1995 and 1996, wiping out job opportunities for 615,000
disadvantaged youth in each summer.
Job Corps -- $10 million rescission eliminates DOL's ability to initiate four new
residential training centers, to serve 2,300 severely disadvantaged youth per year
when fully operational.
Housing and Urban Development Department
Public Housing -- $5.7 billion rescission will impact 630,000 families with children.
Homeless Families -- Rental assistance will be reduced and 12,000 homeless families
with children will be denied assistance.
National Service
Cut 15,000 Americorps members from the 33,000 Congress authorized and funded
to begin service in the latter half of 1995.
Examples of National Service activities at risk of being cut:
-- providing thousands of low-income and migrant children with
immunizations;
-- working with children in environmental clean-up activities; and
-- working in inner-city recreation areas against drug trafficking and violence.
3
Impact of GOP Welfare Reform and 1995 Rescissions
on Children
Executive Summary
I. WELFARE REFORM
AFDC/JOBS Block Grant
Caps and block grants AFDC, JOBS and Emergency Assistance.
Cuts Federal funds for the programs by $6 billion/5 years (preliminary CBO.)
Child Welfare Services Block Grant
3 House committees propose to reduce child welfare spending:
-- Ways & Means proposes to block grant and substantially reduce Federal
funding for foster care, adoption assistance, family preservation and
discretionary child welfare service programs;
-- Labor/HHS appropriations proposes to rescind over $100 million in 1995;
-- Economic & Educational Opportunities proposes to repeal about $100
million in discretionary child abuse prevention grants.
Together, funding for child welfare services drops about $2.6 billion/5 years
(preliminary CBO).
Child Care
Education and Economic Opportunities Committee would consolidate the four
major child care programs under revised Child Care and Development Block Grant.
Reduce funding by $2.1 billion, or 18 percent, over 5 years.
Over 300,000 children could lose child care assistance in 2000.
Child Nutrition
Combine food assistance programs, including WIC, into two discretionary block
grants.
1
Capped Federal funding authorization level represents $6.5 billion cut over current
spending path.
School-Based Block Grant would no longer guarantee free meal to needy children.
The block grants would eliminate the mandatory national nutrition standards which
ensure that children have access to healthy meals at school.
Food Stamps
House proposal calls for $16.5 billion (maybe more) in cuts over 5 years.
14 million food stamp recipients are children.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Ways & Means Human Resources Subcommittee would remove estimated 280,000
children and adults from SSI due to tightened eligibility standards for children and for
adults with substance abuse.
Total Federal funding for disabled individuals receiving benefits would drop by
over $13 billion over five years (CBO preliminary).
II. 1995 RESCISSIONS
Foster Care
Noted above, House Labor/HHS appropriations proposes to rescind over $100
million in 1995 from Foster Care funding for States.
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
$25 million rescission from WIC would cut, by 600,000, number of benefit
packages that could be provided in 1995 and 1996.
Equivalent to not serving 50,000 monthly participants for a year.
Education Department
Goals 2000 -- About 4,000 fewer schools in 46 states will receive seed money to
implement reforms based on challenging academic standards.
Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities -- Eliminates program providing
2
counseling, instructional and other drug prevention services in 94 percent of all school
districts, serving 93 percent of public school children and 82 percent of all public and
private school students.
ESEA Title I -- $105 million cut for Grants to Local Educational Agencies could
deprive estimated 100,000 educationally disadvantaged children of special services
designed to achieve to challenging academic standards.
Labor Department
JTPA Summer Jobs -- Eliminate funding for the Summer Youth Employment
Program in summers of 1995 and 1996, wiping out job opportunities for 615,000
disadvantaged youth in each summer.
Job Corps -- $10 million rescission eliminates DOL's ability to initiate four new
residential training centers, to serve 2,300 severely disadvantaged youth per year
when fully operational.
Housing and Urban Development Department
Public Housing -- $5.7 billion rescission will impact 630,000 families with children.
Homeless Families -- Rental assistance will be reduced and 12,000 homeless families
with children will be denied assistance.
National Service
Cut 15,000 Americorps members from the 33,000 Congress authorized and funded
to begin service in the latter half of 1995.
Examples of National Service activities at risk of being cut:
-- providing thousands of low-income and migrant children with
immunizations;
-- working with children in environmental clean-up activities; and
-- working in inner-city recreation areas against drug trafficking and violence.
3
children's
Results
Generating Political Will to End Hunger
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
February 28, 1995
Hon. Sherwood Boehlert
Margaret Williams, Chief of Staff
U.S. House of Representatives
Off. of Hillary Rodham Clinton
Barbara Charbonnet
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Grassroots Board Member
Washington DC 20500
Bill Clapp
President and CEO
Dear Ms. Williams,
Matthew G. Norton Co.
On February 15, Representatives James Walsh (R-NY), Tony Hall (D-OH), and 44
Susan George
Associate Director
other House members introduced the James P. Grant World Summit for Children
Transnational Institute
Implementation Act of 1995 (HR 966). The bill calls for continuing U.S. commitment
Author
of resources toward meeting the goals set at the 1990 World Summit for Children. The
Vicky Guzman, MD
act is named in memory of the late James P. Grant, who was Executive Director of
President. ASAPROSAR
UNICEF for 15 years.
Valerie Harper
Actress
Enclosed are recent newspaper editorials and columns supporting the James P. Grant
World Summit for Children Implementation Act and citing progress made in achieving
Sam Harris
the Summit goals. Below are some excerpts:
Executive Director
RESULTS
RESULTS Educational Fund
It would be a fitting tribute to Grant if Walsh and his co-sponsors
succeeded in shifting precious US aid dollars to where they can do the
Carol Kane
Actress
most good.
Scott A. Leckman, MD
Home and Abroad, The Post-Standard, Syracuse, New York,
Grassroots Board Member
February 15, 1995
Ernest Loevinsohn
Dir. General, Food Aid Center
while foreign aid certainly needs some changes, Americans should
Canadian International
think of doing more, not less, to help the world's children.
Development Agency
T. Brient Mayfield
Shift Aid to Help the Children, Deseret News, Salt Lake City, Utah,
President
Resource Optimization. Inc.
February 13, 1995
Carol Pierce
it's time to stop debating the structure of America's foreign-aid
Grassroots Board Member
bureaucracy and begin talking about priorities. [The James Grant
Hon. Maxine Waters
World Summit bill] offers Congress an opportunity to do that, and to
U.S. House of Representatives
demonstrate bipartisan leadership on behalf of the world's children.
Chuck Woolery
Grassroots Board Member
For the Children's Sake, The Times, Trenton, New Jersey,
February 5, 1995
Prof. Muhammad Yunus
Managing Director
Grameen Bank
We will send additional editorials and columns as we receive them.
Organizations listed for
Sincerely,
informational purposes
only.
Sam Harris
Sam Harris
Executive Director
236 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E., Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 20002, U.S.A. Tel: (202) 543-9340 Fax: (202) 546-3228
Australia Canada Germany Japan Mexico United Kingdom United States
Affiliates: El Salvador Lesotho Russia Ukraine
THE POST-STANDARD
Syracuse, New York
Wednesday, Feb. 15, 1995
HOME AND ABROAD
Doesn't it make sense to send scarce resources
where they will do the most good?
What does the $13.7 billion bud-
services, youth alcohol and drug
get for U.S. foreign aid have to do
abuse prevention and general fami-
with the $8.1 million raised by
ly assistance.
United Way of Central New York's
In case you missed the common
recently completed campaign?
thread. the services all focus on
For one thing. both sums aim to
young people - those most vul-
promote the general welfare of the
nerable. most in need. most acces-
recipients. whether in the world's
sible to early intervention and with
poorest nations or through local or-
the most potential to benefit.
ganizations serving the needy.
On the foreign front. this year
For another, both areas of
Central New York Rep. James
spending are feeling a pinch. In
Walsh is pushing for a sharper
Washington, President Clinton's
focus on aid to children in the na-
recently unveiled federal budget
tion's international aid budget. Re-
proposes $81 million in cuts in
publican Walsh has increased his
spending for foreign economic and
clout as a member of the new
humanitarian aid. Sen. Jesse
House majority. Now he has spon-
Helms, the new chairman of the
sored a bill that would shift some
Senate Foreign Relations Commit-
$200 million in current aid dollars
tee, vowed to slash $3.5 billion
to "child-survival" programs.
from the total foreign aid budget.
This money would help fund pro-
Meanwhile, the local United
grams for immunization, oral rehy-
Way's collections this year are
dration, nutrition and education.
about $268,000 less than the year
These cost-effective programs
before. more than $850,000 below
have proven themselves: In recent
the peak year of 1990-91.
years they have reduced the num-
In short. resources for the
bers of children dying each year by
needy are scarce. both around the
a remarkable 2 million or more.
globe and here at home. That re-
But the need is still great. Late
quires tough decisions to make the
last year, James Grant. the execu-
best use of the money.
tive director of UNICEF, reported
Fortunately, Central New York-
one-fifth of the world's people still
ers are working here and in Wash-
live in desperate poverty. "Meet-
ington to make that happen.
ing these unmet needs is the chief
Close to home, United Way
unfinished business of the 20th
staffers this month are deciding
century," said Grant.
how to split the diminished pie.
The crusading UNICEF chief
Most of the 48 member agencies
won't live to see that day. James
will get something, particularly
Grant died last month at age 72 of
since donors have the option of
cancer. Walsh and his colleagues
designating who gets a contribu-
dedicated their bill to Grant's
tion. But there will be cuts. The
memory.
local group also aims to cut in half
It would a fitting tribute to
the payment to its state counter-
Grant if Walsh and his co-sponsors
part.
succeeded in shifting precious U.S.
Significantly, United Way aims
aid dollars to where they can do
to continue full funding of agencies
the most good.
whose services fall under its "Pri-
Likewise, maintaining the focus
ority I" and "Priority II" catego-
on services to children is a fitting
ries. These include child abuse pre-
legacy for Harry Honan. who is re-
vention, child care/early childhood
tiring as executive director after
education, child and youth develop-
18 years with United Way of Cen-
ment, prenatal and pregnancy
tral New York.
The CapitalTimes
Thursday, February 2, 1995
Madison, Wisconsin
A quiet hero who saved our children dies
One of my heroes died
is sketchy - but the fact I remember
At the heart of
nity with such complete and dedicated
last weekend.
it at all suggests the power that article
Grant's vision for
commitment."
His name was James
had.
helping children
In this year when the new Congress
Grant and he was the
What I remember is the humanity
was getting nations
is rethinking America's approach to
head of the United Na-
Grant conveyed when he talked about
to use simple, low-
foreign aid, it would do well for mem-
tions Children's Fund -
issues of global poverty. These were
cost methods that
bers of Congress to spend a few min-
UNICEF. He died at the
not abstract numbers of the impact of
villagers
could
utes reflecting on some of the ideas of
age of 72 from cancer.
famine. They were stories of children
manage on their
James Grant.
I hadn't really thought
he had held in his arms.
own.
Haslanger
Rep. Tony Hall, an Ohio Democrat,
of him as a hero until his
The
attention
on Tuesday named a proposal in
I was touched by the reality he con-
death. I didn't know him
Grant helped focus
Grant's memory to shift some of the
veyed and impressed by the personal
personally. I did not even know much
Grant
on the world's chil-
U.S. foreign aid dollars into programs
commitment he seemed to have.
about the details of his life. But a mag-
dren has brought
that will help meet the goals set at the
azine article about him that I read
Over the next quarter century, he
results. A few years ago, the common
Children's Summit. That would indeed
when I was a teenager helped awaken
used his skills as a humanitarian diplo-
phrase was that 40,000 children in the
be a fitting tribute.
me to the problems of a world where
mat to try to make the world a better
world died each day from hunger and
children die from hunger.
place for children.
disease. Now that number is down to
35,000 per day - still shockingly
Over the years, his voice on issues
J
ames Grant taught me the impor-
Part of his career was spent shap-
tance of thinking about simple,
high, but dramatically better. UNICEF
of world poverty was one I listened to.
ing American foreign aid policy. Since
practical ways to make a differ-
itself estimates that 2.5 million fewer
1980, he has led UNICEF.
ence on a global scale. He reminded
Ultimately, I came to stand in awe
children will die in 1996 than died in
You might recall that in 1990, the
me that because we all share a com-
of the impact his actions had on chil-
1990 - the year of the summit.
United Nations hosted a World Sum-
mon humanity, we can all feel the pain
dren from every nation of the world.
After Grant's death last Saturday,
mit for Children. That was Grant's
when a child dies and can all share the
U.N. Secretary General Boutros
I rummaged futilely through my
work.
joy when a life is saved.
Boutros-Ghali paid this tribute to him:
I'm glad there are heroes like him
files this week trying to find that origi-
That conference set 27 child health
"Very few men or women ever have
who have walked among us.
nal interview. I probably threw it out
and welfare goals. Eventually, more
the opportunity to do as much good in
in one or another of the purges of
than 100 nations made those goals
the world as James Grant. And very
Phil Haslanger is editorial page
clutter in my life. So my memory of it
part of their national planning.
few have ever grasped that opportu-
editor of The Capital Times.
Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY. UTAH
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13. 1995
Shift aid to help the children
Reforming - or maybe even elimi-
War. some foreign aid could easily be
nating - U.S. foreign aid programs is
diverted into saving children. Sadly,
a hot topic in Washington these days
easily preventable malnutrition and
and the idea seems to sell well with
disease kill 13 million children each
many voters. But while foreign aid
year. or 35,000 a day.
certainly needs some changes. Ameri-
In 1990, a World Summit for Chil-
cans should think of doing more, not
dren was held to set goals of cutting
less. to help the world's children.
child deaths by a third, to reduce child
Obviously, federal spending needs
malnutrition. to give families access
to be trimmed or at least held to mini-
to safe water and sanitation and to
mal growth. An economically weak
give children access to basic educa-
United States is hardly in anyone's
tion — all by the year 2000. The cost
best interest. Yet by rearranging
per child to meet these goals amounts
some priorities, more could be done
to only pennies per day.
for children without increasing the
The United States was among the
foreign aid budget at all.
industrial nations that signed the
Most critics of foreign aid have a
World Summit declaration and there
vastly inflated idea of how much the
has been bipartisan support in Con-
program really costs. Polls have
gress for such spending. The Ameri-
shown that many Americans believe
can investment in child survival has
foreign aid takes about 15 percent of
grown from near zero in 1984 to $275
the federal budget. In actual fact. the
million in 1993. Immunizations al-
cost is about 1 percent of the budget.
ready are saving the lives of 3 million
Foreign aid has gotten a bad name
children a year.
in some quarters because it was often
The World Summit for Children
used as a strategic weapon in the Cold
Implementation Act of 1995 was in-
War. The aid frequently was in the
troduced in Congress last week and
form of military supplies to friends or
seeks to shift funds within the foreign
potential supporters. Guns and cash
aid budget to give more help to chil-
were sometimes given to unsavory Γe-
dren without raising overall foreign
gimes or dictatorships simply because
aid spending. Less than 10 percent of
they were anti-communist. In some in-
current aid goes to meet basic human
stances. even humanitarian aid was
needs. Raising that to 20 percent
wasted by inept or corrupt govern-
would go a long way toward meeting
ments.
the goals.
But helping the world's neediest
That's a worthy target that deserves
children hardly falls in the same cate-
support in Congress and from the
gory. And with the end of the Cold
American people.
TIMES-UNION
Rochester, N.Y.
Thursday, February 16. 1995
A U.S. promise to the world's children
Here's a way to get the most out of
We know how to achieve all of these
foreign aid: Use more of it to educate, feed
goals. Child mortality rates have been cut
and tend to the medical needs of children.
by two-thirds and literacy rates have
Last week, President Clinton took a
doubled in four decades - and a more
welcome step in that direction, by
concerted effort will improve on those
announcing that the United States would
achievements.
sign the United Nations Convention on
The president's support for the
the Rights of the Child.
convention should improve the chances for
The president's decision was in
passage of the James P. Grant World
response to a dying request from James
Summit for Children Act, which would
Grant, the long-time director of the U.N.
increase U.S. funding in several key
Childrens Fund (UNICEF), who
categories.
succumbed last month to cancer.
Signing the convention may seem
For example, a kind of catch-all child
largely symbolic, but it underscores the
survival allocation would grow from $280
American commitment to the concrete
million this year to $330 million next;
basic education would increase from $135
goals established at the 1990 U.N. Summit
for Children - goals that the United
million to $165 million; nutrition programs
States and 158 other nations have
would expand from $25 million to $30
million.
promised to meet by 2000.
Those goals, skillfully crafted by
The increased funding would not re-
James Grant, are clear and measurable.
sult in any net increase in U.S. foreign aid
They include reducing by one-third
(which, at $13.7 billion a year, represents
child and infant mortality; reducing
less than 1 percent of the budget). Funds
maternal deaths and child malnutrition by
would be shifted from other aid categories
one-half; universal access to basic
to children's services.
education with at least 80 percent of
There is nothing vague or uncertain
children completing primary school;
about the impact of such spending.
universal access to safe drinking water and
And what better contribution to the
sanitation; and family planning education
future can we make than a generation of
and services available to all couples.
healthy, happy, educated children?
The Times
Trenton, N.J.
FEBRUARY 5. 1995
For the children's sake
Rumors are. flying in Washington that the U.S. Agency for
International Development will be abolished and the indepen-
dence and developmental focus of U.S. international assistance
diminished in the name of foreign aid "reform." Real reform,
however, doesn't depend on organizational restructuring. It
will require a thoroughgoing examination of aid priorities.
Last week a bipartisan group of House members offered a
plan that could be a centerpiece for this genuine reform. Reps.
Jim Walsh. R-N.Y., Tony Hall, D-Ohio, and others introduced
the World Summit for Children Implementation Act of 1995
(WSCLA). WSCIA calls for shifting funds within the foreign
assistance budget to meet the needs of the world's children
without increasing overall spending. Specifically, it calls for
increased allocations for child survival, basic education, vita-
min A and other micronutrient programs, UNICEF, AIDS pre-
vention and care, family planning and refugee assistance.
WSCIA's sponsors recognize that the most critical challenges
facing the world today are intrinsically linked. Thirty-five
thousand children die needlessly a day - not from warfare
but from preventable malnutrition and disease. But the world
won't stop this slaughter of the innocents. or end the extreme
poverty of more than a billion people or curb rapid popula-
tion growth or enhance the status of women or protect the
environment, without seeking comprehensive solutions to
these problems. It was the urgency of these challenges and the
synergy of their solutions that led to the 1990 World Summit
for Children, at which President George Bush and leaders and
delgates from 158 other nations signed a declaration and plan
of action for meeting the basic needs of all families. WSCIA
helps define the U.S. role in meeting the Summit's goals.
As Results, a national anti-hunger organization, argues, it's
time to stop debating the structure of America's foreign-aid
bureaucracy and begin talking about priorities. WSCIA offers
Congress an opportunity to do that, and to demonstrate biparti-
san leadership on behalf of the world's children.
New rk
Ne vs
December 24-25, 1994
Hope From Despair
Millions of young lives are being saved in developing nations with basic health care.
Mention the developing world and the im-
have reached the goal of 95 percent salt iodi-
new cases of polio have dropped from 400,000
age conjured up is one of unrelieved pain and
zation. Thirty-five countries that are home to
in 1983 to about 100,000 today.
suffering. But a quiet story of remarkable
two-thirds of the children at risk of retarda-
Imagine, if you can, 2.5 million squiggling,
progress in reducing child deaths in the
tion due to the lack of vitamin A are on target
cooing, bright-eyed infants who might other-
world's poorest countries has added an unex-
to eliminate that problem by 1995. And
wise be dying. That's a picture sure to warm
pected dollop of hope to this season of joy.
thanks to aggressive immunization programs
hearts for the holidays.
