Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
34429087
label
Quality Checklist/Consumer Education
core
doc
dtoType
document
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
34429087
sourceUrl
contentType
document
title
Quality Checklist/Consumer Education
citationUrl
collections
Records of the First Lady's Office (Clinton Administration)
Jennifer Klein's Files
imageCount
1
hasImages
yes
source
import
hasTranscription
no
Source extras
naId
34429087
levelOfDescription
fileUnit
otherTitles
42-t-7422560-20140536S-042-009-2016
recordType
description
ocrSource
nara-archive
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
document
mediaId
e2f95f5f2b042835
ocrText
Q and A for event with Shalala
1. Why are you doing this event now? Is it because your child care initiative is in so much
trouble?
2. Why are you attaching your money to tobacco? What is the connection?
DRAFT: The tobacco settlement should be spent on initiatives that will help our childen develop
into healthy adults. Child care is one aspect of children's well-being that is critical to their overall
well-being.
3. Why are you doing this event? Why isn't the President more vocal on child care? Since the
announcement in January he has done only one event on the subject, whereas he's done X
education events.
4. The President has recently criticized the Senate Budget Resolution on the grounds that it
didn't include his priorities, yet he didn't mention child care -- why?
5. No child care bill is moving on the Hill and House leaders in particular have stated their
opposition to your initiative. How do you plan to overcome that?
6. Every comprehensive Democratic child care bill on the Hill supports stay-at-home parents.
Why don't you?
7. The Republicans have proposed spending the money from the tobacco settlement on tax cuts
for medical expenses, which they argue, will increase health insurance coverage. What do you
think of their initiative? Shouldn't we spend it on that versus child care? Isn't that more of a
compelling problem?
Get guidance from Chris.
8. HHS recently released a study that indicated the investments in early education do not pay off.
Yet your early learning fund relies on such programs. Do you still feel this is a wise investment?
9. As we understand it, your proposal to expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit will
only help a small number of people, and not even the most in need. Is this a wise use of scarce
resources?
10. Conservative groups criticize your plan as supporting only paid care, which is only X percent
of all care. Shouldn't you support all forms of care for our children? Why discriminate between
different kinds of care?
03/16/98 MON 20:47 FAX 2026905673
DHHS/ASPA
5
003
Gerber
R
GERBER PRODUCTS COMPANY 445 STATE STREET FREMONT, MICHIGAN 49413-0001
PHONE: (616) 928-2000
February 25, 1998
Melissa Skolfield
Room 647D
Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Ave. SW
Washington, DC 20201
FAX: 202 690 6247
Dear Melissa,
I am quite surprised that almost a year has passed since HHS, Tipper Gore and Gerber
worked together on the Back to Sleep Campaign. Without question the people at Gerber
who worked on this collaboration have been deeply touched by the enormous success of
the effort. Data from Dr. Alexander confirmed that the effort truly saved lives. Given
this success, we would like to work with you again.
I want to confirm our preliminary discussions about working with Secretary Shalala on
the President's Child Care initiative. I thought if I put our interest in writing it would be
helpful for you in accessing it. We continue to believe that Gerber's unique ability to
communicate with new parents via cereal backs, direct mail, Gerber web site, and our 800
number provides a great opportunity to get critical information on child care to those
parents.
Gerber, as part of Novartis, recently initiated a partnership with General Colin Powell's
organization, America's Promise. In addition to publicizing information about America's
Promise in our marketing materials, we feel that a collaborative effort with you on
communicating child care issues to young parents would also be a great way to
demonstrate Gerber's commitment to keep America's promise to youth.
We are interested in working with you to develop a list of the most important factors
parents should look for in child care and communicating those tips through infant cereal
backs, our direct mail, and our 800 number, as we did with the Back to Sleep campaign.
/
We are also working with America's Promise to hold an event in May with General
Powell and would be delighted if Secretary Shalala could participate to publicly announce
our collaboration on child care. An event involving Secretary Shalala and General
Powell should have high potential to highlight the President's effort on child care as well
as America's Promise.
Babies are our business
®
RECYCLED PAPER
03/16/98 MON 20:48 FAX 2026905673
DHHS/ASPA
1
004
I understand that you are currently in the process of developing your overall strategy on
child care and I am anxious to see how a collaboration with Gerber may fit into to your
plans. Obviously, the sooner we can reach an agreement, the easier it will be to arrange
schedules. All of us at Gerber look forward to working with you on getting this
important information to new parents.
