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Office of the Press Secretary
http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/EOP/F..lspeeches/1997/19971023-16352.html
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
October 23, 1997
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AND FIRST LADY
AT WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE ON CHILD CARE
The East Room
10:00 A.M. EDT
MRS. CLINTON: Thank you and please be seated, and welcome to the White House
Conference on Child Care. We are delighted to have with us in the East Room today
members of Congress and the President's Cabinet, other officials from the government here
in Washington. We have many elected officials from around the country and a great group
of distinguished guests, including parents and experts in this important issue.
I also want to greet the hundreds of people gathered at the Departments of Agriculture,
Labor, and Health and Human Services here in Washington, and to the thousands more who
are joining us via satellite from the more than 100 sites at universities, hospitals and schools
and businesses around the country.
I'd like to take a minute for all of us to think about what's happening in America this
morning, and about what happens every morning. Parents are making the preparations to get
to work, and those preparations include for most working families putting their children in
the care of others. And most, even before they're out the door, are worrying about the
logistics of the care that their children will receive. Some are even worrying about the safety
or quality of that care.
There are many who are wondering whether they would get better quality care if they could
pay more. Others are struggling to determine how they'll be able to afford next month's
payment. And there are many who are in the work force who worry every day about how
they'll care for their child and hold down the job that they need. Many parents will go to
work, but have trouble focusing on work because they are worried about the sniffle that
their daughter had or wondering how their son is faring.
And before we finish today, many more working parents will keep looking anxiously at the
clock and will murmur into telephones the instructions that their children need after school,
because their concerns don't end at the end of the day for their children's school time,
because parents won't get home, so that they have to worry about what happens to keep their
child safe and well occupied during those hours, as well.
These are just some of the questions that America's parents are asking themselves this
morning and every morning that they prepare to go to work. Some parents ask themselves
these questions in the afternoon, as they prepare to go to a swing shift, or at midnight as
they start to work in one of the other jobs that are essential to keeping our economy strong.
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Earlier this month I went to the University of Maryland to visit its center for young children,
and as soon as I walked in the door I knew immediately it was the kind of place any of us
would feel comfortable sending our children. I was, frankly, tempted to sign up myself. The
walls were painted bright colors. There was lots of natural light. The workers there were
creative, energetic and focused. Inside there were toys and crafts material. Outside there was
a playground. And the children looked happy and occupied and full of energy.
Now, later I left the center to make a speech, and after the speech I opened the floor to
questions. And the very first question was one that I thought summed up the dilemma that
we face today. It came from a divorced mother who works full-time as a secretary at the
university. To send her 4-year-old son to the center I had visited, she told me, would cost
$6,000 a year, a quarter of her income, and she just couldn't do it. She had to do some real
juggling to get the situation that she told me about. She was able to send her son to another
less expensive center because she qualified for a scholarship, and she moved back in with
her parents. Otherwise, she said, I would have to quit my job and go on welfare, and then I
would have to worry about who would watch my child as I looked for a job.
She and so many women like her are the reason we are here today, and parents like Paula
Broglio, who is here with us in the East Room, represent the millions of parents who worry
about this important issue. Thirteen million American children spend all or some of their
day being cared for by someone other than their parent. Yet, a recent national study found
that child care at most centers in our country is, "poor to mediocre, with almost half of the
infants and toddlers in rooms having less than minimal quality."
The study also concluded that fully 40 percent of the rooms serving infants in centers
provided care that was of such poor quality as to jeopardize children's health, safety or
development. A recent University of Colorado at Denver survey of child care in four states
found only one in seven child care centers to be of good quality.
And quality care, as Paula and so many others know, when it is available is often financially
out of reach. According to the 1995 census, families earning under $1,200 a month or less
than $15,000 a year pay an average of 25 percent of their income for child care. Middle
class families are hit hard as well. These families, earning up to $36,000 a year pay 12
percent of their income for child care.
The urgency of this conference today to focus on child care is heightened by the new
scientific information we have about the emotional and intellectual development of young
children. As we learned at the White House Conference on Early Childhood Development
in April, what happens to a child in the earliest years affects how well he or she learns for a
lifetime. With 45 percent of our children under the age of one in day care regularly, the
issue of quality has tremendous bearing not just on individual lives, but on the future of our
nation.
What's more, we now know from other studies that good care, whether given at home or in a
day care setting, is good care. Done right, day care can be beneficial for children, and it is,
therefore, worth our investment.
There's another reason that compels us to act, and that is demand. Demand for quality child
care is growing, hastened on by our new economy, which has meant in the last 40 years
dramatic changes in the American work force and in the American family's life. We know,
for example, that half of all mothers with children under one year of age are working outside
the home, and not only are more parents working, they are working longer hours. Also, with
welfare reform we know that many more children will be needing quality child care.
So this conference is meant to start a conversation. It is only one day, but we hope it is a day
that will renew our efforts to improve child care in America. We also hope it will involve
our entire national community, because every aspect of our life together must be involved in
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looking for solutions. The federal government has a role to play, but so do state
governments, business and labor, the nonprofit and religious communities, school systems,
individual citizens, and especially parents.
We also know there are models of excellent child care around the country and we will hear
about some of them like the military's day care system or the Smart Start Program in
North Carolina. These initiatives provide examples of best practices and can energize and
inspire us to do more.
We also know how important it is to ensure choice for parents in their selection of child
care. One size fits all child care does not fit America's families. We don't work the same
hours, we don't have the same economic or other kinds of pressures that we're dealing with,
so we have to provide more options and we have to empower parents with good information
to enable them to become good consumers. We also have to find ways that would make it
easier and more affordable for parents who want to stay home with their children for some
period of time to be able to afford to do so.
So I hope we approach this conversation with a certain fearlessness, with the same kind of
energy that I see on the face of a three or four-year-old who's going about some task that he
knows will occupy himself. We need to have the same kind of fearless approach, asking the
hard questions and then listening to the answers.
There will be a lot of questions raised today questions about how to ensure the safety of
every child in child care; how to do a better job of training and paying care-givers; how to
encourage more employers to provide child care benefits of some variety to employees; how
to make successful after-school programs more widely available; how to meet the needs of
children with disabilities; how to better support parents who choose, often at significant
cost, to stay home with their children; how to ensure that quality and affordability do not
come at the expense of one another; and how to learn from the good models that we have in
every community and state of our country; and, also, how do we leave ideology at the door
and honestly address the real needs of America's families.
These are tough questions, and there are many more that we will be considering today. But
we consider these questions at an opportune time. And we hope that this conference will
spur the conversations around kitchen tables and water coolers and standing in supermarket
aisles or at soccer games, or while going to or from work in the carpool -- whatever it takes
to engage more Americans in this discussion, to make it clear that we want American
parents to succeed at the most important task they have, caring for the next generation, and
to be good workers who contribute to the economy and the quality of life that we enjoy in
our country.
Now I'd like to address your attention to a video produced by New Screen Concepts, in
association with the Families and Work Institute, entitled, "Why Should We Care about
Child Care?"
(Video is shown.)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Welcome to the White House. Thank you very
much, Kathy Carliner, for your remarkable statement. And I thought you were very good in
the film. Rob Reiner wants to give you a screen test. (Laughter.)
I am so happy to see all of you here. There are many people here who might well be
introduced, but I think I must start with the people who are terribly important to whether we
will be able to fully achieve our part of the great agenda we are going to lay out today the
members of Congress who are here. And I'd like to call their names, and then when I finish,
ask them all to stand.
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Senator Herb Kohl, who sponsored legislation on child care; Senator Jack Reed;
Congressman Bill Clay; Congressman Sandy Levin; Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro;
Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey; Congresswoman Sue Kelly; Congresswoman Maxine
Waters; Congressman Xavier Becerra; and Congressman Nick Lampson. Would the
members of Congress who are here please stand. Thank you for coming. (Applause.)
I'd also like to thank my longtime friend Hillary and I have been friends of Governor Jim
Hunt and his wife, Carolyn, who are here, for almost 20 years now. And I think Governor
Romer is here or on his way. Mayor Clever, we're glad to see you. And John Sweeney, the
head of the AFL-CIO, and others who have come to be with us today, I thank you very
much.
This is a happy day at the White House, first for all the people in the administration and all
those who have worked with them for months and months and months to help this day come
to pass; and second, and even more important, from my point of view, this is a happy day
because I have been listening to the First Lady talk about this for more than 25 years now
(laughter) and it may be that I will finally be able to participate in at least a small fraction
of what I have been told for a long time I should be doing. (Laughter.) And I say that in
good humor, but also with great seriousness.