More than half the nations of the develop-
ing world are on target to meet mutually
agreed upon goals for dramatically improving
the health and nutrition of millions of chil-
dren, according to UNICEF, the United Na-
tions Children's Fund. That means about 2.5
million fewer children will die in 1996 than in
1990, and at least 750,000 fewer will be blind
ed, crippled or mentally retarded.
Key to this achievement was the brilliant
selection of target pathologies: iodine defi-
ciency disorders, the world's biggest single
cause of preventable mental retardation; vi-
tamin A deficiency, the cause of blindness in
500,000 children annually; polio, where the
goal is complete, worldwide eradication;
measles, diarrhea and pneumonia, all killers
in the Third World.
While devastating if untreated, all of the
conditions are responsive to simple, inexpen-
sive intervention. For instance, three vitamin
A capsules per year, per child, at a cost of two
cents per capsule, or adding iodine to salt,
will head off deficiencies. All that was lacking
was the will and organization to get it done.
That changed in 1990 when officials from
about 150 nations met at the World Summit
for Children and set a goal of cutting child
deaths by a third by century's end. The re-
sults so far are stunning. Worldwide, 26 mil-
lion people are brain damaged by lack of
iodine. By 1995, 60 developing countries will
ROUTING SLIP
DATE: 2,10,95
children
tiolence
FROM:
Billy Webster
Director of Scheduling and Advance
SUBJECT: Satellite feed to Children Now" conference on
violence in the media.
Don Baer
Abner J. Mikva
Erskine Bowles
NEC
Rebecca Cameron
Leon Panetta
Rahm Emanuel
John Podesta
Mark Gearan
X
Jack Quinn
Jack Gibbons
Carol Rasco
Cindy Gire
Lee Satterfield
Pat Griffin
Steve Silverman
Marcia Hale
Patti Solis
Alexis Herman
X
G. Stephanopoulos
Nancy Hernreich
Ann Stock
Kitty Higgins
Stephanie Streett
Harold Ickes
Jodie Torkelson
Anthony Lake
Kris Van Giesen
Bruce Lindsey
Melanne Verveer
X
Mike McCurry
Anne Walley
X
Anne McGuire
X
Maggie Williams
X
Mack McLarty
Dave Anderson V
FILE: X penting
FYI
ADVICE
ACTION
REGRET POTUS, suggest a surrogate is needed:
COMMENTS: per Billy 2/10/95 meeting. see note
nextpage
95 FEB
SCHEDULING PROPOSAL
2/3/95
ACCEPT
REJECT
PENDING
TO:
White we
see those
BILLY WEBSTER
Assistant to the President for
Scheduling and Advance.
FROM:
MARK GEARAN
Assistant to MS the President and
Director of Communications and
Planning
REQUEST:
2/10/95
Satellite feed to the "Children
Now" conference on children and
violence in the media.
PURPOSE:
To emphasize points made during the
State of the Union and to speak to
an extremely influential group of
top entertainment executives about
how children's values are shaped by
violence in the media. The
conference will also be attended by
such leading news personalities as
Tom Brokaw and Carole Simpson.
DATE AND TIME:
Friday, March 3, 1995, in the
afternoon is ideal but anytime from
March 2-4 can be accommodated.
BRIEFING TIME:
5 minutes.
LOCATION:
Roosevelt Room or TV Studio
DURATION:
30 Minutes
PARTICIPANTS:
THE PRESIDENT
REMARKS REQUIRED:
None
ORIGIN OF PROPOSAL:
Mark Gearan
CONTACT:
Dave Anderson, 6-5663
JAN-31-1995 14:09 FROM CHILDREN now
MEMO
TO: Mark Gearan
FR: Vicky Rideout
RE: Invitation to the President
DT: January 31, 1995
After hearing the State of the Union, I am more determined than ever to convince you
that the President should speak to our conference of entertainment industry leaders on the
subject "Shaping Our Children's Values: The Role of the Entertainment Media."
I say this not so much because his comments about violence on television brought down
the house. but because so much of his entire message was on the subject of values. The
theme of our conference fits perfectly with the message he has been communicating.
The audience is a highly select group of top entertainment industry executives, and I see
two advantages to the President in speaking with them now: 1) this is an important and
influential group in California, and it is always beneficial to maintain contact with them.
and 2) this event offers a perfect opportunity for the President to speak to these key
industry leaders about the issues he raised in his State of the Union, to address their
concerns (Tm sure you've heard from a number of them!) and expand on his position
more fully.
Among those who will be attending are Rich Frank, President of Television and
Telecommunications at Disney; television pioneer Norman Lear, the President of ABC
Entertainment, the Presidents of the Disney, Nickelodeon and Showtime cable channels,
all of the network Broadcasting and Standards chiefs, the Presidents of Warner Brothers
Television and Warner Brothers Animation, the President of MGM/UA Television, the
CEO of Interscope, and the creators or producers of numerous prime-time or children's
shows including The Simpsons, The Power Rangers, Beverly Hills 90210, Northern
Exposure, My So-Called Life, South Central, and many other shows.
Several news industry folks will be in attendance as well, since they are serving as
moderators for our panel sessions, including Tom Brokaw of NBC Nightly News and
Carole Simpson on ABC.
If the President is unable to attend in person, we would be delighted to arrange for a live
satellite broadcast for him to address the group and respond to a few questions. We
would be happy to accomodate his schedule and have him address the group anytime
during the conference, which runs from Thursday evening March 2 through Saturday
afternoon, March 4 (Pacific Time). The easiest time for us would be Friday afternoon,
March 3.
I have attached a draft schedule for the conference, and a one page summary of the topics
we plan to address. I appreciate your consideration of this request, and look forward to
hearing from you soon!
IAN-31-1995 14:11 FROM CHILDREN NOW
TO
12024561213 P.03
"Shaping Our Children's Values: The Role of the Entertainment Media"
Conference Schedule
March 2 . 4, 1995
Stanford University
Draft Schedule as of January 3, 1995
Thursday, March 2:
7:00 pm
Kickoff reception and dinner
Keynote speaker: Newton Minow, former Chairman of the FCC
Holiday Inn. Palo Alto
Friday, March 3:
8:30 am
Breakfast
Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford University
9:00 am
Panels: Shaping Children's Values: Seeking a Common Ground
The Role of the Media: An Industry Perspective
12:30 pm
Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford University
12:30 pm
Luncheon Address
Rich Frank, President, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford University
1:30 pm
Panels: A Voice of Our Own: Kids Question the Media
Respect and Tolerance: Gender and Ethnic Roles in the Media
4:00 pm
Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford University
7:00 pm
Reception and dinner
Keynote speaker: Norman Lear
Quadrus Conference Center, Stanford University
Saturday, March 4:
8:30 am
Breakfast
Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford University
9:00 am
Panels: Civic Responsibility: Entertainment Media and the
-
Political Socialization of Children
12:00 pm
Practical Solutions: Case study presentations
Moderator: Tom Brokaw
Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford University
12:00 pm
-
Working Lunch
1:30 pm
Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford University
IAN-31-1995 14:11 FROM CHILDREN NOW
TO
12024561213 P.04
CHILDREN
"Shaping Our Children's Values: The Role of the Entertainment Media"
March 2 - 4, 1995
Stanford University
Conference Topics
Children Now, one of the nation's leading children's organizations, is convening a major national
conference of entertainment industry leaders, academics, media analysts and children's experts to
examine the impact of the entertainment media on children's values. Our goal is to establish a
non-confrontational, non-partisan atmosphere where influential media leaders can evaluate their
role and develop constructive options.
The conference will be organized around a series of roundtable discussions on key issues
concerning children, values and the media.
Shaping Children's Values. How important is the development of values in young people,
and what role do various institutions play in fostering value development? Is there a common
ground that can be reached around a set of positive values? What is the evidence concerning the
influence of the media on children's values, artitudes and behavior?
*
The Role of the Media. What is the role of the media industry in our society in helping to
shape children's values? Are entertainment industry leaders reflecting their own values, are they
reflecting the values of those who buy their advertising, or are they mirroring the values in
society? Are television and the movies supposed to present an idealized world view, where
everyone behaves correctly, or should they paint a realistic portrayal of ambiguous characters,
that reflects how most people really are?
#
Gender and Ethnic Roles in the Media. What is the status of the portrayal of gender and
ethnic roles in prime time television, children's television, and popular movies?
Are children's attitudes toward gender and ethnic roles affected by what they see in the media?
Entertainment Media and the Political Socialization of Children. How do movies and
prime time television affect children's attitude toward civic participation, their sense of
community, their impressions of the role of and importance of government. and their attitude
toward politicians and public service.
The format of the conference is likely to include a mix of roundtable discussions among
industry leaders; presentations by panels of experts, with response from other attendees; keynote
addresses; video presentations; case study workshops; and a panel of young viewers questioning
a group of industry leaders.
A detailed schedule and description of panel sessions will be distributed to all attendees prior to
the conference.
TOTAL P.04
Evie conecopy make gor to
WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
S3 216 A 9 : 36
March 16, 1993
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
FROM:
Carol H. Rasco
SUBJECT:
Children/Families Initiatives
You asked that a piece on Children and Familes be put together to
determine just where we are with this initiative. Please see the
attached written by Bill Galston. Seems to me that his
recommendations are sound and implies that we not publish
something extensive at this time like the Technology Paper, but
rather we target a summer announcement of some type of Children's
Council. At that time, we would highlight accomplishments to
date and outline actions for the future.
Please advise.
March 15, 1993
TO:
Carol Rasco
FROM: Bill Galston
SUBJ: Children, Youth, and Family Initiatives/draft 2
The following memorandum is in response to your request for an
inventory of Administration budget proposals and other
initiatives concerning children, youth, and families. It is
divided into four sections. The first enumerates what has been
accomplished or proposed to date; the second compares that list
to the President's principal campaign promises; the third
compares that list to the principal recommendations of the
National Commission on Children; the fourth offers an analysis of
some trouble spots and recommendations for addressing them.
1. Accomplished or proposed to date
Legislation
0
Family and Medical Leave Act--passed by the Congress and
signed into law by the President
Stimulus Package
Head Start Summer Program--a new Head Start summer program,
which would eventually serve up to 350,000 disadvantaged children
Chapter 1 Summer School Program--new, one-time supplemental
funding of $500 million to expand summer school programs for
educationally disadvantaged children
o
Chapter 1 Census Supplemental--$235 million in 1993 to
mitigate (but not eliminate) the effects on distribution of
Chapter 1 funds caused by changes in the location of poor
children that occurred between the 1980 and 1990 census
o
WIC--added 1993 funding of $75 million, which will permit
the program to serve 300,000 additional participants, most of
whom will be children ages 1-4
o Child and Adult Care Food Program--an increase of $56
million to pay for meals and snacks at Head Start centers to
serve children in the proposed Summer Head Start program
O
Childhood Immunizations--$300 million to support a
community based effort to finance vaccine purchases and education
and outreach campaigns, with the goal of immunizing 1 million
children during the summer of 1993
1
O Summer Youth Employment and Training Program--an additional
$1 billion for the summer of 1993, which will finance almost
700,000 additional summer jobs for disadvantaged youth ages 14-21
O
Summer of Service--$15 million for the summer of 1993
promoting service to meet the needs of at-risk children and to
train more than 1000 young people as service leaders
O HOME investment partnership--accelerated spendout of $2.5
billion in previously released affordable housing funds
Public housing modernization--accelerated spendout of HUD's
backlog of unspent modernization funds
O Supportive Housing Program--accelerated investment of $423
million in the Program, which offers shelter and a wide rnage of
services to homeless persons
O Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loans--an additional $235
million in single family guaranteed loan authority, serving
principally rural and small town family needs
Investment Package
o Housing subsidies--double HOME funds to the authorized
level of $2.2 billion; increase houisng vouchers from 40,000
annually in 1993 to 100,000 in 1998
O Supportive Housing Program--a $138 million increase for
1997, a doubling of the program, which addresses homelessness and
its causes
o Public Housing Operating Subsidies--an additional $121
million in 1997
o Preserving and renovating low-income housing--$384 million
in 1997, and $858 million over the next four years
O Crime in public housing--$138 million for an Urban
Partnership Against Crime Initiative to address the increase in
gang- and drug-related crime activity in many public housing
developments
o Restore dilapidated public housing--an additional $138
million in 19997 to rehabilitate severely run-down public housing
projects that cannot now be inhabited
o Full funding of Head Start--an increase of $3.2 billion in
1997, $8 billion over four years, achieving full funding for 1.4
million eligible children by 1999
2
o Head Start-related child care feeding--an additional $237
million in 1997 to pay for additional meals for participants
added by the Administration's Head Start initiative
O
Head Start-related Medicaid--$116 million in 1997 to fund
new entrants in the Medicaid program resulting from Head Start
expansion
O
Full funding of WIC--an additional $1 billion in 1997 to
serve all eligible children ages 1 to 4, including some 2 million
who were not served in 1992
O
Parenting and family support--$500 million for FY 1997
O Education reforms and initiatives--$2.7 billion in 1997,
$6.2 billion over four years, to support systemic educational
reform, improvements in the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act, a new Safe Schools Program, student loan program
improvements, and support of Historically Black Colleges and
Universities
O
National Service--new investment of $7.4 billion over the
next four years to increase education and training opportunities
for young people while addressing a range of unmet national needs
o
Summer youth employment and training program--an increase
of $625 million in 1997 and $2 billion over the next four years,
financing about 2 million additional summer jobs
0
Youth apprenticeship--$500 million in 1997, $1.2 billion
over four years, to finance a nationwide system of school- and
work-based learning programs for high school youth who do not
plan to attend college
o Earned Income Tax Credit--an EITC increase of $6.7 billion
in 1997, $19.9 billion over four years, to assure that families
headed by full-time workers will no longer live in poverty
0 Welfare reform--a forthcoming comprehensive plan to end
welfare as a permanent way of life through increased training,
parenting, and family support for moving people from welfare to
work, coupled with tougher enforcement of parental
respnsibilities
2. Comparison with principal campaign promises
Promise
Action
Family and Medical Leave
Enacted and signed
Fully fund Head Start
Proposed
3
Fully fund WIC
Proposed
National standards and testing
To be proposed in fast-track
education reform bill
Youth apprenticeship program
Proposed, with partial funding
Public school choice
No action; pending
Use Chapter 1 to "level the
Partially addressed in the
playing field"
stimulus package; to be addressed
in the ESEA reauthorization later
this year; partial funding
provided in the Investment Budget
Increase flexibility in local
To be addressed in fast-track
use of federal education funds
bill and ESEA reauthorization
Parenting programs
Proposed
Require federal contractors to
Pending
offer jobs for disadvantaged
youth
School safety and security
Proposed
Bilingual education reform
Pending; to be addressed in ESEA
reauthorization
Tougher child support
Pending; to be addressed in the
enforcement
context of welfare reform
National child care network
No action
Tougher standards for child
No action
care facilities
Welfare reform
Pending
$300 child tax credit
No action
Increase EITC to eliminate
Proposed
working poverty
Expand the HOME program
Proposed
Increase funding to maintain
Proposed
public housing
4
3. Comparison with key National Commission recommendations
Commission recommendation
Administration action
$1000/child refundable
No action
tax credit
EITC expansion
Proposed
Child support assurance
No action; possible in the
context of welfare reform
Transitional assistance for
Pending
welfare recipients
Fundamental health care reform
Pending
Full funding for Head Start
Proposed
Systemic school reform
Pending; to be addressed in
"fast-track" reform bill
Equitable school finance
Addressed in stimulus package;
pending in ESEA reauthorization
Public school choice
No action/pending
Increased effort to combat
Pending (for summer announcement)
dropouts, teen pregnancies
Youth employment/
Proposed
apprenticeship
Family and medical leave
Legislation enacted
Employer-based flex-time and
No action; requires DoL jawboning
career sequencing
Improve availability,
Minimal action
affordability, and quality of
child care
Expand/improve preventive
Proposed
services for vulnerable
children and their families
Greater coordination of child
Pending
and family policies across
the executive branch
5
Decategorization of selected
Pending (in context of
federal programs to bring
welfare reform)
greater cohension and
flexibility
Incentives to encourage
No action
state/local coordination on
child/family programs
Increase salaries and training
Pending (in context of family
opportunities for teachers and
preservation)
early childhood/child welfare
practitioners
Enhance recording industry
No action
efforts to avoid distribution
of inappropriate materials to
children
Enhance efforts by television
No White House action; some
producers to improve content
preliminary steps by the FCC
of programming for children
(see attached article)
Increase opportunities for
Pending
national and local community
service
4. Brief analysis and recommendations
As you can see from the above, we have numerous areas of strength
in the children, youth, and family arena, particularly in Head
Start, WIC, Family and Medical Leave, education, and public
housing. As you have pointed out, aadequate funding is a
necessary but not sufficient condition for sound public policy;
we also need to ensure that our proposals in programs such as
Head Start and Chapter 1 embody genuine reform, not just mindless
expansion of the status quo. (Recent and proposed meetings with
HHS and OMB represent good first steps toward this objective.)
Beyond the bright spots, we have some very conspicuous
weaknesses. Let me enumerate a few current or potential
problems.
O The Administration budget does very little for child care,
although some non-budgetary regulatory changes affecting quality
and flexibility are of course possible.
o While the budget does use the EITC aggressively to address
the problems of the working poor, its failure to include a
broader child tax credit leaves most middle-income families out
in the cold. (This is obviously a problem to be addressed in the
medium to long term.)
6
O The Education Department's draft of the fast-track reform
bill includes no more than a passing mention of public school
choice. The President will now have to decide whether he wishes
to push ahead farther and skirmish with the anti-choice education
establishment.
o The Family and Medical Leave Act is a terrific first step,
but it does not address all of the multiple tensions between work
and family. I believe we need systematic consultation with the
Department of Labor to determine how employers can best be
encouraged to move forward on issues such as flex-time amd job-
sharing.
O Much is riding on the welfare reform process, but as you
know so well, it is not clear how far comprehensive reform can go
in the absence of serious funding. Our current strategy--
breaking out specific issues such as tougher child support
enforcement--represents a sensible first step and is probably the
best we can do for now.
O It is important to keep focused on discussions leading to
a major anti-teen pregnancy announcement this summer.
O More broadly: the National Commission emphasizes family
structure as one of the principal determinants of child well-
being. I think they are dead right about this and that we ought
to work their analysis into our policies and public statements.
We can and should collaborate with Sen. Moynihan in this effort,
which could include such efforts as
*
a declaratory policy in favor of family integrity and
against families headed by unwed teenagers
a mandatory annual report from HHS on the state of US
families utilizing key indicators of family strength
*
the mobilization of the best current research on the
relation between family structure and child well-being
We should think about giving highly audible visible White
House support to the creation (and where appropriate,
enforcement) of standards for the content of recordings and
television oriented to children and youth. It might make sense
to initiate conversations with Mrs. Gore's staff to explore their
current thinking on this matter.
o As of now, we are weak in the area of policy coordination
(at both the federal and state/local level), which the National
Commission rightly emphasizes. We should continue working toward
a late summer announcement of an inter-agency, White House-driven
working group on children, youth, and families, along the lines
of the community development operation.
7
Conclusion
On the basis of this review, I am not convinced that we are yet
ready to go with a systematic children, youth, and families
statement along the lines of the President's science and
technology paper. Instead, I believe that we should use the
process initiated by this memorandum to move forward on our areas
of vulnerability, with the aim of producing such a document by
late summer or early fall.
A choice by the President to speak at the National Commission
summit could serve as a very useful action-forcing event. But
even if he declines to do so (perhaps because of its proximity to
the crucial April 4 meeting with Yeltsin), we should decide on a
course of action and pursue it aggressively in conjunction with
Education, Labor, HHS, and anyone else you deem appropriate.