Sincerely,
Uu
Van G. Hindes
Director of Corporate Affairs
cc: Tim Hanton
America's Promise
03/16/98 MON 20:48 FAX 2026905673
DHHS/ASPA
005
To: Melissa Skolfield@ASPA
From: Sarah Gegenheimer@ASPA
Cc:
Bcc:
Subject: Gerber
Attachment:
Date: 3/16/98 3:11 PM
Hello --
I spoke to Joan Lombardi about possible Gerber child care initiatives that
would be useful to us + rise to the level of a Secretarial event. Joan
suggests that the Secretary follow-up the President's most recent child care
announcement by reemphasizing need for legislation, releasing the
compilation of best practices on consumer education now in clearance, and
announcing that Gerber will help by distributing the guide to every child
care resource and referral agency in the country. The Secretary would also
announce that Gerber will include tips for choosing quality child care for
infants and toddlers on its cereal boxes and in mailings to parents.
Joan sent me the tips for choosing child care document, and I will leave it
on Phyllis' desk for you. It would need to be pared down to fit on a cereal
box.
Please let me know what you think.
Thx
Sarah
Interview
Four Steps to Selecting
Check References
a Child Care Provider
Make the Decision
Stay Involved
1. Interview Caregivers
Call First
Ask
Is there an opening for my child?
Do you provide transportation?
What hours and days are you open and
Do you provide meals (breakfast, lunch,
where are you located?
dinner, snacks)?
How much does care cost? Is financial
Do you have a license, accreditation, or
assistance available?
other certification?
How many children are in your care?
When can I come to visit?
What age groups do you serve?
Visit Next (Visit more than once, stay as long as you can!)
Look for
Responsive, nurturing, warm interactions
A variety of toys and learning materials,
between caregiver and children.
such as books, puzzles, blocks, and
Children who are happily involved in
climbing equipment, that your child will
daily activities and comfortable with their
find interesting and which will contribute
caregiver.
to their growth and development.
A clean, safe, and healthy indoor and
Children getting individual attention.
outdoor environment, especially
napping, eating and toileting areas.
Ask
Can I visit at any time?
Where do children nap? Do you know
How do you handle discipline?
that babies should go to sleep on their
What do you do if a child is sick?
backs?
What would you do in case of an
What training have you (and other
emergency?
staff/substitutes) had?
Are all children and staff required to be
May I see a copy of your license or other
immunized?
certification?
Do you have a substitute or back-up
May I have a list of parents (current and
caregiver?
former) who have used your care?
III.MAN
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
Child Care Bureau
2. Check References
Ask other parents
Was the caregiver reliable on a daily
Was the caregiver respectful of your
basis?
values and culture?
How did the caregiver discipline your
Would you recommend the caregiver
child?
without reservation?
Did your child enjoy the child care
If your child is no longer with the
experience?
caregiver, why did you leave?
How did the caregiver respond to you as
a parent?
Ask the local child care resource and referral program or licensing office
What regulations should child care providers meet in my area?
Is there a record of complaints about the child care provider I am considering and how do I find
out about it?
3. Make the Decision for Quality Care
From what you heard and saw, ask yourself
Which child care should I choose so that
Is the child care available and affordable
my child will be happy and grow?
according to my family's needs and
Which caregiver can meet the special
resources?
needs of my child?
Do I feel good about my decision?
Are the caregiver's values compatible
with my family's values?
4. Stay Involved
Ask yourself.
How can I arrange my schedule so that I
How can I work with my caregiver to
can
resolve issues and concerns that may
-
talk to my caregiver every day?
arise?
- talk to my child every day about how
How do I keep informed about my child's
the day went?
growth and development while in care?
-
visit and observe my child in care at
How can I promote good working
different times of the day?
conditions for my child care provider?
- be involved in my child's activities?
How can I network with other parents?
These steps are only the beginning. Gather as much information as possible to help you find the
best care for your child. To find the Child Care Resource and Referral Program nearest you, call
Child Care Aware: (800) 424-2246. For more complete guidelines on health and safety in child
care, call the National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care: (800) 598-KIDS (5437).