This is an anniversary of sorts for me. It was six years ago today as a newly-announced
candidate for President that I went back to my alma mater at Georgetown and began a series
of three speeches outlining what I thought America ought to look like in the 21 st century
and what I thought we would have to do to create a country in which everyone had an
opportunity, everyone was expected to be a responsible citizen, and where we came together
across all the lines that divide us into one community.
There are many things that are necessary for that to be done, but clearly two of them are,
first, people in this country have to be able to succeed at work and at home in raising their
children. And if we put people in the position of essentially having to chose one over the
other, our country is going to be profoundly weakened. Obviously, if people are worried
sick about their children, and they fail at work, it's not just individual firms, it's the
economic fabric and strength of the country that is weakened. Far more important, if people
fail at home, they have failed in our most important job, and our most solemn responsibility.
Second, we'll never be the kind of country we ought to be unless we believe that every child
counts and that every child ought to have a chance to make the most of his or her God-given
abilities.
That's why we're here today to examine where we are and what we still have to do. And
what we still have to do is quite a lot, to make sure we live by what we believe when we say
that all parents should be able to succeed at home and at work and that every child counts.
No parent should ever have to chose between work and family; between earning a decent
wage and caring for a child. Especially in this day and age when most parents work, nothing
is more important, as you have just heard Kathy Carliner say, than finding child care that is
affordable, accessible, and safe. It is America's next great frontier, in strengthening our
families and our future.
As the Catholic Conference has noted, no government can love a child and no policy can
substitute for a family's care. But there is much that we can do to help parents do their duty
to their children. From my days as governor of Arkansas to my service as President,
strengthening families has been a central goal of what I have worked on. I'm very proud that
the first bill I had the opportunity to sign into law as President was the Family and Medical
Leave Act, so that no parent has to choose between caring for a child or keeping a job when
a family member is ill.
The expanded earned income tax credit helps to ensure that parents who work don't have to
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raise their children in poverty. No one who is out there working full-time with children
should have to worry about that. Expanded Head Start programs are serving more families
than ever before. We've collected record sums of child support enforcement. The historic
balanced budget I signed this summer provides a $500-per-child tax credit and helps parents
to pay for their children's college education through IRAs, expanded loans and Pell Grants,
the HOPE Scholarship and other tax credits.
The Congress has before it now a program of Secretary Riley's called 21st Century
Community Schools in which we ask for funds to help our states keep our schools open
after classroom hours for children who have no place else to go and need that environment.
We've also made some progress on child care. Since 1993, child care assistance has
increased by 70 percent to help families pay for nearly a million children. Last year in the
welfare reform debate, we fought and won the battle to expand child care assistance by $4
billion over the next six years, giving states an unprecedented opportunity to lead, to
innovate in efforts to make child care more affordable.
But we have to do more. With more families required to rely on two incomes to make ends
meet, with more single-parent families than ever, more young children are left in the care of
others even in their earliest years. And as the First Lady said, we learned at our Conference
on Early Childhood and the Brain, that's when children develop or fail to develop capacities
that will shape the entire rest of their lives. It's also true that more and more schoolchildren
are returning to empty homes after school.
The first thing we have to do is to make it possible for parents to spend time with their
children whenever possible. That's why I hope the Congress will vote to expand the Family
and Medical Leave law so that parents at least can take some time off for their children's
medical appointments, teacher conferences and other basic duties. And I support flex-time
laws that will allow workers to choose between receiving overtime in pay or in time off with
their families.
But during those times when children can't be with their parents, they must get care that
keeps them safe and that helps them to learn and grow. As we all know, too often that isn't
the case. Too often, child care is unaffordable, inaccessible and, sometimes, even unsafe.
The cost, as Hillary said, strains millions of family budgets. And government assistance
meets just about a quarter of the need. Even for those who can afford it, sometimes good
care is hard to find, as Kathy said in her remarks. Waiting lists sometimes takes months or
years to move, forcing many parents to cobble together unstable arrangements.
The shortage of care puts older children at risk, as well. Five million of them between the
ages of five and 14 are left to fend for themselves after school. And as they get older, that
increases the chances that they'll be exposed to drugs, tobacco and crime.
Finally, studies have shown that too many child care facilities are literally unsafe. The
tragedies that have befallen families who depended on child care continue to make headlines
all across our nation. This conference is an important step forward in addressing all these
issues. What we learn today should spur us on to find ways to help parents, all parents,
afford safe, affordable, high quality child care, whether it's at home, a child care center or a
neighbor's house.
In the coming months, our administration will develop a plan to be unveiled at the next
State of the Union, to improve access and affordability, and to help to ensure the safety of
child care in America. In the meantime, I want to announce four specific things we can do
right now.
First, I'm asking Congress to establish a new scholarship fund for child care providers.
(Applause.) Too many care-givers don't have the training they need to provide the best
possible care. Those who do have training are rarely compensated with higher wages. The
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scholarship program I propose will help students earn their degrees as long as they remain
in the child care field for at least a year, and it will ensure that care-givers who complete
their training will receive a bonus or a raise.
Second, we have to weed out the people who have no business taking care of our children in
the first place. I am transmitting to Congress the National Crime Prevention and Privacy
Compact, which will make background checks on child care providers easier and more
effective by eliminating state barriers to sharing criminal histories for this specific purpose.
I urge Congress to pass and states to ratify this legislation.
Third, I've asked Secretary Rubin to oversee a working group on child care, composed
primarily of business leaders working with labor and community representatives to find
ways more businesses can provide child care or help their employees afford high quality
child care. And again, I thank John Sweeney for his important support of this initiative.
(Applause.) In some ways the most gripping part of that film we saw was the father talking
about how he was just consumed with worry at work. No parent should ever have to go
through that.
Finally, we must use community service to strengthen and expand access to after-school
programs. Today, the Corporation for National Service through its To Learn and Grow
Initiative will pledge to help after-school programs all across our country to use volunteers
to provide better care to children. It is releasing a how-to manual for groups who want to
incorporate community service into after-school programs. And I think that, Secretary
Riley, if we can win in our little budget battle here on the 21 century community schools,
then together, we can do some real good out there on this issue.
My friends, for centuries, over two now, the American Dream has represented a compact
that those who work hard and play by the rules should be able to build better lives for
themselves and for their children. In this time, and even more into the future, child care that
is too expensive, unsafe or unavailable will be a very stubborn obstacle to realizing that
dream. So let us commit ourselves to clearing the obstacle, to helping parents fulfill their
most sacred duty, to keeping the American Dream alive for them and most important, for
their children.
Thank you very much. (Applause.)
MRS. CLINTON: You know, Ellen, I think that your work over the last number of years
from the Families and Work Institute has really helped to highlight a lot of these issues. And
one of the most important audiences for this conference, of course, are parents. And I'd like
to ask you how we do a better job of empowering parents to make choices about working
and child care that are best for their families, and as a subsidiary of that, in particular, what
are your views about how we can support parents who want to stay home with their
children?
MS. GALINSKY: Well, have the notion in this country that there is a system of choice, but,
in fact, if you look at parents choosing child care, we find in our studies between 58 percent
and 75 percent of parents feel that they have zero other choices other than the arrangement
that they've chosen when they have child care. So, of course, we need to provide better
quality child care. And we need to provide the choice for families to stay at home that's a
real choice. And you talked about the earned income tax credit and you talked about family
medical leave. So it's income and it's programs and policies that support them.
But I think even more important is respect. Right now, I feel often when I talk to mothers
and fathers around the country that those mothers who work feel that they're doing
something wrong, that they're missing out on their child's life, that society is judging them
negatively. And the mothers who are staying at home feel that they're losing the opportunity
to earn money and that society is judging them negatively.
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So I think what we need to do is to you know, I keep wondering, what are we doing to
this generation of families? Let's really not only provide real choices, but let's respect them
in the choices that they make.
MRS. CLINTON: Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: I'd like to ask one question. First of all, I can't help saying this when I
heard you say that warm and responsive child care actually triggered a biochemical reaction
that reduced stress I wish we could have a center like that for the White House staff and
the Congress staff. (Laughter.) We may actually come up with a revolutionary new proposal
here today. (Laughter.)
Let me ask you a serious question. One of the things that I have, that I constantly try to deal
with here that I'm super sensitive to because I was a governor for 12 years before I came
here, is trying to determine who should do what what we can do and make a difference;
what we have to basically either exhort or incentivize or require some other people to do.