8
'Flintstones' and Programs Like It
Aren't 'Educational, F.C.C.Says
ByEDMUND L ANDREWS
3/4/93
Special to The New York Times
WASHINGTON, March 3 - Federal
their lucrative licenses every five
regulators are putting television sta-
years.
tions on notice: contrary to the past
Providing further evidence of a new
practice of many broadcasters, car-
approach, the~agency has in recent
toons like The Jetsons" and 'The
weeks delayed renewing the licenses of
Flintstones" can no longer count as
seven stations. demanding that they
"educational and informational" pro-
provide better evidence that they were
gramming.
meeting their educational responsibil-
The announcement, issued on Tues-
ities in children's programming. The
day by the Federal Communications
stations are WDCI in Cleveland;
Commission, may not come as news to
WTLW in Lima, Ohio; WRGT in Day-
parents, whose households are inundat-
ton. Ohio, WYTV in Youngstown, Ohio;
ed with cartoon turtles, rabbits and
WAQP in Saginaw, Mich., and WGPR
robots.
and WADL, both in Detroit.
But it could prove upsetting to broad-
casters, who are required by a law
A Tough New Line
enacted in 1990 to demonstrate their
Taken together, the actions are a
commitment to the educational needs
sharp departure from. the commis-
of children as a condition of renewing
sion's reluctance during the Bush Ad-
ministration to impose strict regula-
tion. Under Alfred C. Sikes, who re-
signed as chairman of the F.C.C. the
day before President Clinton took of-
fice, agency officals had argued that
the law is SO vague that stations were
well within their rights to says that
shows like "Leave It To Beaver' were
educational.
The 1990 law, known as the Chil-
dren's Television Act, is notoriously
vague, and some television stations
have tried to fill the bill by citing the
educational value of "G.I. Joe," "Su-
Continued on Page A9, Column 3
'Flintstones and the Like Are Not 'Educational,' F.C.C. Says
Continued From Page
ston, and her sock puppet Lamb
"My feeling is the F.C.C. and the
perboy" and reruns of old favorites like
broadcasters have been winking at
Leave It To Beaver."
each other for the past few years,' said
Now, one week before a Congression-
Representative Edward J. Markey,
Democrat of Massachusetts and chair-
al committee Is to hold an hearing on
man of the subcommittee of the House
whether broadcasters are trying to
Energy and Commerce Committee. "I
skirt the educational requirements, the
think the F.C.C. has the bully pulpit and
commission is taking a tough new line.
the daily regulatory clout to insist upon
The F.C.C. has the authority under the
higher standards."
1990 law to Impose the new rules on its
But he added that the F.C.C. faces a
own. The final form of the rules will
difficult challenge setting specific
probably emerge In about a year, after
guidelines about the amount or kind of
the F.C.C. receives public comment.
educational programming necessary
In a notice proposing stricter rules,
to qualify a television station. Mr.
the agency said there has been "little
Quello noted that the law was deliber.
change" in the amount of children's
ately left vague because of widespread
programming since the law was
concern about violating broadcasters',
passed, and It criticized attempts to
rights to free speech, and that the law
label "G.I. Joe" and "The Flintstones"
explicitly approved of some entertain-
as educational.
ment shows like "Fat Albert and the
"We do not believe that this level of
Cosby Kids" or "Winnie the Pooh,",
performance is, In the long term, con-
that are seen as offering thoughtful
sistent with the objectives" of the law,
comment on important social or per-
the agency said. The commission also
sonal issues.
said that television stations should only
be able to cite programs that were
Advocates for stricter requirements
primarily meant for education, rather
Worldvision Enterprises
in support of children's programming
than entertainment shows that happen
"The Jetsons" and other television cartoons like it can no longer count
said the F.C.C.'s notice marks a poten-
to include a pleasant social theme. And
tially important change. "I think it's a
as "educational and informational" programming, according to a notice
it asked for comment on whether it
good sign," said Kathryn Montgomery,
issued on Tuesday by the Federal Communications Commission.
co-director of the Center for Media
should decide how much educational
programming constitutes a bare mini-
Education, a not-for-profit organiza-
mum for satisfying the law.
tion In Washington that has called for
fulfill their responsibilities, and even
tions Subcommittee has scheduled a
tougher enforcement. "Broadcasters
Willing to Regulate
ardent advocates of stricter rules for
hearing on the issue for next Wednes-
thought they could just pepper in pro-
The new stance on children's televi-
children's television have had a hard
day. featuring advocates of tougher
social moments In their regular car-
sion reflects the increased willingness
time defining the legal difference be-
regulation as well as Shari Lewis, host
toons, but that's not going to work
of Democrats to regulate business, an
tween "educational" shows like "Sesa-
of a children's show on public televi-
anymore.'
attitude that could Ishow up in other
me Street" and "entertainment" like
issues on the commission's agenda,
"Yogi Bear."
including regulation of cable television
The Cable Factor
charges. Although President Clinton
has not named a successor to Mr.
If the F.C.C. ultimately imposes ex-
Sikes, the acting chairman of the F.C.C.
tremely strict rules, over-the-air
broadcasters could lose more ground
is a long-time Democrat on the com-
mission, James H. Quello.
to cable television systems, which are
"There's no doubt that Congress and
not subject to relicensing and not under
the activist groups are very interested
any responsibility to provide educa-
in seeing this law enforced," Mr. Quello
tional programming. Strict rules could
said today. "If I were a broadcaster, to
also put pressure on the major televi-
be on the safe side I'd have a show that
sion networks, which might be obliged
was specifically meant to be education-
to produce more programming that
al."
has limited commercial and profit.
But it remains unclear whether chil-
making potential.
dren's television will become notice-
The toughened stance comes amid
ably different. The law explicitly gives
growing criticism from Congress about
lax enforcement of the Children's Tele-
broadcasters great latitude in how they
vision Act. The House Telecommunica-
Diana Beard-Williams, CECF Board President
Ms. Beard-Williams is currently the director of a $1million Head Start -
Coalition For The Empowerment
Family Service Center demonstration grant which focuses on family self
sufficiency while addressing employability, substance abuse and literacy issues.
Of Children And Families
She serves as a technical assistance resource for other Head Start - Family
Service Center programs. Ms. Beard-Williams is a member of several locally
sponsored committees such as the Glendale Homeless Task Force, and also
chairs the HUD Family Self Sufficiency Committee. She is a guest presenter for
organizations such as the National Head Start Bureau and the National
Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Ms. Beard-Williams' professional portfolio includes working with the
Reverend Jesse Jackson to set up one of the first Operation Push Conferences;
writing educational videos for proprietary schools and Head Start programs;
representing the federal government as a management consultant on contracts
dealing with runaway youth, day care service models and providing technical
assistance to sickle cell anemia and family planning clinics; directing the human
resources activities of a 500 employee proprietary school endeavor as the Vice
President of Human Resources; working for the National League of Cities and
the U.S. Conference of Mayors as a writer, and serving as a management
specialist with the Aetna Life & Casualty Insurance Company out of their
Hartford, Connecticut corporate offices.
Her publishing credits include Upscale Magazine, Urban Voices, Career
Focus, Emerge, The Suburbanite, Direct Opportunity, Family Connections,
a California nonprofit public benefit corporation
Glendale News Press, and a number of small periodicals.
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Make checks payable to:
Coalition For The Empowerment of Children And Families
The Coalition is a multi-cultural grass roots organization. It
The Coalition believes
was formed in 1992 for the sake of America's children and
There can only be one agenda in regard to saving America's children because the
families, taking into consideration such issues as:
problem is not confined to the horrendous living situations of minority children in urban
cesspools, the deplorable conditions of migrant children, or a small group of latch-key
kids in America's suburbs. During the last decade, children from every economic and
44% of America's black children live below the poverty line;
racial group have had to bear the brunt of America's incompetence in regard to
protecting the health and well-being of our children.
Homicide is the leading cause of death for black children ages 1 through 14;
The Coalition believes
675,000 children are abused or neglected each year,
The abandonment of our children poses a greater threat to American security, prosperity
and ideals then any external enemy. And while Americans are proud of celebrity types
17,674 children a year are arrested for drunken driving;
like Oprah Winfrey, the irony is that there are many potential Oprah Winfreys - black,
*
white, brown and yellow - dying everyday neglected, set adrift and abandoned. For
14,600 children a year are killed or injured by guns;
every one Oprah Winfrey the media loves to tell us about, there are thousands and
thousands of children who will never be productive members of this society through no
Every school day, 135,000 American children bring guns to school;
fault of their own.
*
On a given day 100,000 American children are homeless.
'94 Goals
SPECIFIC PURPOSE OF THE COALITION
Coalition funds will be used to:
Since December, 1992, Coalition members have been involved in the identification,
Conduct essay/ scholarship contests for high school seniors. The goal is to encourage
design, development and/or delivery of comprehensive services and programs which
high school seniors to identify and analyze the needs of their respective communities
support the education and empowerment of America's children and families. The
and develop viable solutions.
Coalition supports a synergistic approach to family self-sufficiency based on a family's
unique needs, and the identification of a family's particular strengths and talents.
Develop and submit a proposal to become a Head Start Program grantee. Coalition
members possess the technical expertise to provide an exemplary Head Start program.
Develop and submit grant proposals to support the implementation of Family and
COALITION MEMBERS INCLUDE
Youth Centers. The centers will be intensive case management projects involving 350
disenfranchised youth (ages 14 through 17 years) who will receive an extensive menu of
services to support an attempt to "mainstream" them.
Child care professionals such as Head Start managers and pre-school teachers, college
professors, therapists, employment counselors, entertainment industry professionals,
Continue the development of self employment program models and the dissemination of
substance abuse specialists, literacy instructors, medical personnel, corporate executives
such information via the Coalition's social service network.
and management consultants, who are all dedicated to improving the life circumstances
of children and families.
Continue our participation as workshop facilitators, presenters and guest speakers at
events sponsored by organizations wishing to increase their knowledge and
The Coalition believes
understanding of the plight of America's children and families.
America is beyond escapism tactics like burying our heads in the sand as an act of
supreme denial. Worse yet, America can't afford to leave the poor children of this
nation to their own devices as if they and their families will magically rise like a
For the sake of the children
please make a
phoenix from the ashes.
contribution today!
Family Connections
Volume 1, Number 4 - January, 1994
Published by Visions Press and the Coalition For The Empowerment Of Children And Families (CECF)
River Phoenix - The Real Shame Of It All
Losing a child is a pain no parent should have to endure, but society
cannot allow its impressionable youth to accept the death of young celebrities
from drugs as anything other than an absence of common sense.
The untimely death of River
young man convulsed, a young man
Phoenix, a rising star in the motion
struggled. a young man's pain was
picture industry, was of course a
virtually ignored as others stepped
In America's Cities -
tragedy. However, the tragedy had
over him. In essence, as glorious as
Desperate Times and
nothing to do with his star status and
his family would like to make his
Unsure Measures
everything to do with the fact that he
passing. he died in a manner that
was only 23 years old and much too
most of us would pray to God never to
Does anyone really "get it"?
young to depart this world. As a gifted
personally experience.
young man. living in a world where
Contrary to his mother's heartfelt
By Diana Beard-Williams
success had become his for the taking,
prose that his death could earn the
he should have known better then to
opening of our global hearts in
On April 29, 1992. Damian
use drugs as his method of recreation.
addressing a myriad of social issues,
Williams acted as a judge and
Harsh, cruel and insensitive words?
reality must not be lost on those of us
executioner during the first hours of
Sorry, but they represent the truth
who still have impressionable
the 1992 Los Angeles riots. The
nevertheless.
children to raise. Drugs kill! We
intersection of Florence and
While the world empathizes with
must make our children understand
Normandie avenues was the execution
his mother's need to assuage her pain
that no matter how glamorous the
chamber and tension, hatred and
by sending an open letter of grief to
lifestyle. or how sentimental the
anger, brought on by the Rodney King
the Los Angeles Times (November
magazine prose, drugs kill and
verdicts, propelled him forward.
24. 1993 "A Mother's Note on Her
personal accountability, not global
With a focused vengeance, he
Son's Life and Death"), we must be
warming, is the issue!
mercilessly attacked Reginald Denny.
candid with our own children and
Our impressionable youth have to
Alicia Maldonado, Fidel Lopez,
patiently rebut her rationalization for
understand that River Phoenix
Takao Hirata and Jorge Gonzales and
his death.
cashed in all the good chips he had
literally beat Reginald Denny within
Contrary to his mother's belief,
for a few lousy drug highs. He made
inches of his life. He enjoyed his role;
Phoenix's death had nothing to do
a choice, a bad choice. and
he felt powerful: he was a young man
with a world where environmental
unfortunately for him and the mother
so obviously in control!
pollution. AIDS and a deteriorating
who mourns his passing, it was a
On December 7, 1993, Superior
social system have become society's
choice that led to his death.
Court Judge John W. Ouderkirk
greatest struggles. Furthermore, we
Like other youth less privileged,
pronounced sentence on the self
cannot condone her beatification of
less known, less loved, less respected
proclaimed judge and executioner.
Phoenix's death by embracing her
who choose drugs over life each
Damian Williams. After months of
statement, "I held him in love and
and every day, River Phoenix
being in the limelight, it was time to
awe until his safe passage."
disappointed us. Sadly, he has made
pay the piper. The payment? A
Our impressionable children, who
himself an example of what America's
maximum sentence of ten years with
look at Hollywood celebrities with
youth should not be about when they
credit for time already served in jail
awe, must realize that convulsing on
get a chance up at bat! If we drive
and time accumulated for good
the streets of Hollywood outside of a
this point home, maybe. just maybe
behavior. Damian Williams was then
trendy nightspot does not represent a
we'll save the next River Phocnix.
sent away to begin to pay his debt to
safe passage from life to death. A
society, not to be rehabilitated so that
society would possibly see a more
America's urban environments. They
sounds more like a title for an up and
socially productive Damian Williams
believe the often smiling, vibrant and
coming rap group then a treacherous
emerge from prison in the years
clowning Damian Williams should
mob that callously and viciously beat
ahead.
have gotten little more than a slap on
innocent citizens; Damian Williams
We all know that prisons are about
the wrist and lots of forgiveness from
sounds more like the name of a
punishment, toughening a young
a criminal justice system that has
heartthrob from a weekly series called
man up and educating him on how to
proven over and over again to be
Harlem Place as opposed to a felon
become a better "socially maladjusted"
racist and elitist. They site countless
doing time. As more and more time
individual. "Time off" from a prison
examples of non blacks who have
passes, the intensity of the moment
term is not time off for getting a high
committed worse crimes then what
and the need to correct our gross
school diploma, college degree or
Damian Williams was judged guilty
social inequities will lessen until
other evidence of academic
of, receiving more compassionate
another ember of discontent sparks
advancement. Time off isn't awarded
sentences and even probation in the
another full scale catastrophe. And at
for reading books or learning to read
case of a lost of life.
that time, we'll have an entirely new
period. Time off comes from
cast of characters and maybe even a
obcdiently listening to what your
There are many more Damian
higher death rate.
jailers tell you to do and then doing it.
Williams' out there, not only in
There are many more Damian
Quite an outstanding and mind
Los Angeles
Williams' out there, not only in Los
broadening rehabilitative experience!
Angeles but in San Francisco,
As a result, when all is said and done,
And then there is Judge Ouderkirk's
Philadelphia, Detroit, New York,
Judge Ouderkirk will bestow on
astonishing revelation, "It is
Phoenix, Washington, D.C., Boston,
society exactly what we don't need, a
intolerable in this society to attack
Cleveland They will again force us
new and improved, hardened Damian
and maim people because of their
to face desperate times and employ
Williams.
unsure measures. But will the next
race." That statement must have
Final scene end of chapter? I
made goose bumps appear on the
Reginald Denny be you? Will the
think not!
next Damian Williams be even more
arms of every black listener, as if they
There are those who shortsightedly
were at a 1960s civil rights march.
vicious and callous because we really
believe that the maximum sentence
After all. how many times have blacks
can't agree on how to stem the tide of
Damian Williams received is the
alienation. hatred and confusion?
uttered those words right before being
prelude to allowing a breath of fresh
lynched. beat up. attacked with water
Those of us sincerely struggling to
air to blow through Los Angeles. It's
hoses or even viciously set on fire?
understand what is happening with
as if the stench of the riots and the
How many times have blacks uttered
America's youth could stand to hear a
underlying causes will somehow
those words as they were passed up
few substantiative and provocative
magically drift away in the breeze.
revelations from both sides of the
for promotions, denied jobs or worse
For these illusionists, Damian
yet, emotionally and educationally
aisle, hopefully before the next brick
Williams embodied all that was
castrated in a classroom by a teacher
is thrown and not in the limelight of a
unacceptable during the entire riot
who took away every ounce of their
high profile trial where politics, not
escapade and he is their scapegoat.
self esteem. And yet, when Judge
the common good, is the motivation.
Locking him up somehow mentally
Ouderkirk sat tall and boldly uttered
distances these self righteous
those words in his courtroom, the
dreamers from any remembrance of
media dared to restate them time after
what it was like to see hatred
time as if the words and the
unleashed on television screens. They
underlying concept were an
don't want to deal with the underlying
unprecedented revelation uttered by a
causes of the hatred and would rather
noble statesman.
mentally and physically separate
Still, no one really "gets it".
themselves from the undesireable
Forget what side of the issue you're
element - as if that is truly possible.
on! Reality is that it doesn't matter if
Let them eat cake, eh?
Damian Williams got 10 years, 8
And then there are those who
years or 2 years. What really matters
defiantly and ignorantly believe that
is that precious time is passing and
in desperate times accountability can
the healing of Los Angeles has yet to
be overlooked. They attempt to
begin. Rebuild L.A. is more of a
excuse, rationalize and even justify
catchy title then an action: racial
Damian Williams' actions as nothing
healing sounds more like the title of
more than an indication of the anger
an old Marvin Gaye tune (Sexual
that consumes an unfocused and
Healing) then an experience anyone is
confused generation locked away in
actively involved in; the L.A. Four
2
you GOT TO
BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!
In August, 1993, with the support of the Glendale, California community, a group of Head Start parents, managers and
staff refused to accept what they felt was a shoddy performance on the part of their Head Start Grantee. It wasn't an
emotionally easy decision, or one arrived at overnight, because the odds were that the grantee would prevail as always.
The managers and staff knew that they could possibly end up in an unemployment line, wishing they had just gone along
with the system as others before them had done. But the parents, managers and staff decided to take the federal
government at its word and do the unthinkable hold the grantee accountable!
While many well intentioned comrades across the country were quick to "confidentially" advise the parents that they
had gone too far, and "delicately" inform the managers to start looking for jobs outside the Head Start world, the coalition
of parents, managers and staff stayed the course. Subsequently, despite overwhelming odds of losing their battle, the
coalition emerged triumphant in terms of the old grantee relinquishing the grant and an interim grantee being quickly
appointed.
But the story doesn't end there! The grassroots coalition evolved into a viable nonprofit
agency called the Coalition For The Empowerment Of Children And Families
(CECF). In March, 1994, CECF will be bidding to administer, manage and direct
the Glendale, California Head Start Program. It is the program managers and staff
put their jobs on the line to protect. Despite their passion and both administrative
and technical competence to provide an exemplary Head Start Program, one can only
wonder if this nonprofit can emerge as victoriously as David did in his battle with
Goliath!
We'll keep you updated on CECF's progress. CECF may not be a Goliath in terms of
money or political clout, but it's board believes in the unthinkable - that in America an
honorable, resourceful David can occasionally triumph over all the Goliaths of the land.
In a world where some folks have conveniently forgotten that Head Start is about serving
the needs of children and families, and too many others have been frightened into silence over issues that should not be
acceptable, CECF aka David is determined to prevail in its bid. The CECF board of directors knows one critical bit of
information that other grassroots organizations sometimes forget! Believe in yourself, especially when you know you're
right and your motives are sincere, and never be afraid to speak up. Just wisely choose the place and time!
FOUNDATiON PROFiLE
A POTENTIAL FUNDING SOURCE FOR INNOVATIVE
CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA SERVICE PROVIDERS!
Preparing the young people of today to participate in the
Faced with numerous challenges, the Foundation
economic, civic and cultural life of tomorrow was the
responded with unwavering support, increasing its funding
Pacific Telesis Foundation's primary objective in 1992.
from $7.5 million to nearly $8 million. Since it was
Whether making grants to schools and universities,
established in 1984, the Foundation has awarded nearly
seeking new ways to utilize the resources of arts providers
$50 million in grants in California and Nevada.
in education, or supporting after-school programs and
The Pacific Telesis Foundation is dedicated to a vision of
leadership training, the Foundation committed itself to
the future in which people from all cultures are able to
helping the next generation of Californians make a
participate fully in the economic, cultural and civic life of
successful transition to the 21st century.
the communities it serves.
The support came at a time when California's own
Toward that end, the Foundation has chosen to commit
resources could not cope with the needs of its citizens.
their resources to educational programs for economically
While lawmakers in Sacramento struggled to balance the
disadvantaged children, youth and families which will
budget, recession ravaged the economy. Unemployment
prepare them to move successfully into a 21st century
rose as did tensions between classes and races. At the
characterized by social and economical vitality.
same time, an unprecendented growth in population put
With its primary emphasis on education, the Foundation
new burdens on the state's health, education and welfare
focused on such problems as student achievement,
systems.
illiteracy. child care and access to opportunity. Dozens of
nonprofit agencies received grants!
3
You can learn more about the Foundation's grant funding opportunities and its contribution guidelines by contacting the
following offices.
Public Affairs Manager
Public Affairs Manager
Public Affairs Manager
Public Affairs Manager
140 New Montgomery
40 S. Market Street
3580 Orange Street
525 B Street
Room 2412
Room 500
Room 152
Room 1770
San Francisco, CA 94105
San Jose, CA 95113
Riverside, CA 92506
San Diego, CA 92101
Public Affairs Manager
Public Affairs Manager
Manager. External Affairs
Public Affairs Manager
5555 E. Olive Avenue
1010 Wilshire Blvd.
645 East Plumb Lane
4747 Feather River Dr.
Room B162
Room 1601
Room A101
Room 108
Fresno, CA 93762
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Reno, Nevada 89502
Stockton, CA 95219
BECAUSE WE'RE ONLY HUMAN
It's our responsibility as parents and social service providers to demand, to push, to ensure that public and
private dollars allocated for the well-being of our children are spent in the most effective way. We should refuse to
settle for less than an individual's best effort when it comes to a child's well-being.
Their friendly faces appear on our
They are the politicians, the well-
sensitive individuals, I have an
television screens nightly, or peak at
to-do corporate C.E.O.'s, the media,
emotional and spiritual investment in
us from the front pages of our
the publicity grabbing community
the struggles threatening to evolve
morning newspapers, magazines or
activists, and in some cases our next
from slow burning embers to a full
leaflets. They're anointed guests on
door neighbors. Clothed in suits by
scale catastrophe involving the
shows like Larry King Live! or Phil
Armani and shoes by Feragamo, they
"Haves" versus the "Have Nots".
Donahue or worse yet, they assault us
don't seem to realize that their
Call me too passionate or downright
on our drive home by appearing on
philosophical meandering and high
sentimental, but I react when I hear
every radio talk show that will have
brow intellectual posturing has done
statistics like 44% of America's black
them. Everywhere we turn, they're
little to positively affect the plague of
children live below the poverty line
there. Like gum on the bottom of our
poverty, violence and a deteriorating
and homicide is the leading cause of
shoe, they cling to us in an annoying
educational system rapidly spreading
death for black children ages 1
sort of way because the message they
throughout this great Democracy.
through 14. And in terms of all
put forth has no substance and our
They don't seem to realize that over
children, I cringe at statistics like
children are the direct benefactors of
the last decade, America has
675,000 children a year are abused or
their empty promises.
demonstrated an "A" grade in her
neglected; 17,674 children a year are
They put celebrities like Oprah
capacity to care for our children and
arrested for drunken driving and
Winfrey, Michael Jordan or David
families, and an "F" grade in her
14,600 children a year are killed or
Letterman on a pedestal as if those
actual performance. Such a result is a
injured by guns. I gasp when I hear
few are to be seen as professional
rebuttal to everything America
that every school day, 135,000
deities. To add insult to injury, they
professes to be and a slap in every
children bring guns to school, or on a
act as if the professional successes of
pompous politician's face who
given day 100,000 children are
the Winfreys, the Jordans and the
proclaims to his constituents that our
homeless and 27 children die from
Lettermans are indictments of every
children are better off then we realize.
poverty - yes poverty in a land of
poverty stricken child who fails to
As a mother with two infant sons,
plenty!
pull himself up by his bootstraps.
I pray they will inherit a sane if not
Doesn't anyone realize that we're
Who are these self proclaimed, self
spiritually healthy America, but it's
beyond emotional escapism tactics
righteous judges and evaluators of the
hard for me to be as optimistic as our
like burying our heads in the sand or
human spirit and human condition?
photo opportunity, vote seeking
denial. Doesn't anyone realize that we
Is it really so hard to figure that out?
politicians. Like other socially
can't pretend it's someone else's
4
responsibility to feed hungry children and families and still expect to have a healthy, thriving America? Worse yet, we
can't afford to jump on the bandwagon of the self-righteous who believe if left to their own devices, the poor and
disinherited children of this nation will magically rise like a phoenix from the ashes.
There must be a national agenda in regard to the issue of saving our children. It must be an agenda of action and not
of rhetoric. Futhermore, it is irrational to believe that the problem is confined to the horrendous living situations of
minority children in urban cesspools. the deplorable conditions of migrant children, or a small group of white latch-key
kids in America's suburbs. Saving our children is a national issue with children from every economic and racial group.
during the last decade, bearing the brunt of America's incompetence in regard to our children. What's worse is that
despite the statistics, the power brokers still don't seem to realize that the abandonment of our children poses a greater
threat to American security, prosperity and ideals then any external enemy.
While all Americans are proud of the Oprah Winfreys, the Michael Jordans and the David Lettermans this nation has
birthed, the irony is that there are so many potential Oprah Winfreys dying everyday -- neglected, set adrift and
abandoned. For every one Oprah Winfrey the media loves to tell us about, there are thousands and thousands of children
who will never be productive members of this society through no fault of their own.
Will some bureaucrat. some power broker, please tell mothers who care about America's future, mothers who dearly
love their children. mothers who are concerned about all children
when does reality set in? When will rhetoric be
replaced with a comprehensive. realistic and results oriented action plan that has a buyin for all of America's children and
terms and conditions that can't be altered by those who have their own personal, political and financial agendas?
COMPANY ADOPTS A FAMILY FOR CHRISTMAS
Last year, the Willis-Corroon Corporation of Glendale. California, an international insurance brokerage
firm that serves Fortune 500 companies, decided to become more actively involved in assisting families to
realize their dreams during the Christmas season. Upon the recommendation of Phyllis Freeman. the
company's President, Mr. James F. Murphy implemented a program whereby a family would be adopted
and provided with gifts, Christmas dinner and lots of tender loving care.
This year, the Head Start Family Service Center of Glendale, California was given the opportunity to
identify a family for the Willis-Corroon program. The family of eight (six children and their parents)
received a wealth of gifts including bicycles, tricycles, books, clothes including coats and jackets. and toys.
loys. and more toys! With a completely decorated Christmas tree at the top of Ms. Freeman's shopping list,
she took special care to identify the needs and interests of each family member and specifically select gifts for each child
and parent. In addition, a lovely turkey dinner with all the fixins was delivered to the family's home.
There are many, many Willis-Corroons capable of assisting us to meet the needs of America's children and families.
What we as service providers must all do is to aggressively reach out and develop programs that encourage a sincere
partnership between ourselves and corporate America. As Phyllis Freeman knows first-hand, such a partnership is a
winning proposition for us all!
THE STATISTICAL CORNER
Taken from "Children 1990, A Report Card, Briefing Book, and Action Primer" by Children's Defense Fund.
AN AMERICAN CHILD'S
CHANCES OF BEING POOR
If white
1 in 7
If black
4 in 9
If Latino
3 in 8
If in a female-headed family
1 in 2
If younger than three
1 in 4
If three to five
2 in 9
If six to 17
2 in 11
If the child is also a parent
7 in 10
If the family head is younger than 25
1 in 2
If the family head is younger than 30
1 in 3
5
ONE DAY IN THE LIVES OF AMERICAN
figure will rise to nearly seven in ten. But our nation barely
CHILDREN
has begun to adapt to the dramatically expanding need for
safe, accessible, affordable child care.
2,795 teenagers get pregnant.
1,106 teenagers have abortions.
8.
One-half million children drop out of school in the
372 teenagers miscarry.
United States each year. Poor teenagers are three times
1,295 teenagers give birth.
more likely than other teens to drop out.
689 babies are born to women who have had
inadequate prenatal care.
9. In 1986, 2.2 million children were reported abused,
67 babies die before one month of life.
neglected or both. This represented a 66 percent increase
105 babies die before their first birthday.
since 1979.
27 children die from poverty.
6 teenagers commit suicide.
10. Every night an estimated 100,000 children go to
7,742 teenagers become sexually active.
sleep homeless.
211 children are arrested for drug abuse.
437 children are arrested for drinking or drunken
11. Two in every five American girls gets pregnant and
driving.
one in every five American girls bears a child before the
1,512 teenagers drop out of school.
age of 20.
1,849 children are abused or neglected.
3,288 children run away from home.
12. Low-income housing assistance is down 76 percent
1,629 children are in adult jails.
(adjusted for inflation) since 1980: federal help for
2,556 children are born out of wedlock.
elementary and secondary education is down 22.4 percent
2,989 children see their parents divorced.
from 1979: the AFDC grant for subsistence in a median
135,000 children bring a gun to school.
state has fallen by 37 percent since 1970.
34,285 people lose jobs.
LAUGHING MATTERS
A FEW BASIC FACTS ABOUT AMERICA'S
CHILDREN
1.
In the year 2000 there will bc 4.1 million fewer
Americans in the young adult age group (18 to 24)
entering the work force than there were in the mid-1980s,
a decline of 14 percent.
2.
In the year 2000 nearly one-third of the nation's 18 to
24-year-olds will be from minority groups. compared with
less than one-quarter in 1985.
3.
Between 1979 and 1988 the proportion of American
"I swear I'm one of those politicians who will make sure
children living in poverty grew by 23 percent. One in five
that more money goes to education. Please don't take
American children lives in poverty.
anything you overheard me saying at a private Washington
party seriously. I was just making idle conversation and
4.
More than 12 million children and more than 14
trying to win friends. You can trust me! I promise to vote
million of childbearing age have no health insurance.
my conscience!" (gulp) "I do have a conscience!"
5.
After many years of substantial progress, our nation's
improvement in the rates of early prenatal care, low
birthweight births and infant mortality has slowed down
dramatically.
6.
Since 1973 the earnings of men younger than 30 have
dropped sharply. The proportion of births that were out of
FAMILY CONNECTIONS is published and distributed on a
wedlock doubled.
quarterly basis by VISIONS PRESS. Essays or comments should
be mailed to Visions Press, P.O. Box 4904, Valley Village,
California 91617-0904. Diana Beard-Williams, Editor can be
7.
One-half of preschool-age children today have
reached at (818) 552-2046 or (818) 552-2049 (fax). Subscriptions
mothers employed outside the home. By the year 2000 that
are $30.00/year or complimentary at this time to Head Start
employees. CECF is a nonprofit public benefit corporation.
6
Buseucracy
TO:
MAGGIE WILLIAMS
FROM:
NEEL LATTIMORE
RE:
HRC REMARKS - CHILDREN'S MIRACLE NETWORK
DATE:
MAY 25, 1993
MRS. CLINTON WILL BE INTRODUCED BY MARIE OSMOND AND MERLIN OLSON.
DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT
HELLO MARIE AND MERLIN.
I'M SORRY I CAN'T BE WITH YOU TODAY.
LAST YEAR MY HUSBAND AND I TRAVELED ACROSS THE COUNTRY,
TOGETHER AND APART, TALKING ABOUT A FUTURE THAT WE HOPED TO MAKE
BRIGHTER FOR OUR CHILDREN. WE TALKED ABOUT THE MANY PEOPLE AND
THE MANY ORGANIZATIONS ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY WHO BELIEVED IN THE
SAME THINGS WE DO, AND WHO ACTED ON THOSE BELIEFS. THE
CHILDREN'S MIRACLE NETWORK WAS ONE OF THOSE GROUPS.
I BECAME INVOLVED IN THE CHILDREN'S MIRACLE NETWORK TELETHON
IN 1983. THAT YEAR I CHAIRED THE TELETHON FOR THE ARKANSAS
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL, ONE OF THE ORIGINAL 22 HOSPITALS IN THE
CHILDREN'S MIRACLE NETWORK, AND WE RAISED $384,000, NOT BAD, BUT
I KNEW WE COULD DO BETTER AND WE DID. LAST YEAR THE ARKANSAS
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL RAISED OVER THREE MILLION DOLLARS.
IT WAS A GREAT FEELING TO WATCH OUR LITTLE STATE GIVE so MUCH TO
BENEFIT THIS COUNTRY'S MOST PRECIOUS RESOURCE, OUR CHILDREN.
WED
9:09
CHILDRENS
MIRACLE
NETWOR
NO.
8012778787
P.02/07
Children's
minute
Miracle Network
March 2, 1993
First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton
% Maggie Williams
Chief of Staff
Office of the First Lady
?
The White House
1800 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Ms. Clinton:
I am writing to follow-up an official request sent to you on January 8th from Mick Shannon,
President of the Children's Miracle Network. I believe it was delivered to you through
Larry Woodard at Arkansas Children's Hospital.
That letter offers you an opportunity to continue involvement with the national Children's
Miracle Network as you so generously did for Arkansas Children's Hospital over the past ten
years. At whatever level you feel comfortable, we are prepared to structure the first evening
hours of the Telethon broadcast from Disneyland on June 5, 1993 to involve you as a host of
the program. We are interested in providing you a forum to advance the agenda that is dear
to both of us--children--their health, education and social welfare. We propose Dr. Betty
Lowe and others can help define what issues are most important.
We will do what it takes to make your involvement appropriate for your new office, and are
willing to make it as easy as possible for you to participate. John Schneider, Merlin Olsen,
Mary Hart, Marilyn McCoo and I would enjoy being a part of your broadcast team as Steve
Martone and Ann Jansen did so well for you in years past.
If you are willing to continue your relationship with CMN nationally, we need to meet with
someone that you designate as soon as possible to begin planning our upcoming broadcast. I
hope that you can respond to our request as soon as possible.
goals
Sincerely,
- agenda 4 teleth. mane will
be
intre
- ther particips
merlin
E/sin
Marie Osmond
Walmart
National Co-Chairman and Host
making
4525 SOUTH 2300 EAST
SUITE 202
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH 84117
801-278-8900
FAX 501-277-8787
THE OSMOND FOUNDATION
-MAY- 5-93 WED 9:10 FAMINO. 8012778787
First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton
March 2, 1993
Page 2
P.S. I recall fondly the opportunity I had to meet with you and your husband in July, 1991,
when we helped welcome home Arkansas' Desert Storm troops with Bob Hope and Miss
America. It was truly a career memory, and even more significant now that Mr. Clinton has
been chosen to lead our Nation.
CHILDRENS
Mrs. Hillary Clinton
January 8, 1993
page 2
Your Role:
As the First Lady of the United States, a life-long advocate of children's issues and as a long-time
local chairman and host of the CMN Telethon, this television special will provide you with a
powerful vehicle to accomplish your specific goals. Through the CMN Telethon you will be able
to address the American public directly, without interference from media filters or competing
agendas. Children's issues will stand alone, center stage.
Through your past efforts as co-host of the CMN Telethon local broadcast in Little Rock, you
redefined the role of First Lady of Arkansas as an active agent of change, helping to provide real
solutions to real health problems. On camera each year in Little Rock you appeared with other
co-hosts and performed vital Telethon roles. including interviews and advocacy, to help Arkan-
sas' hospitalized kids.
We believe this same activist role can be appropriate for you before a national audience. During
the national broadcast your role could remain similar or evolve according to your desires and
new position. For instance, the program can feature you as host, co-host or special guest with as
much on-camera time as you wish. This element is flexible based on your desire to become
personally involved in the children's issues that would be featured. The issues would be broader,
to encompass education, social welfare and child health concerns.
As you know, CMN has a dedicated team of national hosts who donate their time and talents to
benefit hospitalized kids. During this national telecast you can choose to appear alone or with the
support of any or all of our national celebrities such as Merlin Olsen, Mary Hart, Marilyn McCoo
and Marie Osmond-again based on what you deem most appropriate and effective.
In summary, your role is very flexible. We have reviewed tapes of your past appearances in
Little Rock and are confident you would do well in our national format setting. We also recog-
nize your long and effective record as an advocate of children's issues. and respect your judge-
ment on how to make the most of our partnership. We ask that you assist us in identifying six
key issues facing children, of which health would be one. Then together we can embrace existing
organizations to participate in your program, "Hope For America's Children."
Implementing "Hope For America's Children":
Children's Miracle Network will marshal the strengths of existing relationships and partnerships
with charitable organizations, advocacy groups and individuals, to expand our Telethon's
scope beyond hospital healthcare to create a comprehensive effort to improve children's lives
in communities throughout the United States with tangible and measurable goals, programs and
results.
CMN currently enjoys relationships with premiere national organizations whose missions are to
benefit kids in every aspect: social welfare. family stability, education and healthcare-all can be
key issues in the "Hope For America's Children agenda.
-MAY- 5-93 WED 9:11
CHILDRENS MIRACLE NETWOR
FAX NO. 8012778787
06/07
Mrs. Hillary Clinton
January 8, 1993
page 3
The tools already are in place to create real, quantifiable solutions to problems facing our chil-
dren. Through your partnership with CMN, and our mutual relationships with widely respected
organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics (Dr. Betty Lowe, can help us
identify priorities and set objectives), the Children's Defense Fund, Parent Teachers Associa-
tions, the Coalition for America's Children and dozens more, we can build a powerful grass roots
movement that calls Americans to action to put children first Plus, CMN's partnerships with the
NFL Quarterback Club, the NBA All-Stars and many other professional sports organizations,
teams and athletes-including Bo Jackson, Jim Kelly and Magic Johnson-will ensure extended
distribution of our message to America.
The Objectives;
June 1993 will mark the official launch of Hope For America's Children to benefit children
throughout our country. By June 5, 1993 we will be prepared to announce to the nation the
scope, action and objectives of this long-term program.
Make no mistake, Hope For America's Children is not about talking, but about action and results.
We want to be accountable for improving kids lives in tangible ways, and thus will base this
program on measurable results in key areas affecting children-identified with your vital input at
every stage.
It is no secret which issues affect our children most-child abuse, substance abuse during preg-
nancy, access to early childhood education, inadequate nutrition, homelessness the list goes
on. But it is necessary to concentrate our efforts in the areas where we can have the most impact
and achieve the maximum results. With your input, we will identify key issues and establish
goals that will yield measurable results. For instance we could work with existing organizations
to demonstrate actual results in the following areas:
Reduce the number of children who die from abuse each year;
Provide more affordable housing for homcless children and their families;
Decrease the number of babies born each year with AIDS or a parent-induced drug
addiction;
Lessen the number of kids who drop out of school for health, family or social reasons;
and
Create hands-on community outreach programs to provide food and clothing to under-
privileged children.