I was quite taken by the comment you made that only 36 hours of training of a child care
worker can make a huge difference. I can't help thinking there probably are a lot of young,
often single parents that might benefit from the same 36 hours of training. And I'm
wondering how you think that issue ought to be dealt with. Should states basically upgrade
their training standards and put funds into it? Should there be training centers established,
more than are there now, even if everybody were required to do it? Are there enough places
that do the training in all states?
Talk a little bit about how we might set up an infrastructure and pattern of training to give --
let's suppose we said within two years we wanted every child care provider, even people
who do it out of their home, wherever, to get the 36 hours of training, and we'd like it to be
open, let's say, to low-income parents who are having their first child how would we do
such a thing?
MS. GALINSKY: The block grant in child care actually, I think, was very helpful. Some of
the programs that we looked at were supported by that. And what they did was to let
communities determine how best to meet the needs of the people there. But what was
particularly interesting to me in that -- SO you need to make training available, you need to
also make it -- and I think your proposal is terribly important you need to make sure that
people who get training then make enough money to be able to stay in the field.
People came into the training in our study for, not so much to learn about kids, but they
came into training to figure out, what do I do Monday morning, how do I deal with business
practices, sort of the more practical aspects of how do I manage my job. And then they got
interested in kids and their development. And when that 18 to 36 hours of training was over,
almost everyone, more than 95 percent, wanted to continue their training and they wanted it
tied into a credentialing system. They wanted to get college credit for it. And then we
followed them over the next year or so and about half of them did get more training.
So it's not just that 36 hours is a magic number or that there's a magic bullet. It's the
opportunity to provide meaningful training, training that really helps people where they are
in their own development, and to have it continue.
THE PRESIDENT: But what percentage of the people who are now providing child care get
that kind of training? That's the question I'm trying to get.
MS. GALINSKY: Well, I don't really know the exact figure of that, but I don't think that it's
very many. I mean, in most states in the country all you have to do to start being a child care
provider is be alive and breathing and over 18 years old, and hopefully be a good person, as
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you're saying. And then you have to promise in many states to get training. In a study that
we have just finished and hasn't been released yet, even though they required 30 hours of
training in that state, very few people actually did it, and it was required. So it's not enough
to require it, we need to have a system that supports it.
In that particular study, there were obstacles to getting the training. It wasn't so easily
accessible and they couldn't have time off to do it. So we need to create training that is
available, affordable, nearby and good quality, and we need to have the whole child care
system support it. You have a requirement and then you don't enforce it, you might as well
not have it.
MRS. CLINTON: You know, that just reminds me of how often I've heard it said that we
have all kinds of licensing and professional requirements for people who do your hair or
other kinds of important functions. Why did I think of hair first? I don't know. (Laughter.)
Can't imagine. But we don't have anything like the same licensing, credentialing
requirements for people who hold themselves out as child care workers. So there is a real
disconnect between what we say is important and what we value and what we have systems
for supporting.
Thank, you, Ellen.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. I would just like to make a couple of observations. I thought
what you said was terrific. First of all, until the crime rate in America's been going down
for five years now, rather steeply, but it's been going up among people under 18. It may
have leveled off, maybe dropping a little bit now; we're hopeful. But if it is, it's because
more and more communities are doing what you suggested. We need another at least
another year to see whether it's changed.
But you are very familiar with what's been done in Boston, and one of the things that's been
done is the whole juvenile justice system has been geared to be warm and responsive.
Juvenile probation officers make house calls will police officers. And community groups
walk the streets in the afternoon to, basically, almost pick the kids up and give them things
to do and get them involved with things. And as far as I know, it's the only major city in
America where nobody under 18 has been killed by a gun in two years now. But, it's not
rocket science. It's a systematic attempt to take personal responsibility for all these children
after school. And I can tell you, you see the flip side of it in these juvenile crime rates it's
really touching and quite moving.
The other thing I wanted to say is I wonder if you have any sense, just as a practical matter,
of whether these programs tend to work better is they are school-based. And the reason I ask
that is I think that we fight these battles around here all the time of how to spend the school
money, and most money for schools comes from the state and local level, anyway. But I
think one of the biggest problems that these schools have on the issue you've talked about is
in school after school after school after school, financial problems have caused them to cut
back on their art programs, cut back on their music programs, cut back on their non-varsity
athletic programs, the things that children used to typically do after school or could stay
after school and do. The school districts as they're now budgeting and as they're now staffed
and under the rules under which they now labor, they cannot -- more and more schools are
dropping these programs. And I think it's disastrous, because a lot of it is just exactly how
children relate in kind of a nonlinear, just purely intellectual way that both of you have said
is so important. And I was wondering if you've seen that and if you think that's contributing
to the problem.
I mean, a lot of people, without any programs, used to just stay after school because there
was an art project, there was a music project, you were getting ready for a concert, the
intramural teams were playing. And this is you know, there are huge school districts in
this country where all of these things are a thing of the past. People look at you like you've
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lost your mind when you talk about this now; they haven't had these things in years.
And it may be that one of the things we ought to be exploring is whether we can reinstitute
some of these things in the lives of our schools that would naturally lead to an out-of-school
atmosphere so they wouldn't think about adopting a new program approach. Anyway, I just
kind of wanted to ask you that: Are the schools the best place if they work, or does it not
matter if you do it right?
MS. SELIGSON: I think it should be a matter of whoever is ready, willing and able to do
after-school programs. And I think if schools are ready, willing and able to do them and to
find the resources to make them enriching and creative environments, then schools should
be the place. But it's not an either-or situation, because really schools can partner with
community-based organizations, and most of the school-based care that's out there right
now looks like that. It looks like partnerships with the Y or with community organizations.
And then there are some school districts that have put money behind after-school care
because they see it in their best interestS to do that in terms of what the outcomes will be for
the kids. And some Title I money is going into after school programs. So I think all of it
possible. I don't see the schools as the only locus. And because there is such local autonomy
about decision-making, the local school board makes those decisions, it's very much a
community-by-community decision.
MRS. CLINTON: Can you speak more, though, about what makes up a good after school
program? What are the components that you would look for as a parent or as a community
leader who wanted to provide such a service in your community? Because sometimes I
worry that, just as the President was saying, a lot of what we took for granted when we were
growing up is no longer readily available. And a lot of the after-school programs that I visit
or that I hear about seem so academically oriented, they're not letting kids sort of blow off
steam and explore other talents and be part of doing something different. So perhaps you
could talk a little bit about what the components of a good after-school program are, and
address the issue about whether or not they're valuable only if they are academically
oriented.
MS. SELIGSON: Well, of course, the single most important feature in an after-school
program that one would call good is the staff. And that means people who have been
trained, who are prepared to work in these informal learning environments with kids.
The other thing that I'd like to say about the academic programs is that academic programs
are fine as long as they understand, those program planners understand that you can't do
academics alone in a vacuum without meeting the other needs of kids. Because kids will
vote with their feet, and even if they stay in the program, they may be absent emotionally or
mentally. So all programs should have good space, comfortable facilities. Children should
feel that they're not just occupying a cafeteria that isn't really theirs, where they can put their
things down, where they can start a project and not have to wrap it up before they're finished
with it, where someone actually looks at them and says, aha, so you're interested in radio or
chess or macrame or whatever, and really takes the time to create opportunities for that child
to learn how to do those things and do them well.
So I think it's about, as I said, the relationship and the individual, the nature of the
relationship between the staff and the individual child. And I think also for parents, it has to
be a place where they feel comfortable coming. Many parents find after-school programs to
be sort of gateways for them into the school, sort of mediating places, a way to feel more
comfortable themselves with the actual schoolteachers and the regular school day.
MRS. CLINTON: Thank you very much, Michelle.
THE PRESIDENT: I have to excuse Secretary Rubin in a moment to return to his duties,
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but I wanted to make one point and ask one question. The point I want to make is, he tries
real hard to put on that sort of cold shtick, you know, that this is just economics, but
(laughter)
SECRETARY RUBIN: "Shtick" is an Arkansas term. (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: I learned that from him, that word, you know. (Laughter.) But I'm sure
you could see there was more there.
It occurred to me, listening to you talk about this, that this child care issue is an example of
what makes our work both wonderful and maddening. How many times has Secretary Riley
and I said that every problem in American education has been solved by somebody in some
school somewhere, so why don't we get uniform excellence.