These are just a few examples of the results Hope For America's Children can strive for-
measured by real numbers and lives, not just promises. And once each year, you could appear on
your own television special within the Telethon to report on the progress and success of the
program and to encourage continued participation from every American. You and CMN will be
the catalysts for achieving measurable improvements in the quality of life for children.
MAY- 5433 WED 9:12
CHILDRENS MIRACLE NETWOR FAX NO. 5012778787
P.07.07
Mrs. Hillary Clinton
January 8. 1993
page 4
Action Plan:
Your record as a children's advocate is clear: action, not words. And in that light, Children's
Miracle Network proposes a powerful television and grass roots program through which you can
accomplish your goals. June 5, 1993 is the target date for launching this program and many
details must be finalized before then. We request an immediate meeting with you or someone
you designate to coordinate your first appearance, just six months away.
Please contact us to schedule a meeting at your earliest convenience. Again, thank you for your
continuing support of CMN's mission to improve the quality of life for children.
Warmest Personal Regards,
Mick Shannon
President & CEO
Joseph G. Lake
Executive Vice President & COO
P.S. We really enjoyed being able to bring Bob Hope, Marie Osmond and Miss America to your
home on July 5, 1991, and remember how rewarding that whole weekend was for all.
MAY-25-93 TUE 12:44
CHILDRENS MIRACLE NETWOR
FAX NO. 8012778787
P. 02/09
Children's
Miracle Network
May 25, 1993
Ms. Amy Nemko
(202) 456-2239
Dear Amy:
The tape you are working on will air in Hour 1 of the Children's
Miracle Network Telethon, Saturday, June 5th at approximately
9:15 PM EST.
It will be introduced by Marie Osmond and Merlin Olsen.
Appearing during that hour of the show will be:
John Schneider
Marie Osmond
Merlin Olsen
Mary Hart
Rich Little
Marilyn McCoo
Bob Hope
Bo Jackson
Michael Eisner
The broadcast emanates live from Disneyland and is broadcast on
189 stations in the USA and Canada. WUSA TV9 carries the show in
Washington, DC.
Miracle child Justin Rayoner from San Diego will be featured. He
was critically injured in an auto accident. His life was saved
at Children's Hospital San Diego. They attribute his survival,
in part, to the proper use of his seatbelt. We will emphasis
infant car seat restraints and seatbelts during this segment.
Various significant issues are featured during the 21 hour show.
4525 SOUTH 2300 EAST
SUITE 202
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH 84117
801-278-8900
FAX 801-277-8787
THE OSMOND FOUNDATION
MAY-25-93 TUE 12:45
CHILDRENS MIRACLE NETWOR FAX NO. 8012778787
P.03/09
A list of stations is included and the celebrities appearing
during the 21 hours is as follows:
Bill Cosby
Garth Brooks
Reba McIntyre
The Oak Ridge Boys
Alabama
Kenny Loggins
Debbie Gibson
Wayne Newton
Lou Rawls
Miss America
Donny Osmond
Andy Williams
Ed McMahon
Tony Orlando
Osmond Brothers
John Elway
Mary Lou Retton
Amy, I hope this is helpful.
Best wishes,
Micr SHANNON
Mick Shannon
President & C.E.O.
MS/sh
enclosures
MAY-25-93 TUE 12:45
CHILDRENS MIRACLE NETWOR
FAX NO. 8012778787
P. 04/09
Children's
Miracle Network
CMN HOSPITAL/TV STATION LIST
NEW YORK
WNYW-FOX
THE NEW YORK HOSPITAL-CORNELL MED CTR
NEW JERSEY
CTN CAB TV3-SCV
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF NEW JERSEY
CHILDREN'S SPECIALIZED HOSPITAL
LOS ANGELES
KCAL-IND
CHILDRENS HOSPITAL LOS ANGELES
*Paim Springs
CHICAGO
WLS-ABC
CHILDREN'S MEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTER
*Rockford
PHILADELPHIA
KYW-NBC
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL/PHILADELPHIA
CHILDREN'S SEASHORE HOUSE
PHILADELPHIA CHILD GUIDANCE CENTER
ST. CHRISTOPHER'S HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN
SAN FRANCISCO/OAKLAND
KPIX-CBS
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OAKLAND
*Eureka
BOSTON
WCVB-ABC
GENESIS FUND-NATL BIRTH DEFECTS CTR.
DALLAS/FT. WORTH
KDFW-CBS
CHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER AT DALLAS
COOK-FT. WORTH CHILDREN'S MEDICAL CTR.
DETROIT
WKBD-FOX
WILLIAM BEAUMONT HOSPITAL
WASHINGTON, DC
WUSA-CBS
CHILDREN'S NATIONAL MEDICAL CENTER
THE HOSPITAL FOR SICK CHILDREN
HOUSTON
KHOU-CBS
HERMANN CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
AKRON
WAKC-ABC
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL MED. CTR OF AKRON
CLEVELAND
WEWS-ABC
RAINBOW BABIES AND CHILDRENS HOSPITAL
ATLANTA
WXIA-NEC
EGLESTON CHILDREN'S HOSP AT EMORY UNIV
*Albany, GA
WALB-NBC
SCOTTISH RITE CHILDREN'S MED. CTR
*Columbus, GA
WLTZ-NBC
TAMPA-ST. PETERSBURG
WFLA-NBC
ALL CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
*R. Myers-Naples
*Sarasota
MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL
KSTP-ABC
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF ST. PAUL
GILLETTE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
MIAMI
WPLG-ABC
MIAMI CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
SEATTLE-TACOMA
KOMO-ABC
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL AND MEDICAL CENTER
*Yskima
PITTSBURGH
WTAE-ABC
REHAB INSTITUTE OF PITTSBURGH
ST. LOUIS
KPLR-IND
CARDINAL GLENNON CHILDREN'S HOSP.
MAY-25-93 TUE 12:46
CHILDRENS MIRACLE NETWOR
FAX NO. 8012778787
P. 05/09
CMN HOSPITAL/TV STATION LIST, CONTD
*Paducah-Cp Girardeau-Har
ST. LOUIS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
*Quincy-Hannibal
DENVER
KMGH-CBS
NATIONAL JEWISH CTR FOR IMM. & RESP MED.
*Colorado Springs-Punble
PHOENIX
KTSP-CBS
PHOENIX CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
"Flagstaff
SACRAMENTO-STOCKTON
KOVR-ABC
UC DAVIS MEDICAL CENTER
"Chico-Redding
BALTIMORE
WMAR-NBC
JOHNS HOPKINS CHILDREN'S CENTER
HARTFORD-NEW HAVEN
WTNH-ABC
NEWINGTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
ORLANDO-DAYTONA BEACH
WOFL-FOX
SHANDS HOSPITAL
"Gainesville
WCJB-ABC
"West Palm Beach
WPEC-CBS
*Tallahesse
WTXL-ABC
SAN DIEGO
KFMB-CBS
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL & HEALTH CENTER
*El Centro-Yuma
KECY-CBS
INDIANAPOLIS
WTHR-NBC
RILEY HOSPITAL POR CHILDREN
*South Bend-Elkhan
-CAB
*FL Wayne
WPTA-ABC
Terre Haute
WTHI-CBS
*Evensville
WTVW-ABC
"Layfayene
PORTLAND,OR
KATU-ABC
DOERNBECHER CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
"Medford
KDRV-ABC
ROGUE VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER
"Engene
KEZI-ABC
SACRED HEART GENERAL HOSPITAL
*Bend
MILWAUKEE
WISN-ABC
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF WISCONSIN
*Green Bay
WBAY-ABC
*Marquette
WIMN-ABC
"Madison
KANSAS CITY
WDAF-NBC
UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS MEDICAL CENTER
*SL Joseph
CINCINNATI
WLWT-NBC
RUTH LYONS CHILDREN'S CANCER PROGRAM
CHARLOTTE
WBTV-CBS
CHARLOTTE INSTITUTE OF REHABILITATION
THE CHILDREN'S HOSP AT CAROLINAS MED CTR
UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL
NASHVILLE
WTVF-CBS
VANDERBILT CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
COLUMBUS
WBNS-CBS
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL COLUMBUS
RALEIGH-DURHAM
WRAL-CBS
DUKE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
"Greensboro-Winston
WNRW-FOX
*Wilmington
WWAY-ABC
GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG
WYFF-NBC
CHILDREN'S HOSP OF THE GREENVILLE SYS.
MAY-25-93 TUE 12:46
CHILDRENS MIRACLE NETWOR
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P. 06/09
CMN HOSPITAL/TV STATION LIST, CONTD
NEW ORLEANS
WDSU-NRC
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL NEW ORLEANS
*Biloxi-Gulfport-Pascago
BUFFALO
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF BUFFALO
MEMPHIS
WREG-CBS
LE BONHEUR CHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER
*Creanwood-Greenville
WABG-ABC
*Jackson, TN
WBBJ-ABC
*Columbus-Tupelo
WCBI-CBS
GRAND RAPIDS-KALAMAZOO
WOTV-NBC
BUTTERWORTH HOSPITAL
OKLAHOMA CITY
KOCO-ABC
CHILDREN'S MEDICAL RESEARCH INC.
SALT LAKE CITY
KSL-CBS
PRIMARY CHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER
*Idaho Falls
KIDK-CBS
SAN ANTONIO
KMOL-NBC
SANTA ROSA CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
*Laredo
*San Angelo
*Victoria
NORFOLK, VA
WVEC-ABC
CHILD. HOSP. OF THE KING'S DAUGHTERS
HARRISBURG-YORK-LANC
WGAL-NBC
PENN STATE UNTV. CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
BIRMINGHAM
WVTM-NBC
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF ALABAMA
*Huntrville-Decanur-Plore
WAAY-ABC
*Monigomery-Selma
WAKA-CBS
*Dothan
WDHN-ABC
*Anniston
"Tuscaloosa
CHARLESTON-HUNTINGTON
WVAH-FOX
WBST VIRGINIA UNIV. CHILDREN'S HOSP.
*Clarksburg-Weston
WDTV-CBS
"Parkersburg
WDTV-CBS
*Wheeling-Steubenville
WTOV-NBC
*Bluefield-Beckley
DAYTON
WHIO-CBS
THE CHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER
ALBUQUERQUE
KOB-NBC
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF NEW MEXICO
*Famington
KOBF-NBC
*Roswell
KO8R-NBC
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON
WNEP-ABC
GEISINGER MED CTR'S CHILDREN'S HOSP CTR
*Tohnstown-Altoona
WTAJ-CBS
ALBANY-SCHENECTADY
WTEN-ABC
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL AT ALBANY MED CTR
JACKSONVILLE
WIXT-CBS
UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
TULSA
KOTV-CBS
CHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER
LITTLE ROCK
KTHV-CBS
ARKANSAS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
*Jonesboro
KAIT-ABC
*Fort Smith
KPOM-NBC
*Shreveport
KTAL-NBC
"Monroe-E] Dorado
KTVE-NBC
FLINT-SAGINAW-BAY CITY
WIRT-ABC
HURLEY MEDICAL CENTER
MAY-25-93 TUE 12:47
CHILDRENS MIRACLE NETWOR
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P.07/09
CMN HOSPITAL/TV STATION LIST, CONTD
FRESNO-VISALIA
KFSN-ABC
VALLEY CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
WICHITA-HUTCHINSON
KWCH-CBS
ST. FRANCIS REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER
*Goodland/Hays
KAYS-CBS
UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
"Ensign/Dodge City
KBSD-CBS
MOBILE
WALA-NBC
U OF SO. AL CHILDREN'S & WOMEN'S HOSP.
PENSACOLA
WEAR-ABC
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL AT SACRED HEART
"Panama City, FL
WJHG-NBC
TOLEDO
WUPW-FOX
MEDICAL COLLEGE OF OHIO
*Lima
RICHMOND
WWBT-NBC
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
CHILDREN'S MED. CTR OF MCV
KNOXVILLE
WBIR-NBC
EAST TENNESSEE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
ROANOKE-LYNCHBURG
WJPR-FOX
CARILION CTR. FOR WOMEN & CHILDREN
LYNCHBURG GENERAL HOSPITAL
ROANOKE MEMORIAL HOSPITALS
VIRGINIA BAPTIST HOSPITAL
SYRACUSE
WIXT-ABC
S.U.N.Y. HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER
*Binghamion
PORTLAND-POLAND SPRING
WGME-CBS
MAINE MEDICAL CENTER
OMAHA
WOWT-NBC
CHILDREN'S MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
*Lincoin-Hastings
AUSTIN
KVUE-ABC
CHILDS. HOSP. OF AUSTIN AT BRACKENRIDGE
HONOLULU
KHON-NBC
KAPIOLANI MED. CTR. FOR WOMEN & CHILDREN
*Wailuku
KAII-NBC
*Hilo
KHAW-NBC
LEXINGTON
WLEX-NBC
UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY HOSPITAL
*Bowling Green
WYMT-CBS
ROCHESTER
WHEC-NBC
STRONG CHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER
SPRINGFIELD-DECATUR
WICS-NBC
SOUTH ILLINOIS UNIV. SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
ST. JOHN'S HOSPITAL
SPOKANE
KHQ-NBC
DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER
VALLEY HOSPITAL
TUCSON
KVOA-NBC
TUCSON MEDICAL CENTER
CHATTANOOGA
WDEF-CBS
T.C. THOMPSON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
CEDAR RAPIDS-WATERLOO
KGAN-CBS
IOWA CHILDREN'S HLTH CARE CENTER/UTHC
*Des Moines
KCCI-CBS
*Rochester-Mason City
KIMT-CBS
*Quad Cities
WHBF-CBS
SPRINGFIELD, MO
KYTV-NBC
COX MEDICAL CENTERS
MAY-25-93 TUE 12:47
CHILDRENS MIRACLE NETWOR
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P.08/09
CMN HOSPITAL/TV STATION LIST, CONTD
BRISTOL-KINGSPORT-JOHN
WCYB-NBC
REG. CHILD. CTR AT HOLSTON VALLEY HOSP
LAS VEGAS
KVVU-FOX
UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CTR OF SO. NEVADA
COLUMBIA, SC
WIS-NBC
CHILDREN'S HOSP. OF RICHLAND MEMORIAL
JACKSON
WDBD-POX
CHILDRENS HOSP. OF THE U OF MS MED. CTR.
"Laurel-Hatticsburg
*Meridian
YOUNGSTOWN
WFMI-NBC
TOD CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
BATON ROUGE
WBRZ-ABC
OUR LADY OF THE LAKE FOUNDATION
GREENVILLE-NEW BERN
WTTN-NBC
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF EASTERN NC
WACO-TEMPLE
KCEN-NBC
SCOTT & WHITE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
SPRINGFIELD, MA
WWLP-NBC
BAYSTATE MEDICAL CTR CHILDREN'S HOSP.
BURLINGTON-PLATTSBURG
WVNY-ABC
MEDICAL CENTER HOSPITAL OF VERMONT
EL PASO
KTSM-NBC
PROVIDENCE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
XHIJ-IND
SIOUX FALLS
KELO-CBS
SIOUX VALLEY HOSPITAL
SAVANNAH
WTOC-CBS
THE CHILDREN'S HOSP. AT MEM. MED. CTR.
CHARLESTON, SC
WCSC-CBS
MED. U OF SO. CAROLINA CHILD. HOSP.
LANSING
WILX-NBC
SPARROW HOSPITAL
PEORIA
WEEK-NBC
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF ILLINOIS
FARGO
KTHI-NBC
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL MERITCARE
*Minct-Bismarck-Dickinson
KFYR-NBC
SALINAS-MONTEREY
KMST-CBS
SALINAS VALLEY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
AUGUSTA
WRDW-CBS
CHILDREN'S MED. CTR/MED. COLLEGE OF GA
SANTA BARBARA
KEYT-ABC
SANTA BARBARA COTTAGE HOSPITAL
RENO
KOLO-ABC
WASHOE MEDICAL CENTER
TYLER-LONGVIEW
KETK-NBC
MOTHER FRANCES HOSPITAL
AMARILLO
KAMR-NBC
NORTHWEST TEXAS HOSPITAL
MACON
WMAZ-CBS
THE CH.HOSP.AT THE MED.CTR.OF CENTRAL GA
CORPUS CHRISTI
KGBT-CBS
DRISCOLL CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
"McAllen-Brownsville
KIII-ABC
LA CROSSE-EAU CLAIRE
WXOW-ABC
LUTHERAN HOSPITAL LA CROSSE
WAUSAU-RHINELANDER
WAOW-ABC
SAINT JOSEPH'S HOSPITAL
WICHITA FALLS/LAWTON
KFDX-NBC
WICHITA GENERAL HOSPITAL
BEAUMONT/PORT ARTHUR
KJAC-NBC
ST. MARY HOSPITAL
MAY-25-93 TUE 12:44
CHILDRENS MIRACLE NETWOR FAX NO. 8012778787
P. 01/09
Children's
Miracle Network'
FAX TRANSMITTAL
TO:
Ms Amy Nemko
FAX NO:
(202) 456-2239
FROM:
Mick Shannon
DATE:
May 25, 1993
Number of pages 8 (cover sheet not included)
If you did not receive all copies, or if any are not legible, please call
Sonya Hansen at (801) 278-8900.
Children's Miracle Network
4525 South 2300 East, Suite 202
Salt Lake City, Utah 84117
(801) 278-8900
Fax: (801) 277-8787
4525 SOUTH 2300 EAST
SUITE 202
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH 84117
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FAX 801-277-8787
THE ORMOND FOUNDATION
June 3
POTIDS FLOTUS
Mickey
M/M John Sculley
M/M Felix Rohatyn
M/M R.W. Apple, Je H.333-6974
1509 28th Street (20007)
M/M DaviD McCullough
he/m Loyd Bentsen (202) 234-7776
M/M James Wolfersohn (212)772-2262
160/M Ron BROWN
M/M Robert Samuelson
MR Ben Beadlee and Ms. Sally Quinn
-Gen. and Mes. Colin Powell
M/M Dwayre Andreas
M/M Paul Tagliabue
Mr. John Deardough and Ms. Betsy Geiffith
Sen. and Mes.TRitz Hellings
(oveR)
June 3 Continued
MR. and Mes. Feed Dutton
June 10
POTUS FLOTUS
M/M Donald GRaham
MR. William Gates and Piancee
JHon I Mes. Henry Cisners
Delamo/ Gail Lewis
Esther Coopersmith ?
Charlie Peters
M/M Robert Goizueta (404) 676-2121
M/M Dan Goodgame (202) 966-0370
DR. DR./M Paul Maeks (HEAD OP of Sloan Kettering)
M/M DaviD Challinoe
Ms. 2918 Nancy Folgee + DR. Sidney WeRkman
33rd Place (20008) (202) 838-3860
M/M AI FRom
June 2
POTUS / FLOTUS
Molly Raisel
M/M Robert Rubin 456-2174
Katharine Geaham (202)965-2608
WaRRen Buffett
M/M David GeRgen (703) 356-5325
M/M Paul AllAIRE (Kay) (203)968-3000
M/M Robeet Johnson
M/M Jobn Welch (203) 373 - 2211
yo 40 Ma and Spouse (617)729-0111'
5 M/M WaRRen Christophee 647-5548
M/M Tony Lake 456-2255
Beitish Ambassadore AND Lady Renwick
JM/M Rogee ALTMAN
?. M/M Ken Brody
(oves
gune 2 Continued
J M/M Cliff Whatton
V.P.and MRS. GORE
Dick Moose - under Sect
for Management
(Madeline Albught?)
June 11
POTUS /FLOTUS
M/M Ed Yoder
Strobe Talbottand BROOKE Shearer (395-4522)
Rebert Reich and Claire Dalton
Tom Johnson?
James and Debbie Fallows
Jim Hoogland and Elizabeth Becker
Marc Lacknitz and Macy DE ORCO
Darcy Bacon and Kenneth Bacon
DR. /M. Bernand ARons
Susan Stumbury?
Susan Spencer Irom Oliphant?
M/M Terry Lenzner
M/M Phillip Ladee
Hon. and Mes. BRUCE Babbitt
Petee Edelman and Marian Weight Edelman
Elaine Jenes NAACP
MAR-04-1993 16:00 FROM CDF P&P 662-3550
TO
94566244 P.01
DEAR LOR
BE GOOD TOME
THE SEAiS so
WIDE AND
MYBOATIS
so SMALL
Children's Defense Fund
TELEPHONE: (202) 662-3547
FAX: (202) 662-3550
PACSIMILE TRANSMITTAL SHEET
TO:
magge Williams
FIRM:
White House
CITY/STATE:
Washington DC
FAX NUMBER:
456 6444 6266
FROM:
HELEN BLANK, Senior Program Associate,
Family Support Division: child Care
DATE:
3-4-93
TIME:
3
NUMBER OF PAGES SENT (INCLUDING COVER SHEET):
COMMENTS:
With love from Helen
mally wants you forcern
25 t Street. NW
Washington. DC 20001
Telephone 202 628 8582
Fax 202 662 3510 Sto
MAR-04-1993 16:00 FROM CDF P&P 662-3550
TO
94566244
P.02
March 3, 1993
The Honorable Martin Olav Sabo
Chairman
Committee on Budget
U.S. House of Representatives
2336 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Mr. Chairman:
We the undersigned enthusiastically endorse President
Clinton's proposal to strengthen and fully fund Head Start. We
urge you to work to ensure that his proposal is approved by the
congress, sending a strong signal to the nation that our
government recognizes the importance of investing in our
children's development and potential.
Expanding Head Start is the best way to guarantee that all
children enter school ready to learn. The program supports both
young children and their families through a range of comprehen-
sive services. Evidence from research clearly demonstrates that
high quality comprehensive preschool programs yield substantial
long-term benefits for low-income children, promoting their
healthy development and future success.
We strongly support the Administration's commitment to make
the resources available to strengthen the quality of Head Start,
and are pleased to see their emphasis on this important issue.
For ton many years, Head Start programs have been pushed to
expand enrollment without sufficient attention to improving
quality.
Head Start has many excellent programs and some that need
strengthening. The fact that some Head Start programs need
improvement cannot and should not be used as an excuse for
delaying, whittling down, or opposing the President's effort.
The proposed investments are urgently needed now, both to further
strengthen Head Start's quality and to expand the program so that
all eligible children can participate.
MAR-04-1993 16:01 FROM CDF P&P 662-3550
TO
94566244 P.03
The Honorable Martin Olav Sabo
-2-
March 3, 1993
Therefore, we urge you to support President Clinton's full
funding request for Head Start. Fulfilling the promise of full
funding is long overdue, and is a necessary step in helping
America's disadvantaged children get the foundation they need to
be tomorrow's leaders, taxpayers, and productive citizens.
Sincerely,
Dr. J. Lawrence Aber, Associate Professor of Clinical and
Developmental Psychology, Columbia University
Dr. Ernest Boyer, President, The Carnegie Foundation for the
Advancement of Teaching
Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical
School
Dr. Urie Bronfrenbrenner, Jacob Gould Schurman Professor of Human
Development and Family Studies, Cornell University
Dr. Robert Cooke, Chairman, Scientific Advisory Board, Joseph P.
Kennedy Foundation and Chairman, Head Start Planning Committee
Dr. Eugene Garcia, Dean of Social Sciences, University of
California, Santa Cruz
Dr. Edmund W. Gordon, John M. Musser Professor of Psychology
Emeritus, Yale University
Dr. Sharon Lynn Kagan, Senior Associate, Bush Center, Yale
University
Drs. Craig and Sharon Ramey, Directors, Civitan International
Research Center and Professors, University of Alabama, Birmingham
Dr. Julius B. Richmond, Professor of Health Policy Emeritus,
Department of Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Dr. Sandra Scarr, Commonwealth Professor of Psychology,
University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Ms. Lisbeth Schorr, Director, Harvard University Project on
Effective Services
Dr. David Weikart, President, High/Scope Educational Research
Foundation
Dr. Katherine Taaffe Young, Assistant Director, Task Force on
Meeting the Needs of Young Children, Carnegie Corporation of New
York (affiliation for identification purposes only)
Dr. Edward Zigler, Sterling Professor of Psychology, Yale
University
TOTAL P.03
make
Evie corre copy me for to WASHINGTON
WHITE HOUSE
file childrenties
93 MAR 16 A 9 : 36
March 16, 1993
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
FROM:
Carol H. Rasco
SUBJECT:
Children/Families Initiatives
You asked that a piece on Children and Familes be put together to
determine just where we are with this initiative. Please see the
attached written by Bill Galston. Seems to me that his
recommendations are sound and implies that we not publish
something extensive at this time like the Technology Paper, but
rather we target a summer announcement of some type of Children's
Council. At that time, we would highlight accomplishments to
date and outline actions for the future.
Please advise.
March 15, 1993
TO:
Carol Rasco
FROM: Bill Galston
SUBJ: Children, Youth, and Family Initiatives/draft 2
The following memorandum is in response to your request for an
inventory of Administration budget proposals and other
initiatives concerning children, youth, and families. It is
divided into four sections. The first enumerates what has been
accomplished or proposed to date; the second compares that list
to the President's principal campaign promises; the third
compares that list to the principal recommendations of the
National Commission on Children; the fourth offers an analysis of
some trouble spots and recommendations for addressing them.
1. Accomplished or proposed to date
Legislation
o Family and Medical Leave Act--passed by the Congress and
signed into law by the President
Stimulus Package
0 Head Start Summer Program--a new Head Start summer program,
which would eventually serve up to 350,000 disadvantaged children
0 Chapter 1 Summer School Program--new, one-time supplemental
funding of $500 million to expand summer school programs for
educationally disadvantaged children
0
Chapter 1 Census Supplemental--$235 million in 1993 to
mitigate (but not eliminate) the effects on distribution of
Chapter 1 funds caused by changes in the location of poor
children that occurred between the 1980 and 1990 census
0 WIC--added 1993 funding of $75 million, which will permit
the program to serve 300,000 additional participants, most of
whom will be children ages 1-4
0 Child and Adult Care Food Program--an increase of $56
million to pay for meals and snacks at Head Start centers to
serve children in the proposed Summer Head Start program
Childhood Immunizations--$300 million to support a
community based effort to finance vaccine purchases and education
and outreach campaigns, with the goal of immunizing 1 million
children during the summer of 1993
1
o Summer Youth Employment and Training Program--an additional
$1 billion for the summer of 1993, which will finance almost
700,000 additional summer jobs for disadvantaged youth ages 14-21
O Summer of Service--$15 million for the summer of 1993
promoting service to meet the needs of at-risk children and to
train more than 1000 young people as service leaders
o HOME investment partnership--accelerated spendout of $2.5
billion in previously released affordable housing funds
O Public housing modernization--accelerated spendout of HUD's
backlog of unspent modernization funds
O Supportive Housing Program--accelerated investment of $423
million in the Program, which offers shelter and a wide rnage of
services to homeless persons
O Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loans--an additional $235
million in single family guaranteed loan authority, serving
principally rural and small town family needs
Investment Package
O Housing subsidies--double HOME funds to the authorized
level of $2.2 billion; increase houisng vouchers from 40,000
annually in 1993 to 100,000 in 1998
O Supportive Housing Program--a $138 million increase for
1997, a doubling of the program, which addresses homelessness and
its causes
O Public Housing Operating Subsidies--an additional $121
million in 1997
O Preserving and renovating low-income housing--$384 million
in 1997, and $858 million over the next four years
O Crime in public housing--$138 million for an Urban
Partnership Against Crime Initiative to address the increase in
gang- and drug-related crime activity in many public housing
developments
o Restore dilapidated public housing--an additional $138
million in 19997 to rehabilitate severely run-down public housing
projects that cannot now be inhabited
o Full funding of Head Start--an increase of $3.2 billion in
1997, $8 billion over four years, achieving full funding for 1.4
million eligible children by 1999
2
O Head Start-related child care feeding--an additional $237
million in 1997 to pay for additional meals for participants
added by the Administration's Head Start initiative
o Head Start-related Medicaid--$116 million in 1997 to fund
new entrants in the Medicaid program resulting from Head Start
expansion
o Full funding of WIC--an additional $1 billion in 1997 to
serve all eligible children ages 1 to 4, including some 2 million
who were not served in 1992
Parenting and family support--$500 million for FY 1997
O Education reforms and initiatives--$2.7 billion in 1997,
$6.2 billion over four years, to support systemic educational
reform, improvements in the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act, a new Safe Schools Program, student loan program
improvements, and support of Historically Black Colleges and
Universities
O National Service--new investment of $7.4 billion over the
next four years to increase education and training opportunities
for young people while addressing a range of unmet national needs
o Summer youth employment and training program--an increase
of $625 million in 1997 and $2 billion over the next four years,
financing about 2 million additional summer jobs
O Youth apprenticeship--$500 million in 1997, $1.2 billion
over four years, to finance a nationwide system of school- and
work-based learning programs for high school youth who do not
plan to attend college
o Earned Income Tax Credit--an EITC increase of $6.7 billion
in 1997, $19.9 billion over four years, to assure that families
headed by full-time workers will no longer live in poverty
O Welfare reform--a forthcoming comprehensive plan to end
welfare as a permanent way of life through increased training,
parenting, and family support for moving people from welfare to
work, coupled with tougher enforcement of parental
respnsibilities
2. Comparison with principal campaign promises
Promise
Action
Family and Medical Leave
Enacted and signed
Fully fund Head Start
Proposed
3
Fully fund WIC
Proposed
National standards and testing
To be proposed in fast-track
education reform bill
Youth apprenticeship program
Proposed, with partial funding
Public school choice
No action; pending
Use Chapter 1 to "level the
Partially addressed in the
playing field"
stimulus package; to be addressed
in the ESEA reauthorization later
this year; partial funding
provided in the Investment Budget
Increase flexibility in local
To be addressed in fast-track
use of federal education funds
bill and ESEA reauthorization
Parenting programs
Proposed
Require federal contractors to
Pending
offer jobs for disadvantaged
youth
School safety and security
Proposed
Bilingual education reform
Pending; to be addressed in ESEA
reauthorization
Tougher child support
Pending; to be addressed in the
enforcement
context of welfare reform
National child care network
No action
Tougher standards for child
No action
care facilities
Welfare reform
Pending
$300 child tax credit
No action
Increase EITC to eliminate
Proposed
working poverty
Expand the HOME program
Proposed
Increase funding to maintain
Proposed
public housing
4
3. Comparison with key National Commission recommendations
Commission recommendation
Administration action
$1000/child refundable
No action
tax credit
EITC expansion
Proposed
Child support assurance
No action; possible in the
context of welfare reform
Transitional assistance for
Pending
welfare recipients
Fundamental health care reform
Pending
Full funding for Head Start
Proposed
Systemic school reform
Pending; to be addressed in
"fast-track" reform bill
Equitable school finance
Addressed in stimulus package;
pending in ESEA reauthorization
Public school choice
No action/pending
Increased effort to combat
Pending (for summer announcement)
dropouts, teen pregnancies
Youth employment/
Proposed
apprenticeship
Family and medical leave
Legislation enacted
Employer-based flex-time and
No action; requires DoL jawboning
career sequencing
Improve availability,
Minimal action
affordability, and quality of
child care
Expand/improve preventive
Proposed
services for vulnerable
children and their families
Greater coordination of child
Pending
and family policies across
the executive branch
5
Decategorization of selected
Pending (in context of
federal programs to bring
welfare reform)
greater cohension and
flexibility
Incentives to encourage
No action
state/local coordination on
child/family programs
Increase salaries and training
Pending (in context of family
opportunities for teachers and
preservation)
early childhood/child welfare
practitioners
Enhance recording industry
No action
efforts to avoid distribution
of inappropriate materials to
children
Enhance efforts by television
No White House action; some
producers to improve content
preliminary steps by the FCC
of programming for children
(see attached article)
Increase opportunities for
Pending
national and local community
service
4. Brief analysis and recommendations
As you can see from the above, we have numerous areas of strength
in the children, youth, and family arena, particularly in Head
Start, WIC, Family and Medical Leave, education, and public
housing. As you have pointed out, aadequate funding is a
necessary but not sufficient condition for sound public policy;
we also need to ensure that our proposals in programs such as
Head Start and Chapter 1 embody genuine reform, not just mindless
expansion of the status quo. (Recent and proposed meetings with
HHS and OMB represent good first steps toward this objective.)
Beyond the bright spots, we have some very conspicuous
weaknesses. Let me enumerate a few current or potential
problems.
O The Administration budget does very little for child care,
although some non-budgetary regulatory changes affecting quality
and flexibility are of course possible.
O While the budget does use the EITC aggressively to address
the problems of the working poor, its failure to include a
broader child tax credit leaves most middle-income families out
in the cold. (This is obviously a problem to be addressed in the
medium to long term.)
6
O The Education Department's draft of the fast-track reform
bill includes no more than a passing mention of public school
choice. The President will now have to decide whether he wishes
to push ahead farther and skirmish with the anti-choice education
establishment.
O The Family and Medical Leave Act is a terrific first step,
but it does not address all of the multiple tensions between work
and family. I believe we need systematic consultation with the
Department of Labor to determine how employers can best be
encouraged to move forward on issues such as flex-time amd job-
sharing.
O Much is riding on the welfare reform process, but as you
know SO well, it is not clear how far comprehensive reform can go
in the absence of serious funding. Our current strategy--
breaking out specific issues such as tougher child support
enforcement--represents a sensible first step and is probably the
best we can do for now.
O
It is important to keep focused on discussions leading to
a major anti-teen pregnancy announcement this summer.
o More broadly: the National Commission emphasizes family
structure as one of the principal determinants of child well-
being. I think they are dead right about this and that we ought
to work their analysis into our policies and public statements.
We can and should collaborate with Sen. Moynihan in this effort,
which could include such efforts as
*
a declaratory policy in favor of family integrity and
against families headed by unwed teenagers
*
a mandatory annual report from HHS on the state of US
families utilizing key indicators of family strength
*
the mobilization of the best current research on the
relation between family structure and child well-being
O We should think about giving highly audible visible White
House support to the creation (and where appropriate,
enforcement) of standards for the content of recordings and
television oriented to children and youth. It might make sense
to initiate conversations with Mrs. Gore's staff to explore their
current thinking on this matter.
O As of now, we are weak in the area of policy coordination
(at both the federal and state/local level), which the National
Commission rightly emphasizes. We should continue working toward
a late summer announcement of an inter-agency, White House-driven
working group on children, youth, and families, along the lines
of the community development operation.
7
Conclusion
On the basis of this review, I am not convinced that we are yet
ready to go with a systematic children, youth, and families
statement along the lines of the President's science and
technology paper. Instead, I believe that we should use the
process initiated by this memorandum to move forward on our areas
of vulnerability, with the aim of producing such a document by
late summer or early fall.
A choice by the President to speak at the National Commission
summit could serve as a very useful action-forcing event. But
even if he declines to do so (perhaps because of its proximity to
the crucial April 4 meeting with Yeltsin), we should decide on a
course of action and pursue it aggressively in conjunction with
Education, Labor, HHS, and anyone else you deem appropriate.
8
'Flintstones' and Programs Like It
Aren't 'Educational,' F.C.C.Says
ByEDMUND L ANDREWS
3/4/93
Special to The New York Times
WASHINGTON, March 3 - Federal
their lucrative licenses every five
regulators are putting television sta-
years
tions on notice: contrary to the past
Providing further evidence of a new
practice of many broadcasters; car-
approach, the agency has in recent
toons like "The Jetsons" and "The
weeks delayed renewing the licenses of
Flintstones" can no longer count as
seven stations, demanding that they
"educational and informational" pro-
provide better evidence that they were
gramming.
meeting their educational responsibil-
The announcement, issued on Tues-
ities in children's programming. The
day by the Federal Communications
stations are WDCI in Cleveland;
Commission, may not come as news to
WTLW in Lima, Ohio; WRGT in Day-
parents, whose households are inundat-
ton, Ohio, WYTV in Youngstown, Ohio;
ed with cartoon turtles, rabbits and
WAQP in Saginaw, Mich., and WGPR
robots.
and WADL, both in Detroit.
But it could prove upsetting to broad-
casters, who are required by a law
A Tough New Line
enacted in 1990 to demonstrate their
Taken together; the actions are a
commitment to the educational needs
sharp departure from the commis-
of children as a condition of renewing
sion's reluctance during the Bush Ad-
ministration to impose strict regula-
tion. Under Alfred C. Sikes, who re-
signed as chairman of the F.C.C. the
day before President Clinton took of-
fice, agency officals had argued that
the law is so vague that stations were
well within their rights to say' that
shows like "Leave It To Beaver' were
educational.
The 1990 law, known as the Chil-
dren's Television Act, is notoriously
vague, and some television stations
have tried to fill the bill by citing the
educational value of "G.I. Joe," "Su-
Continued on Page A9, Column 3
Flintstones and the Like Are Not 'Educational,' F.C.C. Says
Continued From Page Al
sion, and her sock puppet Lamb Chen
"My feeling is the F.C.C. and the
perboy" and reruns of old favorites like
broadcasters have been winking at
"Leave It To Beaver."
each other for the past few years," said
Now, one week before a Congression-
Representative Edward J. Markey,
al committee is to hold an hearing on
Democrat of Massachusetts and chair-
whether broadcasters are trying to
man of the subcommittee of the House
skirt the educational requirements, the
Energy and Commerce Committee. "I
think the F.C.C. has the bully pulplt and
commission is taking a tough new line.
the daily regulatory clout to insist upon
The F.C.C. has the authority under the
higher standards."
1990 law to impose the new rules on its
But he added that the F.C.C. faces a
own. The final form of the rules will
difficult challenge setting specific
probably emerge in about a year, after
guidelines about the amount or kind of
the F.C.C. receives public comment.
educational programming necessary
In a notice proposing stricter rules,
to qualify a television station. Mr.
the agency said there has been "little
Quello noted that the law was deliber-
change" in the amount of children's
ately left vague because of widespread
programming since the law was
concern about violating broadcasters'
passed, and it criticized attempts to
rights to free speech, and that the law
label "G.I. Joe" and "The Flintstones"
explicitly approved of some entertain-
as educational.
ment shows like "Fat Albert and the
"We do not believe that this level of
Cosby Kids" or "Winnie the Pooh,"
performance is, in the long term, con-
that are seen as offering thoughtful
sistent with the objectives" of the law,
comment on important social or per-
the agency said. The commission also
sonal issues.
said that television stations should only
be able to cite programs that were
Advocates for stricter requirements
primarily meant for education, rather
Worldvision Enterprises
in support of children's programming
than entertainment shows that happen
"The Jetsons" and other television cartoons like it can no longer count
said the F.C.C.'s notice marks a poten-
to include a pleasant social theme. And
-
tially important change. "I think it's a
as "educational and informational" programming, according to a notice
it asked for comment on whether it
good sign," said Kathryn Montgomery,
should decide how much educational
issued on Tuesday by the Federal Communications Commission.
co-director of the Center for Media
programming constitutes a bare mini-
Education, a not-for-profit organiza-
mum for satisfying the law.
tion in Washington that has called for
fulfill their responsibilities, and even
tions Subcommittee has scheduled a
tougher enforcement. "Broadcasters
Willing to Regulate
ardent advocates of stricter rules for
hearing on the issue for next Wednes-
thought they could just pepper in pro-
The new stance on children's televi-
children's television have had a hard
day, featuring advocates of tougher
social moments in their regular car-
sion reflects the increased willingness
time defining the legal difference be-
regulation as well as Shari Lewis, host
toons, but that's not going to work
of Democrats to regulate business, an
tween "educational" shows like "Sesa-
of a children's show on public televi-
anymore."
attitude that could Ishow up in other
me Street" and "entertainment" like
issues on the commission's agenda,
"Yogi Bear."
including regulation of cable television
The Cable Factor
charges. Although President Clinton
has not named a successor to Mr.