I just had the most difficult policy development process I have been through I think since
I've been President, that Secretary Rubin and I did together; it was on trying to develop
America's position on climate change. But it had very little to do with the science. There is
literally enough technology out there today to enable us without lowering our standard of
living, indeed while raising our standard of living, to substantially cut our emissions of
greenhouse gases. And I can cite you industry after industry after industry that's made a ton
of money doing it on their own, so why doesn't everybody do it? Why don't we even have a
critical mass of companies doing it? And I ask you that question. So we've got another
example here with child care.
If you can cite these examples where all of these companies are making money and having
happier, more productive employees, what are the barriers? Why is the market dysfunctional
in cases like this, and what can we do to make it work? Because if we were trying to get
hookups to the Internet, we'd have 100 percent penetration in one-tenth of the time it takes
us to get 10 percent penetration for educational excellence, environmental conservation or
spread of child care. What's the difference? (Laughter.)
SECRETARY RUBIN: Are you asking me? (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: I think it's the single, most important question about social policy today.
You and I think about this all the time, but I don't know what you think about this.
This is not in the notes, he's not prepared to say this.
SECRETARY RUBIN: You're the President of the United States, you're supposed to know
the answer to these things. (Laughter.) But having said that, I'll give you a view, whatever
it's worth.
I think, Mr. President, you make a very good point. And I think you can point to a lot of
other areas where the same thing is true. I think what we need to do and it's true with
respect to the importance of our country and the global economy, -- the importance of trade
liberalization and a lot of other things I think there is a need for a massive effort of trying
to improve the understanding of people in all parts of our economy and our society about
what we really need to do in this new and modern global economy. And I think one of the
great difficulties is trying to communicate what really matters issues such as this in a
world which has so much else coming in at people that, really, in my judgment, matters very
little.
But I think that your point here, which is to set up a private sector group of some sort or it
wouldn't be totally private sector necessarily, but a group of people of some sort, try to
identify the best practices, try to identify what works, try to identify problems, and then go
out and amongst their peers try to bring to their peers the same understanding they they've
acquired through their own experience is maybe the most effective and best way to do this,
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rather than having somebody else who is not part of their world talking to them and trying
to bring them into a shared understanding. And that's at least what we're going to try to do
with this, Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.)
MRS. CLINTON: Thank you very much, Secretary Rubin. It is true I think you could
hear the frustration in the President's voice, that he spends a lot of time, and all of us around
him spend a lot of time, and all of us around him spend a lot of time wondering why the best
practices and the model programs in a variety of areas in our country don't receive greater
awareness and provide more models for people to follow, so that we could spread the
success that is evident in so many ways every time you travel around our country.
And we're going to turn to the next part of our program and in a way start addressing this
very issue, because Part Two is how we are doing in meeting the challenge and what we
need to be doing.
We're going to turn to four additional experts who will address how we're working to assure
that families have access to safe, affordable child care, and also give us some insight into
what is working well and what we might do to try to replicate that.
THE PRESIDENT: I was glad to hear what you said about not being able to sit still after
3:00 p.m. (Laughter.) I'm glad to know you've been sitting still before 3:00 p.m. (Laughter.)
I have never seen you still for two minutes in all of our acquaintance. This is amazing.
(Laughter.)
I don't think you can answer this now, but I think it's quite important that we be explicit
about a dilemma that we will face as we move toward next year, the State of the Union,
what our position ought to be. We all know that there will be in the context of the budget
agreement we just adopted, fierce competition for limited money. We're going to have some
more money to put into this; we'll do the very best we can. It will be a priority, but still, it
seems to me that there will be competition for what the best way the federal government can
spend more money in child care is.
We could increase the tax credit to either make it more generous to people who get it now or
move it up in the income limits. We could expand Head Start, particularly the Zero To
Three program, where we've only got just a few thousand kids now 25,000 or something.
And I think the early results are pretty promising. It's a terribly important initiative. Or we
could devise some way to help get these salaries up, which is abysmal.
When you were talking about the salaries, Hillary gave me a chart which showed that child
care workers on the whole are better educated than the American work force and lower paid.
So we keep saying we want all these people to come in and get more education and more
training, and yet and there are some cases where people don't have any education or
training, but there are a lot of them that are quite well-educated that are working for
ridiculously limited wages. (Applause.)
So what's your sense about how we ought to go about making that decision? And I'll just
give a blanket invitation to the audience, too, that if you were in my position and you knew
you couldn't do a hundred percent of all these things, would you do a little bit of all of them,
would you focus on one, would you focus on the other? And I invite you to make your
views known to us either today during the course, or in writing -- because this will be a
difficult thing. Congressman Lampson is still here; he's going to have to make a decision
about how to vote on this stuff. And we will have to decide.
SECRETARY SHALALA: Mr. President, I think that all of us would say to you we have to
invest resources in quality. Start with the basics -- health, safety and encouraging a good
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learning environment, focus on the care-giver, start with the care of our youngest children
and also our school-age children. But it has to be a quality agenda. That's where the
weakness is in the system, and focusing on those care-givers is going to be very important
in the future. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much. I agree with the last thing you said for sure.
(Laughter.)
Let me say, the reason I wanted Governor Hunt to come here today, apart from our 20 years
of friendship and my immense admiration for him, is that if I could go back to the
question I asked Secretary Rubin -- the great trick we have with all great social questions in
America is that we know that government can't solve alone, either because we don't have the
resources or the capacity, is how to have grass-roots, community-based partnerships that
still, when the day is over, add up to a system that serves everybody instead of just makes
nice, touching stories we can all tell each other at seminars till kingdom come.
And that is what they have done in North Carolina. They have kept the entrepreneurial
spirit, they have the partnership. They've cobbled money together, first one place, then
another, and he's put a lot of new money in it, and because he has taken this initiative and
set up a framework within which creativity and partnership can flourish, they have a system.
And I still believe - I'll say it again I think that is the great sort of challenge that America
faces that goes across so many of our problems and plainly relates to this.
The only question I wanted to ask you about it that I would like you to specifically address
is, do you have enough money to deal with the dilemma that raising quality standards must
increase your cost to some extent, and does that price anybody out of it? And if not, why
not?
GOVERNOR HUNT: Well, Mr. President, we don't have enough money. We've put about
an additional $100 million of state funds into this in the last two or three years, and we've
been bringing the counties in as they prepared for it. Three years from now they have all
gotten some planning money. They really have to really show that they're doing this right.
Three years from now, our plan is to have $300 million state dollars in this, in addition to
what we had before, federal money and so on. (Applause.)
We think that will get us pretty close to quality for kids. But it may not be enough, and costs
go up. It is terribly hard to get the resources. That's why we've got to understand how
important this is. You can't do this on the cheap. You really can't. (Applause.) That's why
we need businesses' help. We need everybody's help we need the in-kind, churches
providing the places, and we need all the federal money we can get, Mr. President.
(Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: You know, just one other thing I'd like to say that I think we ought to
consider this is a little thing, but you talked about the bully pulpit I think a lot of people
are just plain, old-fashioned ignorant about what's involved in being an effective, successful
child care worker, would be surprised at the average educational level of child care workers
in America and the average pay. And I think that we ought one of the things that we ought
to do with this bully pulpit idea of yours is start trying to find ways that every community
and every state can honor outstanding child care workers the same ways we honor teachers
today, or scientists or others. (Applause.) Because, I think that's terribly important. I just
don't think society I don't think they mean to devalue people in this work, I just think they
don't know most people.
GOVERNOR HUNT: Mr. President, if I may, last year, Mrs. Hunt and I had a statewide
gala banquet, 1,200 people or so in the State Capitol to present the awards to the top child
care-givers like top teachers. And they came from all over the state. And we had the winners
in every county. We really need to really start doing that, showing our appreciation, holding
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these people up, telling how important this is. We've done it some for schools, not nearly
enough. You're going to honor teachers tomorrow right here. But we need to do it for child
care-givers, the most important teachers in the world.
PRESIDENT CLINTON: I don't think you can underestimate how important it is for people
to say to other people that they matter. And if it matters in your personal life, it's got to
matter in all these other areas, too. I think it's a big issue.
MRS. CLINTON: Well, I just want to thank Governor Hunt for his example, because one of
our hopes is through this conference to highlight what states are doing. He mentioned some
of the other states that have very good practices and are expanding the supply of affordable
quality child care. I know that the President fought very hard to put into the Welfare Reform
Act that there be a provision that would set aside a portion of federal child care dollars to
improve quality in the states. And that's a very important aspect of what we hope states are
going to be able to do.