If the F.C.C. ultimately imposes ex-
Sikes, the acting chairman of the F.C.C.
tremely strict rules, over-the-air
is a long-time Democrat on the com-
broadcasters could lose more ground
mission, James H. Quello.
to cable television systems, which are
"There's no doubt that Congress and
not subject to relicensing and not under
the activist groups are very interested
any responsibility to provide educa-
in seeing this law enforced,' Mr. Quello
tional programming. Strict rules could
said today. "If I were a broadcaster, to
also put pressure on the major televi-
be on the safe side I'd have a show that
sion networks, which might be obliged
was specifically meant to be education-
to produce more programming that
al."
has limited commercial and profit-
But it remains unclear whether chil-
making potential.
dren's television will become notice-
The toughened stance comes amid
ably different. The law explicitly gives
growing criticism from Congress about
lax enforcement of the Children's Tele-
broadcasters great latitude in how they
vision Act. The House Telecommunica-
april,
Maggie, Alan Stene
bought this by
zab I
Fill children apines
March 15, 1993
TO:
Carol Rasco
FROM: Bill Galston
SUBJ: Children, Youth, and Family Initiatives/draft 2
The following memorandum is in response to your request for an
inventory of Administration budget proposals and other
initiatives concerning children, youth, and families. It is
divided into four sections. The first enumerates what has been
accomplished or proposed to date; the second compares that list
to the President's principal campaign promises; the third
compares that list to the principal recommendations of the
National Commission on Children; the fourth offers an analysis of
some trouble spots and recommendations for addressing them.
1. Accomplished or proposed to date
Legislation
O Family and Medical Leave Act--passed by the Congress and
signed into law by the President
Stimulus Package
Head Start Summer Program--a new Head Start summer program,
which would eventually serve up to 350,000 disadvantaged children
Chapter 1 Summer School Program--new, one-time supplemental
funding of $500 million to expand summer school programs for
educationally disadvantaged children
Chapter 1 Census Supplemental--$235 million in 1993 to
mitigate (but not eliminate) the effects on distribution of
Chapter 1 funds caused by changes in the location of poor
children that occurred between the 1980 and 1990 census
WIC--added 1993 funding of $75 million, which will permit
the program to serve 300,000 additional participants, most of
whom will be children ages 1-4
Child and Adult Care Food Program--an increase of $56
million to pay for meals and snacks at Head Start centers to
serve children in the proposed Summer Head Start program
Childhood Immunizations--$300 million to support a
community based effort to finance vaccine purchases and education
and outreach campaigns, with the goal of immunizing 1 million
children during the summer of 1993
1
O Summer Youth Employment and Training Program--an additional
$1 billion for the summer of 1993, which will finance almost
700,000 additional summer jobs for disadvantaged youth ages 14-21
Summer of Service--$15 million for the summer of 1993
promoting service to meet the needs of at-risk children and to
train more than 1000 young people as service leaders
HOME investment partnership--accelerated spendout of $2.5
billion in previously released affordable housing funds
O Public housing modernization--accelerated spendout of HUD's
backlog of unspent modernization funds
O
Supportive Housing Program--accelerated investment of $423
million in the Program, which offers shelter and a wide rnage of
services to homeless persons
o
Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loans--an additional $235
million in single family guaranteed loan authority, serving
principally rural and small town family needs
Investment Package
o Housing subsidies--double HOME funds to the authorized
level of $2.2 billion; increase houisng vouchers from 40,000
annually in 1993 to 100,000 in 1998
O Supportive Housing Program--a $138 million increase for
1997, a doubling of the program, which addresses homelessness and
its causes
O
Public Housing Operating Subsidies--an additional $121
million in 1997
O
Preserving and renovating low-income housing--$384 million
in 1997, and $858 million over the next four years
Crime in public housing--$138 million for an Urban
Partnership Against Crime Initiative to address the increase in
gang- and drug-related crime activity in many public housing
developments
O
Restore dilapidated public housing--an additional $138
million in 19997 to rehabilitate severely run-down public housing
projects that cannot now be inhabited
O Full funding of Head Start--an increase of $3.2 billion in
1997, $8 billion over four years, achieving full funding for 1.4
million eligible children by 1999
2
O Head Start-related child care feeding--an additional $237
million in 1997 to pay for additional meals for participants
added by the Administration's Head Start initiative
Head Start-related Medicaid--$116 million in 1997 to fund
new entrants in the Medicaid program resulting from Head Start
expansion
Full funding of WIC--an additional $1 billion in 1997 to
serve all eligible children ages 1 to 4, including some 2 million
who were not served in 1992
Parenting and family support--$500 million for FY 1997
O
Education reforms and initiatives--$2.7 billion in 1997,
$6.2 billion over four years, to support systemic educational
reform, improvements in the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act, a new Safe Schools Program, student loan program
improvements, and support of Historically Black Colleges and
Universities
National Service--new investment of $7.4 billion over the
next four years to increase education and training opportunities
for young people while addressing a range of unmet national needs
Summer youth employment and training program--an increase
of $625 million in 1997 and $2 billion over the next four years,
financing about 2 million additional summer jobs
0 Youth apprenticeship--$50 million in 1997, $1.2 billion
over four years, to finance a nationwide system of school- and
work-based learning programs for high school youth who do not
plan to attend college
O Earned Income Tax Credit--an EITC increase of $6.7 billion
in 1997, $19.9 billion over four years, to assure that families
headed by full-time workers will no longer live in poverty
O Welfare reform--a forthcoming comprehensive plan to end
welfare as a permanent way of life through increased training,
parenting, and family support for moving people from welfare to
work, coupled with tougher enforcement of parental
respnsibilities
2. Comparison with principal campaign promises
Promise
Action
Family and Medical Leave
Enacted and signed
Fully fund Head Start
Proposed
3
Fully fund WIC
Proposed
National standards and testing
To be proposed in fast-track
education reform bill
Youth apprenticeship program
Proposed, with partial funding
Public school choice
No action; pending
Use Chapter 1 to "level the
Partially addressed in the
playing field"
stimulus package; to be addressed
in the ESEA reauthorization later
this year; partial funding
provided in the Investment Budget
Increase flexibility in local
To be addressed in fast-track
use of federal education funds
bill and ESEA reauthorization
Parenting programs
Proposed
Require federal contractors to
Pending
offer jobs for disadvantaged
youth
School safety and security
Proposed
Bilingual education reform
Pending; to be addressed in ESEA
reauthorization
Tougher child support
Pending; to be addressed in the
enforcement
context of welfare reform
National child care network
No action
Tougher standards for child
No action
care facilities
Welfare reform
Pending
$300 child tax credit
No action
Increase EITC to eliminate
Proposed
working poverty
Expand the HOME program
Proposed
Increase funding to maintain
Proposed
public housing
4
3. Comparison with key National Commission recommendations
Commission recommendation
Administration action
$1000/child refundable
No action
tax credit
EITC expansion
Proposed
Child support assurance
No action; possible in the
context of welfare reform
Transitional assistance for
Pending
welfare recipients
Fundamental health care reform Pending
Full funding for Head Start
Proposed
Systemic school reform
Pending; to be addressed in
"fast-track" reform bill
Equitable school finance
Addressed in stimulus package;
pending in ESEA reauthorization
Public school choice
No action/pending
Increased effort to combat
Pending (for summer announcement)
dropouts, teen pregnancies
Youth employment/
Proposed
apprenticeship
Family and medical leave
Legislation enacted
Employer-based flex-time and
No action; requires DoL jawboning
career sequencing
Improve availability,
Minimal action
affordability, and quality of
child care
Expand/improve preventive
Proposed
services for vulnerable
children and their families
Greater coordination of child
Pending
and family policies across
the executive branch
5
Decategorization of selected
Pending (in context of
federal programs to bring
welfare reform)
greater cohension and
flexibility
Incentives to encourage
No action
state/local coordination on
child/family programs
Increase salaries and training
Pending (in context of family
opportunities for teachers and
preservation)
early childhood/child welfare
practitioners
Enhance recording industry
No action
efforts to avoid distribution
of inappropriate materials to
children
Enhance efforts by television
No White House action; some
producers to improve content
preliminary steps by the FCC
of programming for children
(see attached article)
Increase opportunities for
Pending
national and local community
service
4. Brief analysis and recommendations
As you can see from the above, we have numerous areas of strength
in the children, youth, and family arena, particularly in Head
Start, WIC, Family and Medical Leave, education, and public
housing. As you have pointed out, aadequate funding is a
necessary but not sufficient condition for sound public policy;
we also need to ensure that our proposals in programs such as
Head Start and Chapter 1 embody genuine reform, not just mindless
expansion of the status quo. (Recent and proposed meetings with
HHS and OMB represent good first steps toward this objective.)
Beyond the bright spots, we have some very conspicuous
weaknesses. Let me enumerate a few current or potential
problems.
o The Administration budget does very little for child care,
although some non-budgetary regulatory changes affecting quality
and flexibility are of course possible.
O While the budget does use the EITC aggressively to address
the problems of the working poor, its failure to include a
broader child tax credit leaves most middle-income families out
in the cold. (This is obviously a problem to be addressed in the
medium to long term.)
6
O The Education Department's draft of the fast-track reform
bill includes no more than a passing mention of public school
choice. The President will now have to decide whether he wishes
to push ahead farther and skirmish with the anti-choice education
establishment.
o The Family and Medical Leave Act is a terrific first step,
but it does not address all of the multiple tensions between work
and family. I believe we need systematic consultation with the
Department of Labor to determine how employers can best be
encouraged to move forward on issues such as flex-time amd job-
sharing.
O Much is riding on the welfare reform process, but as you
know so well, it is not clear how far comprehensive reform can go
in the absence of serious funding. Our current strategy--
breaking out specific issues such as tougher child support
enforcement--represents a sensible first step and is probably the
best we can do for now.
O It is important to keep focused on discussions leading to
a major anti-teen pregnancy announcement this summer.
O More broadly: the National Commission emphasizes family
structure as one of the principal determinants of child well-
being. I think they are dead right about this and that we ought
to work their analysis into our policies and public statements.
We can and should collaborate with Sen. Moynihan in this effort,
which could include such efforts as
*
a declaratory policy in favor of family integrity and
against families headed by unwed teenagers
*
a mandatory annual report from HHS on the state of US
families utilizing key indicators of family strength
*
the mobilization of the best current research on the
relation between family structure and child well-being
o
We should think about giving highly audible visible White
House support to the creation (and where appropriate,
enforcement) of standards for the content of recordings and
television oriented to children and youth. It might make sense
to initiate conversations with Mrs. Gore's staff to explore their
current thinking on this matter.
O As of now, we are weak in the area of policy coordination
(at both the federal and state/local level), which the National
Commission rightly emphasizes. We should continue working toward
a late summer announcement of an inter-agency, White House-driven
working group on children, youth, and families, along the lines
of the community development operation.
7
children
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
February 17, 1995
MEMORANDUM FOR MAGGIE WILLIAMS
CHR
FROM:
Carol H. Rasco, Assistant to the President
for Domestic Policy
SUBJECT:
Children's issues
Attached are materials I felt Mrs. Clinton might like to review
given the focus we will be putting on the negative effects of the
various components of the Republican Welfare Reform bill which
passed out of Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources this
week. I have also included talking points on child care as it
will be sent through a different committee, but is of course an
integral part of welfare reform.
I have complete notebooks on child welfare and child care
prepared for me by HHS prior to a briefing I had them do for me
earlier this week. Feel free to let me know if Mrs. Clinton
would like to see the complete notebooks.
Thank you.
yes
Talking Points Child Care
Key themes
1. Families struggling to become self-sufficient need access to
affordable child care in order to participate in education,
training and work.
o Studies indicate that when child care arrangements break down,
families are more likely to drop out and go back on welfare.
o More than 400,000 children each month receive child care
assistance through the AFDC and Transitional Child Care guarantees.
Assistance for these children and their families is in jeopardy if
child care funds are capped. If women are forced to work without
adequate child care, their children could be left home alone.
2. Families should not have to go in the welfare line to get child
care assistance.
o Almost one million children of working poor families receive
assistance through the At-Risk and Child Care and Development Block
Grant Programs. If child care funds are capped, these hard working
American families could be cut off and put at-risk for welfare
dependency.
o Millions of other working families are already in need of
child care assistance. Low-income families who pay for child care
spend more than a quarter of their income on child care expenses.
GAO found long waiting lists for child care assistance in 5 out of
6 states they visited. For example they found 40,000 children on
the waiting list in Texas and 225,000 children in California.
3. The quality of care is far from adequate. Poor quality care
threatens childrens' development. The recent study conducted by
economists and child development experts confirms that quality care
is related to child outcomes. The vast majority of care in the
country was found to be mediocre, with 40 percent of infant care
considered poor.
Child Care and the Clinton Administration
O The President has included increases in child care in every
budget submitted to Congress. Furthermore, the Work and
Responsibility Act introduced last year included the continuation
of the child care guarantees for families moving towards economic
independence and an investment of $1.5 billion for working poor
families at-risk for welfare dependency.
o The administration has worked to make programs more
consistent and coordinated: proposing new regulations to reduce red
tape, improve quality, and give states more flexibility and
streamlining child care operations into a single Child Care Bureau.
O The administration has revamped and strengthened technical
assistance to the states, territories and tribes to ensure that
they have access to the best available information on quality
issues, particularly health and safety. In addition, we have
launched a National Child Care Information Center for policymakers
and the general public.
Talking Points on Child Welfare
The Vision for Child Welfare:
The Administration supports a vision for child welfare where:
The first priority of child welfare services is to ensure the safety of children and all
family members.
All services build on the resources and strengths of families to support children's
healthy development.
The community is the first line of support for families. While a strong public child
welfare system exists, families have access to all kinds of informal family support
services in neighborhoods and settings that feel comfortable and are easily accessible.
All communities offer a continuum of child welfare services, from early prevention to
foster care, reunification, and adoption. Because children's healthy development is at
the center of all decisions, children spend as little time as possible between permanent
settings, returning home or to a loving adoptive family as quickly as possible.
Critical Issues:
Given increasing need and inadequate current funding in the child welfare system, capping the
amount of resources available to states for foster care maintenance and adoption assistance
payments would greatly increase risk to children.
Between 1988 and 1993, the rate of substantiated child abuse and neglect rose by
more than 25% and the foster care caseload increased by almost 50%, as states
responded to increased and more severe family need. Adoption assistance payments
more than doubled from 1988 to 1994 as states placed more children into permanent
homes. These and other factors contributed to a tripling of Federal resources
available to the states for child welfare from 1988 to 1993.
There is widespread agreement that the current child welfare system is overstretched
in responding to current and anticipated future needs. According to Michael Petit of
the Child Welfare League in testimony before the Ways and Means committee, the
nation's response to the often life-threatening conditions in many young victims' lives
is unorganized, underfunded, and completely inadequate."
Strong Federal enforcement of basic protections for children is critical to ensuring
improvement in State systems. At the same time, the Federal role must be revamped to focus
on outcomes rather than process, as in the revised monitoring approaches that we are
currently developing and piloting.
The allocation of resources across states raises major issués of fairness and incentives for
future investment. Any approach that allocates resources to States based on existing claims
penalizes the States that may need resources the most because they have not yet made major
investments in their systems and may disrupt current State commitments to make major
infrastructure commitments to computer systems and training.
Child Welfare and the Clinton Administration:
To achieve the vision of a quality child welfare system will require both strong national
leadership and increased State flexibility. The Administration is working in partnership with
the States to support continuous improvement in child welfare services by:
Encouraging comprehensive planning that reaches across programmatic and agency
lines and that includes community-based providers and consumers;
Paying increased attention to outcomes, including efforts to reengineer monitoring to
focus on the quality and results of State services, rather than on mere paper
compliance;
Helping State and local programs succeed, through the provision of improved and
expanded training and technical assistance; and
Supporting the development and implementation of State automated child welfare
information systems, to support caseworkers, managers and policy-makers.
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Welfare Reform Daily Talking Points
Monday, February 13, 1995
WELFARE REFORM MUST BE STRONG ON WORK,
NOT CRUEL TO CHILDREN
Today, Clay Shaw's House Subcommittee on Human Resources begins marking up
the Personal Responsibility Act, the welfare reform plan contained in the Contract
with America. Over the past week, Democrats have united against the Republican
proposal, which is tough on children and low-income families, but weak on requiring
work. As House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt said on Friday, "for the
Republicans, welfare reform is just a way of passing the buck, kicking people off the
welfare rolls, and leaving innocent children out in the street."
In fact, the work requirements in the Personal Responsibility Act would be
weaker than those under current law. In 1996, under current law, 11.5
percent of welfare recipients (595,000 people) would be working -- either in
part-time private sector jobs or in mandatory work programs. In contrast, under
the Republican plan, only two percent of welfare recipients (105,000 people)
would be required to participate in "work activities" in 1996.
President Clinton's principles for welfare reform will not change. As he said in
his State of the Union address: "We have to help those on welfare move to
work as quickly as possible, to provide child care and teach them skills if that's
what they need for up to two years. And after that, there ought to be a simple
hard rule: anyone who can work must go to work."
This Administration believes that:
o
Welfare reform must be about a paycheck, not a welfare check. We won't
have ended welfare as we know it until the central focus of the program is to
move people off welfare and into a private sector job so that they can support
themselves and their families.
Our goal must be to lift people up from dependence to independence, not to
punish them because they happen to be poor, young, or unmarried. We intend
to work with Congress on a bipartisan basis, but we continue to oppose any
plan to deny assistance to young mothers, break up familles, punish children
for their parents' past mistakes, or put children in orphanages.
Tough child support enforcement must be a centerpiece of welfare reform.
We're pleased that House Republicans intend to adopt our proposals for child
support enforcement, which was a key agreement reached at the Working
Session on Welfare Reform. If we're going to end welfare as we know it, we
must make sure that all parents -- fathers and mothers alike -- take
responsibility for the children they bring into this world.
DRAFT
Summary of the Shaw Welfare Proposal (February 10)
TITLE I: BLOCK GRANT TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES
Block Granting of AFDC: Eliminates all existing statutory language on the purposes,
administration and requirements of the AFDC, JOBS and EA programs and replaces them
with a block grant to states. Eliminated, for example, are provisions on individual
entitlements, fair hearings, state financial participation. consistent standards of need, who in
the family is eligible, and statewide program availability. Separately, states would be
required to operate, child support, child protection, and foster care and adoption programs.
Funding: The block grant would be $15.355 billion for each year from 1996 through 2000.
Administration estimates show that this would save approximately $13 billion over 5 years.
State Allotment: The block grant money would be a capped entitlement to states. Each state
would be allotted an amount equal to their average proportion of AFDC spending for 1991
through 1993.
Rainy Day Funds: States may put unspent amounts of block grant funds into a rainy day
account for years when more money is needed. Amounts above 120% of their annual
allocation may be transferred into the state's general revenue fund. There would also be a
national rainy day account of $1 billion that states may borrow from and must pay back
within 3 years.
Work requirements: All recipients on the rolls for 24 months (including recipients currently
on AFDC) would be required to be in a work activity, unless under age 20 and enrolled in
school. For most states, this implies a participation rate of 40% or more. By statute a state's
total work participation rate would be set at 2% in 1996 and would rise to 20% by 2003.
Educational and training services would be allowed but not required. No definitions for
standards for work activity are provided. Child care would not be guaranteed.
State Flexibility: States would determine all rules relating to benefit levels and eligibility
criteria. States may pay benefits to interstate immigrants at the level of their original state for
up to 12 months. States would be allowed to transfer up to 20% - or 30% - of the funds to
other block grants.