MRS. CLINTON: Dr. Washington, that was an excellent analysis of what we are
confronting. And what would be your advice about how the President, governors, all of us
who are concerned about this issue could do more to engage communities in this discussion
where either the community themselves, or the leadership of the community don't think they
have any particular stake in trying to pursue the sort of process that you outlined and that
Governor Hunt has put into practice in North Carolina?
DR. WASHINGTON: Well, as we've all heard today, we all benefit from quality child care.
We've got the word out that child care is a collective good. That's why the federal role and
the state role and the local role is so important. Child care is a collective good that doesn't
just benefit the people who receive the service, the children and the families themselves, but
it gives benefits that accrue to the whole society. That's what we've heard the Secretary
speak to. We've got to get this message out in our communities, child care is a collective
good; we all benefit from child care.
MRS. CLINTON: Thank you very much.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, that is, I think, an extraordinary way to wrap up our morning
session. I can't think of anything that could be added to what you said. But if you think
about what all of our last speakers said, it amounts a plea to us to do what we can to both
increase the coherence and completeness of community-based action within a framework
that creates a system that involves all our children.
And again, let me say to all of you involved in this work, I am profoundly grateful to you. I
thank you for being here today. This has been an immensely enlightening day to me. I have
been struggling to understand this issue, especially since one day several years ago we all
have our little epiphanies in life about these matters, but Hillary had been talking to me
about child care for years, and one day and I was running for governor, more than well
over a decade ago I used to make a habit in every election season of going to the earliest
plant gate in my state, because the workers came to work between 4:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m.
And even the vote-hungriest politicians wouldn't get up that early. (Laughter.) So I always
had them all to myself.
And I never will forget, one day I came home and I told Hillary, I said, "you won't believe
what happened to me at a quarter to 5:00 a.m. this morning," it was a Campbell soup plant
in North Arkansas, and this pickup truck rolled up. And as often happened, the husbands
and wives, and one was taking the other to work and they would come up in the dark and
kiss each other good-bye. And so this pickup truck came up and this lady leaned over and
kissed her husband good-bye and opened the door. And the light came on, and inside were
three children under the age of five.
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And so I went over and talked to the young man when his wife went in to work -- at a
quarter to 5:00 a.m. I said, what are you doing with these kids and how do you do this? He
said, well, we've got to get them up every morning at a quarter to 4:00 a.m. And we dress
them up. And he said, I keep them as long as I can, but I have to be at work at 7:00 a.m. So I
had to find somebody who would take care of them at 6:30 a.m. Three kids under five. But,
he said, we've got three kids under five. We both have to work.
Now, there are millions of stories like that. And they are no less gripping for the parents
than those who don't have quite such strange circumstances. But it is inconceivable to me
that we have had all of you wonderful people working at this and we've put all this money
in it, and we still never develop a systematic approach or, in the words of Patty, a quilt that
everybody can be a part of. And that, I think, we should all leave as our mission.
Thank you very much. (Applause.)
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October 24, 1997, Friday, Late Edition - Final
SECTION: Section A; Page 24; Column 1; National Desk
LENGTH: 962 words
HEADLINE: Clinton Pledges $300 Million Toward Improving Child Care
BYLINE: By JOHN M. BRODER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON, Oct. 23
BODY:
Hillary Rodham Clinton invited the President to her conference on child care today, and he obliged
by offering a few modest proposals to alleviate parents' concerns about the cost and quality of day care
centers.
The President promised to send to Congress a measure providing $300 million over five years to
improve the pay and training of child care workers. He also said he would propose legislation to make it
easier for parents to run background checks on potential day care providers. And he said he would
instruct his Americorps national service program to divert some of its young volunteers to look after
latchkey kids children who return to empty homes after school.
Mr. Clinton also ordered Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin to jawbone private employers about
providing on-site child care for their workers.
Although Mr. Clinton provided the day's policy proposals, the spotlight shone on the First Lady. The
child care conference was her return to the domestic policy stage after three years of relative obscurity
as controversy over her role in the Administration's failed health care initiative and questions about her
involvement in the complex of scandals known as Whitewater swirled around her.
But those dark days are past and Mrs. Clinton is riding a wave of popularity to draw notice to issues of
concern to women and families that have animated her. Foremost among those issues is the plight of 13
million American children who spend all or some of their day in the care of someone other than a parent.
She said today that the quality of many of the facilities ranges from mediocre to poor and that the pay of
child care workers is "abysmal."
Today was her day, as she put it, to inaugurate a national "conversation" about the vast disparity between
the demand for affordable, high-quality child care and the paucity of supply. The day of discussion in
the White House East Room was a testament to the Clintons' continuing belief in the healing power of
talk.
"We hope that this conference will spur the conversations around kitchen tables and water coolers and
standing in supermarket aisles or at soccer games, or while going to or from work in the car pool," Mrs.
Clinton said in calling the daylong conference to order, "whatever it takes to engage more Americans in
this discussion, to make it clear that we want American parents to succeed at the most important task
they have, caring for the next generation."
But despite hours of testimony about the crying need for more and better day care, the Administration's
proposed response was quite restrained, in deference to political and fiscal realities.
Both the President and the First Lady have adopted an incremental approach to social progress, using the
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White House pulpit to lay issues before the public and urging others to find solutions -- and, for the most
part, to pay for them.
Mrs. Clinton emphasized that while the Federal Government can contribute to improving the quality of
the nation's child care network, through tax credits and other incentives, the bulk of the task lies with
employers and unions, churches and charitable organizations, schools and local Governments, and,
especially, parents.
Thus the Clintons set out to address a problem identified by millions of working parents as their gravest
concern: who is looking after their kids while they are out earning wages.
Mr. Clinton called child care "the single, most important question about social policy today" -- although
he spoke in similar terms about the issue of race in America, about which he has also launched a national
conversation.
The conference, like other such affairs at the White House, was heavily laden with statistics ("between
58 percent and 75 percent of parents feel they have zero choices" of day care arrangements) and scripted
questions and answers.
But the President also noted that such conferences pose a danger of substituting talk for real action and
real resources from communities. What is needed, he said, are partnerships that "add up to a system that
serves everybody instead of just makes nice, touching stories they can all tell each other at seminars till
kingdom come."
Mr. Clinton said that he was preparing a package of child care measures that will be announced in his
State of the Union address in January. But as a down payment, he offered today's low-cost proposals.
The most ambitious is a scholarship program for caregivers. The $300 million proposal would provide
funds to train 50,000 day care providers who promise to stay in the field at least a year. White House
officials said the plan is designed to address the twin problems of low pay and high turnover.
The President is also urging businesses to provide their workers more day care options, perhaps as part
of a "cafeteria-style" benefits menu. And he wants to open more after-school programs, staffed by
volunteers from Americorps.
But the libertarian Cato Institute today released a study contradicting the premises of the White House
parley. The report, by the institute's domestic policy analyst Darcy Olsen, found that the supply of day
care workers has kept up with the demand. The report also asserted that employers, unions and
communities have responded to the need for day care with creative, low-cost programs. And it said that
most families are satisfied with their child care arrangements.
Ms. Olsen's report said that the Clinton Administration would replace the flexibility shown by families
and employers "with a set of rigid standards, which would run roughshod over the individual needs of
parents and children."
She concluded: "Congress should resist any attempt to increase funding for child care and to impose
Federal standards on providers and parents."
GRAPHIC: Photo: President Clinton and the First Lady yesterday at Mrs. Clinton's White House
conference concerning the quality of child care. (Stephen Crowley/The New York Times)
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: October 24, 1997
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October 23, 1997, Thursday, Late Edition - Final
SECTION: Section A; Page 24; Column 5; National Desk
LENGTH: 1306 words
HEADLINE: Child Care Talks Return First Lady to Spotlight
BYLINE: By ROBERT PEAR
DATELINE: WASHINGTON, Oct. 22
BODY:
Hillary Rodham Clinton convenes a White House conference on Thursday to highlight what she and
the President see as an urgent need for safe, affordable child care. But conservative Republicans say they
fear that the conference will lay the groundwork for plans to increase Government spending or
regulation.
Hoping to overcome such skepticism, Administration officials have been trying to enlist moderate
Republicans and business executives in their campaign, arguing that improved child care would not only
produce healthier, happier children, but would eventually increase the nation's economic output as well.
Mrs. Clinton today described the conference and the Administration's approach to child care in
purposefully reassuring terms. The most successful day care programs result from "public-private
partnerships," not Government mandates, she said at a briefing for reporters.
The White House conference will probably generate several new policy initiatives, she indicated, but
they will not require enormous amounts of public money or a broadly expanded state regulatory role.
And Mrs. Clinton delivered a pre-emptive answer to critics who say that the focus on child care sends an
implicit message to women that it is better for them to work outside the home than to stay at home
caring for their own children.
"Despite our rhetoric about family values, we don't do very much to help the parents who want to stay
home," Mrs. Clinton said. "We don't want one stereotypical, one-size-fits-all approach to child care."
In their handling of this issue, the Clintons are clearly drawing on lessons learned from the health care
debacle of the President's first term. Their proposals to overhaul the health care system were rejected in
part because critics painted them as an inflexible Government-decreed solution to major social needs.
In announcing the day care conference on July 23, President Clinton said affordable, high-quality care
was "critical to the strength of our families and to healthy child development." Moreover, he said, "it is
good for the economy and central to a productive American work force."
Mrs. Clinton's work on the child care conference is her most visible effort at policy making since the
failure of the health care project. The conference follows months of White House planning, aides said. It
centers on an issue of long interest to Mrs. Clinton and was scheduled to capitalize on favorable
publicity surrounding her 50th birthday on Sunday.
Although Mrs. Clinton is the event's chief organizer, she took pains today to emphasize that any policy
proposals would come from her husband, not from her. "The President will make recommendations,"
she said.
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Senator James M. Jeffords, a Vermont Republican who recently introduced a comprehensive bill to
increase the supply of day care, said, "Having affordable, convenient child care is tied directly to a
family's ability to produce income."
Most child care, Mr. Jeffords said, is mediocre, and some threatens the health and safety of children.
Marian Wright Edelman, president of the Children's Defense Fund, said she hoped that the conference
would be "a launching pad for significant new investments" in child care, by Federal and state
governments and by employers across the country. "The quality of infant and toddler care is shockingly
low," said Mrs. Edelman, a longtime mentor to Mrs. Clinton.
Ten million children under the age of 5 have working mothers and need child care. The Census Bureau
says that 30 percent of the children are in day care centers or nursery schools, while the others receive
care from relatives or neighbors.
The debate over child care is filled with paradoxes. Parents cite the cost of care as one of their biggest
concerns. Families with incomes under $14,500 a year spend one-fourth of their income on child care,
the Census Bureau reports.
But many child care experts are seeking higher pay for child care workers, higher quality care and
stricter regulation, which in the absence of new investments by government or business could lead
to increased costs for working parents.
Helen Blank, a policy analyst at the Children's Defense Fund, said that child care workers, on the
average, earned less than bus drivers, garbage collectors and bartenders.
Marcy Whitebook, co-director of the National Center for the Early Childhood Work Force, in Berkeley,
Calif., said nearly one-third of child care teachers earned the minimum wage, now $5.15 an hour. The
low wages, Ms. Whitebook said, lead to high turnover among child care workers, who come and go so
fast that they cannot develop stable relationships with the children for whom they are responsible.
Congress is considering many bills to increase Federal spending and tax breaks for child care.
Democratic authors of such measures have worked closely with moderate Republicans like Mr. Jeffords,
Senator Olympia J. Snowe of Maine and Representative Nancy L. Johnson of Connecticut. A few
conservatives have also endorsed the proposals.
Republican Governors in Illinois, Ohio, Rhode Island and Wisconsin have joined Democratic governors
in efforts to increase spending for child care.
But the White House conference has drawn a cool reception from many conservatives, who note that
Congress approved a major increase in child care spending as part of the 1996 welfare law.
Gary L. Bauer, a former Reagan Administration official who is president of the Family Research
Council, said: "When I see conferences in Washington, the bottom line almost always seems to be
something that makes Government grow. There are deep suspicions on the right that the purpose of this
conference is to soften up the ground for proposals involving an entitlement program or new subsidies
for institutional child care."
For their part, Administration officials said they wanted to raise the prominence of child care as an issue
on the national political agenda, without proposing specific new legislation at this time.
The White House conference will focus on three questions: how to increase access to child care, how to
make it more affordable and how to guarantee the quality of care, so children will be safe.
In a report on the nation's child care needs, prepared for the conference, the Department of Health and
Human Services makes these points:
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LEXIS®-NEXIS®
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/ln.univ.5=6cdb32393aaeecaec8edd4efd87f95e0.
*Forty-five percent of children under the age of 1 are in child care on a regular basis.
*States with stronger licensing requirements have larger numbers of high-quality child care centers. But
the quality of care varies immensely.
*"Nearly five million school-age children spend time as latchkey kids without adult supervision during a
typical week." Juvenile crime is most likely to occur after school hours, when children are unsupervised.
David M. Blau, a professor of economics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said the
availability of "family day care," in which one person typically supervises several children, had a major
effect on the entire market for child care.
"Many women are willing to take care of other people's children for relatively low remuneration," said
Mr. Blau, who has studied the industry. "They are able to take care of their own kids at the same time,
and that provides them with nonmonetary benefits. This tends to hold down wages, so the cost of
informal child care is very low. The effects spill over to larger day care centers because the two types of
child care providers compete with each other."
In the 1996 welfare law, Congress created a new program of Federal grants to the states, designating
$13.9 billion over six years to help finance child care. The Congressional Budget Office said this sum
was an increase of more than $4 billion, or nearly 50 percent, over what would have been spent under
prior law.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: October 23, 1997
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Page 12
LEVEL 1 - 96 OF 111 STORIES
Copyright 1997 News World Communications, Inc.
The Washington Times
October 21, 1997, Tuesday, Final Edition
SECTION: Part A; Pg. Al
LENGTH: 855 words
HEADLINE: White House campaigns for education agenda;
Riley attacks 'partisan rut' stalling tests
BYLINE: Paul Bedard; THE WASHINGTON TIMES
BODY:
The White House opened a weeklong assault yesterday on House Republican
efforts to stall its broad education agenda that Education Secretary Richard W.
Riley vowed would "shake up something" but not local school curriculums.
"I'm concerned that the House is starting to get stuck in the usual partisan
rut and losing sight of what is really important in education," Mr. Riley said
in a slap at GOP efforts to kill President Clinton's plans for national math and
reading tests and Republican plans to push vouchers to let parents of
public-school students shift their children to private schools.
In the White House gun sights:
* A proposal to give 2,000 poor D.C. children publicly funded vouchers to
attend private - and presumably better - or religious schools.
* An amendment before the House this week to let parents save money to pay
for private kindergarten through 12th grade without paying taxes on interest
earned on those savings.
* A House Republican drive to kill funding for Mr. Clinton's national
testing plan.
"I call upon Congress to end the delays. Our children are counting on us,"
Mr. Clinton said.
Republicans said they would not back down, but the White House said it
planned to move ahead with its assault.
Mr. Riley led the charge yesterday by releasing a report showing that
students who take tough math, algebra, geometry and science courses are more
likely to attend college.
Page 13
The Washington Times, October 21, 1997
The report, "Mathematics Equals Opportunity," offers evidence that the
choice of subjects determines access to college.
"These courses demand discipline, they demand hard work and they demand
responsibility, Mr. Riley said. "They make a powerful difference in terms of
going to college.
Mr. Riley appeared with students from Prince George's County, which has
joined the so-called "Equity 2000" initiative to get more students interested in
algebra.
Later this week, Mr. Clinton and other members of his administration plan
to meet with education leaders to push their agenda, and first lady Hillary
Rodham Clinton, who recently has become more outspoken, plans to host a child
care conference Thursday that will focus partly on public education.
Mr. Riley used the new education report to bash GOP voucher plans and renew
the administration's call for national tests for fourth-grade reading and
eighth-grade math students.
For example, he claimed that a student's choice of and grades in tough
courses are more important for college acceptance than attending a private or
public grade or high school.
He rejected claims by parents and lawmakers that private-school education is
better - the basis for the GOP push for public funding of private-school
vouchers such as those backed for some 2,000 District students.
"The idea of giving someone a ticket out of the school solves no problems
whatsoever. It is a nonsolution to major problems, Mr. Riley said. "Vouchers
would in no way solve any of the problems in the Washington schools.'
Administration officials said they would veto legislation that includes
vouchers or a proposal by Sen. Paul Coverdell, Georgia Republican, to give
parents a chance to save money in tax-free accounts for private schooling in
kindergarten through 12th grade.
Mr. Riley also said a plan to provide vouchers in the District would be met
with a veto.