State Requirements: Benefits must be used to serve families with a minor child. States are
required to submit annual data on several measures and must submit to 2 bi-annual audit.
Additionally, under provisions from title III of this act, state social service agencies would be
required to provide the name and address of illegal aliens with children to the INS.
Prohibitions on States: States cannot use federal block grant funds to provide benefits to:
(1) families who have been on the rolls for 5 cumulative years;
(2) Individuals that are receiving SSI or OAA (current law);
(3) non-citizens (except refugees and/or aged non-citizens who have resided in the U.S. more
than 5 years):
(4) minor mothers with children born out-of-wedlock;
(5) children born while on AFDC (i.e., family cap); and
(6) families not cooperating with the state child enforcement agency or who have not assigned
to the state the child's claim rights against non-custodial parents (current law).
(7) Additionally, beginning 1 year following the enactment of the bill, states must pay a
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Welfare Reform Mark-up Summary - continued
Penalties: If an audit determines that funds were spent inappropriate to the legislation, the
misspent amounts can be withheld from future payments to the state. Failure to provide
required performance data would be a 3% reduction state annual grant. Failure to participate
in Income Eligibility Verification System results in a penalty of 1% of state annual grant.
Time Limits: AFDC would no longer be an entitlement to individuals. States would be
prohibited from using federal block grant dollars to provide benefits to a family that has been
on the rolls 5 years. Since states determine all rules relating to benefit levels and eligibility,
they could establish any time limit.
Medicaid: Transitional Medicaid for recipients who leave due to employment would be
eliminated. Recipients of assistance would be eligible for Medicaid. Current recipients that
become ineligible for aid would retain Medicaid eligibility.
TITLE II: CHILD PROTECTION BLOCK GRANT
Block Grant for Child Protection Services: The current open-ended entitlement program
for IV-E Foster Care and Adoption Assistance Program and the IV-B Child Welfare Services
program and Family Preservation and Support program. along with a number of discretionary
programs related to child abuse and neglect, would be consolidated into a block grant to
states.
Funding: The funding would be $4.145 billion in FY 1996, $4.308 billion in FY 1997,
$4.471 billion in FY 1998, $4.631 billion in FY 1999, and $4.789 billion in FY 2000.
Administration estimates show that resulting savings would be $5.7 billion over 5 years.
State Allotment: The block grant would be a five year capped entitlement to the states using
(not yet specified in bill).
State Eligibility for Funds: States must provide HHS with information on how they intend
to use the funds and provide a series of certifications ensuring that procedures are in place on
reporting of abuse and neglect and acting on those reports, removal of children and their
placement in safe and nurturing settings, and for achieving permanent placement. A
declaration of a state's quantifiable goals and their progress is also required.
Purpose and Use of Funds: States may use funds in any manner they so choose to
accomplish the purposes specified in the law. The purposes are identifying and assisting
families at risk of abusing or neglecting their children; operating a system of receiving reports
on abuse or neglect; investigating families reported; assisting troubled families in providing
proper protection and nurturing their children; providing foster care; making timely decisions
about permanent living arrangements; and continuing evaluation and improvement of child
protection laws, regulations and services. Twenty percent of the funds can be transferred to
the block grant under Title 1, the Social Services Block Grant, the food and nutrition block
grant, and the Child Care and Development Block Grant.
Penalties: If a required audit finds that states have used funds not consistent with the law,
funds are to be withheld the following year. However, not more than 25 percent of a
quarterly payment can be withheld. Also, the annual grant will be reduced by 3 percent if
states fail to submit within 6 months the required data report.
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Child Protection Goals: States are required to protect children, investigate reports of abuse
and neglect promptly, have permanency planning in place for children removed from their
homes and dispositional hearings within 3 months of a fact-finding hearing, and out-of-home
placements reviewed every 6 months unless the child is already in a long term placement.
Citizen Review Panels: States are required to establish citizen review panels for each
metropolitan region that is broadly representative of the community and meets at least
quarterly. The panel is to review specific cases to determine state compliance and make a
report available to the public.
Data Collection and Reporting: Annual state data reports are required to be submitted to
HHS that includes basic aggregate data on the numbers of children abused and neglected, in
foster care. that received services. and other similar information. States must also provide
data measuring their progress towards the goals in the law and 2 summary response to the
citizen review panels findings and recommendations. The Secretary of HHS issues an annual
report of this data and provides it to the public.
Limitation on Federal Authority: Other than what's specified in the law, the Secretary
cannot regulate the conduct of states or enforce any provision of the law.
TITLE III: RESTRICTING WELFARE FOR ALIENS
NonCitizens Ineligible for Assistance: Under these provisions. except for the exceptions
noted below, noncitizens would be ineligible for most federal assistance programs. However,
adults and children would remain eligible for emergency medical services and immunizations,
and several educational and training programs. States would be allowed to use state resources
to provide other benefits to noncitizens at state option.
Exceptions: Noncitizens over 75 (who have resided in the U.S. at least 5 years) are eligible
for benefits. Refugees are eligible for benefits for up to five years after the date of their
arrival. Other noncitizens currently living in the U.S. would become ineligible 1 year after
the enactment of the provisions and would receive notification of their ineligibility.
Sponsorship: Sponsorship documents would become legally binding until the noncitizen
attained citizenship.
TITLE IV: SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME REFORMS
Denial of Benefits to Addicts: Individuals diagnosed with drug or alcohol addiction would
no longer be eligible for SSI or Medicaid.
SSI Restrictions to Disabled Children and Medical Services Block Grant: Cash benefits
would be restricted. Children would only receive cash benefits or new medical services based
only on the medical listing criteria, not the individual functional assessment. Current SSI
children receiving cash benefits because of a disability under the medical listing would
continue to be eligible for cash, but children not already under SSI will only receive cash
payments if they are institutionalized or would be in an institution if the cash payment did not
exist. Children considered disabled but not eligible for cash benefits will be eligible for
additional medical services under 1 block grant. This block grant would be an entitlement to
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Welfare Reform Mark-up Summary - continued
states for authorized medical and non-medical services to those children who qualify (those
children eligible for SSI cash benefit or who are not eligible for cash but are disabled due to a
condition in the medical listing).
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THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
WASHINGTON or 20201
USA
FEB 13 1995
The Honorable E. Clay Shaw
Chairman. Subcommittee on Human Resources
Committee on Ways and Means
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington D.C. 20515
Dear Mr. Chairman:
This letter expresses the Administration's views on the Chairman's mark for welfare reform
legislation under consideration by the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human
Resources.
The Administration shares the commitment of the Congress and the American people to real
welfare reform that emphasizes work, parental responsibility, state flexibility, and the
protection of children. Last year, the President submitted a bold welfare reform bill, the
Work and Responsibility Act of 1994, which embodied these values. It imposed tough work
requirements while providing opportunities for education, training, child care and supports to
working people. It included a stringent set of child support enforcement provisions. It.
required each teen mother to live at home, stay in school and identify her baby's father. It
increased state flexibility without sacrificing accountability. And it maintained a basic
structure of protections for children.
The Administration looks forward to working cooperatively with the Congress in a bipartisan
way to pass bold welfare reform legislation this year. The Administration has, however,
serious concerns about a number of features of the Chairman's mark that appear to
undermine the values to which we are all committed. The Administration seeks to end
welfare as we know it by promoting work, family and responsibility, not by punishing poor
children for their parents' mistakes. Welfare reform will succeed only if it successfully
moves people from welfare to work.
Work
For years, Republicans and Democrats alike have agreed that the central goal of welfare
reform must be work. That is still our goal: People who can work ought to go to work and
earn a paycheck not a welfare check. The Administration believes that no adult who is able
to work should receive welfare for an unlimited time without working. The Administration
believes that from the first day someone comes onto welfare, he or she should be required to
participate in job search, job placement, education, or training needed to move off welfare
and into a job quickly. It is government's responsibility to help ensure that the critical job
placement, training, and child care services are provided. Individuals who are willing to
work should have the opportunity to work and not be arbitrarily cut off assistance.
The Administration therefore has serious concerns about the Chairman's mark before you:
It eliminates requirements that recipients participate in job search. education,
work or training as a condition of receiving welfare, and ends any
responsibility of state welfare systems to provide education, training and
placement services to move recipients from welfare to work. The proposed
legislation effectively repeals the bipartisan Family Support Act signed by
President Ronald Reagan in 1988.
The proposed legislation includes only minimal and unenforceable
requirements that recipients work. The bill requires only that persons on the
rolls for more than 2. years engage in "work activities" loosely defined by the
state welfare bureaucracy, rather than a real work requirement. The proposed
participation standards are very low. In many ways, the work requirements
are even weaker than those in current law.
The proposed legislation provides no assurance of child care to recipients who
work or are preparing to work--even if a state requires them to participate. It
offers no promise of child care for those who leave welfare for work or for
those who could avoid falling onto welfare if they had some help with child
care. While it repeals provisions of existing law that provide funding for child
care, this bill is silent on whether any additional funds will be available for
subsidized child care for low income working families.
The proposed legislation repeals the current rule that anyone who leaves
welfare for work can receive Medicaid for an additional year to ease the
transition. This would further reduce health care coverage and make it harder
for people to move from welfare to work.
The proposed legislation would deny all cash assistance to families that have
received assistance for more than five years, even if the adult in the family is
unable to find a job or prevented from holding a job because of illness or the
need to care for a disabled family member. Children would be seriously
jeopardized even if their parents cannot find any work.
The Administration supports an alternative approach that would genuinely transform the
welfare system into a transitional system focused on work. It would have strict requirements
for recipients to participate in and clear responsibilities for states to provide education,
training and placement assistance; it would have serious time limits after which work would
be required; it would ensure that children would not be left alone when parents were working
by providing assistance for child care; it would put parents to work, not just cut them off;
and it would ensure that children can expect support from two parents.
2
Parental Responsibility
The Administration believes that welfare reform should recognize the responsibility and
encourage the involvement of both parents in their children's lives. The Administration
considers child support enforcement to be an integral part of welfare reform, particularly
because it sends a strong message to young people about the responsibility of both parents to
support their children. The Administration was pleased that you had agreed to add child
support enforcement to your welfare reform bill, and sorry that your proposals are not yet
part of the bill now under consideration. The Administration looks forward to working
closely with you on this issue in the coming weeks.
The only child support provision included in the Chairman's mark is one that
allows states to reduce payments to children for the first 6 months if paternity
has not been legally established. This provision seems ineffectual and unfair.
Even if a mother fully cooperates by giving detailed information identifying
the father and his possible location, and even if the state is diligent in pursuing
the father. it can easily take 6 months to get paternity legally established.
There is no reason why the child should be punished during this period.
The Administration believes that it makes far more sense to deny benefits entirely to any
parent who refuses to identify the father or to cooperate in locating him. However, once the
mother has done all she can, the family should qualify for aid, and then the state should
establish paternity within one year.
The Administration believes that the welfare system should encourage the formation and
support of two-parent families. The Administration is therefore concerned about an
important omission in the proposed legislation:
The proposed legislation would encourage the break-up of families by
repealing the requirement that states provide cash assistance to two-parent
families in which a parent is unemployed or unable to work. It allows states
to discriminate against married, two-parent families by treating single-parent
families better than two-parent families.
The Administration supports an approach that both encourages the formation of two-parent
families and makes sure that both parents take responsibility for children in all cases.
Teen Pregnancy
The Administration and the American people agree that the best reform of welfare would be
to ensure that people do not need it in the first place. Welfare reform must send a very
strong message to young people that they should not get pregnant or father a child until they
are ready and able to care for that child, and that if they do have children, they will not be
3
able to escape the obligations and responsibilities of parenthood. We must be especially
concerned about the well-being of the children who are born to young mothers. since they
are very likely to grow up poor.
The Administration therefore has serious concerns about the bill before you:
The proposed legislation would deny all federal cash benefits for eighteen
years to any child born to an unmarried mother under 18, as well as to the
parent. This provision appears to punish children for their entire childhood--
18 years--for the mistakes of their parents.
The proposed legislation does not require that teen mothers live at home, stay
in school, and identify the child's father. It weakens requirements in current
law, and may make the prospects for mother and child even worse.
The proposed legislation establishes only minimal expectations for states to
provide services to unmarried parents. and provides no additional funds to
support them.
The Administration supports an alternative approach that would require minor mothers to live
at home, stay in school, make progress toward self-sufficiency, and identify the father of the
child. The Administration also supports a national campaign to prevent teen pregnancy. It is
time to enlist parents and civic, religious. and business leaders in a community based strategy
to send a clear message about abstinence and responsible parenting. The Administration also
supports a state option not to increase benefits for children born to mothers on welfare. This
decision should be made by the state, not the federal government.
State Flexibility with Accountability
The Administration embraces the creativity and responsiveness of states, and the
opportunities for real reform when states have the flexibility to design and administer welfare
programs tailored to their unique circumstances and needs. Already this Administration has
granted waivers to nearly half the states for welfare reform demonstrations. National welfare
reform should embody the values of work and responsibility in a way that assures taxpayers
that federal money is being spent prudently and appropriately. For reform to succeed, the
funding mechanisms for welfare should not put children or states at risk in times of
recession, population increase or unpredictable growth in demand.
In this context, the Administration has serious concerns about the proposed legislation:
o
The spending cap in the proposed legislation makes no allowances for potential
growth in the need for cash assistance because of economic downturn,
population growth, or unpredictablé emergencies. It could result in states
4
running out of money before the end of the year. and thus having to turn away
working families who hit a. "bump in the road" and apply for short-term
assistance. It could preclude states from investing in job placement, in work
programs, in education and training, and in supports for working families.
The proposed legislation removes the requirement that states match federal
funds with their own state funds. With none of their own money at risk, states
will have many fewer incentives to spend the funds efficiently and effectively
to improve performance and increase self-sufficiency
The proposed legislation provides virtually no accountability There are no
incentives for good performance and virtually no penalties for failure. There is
no provision for the recovery of monies paid out fraudulently or in error.
There are no mechanisms for ensuring that states are actually spending the
money on needy children rather than on state bureaucracies, or for monitoring
whether federal money is being used to help parents gain self-sufficiency,
require work, and enforce parental responsibility. Indeed, the federal
government is forbidden from taking any meaningful steps to ensure program
performance and accountability.
The Administration supports proposals that significantly increase state flexibility but also
ensure accountability for achieving national goals. The Administration supports a funding
mechanism that will not put children and states at risk down the road, and that enables states
to succeed in moving people from welfare to work and in supporting working families. The
Administration has significant doubts about the ability of a pure block grant funding
mechanism to adequately protect both children and states.
Protection of Children
The Administration recognizes that the protection of children is the primary goal both of cash
assistance programs and of child welfare and child protective services. Cash assistance
programs assist families to care for children in their own homes. Child protection services
help those children who are abused or neglected or at risk of abuse by their parents and who
need special in-home services or out of home placements to assure their safety. Strengthening
families, and where appropriate, preventing removal of children from their homes also are,
key goals of child protection services. There are problems in a number of areas.
Denial of Benefits to Children on AFDC
The legislative proposals that would reform cash assistance have a number of provisions that
would put vulnerable children at greater risk.
5
As noted above. the legislation would deny cash assistance to children of
unmarried minor mothers for their entire childhood, to children born while the
parent was on welfare. and to children whose parent had received welfare for
more than five years. whether or not a job was available or the parent was
unable to work. The funding caps could have the effect of denying cash
assistance to children when states used up their allocated funds. for whatever
reasons: Children in low income working families, who may be forced onto
cash assistance in times of economic downturn, could be most affected.
Child Protection Services
Some of these children could well come into a system of child protection services that is
already seriously overburdened and that is failing to provide the most essential services.
Reported child maltreatment and out-of-home placements have both been increasing sharply
Many state systems are in such distress that they have been placed under judicial oversight.
The proposed legislation responds to these increasingly serious problems by consolidating
existing programs that protect children into a block grant with nominal federal oversight.
The Administration has serious concerns about this approach.
The proposed legislation caps spending for child protection programs at a level
considerably lower than baseline projections. This could lead to uninvestigated
maltreatment reports. and to children being left in unsafe homes with minimal
services. It could also seriously hamper states' efforts to improve their child
abuse prevention and child protection systems.
The proposed legislation eliminates the adoption assistance programs, and
leaves it up to states whether they will significantly sustain the subsidies that
enable many special needs children to find permanent homes, and whether they
will honor commitments to those adoptive families that now receive subsidies.
The proposed legislation virtually eliminates federal monitoring and
accountability mechanisms. It makes it impossible for the federal government
to ensure the protection of children.
The proposed legislation is silent on the formula for allocating funds to the
states. Because of serious imbalances among the states in spending on child
protection, it is hard to imagine a formula that would not disadvantage either
states that have been heavy spenders, or states that are only beginning to
improve their systems.
Substantial improvements need to be made in the child protection system and in the federal
role in overseeing that system. The Administration supports a careful and thoughtful review
of the programs before actions are taken that might seriously harm millions of vulnerable
children.
6
Denial of Benefits to Disabled Children on SSI
The Administration is deeply troubled by the changes proposed in the program designed to
help disabled children--SSI.
The proposed legislation essentially eliminates SSI benefits for children, with
the exception of a small group of children currently receiving benefits. Within
6 months, over one hundred thousand disabled children would lose eligibility
for SSI benefits--some would lose medical protection as well. And in the
future, no child, no matter how disabled, will be eligible for any cash benefits
for SSI, except if cash benefits prevent them from having to be
institutionalized. These proposals appear to penalize parents who are
determined to care for their child no matter what the economic consequences
for the family. SSI recipients are among the neediest and most vulnerable
children, in the poorest families.
Some of the money saved is put into a new block grant for services to disabled
children, which would require the creation of a new state bureaucracy to
decide on appropriate services. This idea is untested, and no one knows what
impact it will have on the most vulnerable of children and the parents who
care for them. The 5-year cut off in AFDC fór all persons along with the
elimination of SSI cash for disabled children may leave these children
extremely vulnerable.
The Administration sees the need for careful reform in this area, with its potential for serious
harm to extremely vulnerable children. Last year the Congress established a Commission on
Childhood Disability to look into these issues in consultation with experts from the National
Academy of Sciences. The Commission will provide its report to the Congress later this
year. The Administration believes prudence dictates waiting for this short time until this
bipartisan commission, following a thorough review of all aspects of this important program,
has an opportunity to make recommendations.
Benefits to Legal Immigrants
The Administration strongly believes that illegal aliens should not be eligible for government
welfare support. But the blanket prohibition of all benefits to legal immigrants who are not
yet citizens is too broad, and would shift substantial burdens to state and local taxpayers.
These legal immigrants are required to pay taxes. Many serve in the armed forces, and
contribute to their communities. The Administration strongly favors a more focused
approach of holding sponsors accountable for those they bring into this country and making
the sponsors' commitment of support a legally binding contract.
7
In summary, the Chairman's mark espouses goals for the reform of welfare--work. parental
responsibility, prevention of teen pregnancy and state flexibility--that the Administration and
the American people share. But the translation of general goals into specific legislation
misses the mark in fundamental ways. The proposed legislation does not represent serious
work-based reform. It does nothing to move people from welfare to work, and it does not
require everyone who can work go to work. It neither holds state bureaucracies accountable
nor cushions state taxpayers against recession. It puts millions of children at risk of serious
harm. There are alternative approaches to reform that achieve our mutual goals in far more
constructive and accountable ways.
The Administration reiterates its commitment to real welfare reform and its desire to work
cooperatively with Congress to achieve it.
The Office of Management and Budget advises that there is no objection to the transmittal of
this report to Congress.
A similar letter was sent to Representative Harold E. Ford.
Sincerely,
Dr see
Donna E. Shalala
CC: Members of the Subcommittee on Human Resources
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