"We know what to do to improve schools. We could take that same $7 million
that they propose to come in and pay for vouchers for 2,000 children and impact
in a very significant way probably as many as 40,000 children," Mr. Riley said.
The new education report also drew attention to Mr. Clinton's testing
program, opposed by Republicans who believe the money should be spent improving
the nation's schools and who fear the plan will lead to federal interference in
state and local school curriculums.
Mr. Clinton has vowed to veto the appropriations bill for the Education and
Labor departments if it does not include funding for the tests.
Mr. Riley said national tests will help show how far American students are
behind foreign children in math and language subjects.
Page 14
The Washington Times, October 21, 1997
He said the administration has no hidden agenda for the test results, but
the president does want to shock schools with poor test results into taking
measures to improve.
"It will shake up something. And we want something shook up. That's what
we want to do because if they're not reading then something needs to happen.
But we don't get into curriculum. I want to make that clear, and I'll get 7,000
letters. We don't get into curriculum; we simply propose to measure basic
skills, what they can do, and not how they learned it," he vowed.
Instead of being controversial, Mr. Riley suggested that the country will
embrace national tests as a chance to show their support for education.
"We think it's going to catch on, and we think the people in this country
are going to almost look at it as a patriotic thing, to get involved in getting
this country to read well, getting this country to do math well, and getting our
children ready for college and important jobs," he said.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: October 21, 1997
Page 10
LEVEL 1 - 90 OF 111 STORIES
Copyright 1997 Chattanooga News-Free Press Company
Chattanooga Free Press
October 23, 1997, Thursday
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. B6
LENGTH: 436 words
HEADLINE: Clintons Host Child Care Conference
BYLINE: By LAURA MECKLER, Associated Press Writer
BODY:
WASHINGTON -- President Clinton and his wife, Hillary, aren't offering any
sweeping federal programs to fix the nation's child-care system. Instead, they
want to prod parents to demand more attention from employers and better quality
from day-care providers.
"What we're trying to do is to create some grassroots, bottom-up concern
about what goes on all day long in these various child-care settings," Mrs.
Clinton said of today's White House conference on child care.
The first lady, who previewed the conference for reporters on Wednesday, said
the conference is identifying model programs and encouraging their replication.
The administration plans only a few modest proposals, aides said. Ideas under
consideration included greater involvement by business, an education campaign to
help parents make informed child care decisions and new incentives to help
child-care workers get more education.
"The federal government can take certain actions, but most of the efforts in
child care happen at the state level and in the private sector," Mrs. Clinton
said.
Too many parents are so grateful to find any child care at all that they
don't question the quality of the care, she said. "They don't have the time and
they don't feel they have the expertise."
The conference was focusing on the twin issues of cost and quality. Experts
worry that child care is too expensive for many parents, yet studies show much
of it is of questionable quality.
The challenge is to boost quality without increasing the price tag.
Also on the agenda was care for school-age children who often have nowhere to
go after classes let out.
Mrs. Clinton added that any program for improving child care should include
help for stay-at-home moms.
"We don't do a very good job in this country, despite our rhetoric about
Page 11
Chattanooga Free Press, October 23, 1997
family values, to create work and family situations that permit more families to
make the choice that they think is right for them,' she said.
Even the Family and Medical Leave Act, which Republicans fought for nine
years before President Clinton signed it, does not go far enough, she said. The
legislation guarantees workers unpaid leave to tend to family caregiving duties.
But, Mrs. Clinton said, "It's hard to argue it's a realistic choice when it's
unpaid."
As for her personal experience with child care, Mrs. Clinton acknowledged her
family was exceptional. For all but two years of daughter Chelsea's childhood,
the Clintons lived in the fully staffed Arkansas governor's mansion or in the
White House where "there were always people around in an emergency to help out,"
she said.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: October 24, 1997
Page 7
LEVEL 1 - 86 OF 111 STORIES
Copyright 1997 The Washington Post
The Washington Post
October 24, 1997, Friday, Final Edition
SECTION: A SECTION; Pg. A16
LENGTH: 859 words
HEADLINE: President Announces Child-Care Initiatives; Scholarship, Wage Plan
Proposed at Conference
BYLINE: Barbara Vobejda, Washington Post Staff Writer
BODY:
President Clinton yesterday proposed a $ 300 million program of scholarships
to improve the training and raise the wages of day-care workers and promised to
unveil early next year a broader plan to improve child care across the country.
The proposal was among several offered by the president at a day-long White
House conference on child care, where numerous experts described a system
suffering from poor quality, high costs and a lack of accessible care,
particularly for infants and school-age children.
"Too often, child care is unaffordable, inaccessible and sometimes even
unsafe," Clinton said. "Even for those who can afford it, sometimes good care is
hard to find."
The conference, which brought together state and federal officials, business
leaders and child-care advocates, is the first high-profile effort to find
solutions to a problem affecting millions of American families.
Several national studies have documented that most of the care provided in
centers and in providers' homes is mediocre or even poor quality. Experts
attribute that to several factors, including lack of training and low pay among
workers, which leads to high turnover rates.
At the same time, the cost of child care presents an enormous financial
burden to many families and federal-state subsidies are reaching only about
one-tenth of those who are eligible.
Advocates have argued that only a major investment by government or the
private sector can address the fundamental problem -- parents simply cannot
afford to pay the cost of high-quality care.
But the president and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has played a
leading role in the administration's efforts to focus on child care, suggested
that a large-scale federal program was not the answer. Instead, they explored
solutions that relied more on public-private partnerships and efforts by
businesses to help make child care more available to their workers.
In addition to the scholarship program, the president proposed legislation
Page 8
The Washington Post, October 24, 1997
that would make it easier to conduct background checks on child-care providers,
announced the formation of a group of business leaders to spur private
investment in child care and said volunteers in the Corporation for National
Service would help improve after-school care programs.
Clinton said he would unveil in his State of the Union speech in January a
more comprehensive plan to improve access, affordability and safety of child
care.
Aides said the administration would consider increasing federal funding to
states to help low-income parents pay for care. Also, the White House will look
at expanding the dependent care tax credit, which allows some families to claim
a credit on their income tax for child-care expenses up to a certain level.
Bruce Reed, the president's domestic policy adviser, also cited the
possibility of creating a tax benefit to encourage businesses to help provide
child care.
The scholarship proposal, which will be included in the president's budget
package next year, would provide at least $ 250 million in federal funds over
five years.
State, local or private sources would contribute one dollar for every four
federal dollars they received, bringing the total to about $ 300 million. The
money would be used by states to design programs to help providers earn credits
toward an early-childhood education credential, certificate or college degree. A
portion of the scholarship fund would go to increase wages or pay a bonus when
workers complete their course work.
The proposal is modeled on a North Carolina program known as TEACH, which was
designed not only to improve the training of providers but to reduce turnover,
which runs as high as 50 percent among day-care workers nationally each year.
In North Carolina, where the statewide turnover rate is 42 percent, the
figure among those who have participated in the program dropped to about 10
percent, child-care experts said, in large part because of wage increases the
workers earned after completing training.
Child-care advocates said they welcomed the proposal because it included
funds for both training and higher wages.
"What was really good about today was that everybody seemed to understand
that if we want quality child care we have to improve child-care jobs and the
people have to get adequately compensated," said Marcy Whitebook, co-director of
the National Center for the Early Childhood Work Force.
But while they expressed relief that the administration had focused on the
issue, advocates also cautioned that the proposals were relatively modest.
"Obviously these are all small things and we need more pieces," said Helen
Blank, who specializes in child care for the Children's Defense Fund.
Among the other proposals announced yesterday was legislation creating a
compact among states agreeing to release criminal history information for
Page 9
The Washington Post, October 24, 1997
background checks on day-care workers. Currently, laws in many states prohibit
the release of such information except for certain criminal investigations,
making it impossible for child-care agencies to conduct nationwide checks on
prospective employees.
GRAPHIC: Photo, frank johnston, The president with first lady Hillary Rodham
Clinton at child-care conference.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: October 24, 1997
Page 30
LEVEL 1 - 156 OF 233 ITEMS
Copyright 1997 Times Newspapers Limited
The Times
October 25, 1997, Saturday
SECTION: Features
LENGTH: 482 words
HEADLINE: First lady, second look
BODY:
Farewell then Lady Macbeth. Hello, Mother Teresa. Hillary Clinton will
celebrate her 50th birthday with a glittering gala in Chicago tomorrow. Last
week she took centre stage at a White House conference on childcare issues. Next
week she will visit Northern Ireland and then travel to Chequers for a seminar
on health and welfare policy hosted by Tony Blair. The First Lady is determined
to reposition herself, for the remainder of her time in Washington, as the
Rinder, gentler Mrs Clinton.
That she should seek an alternative image is entirely understandable. In
truth, Mrs Clinton holds one of the most impossible posts in American politics.
The notion of the First Lady has no formal status. Despite that, it has
considerable standing. In this century, the position was personified by Eleanor
Roosevelt. Mrs Clinton's courting of controversy therefore puts her in excellent
company. But she was, at one point, the most disliked First Lady on record.
She brought many of those problems on herself. The idea of a "co-presidency"
was an affront to American democracy. The President's decision to put his wife
in charge of his healthcare proposals was a disaster for both of them. The
shadow of Whitewater - and the apparent misuse of the late Vincent Foster's
files - still hang over Mrs Clinton. She could yet face charges of obstructing
justice. While she is stoutly defended American feminists, Mrs Clinton may well
have done their cause more harm than good. She may come to be seen, more
sympathetically, as a transitional figure. Most of her predecessors were not
political figures. She has strong views on almost every issue, yet itwas assumed
that, once she married a man almost addicted to election campaigns, she could
not seek a political career herself.
One of the features of the last presidential contest was that Elizabeth Dole
outshone Mrs Clinton. Mrs Dole, a former Cabinet member under Ronald Reagan and
George Bush, would have been an exceptionally powerful adviser had her husband
eat in the Oval Office. Mrs Clinton was apparently perplexed that her rival
could be so political but strikingly popular. In truth there was no paradox. It
was the very fact that Mrs Dole had openly sought power in her own right that
made her respectable. Although a decade older than Mrs Clinton, Mrs Dole is, in
many senses, the truly modern woman.
Washington is now awash with speculation that Mrs Dole might run for the
White House herself in three years' time. Democratic strategists - in solemn
mood - are almost as one in the belief that she would be by far the most
difficult Republican to beat. It is a little early - with 1,110 days left - to
Page 31
Times Newspapers Limited, October 25, 1997
assess her electoral prospects. It would, though, be the supreme irony if the
person who benefited from the highly activist precedent set by Mrs Clinton were
Robert Dole, as, er: First Lord of the United States?
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: October 26, 1997
PHOTOCOPY
PRESERVATION
16/17/11
PAGE 01
NOV-19-97 16:19
FROM:
FROM: YOUTH LAW CENTER
FAX NO.: 4159569022
11-19-97
02:10P
P.02
YOUTH LAW CENTER
CHILDREN'S LEGAL PROTECTION CENTER
Protecting America's most vulnerable children
Program
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
THOMAS A. WELCH, Chairman
Brobeck Phieger & Harrison, LLP
November 24
(retired)
CHRISTOPHER M, MCLAIN
University of California at Berkeley
Secretary
Crown Vantage
VALERIE D. LEWIS, Treasurer
Sponsored by
Safeway Inc.
The Youth Law Center and
KENNETH A. AUGUST
Ziffren, Brittonham, Branca
The University of California
& Fischer
MICHAEL J. DALE
Nove University
HOWARD F. FINE
2:30 2:55
Boker & McKenzie
Meet with California Youth Connection members
EDNA K. HENLEY
Anomey at Law
The California Youth Connection is an association of current and
MARIA G. HERNANDEZ. PM.D.
MGH Consulting
former foster youth who have or will age out of foster care. The
CHERYL L. POINSETTE
organization is open to youth between the ages of 14 and 24. The
McKesson Corporation
LINDBERGM PORTER, JR.
youth who attend will probably be between 17 and 22 years of age.
Litter, Mendelson, Fastritt.
Tichy & Mathleson
The meeting would include 10-12 youth, the two staff members of
STEALING (Terry) ROSS
CYC, one of whom is herself a former foster youth, Carole
Rood & Ross
Shauffer from the Youth Law Center. a representative from
HOWARD M. TALENFELD
lodny, Fass & Talenfeld, P.A.
University of California, Berkeley. and Peter Digre. Director of the
ERT A. THOMPSON
para Mullin, Richter
Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services.
Hampton
REV. WAYNE THOMPSON
First Baptist Institutional Church
3:00 3:30
Public presentation
(Amiligtions listed for information
purposes only)
SAN FRANCISCO
Introduction by the Chancellor of University of California. Berkeley
Robert Berdahl
Executive Director
CAROLE B. SHAUFFER
Managing Director
LOREN M. WARBOYS
Brief comment by Richard Barth, Ph.D., Hutto Patterson Professor.
Staff Artorneys
JAMES R. BELL
University of California at Berkeley (Rick will say that research by
SUSAN L. BURRELL
MARIA F. RAMIU
the Child Welfare Research Group demonstrates the need for legal
SHANNAN L. WILBER
permanency for children.)
Paralegai
MAMIE 8. YEE
Director of Development
Brief comment by Carole Shauffer. Executive Director of the
VIRGINIA VAN ZANDT
Administrator
Youth Law Center (We have worked for permanency through
BONITA BUTLER
family preservation and adoption, have seen the value of similar
Secretanes
ROBIN BISHOP
legislation in California, and are enthusiastic about benefits to foster
CHRISTINE MONTGOMERY
children nationally.)
Receptionist
RITA GASTON
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Introduction by former foster youth, CYC member Myeishia Grice
President
MARK 1. SOLER
Staff Attorney
Presentation by First Lady. Hillary Clinton
MARC A. SCHINDLER
114 Sansome Street, Suite 950
San Francisco, CA 94104-3820
415-543-3379
FAX 415-956-9022
e-mail:[email protected]
FROM: YOUTH LAW CENTER
FAX NO. 4159569022
11-21-97 04:07P P.02
California Youth Connection Roundtable
Wendy Perlera is an alumni of California State University Northridge with a double major in
Mexican American Studies and Sociology. She was in foster care for 4 years in the Los Angeles
area and is one of the founding members of the Los Angeles chapter of California Youth
Connection. She is currently a social worker for teens at a private Foster Family Agency, has
served on the Legal Permanence Task Force for LA County Department of Children and Family
Services, and is a peer counselor for Los Angeles area foster youth. Wendy will speak to the
need for permanence for all youth in care.
Myeshia Grice is 21 years old and a junior at California State Hayward, majoring in Political
Science. She spent 7 years in relative foster care in San Francisco. She has worked for both the
Youth Law Center and California Youth Connection. Myeshia is interested in a career in law
and public policy. Myeshia has been working on creating transitional housing in San Francisco
County. She will speak on the need for more transitional housing for youth who emancipate
from foster care without a permanent family.
Tiffany Johnson is 21 years old and has completed her A.A. Degree from De Anza Community
College in Multi disciplinary Studies. She was in group and kinship care for 8 years in Santa
Clara County. Tiffany plans to pursue a career as an advocate for children's issues,
was an intern for Congressman Ron Dellums in 1997 and currently works for Netscape.
Tiffany will explain about the mission and purpose of California Youth Connection.
Alfred Perez spent 11 years in both foster and group care. He is currently a senior at San Jose
State University, majoring in Social Work, with a minor in Speech Communications. Alfred
plans to go on to graduate school next year to get his Masters in Social Work. He is very
interested in public policy as it relates to children's issues. He will speak on the difficulty he had
emancipating from foster care, because he did not experience any form of permanence. He was
in 4 placements in his senior year alone.
Chris Golden is 17 years old and is currently a high school senior at Ukiah Valley High School in
northern California. He will graduate in June, 1998 and plans to attend Santa Rose Junior
College. He has been in placement for three years and will speak about the need for all youth to
exit foster care with the same kind of continued support a family can provide.
Jenifer Stum is 16 years old and a junior at Rancho Cotati High School in Sonoma County. She
has been in foster care for several years and is planning on attending college after she graduates
in June, 1999. She is very interested in a career in politics or advocacy for children. Jenifer will
speak about her fears of emancipating from foster care at age 18 without a permanent family.
FROM: YOUTH LAW CENTER
FAX NO.: 4159569022
11-21-97 04:08P P.03
Back-ups: (They will fill in if anyone drops out or is sick, and cover the same topic.)
Durrell Demings is 20 years old and currently a sophomore at California State University,
Hayward, majoring in Business Administration. He spent over 12 years in relative care in San
Francisco. Durrell has been a staff person for the Youth Law Center and currently works for
California Youth Connection. He plans on a career in business management.
Tiffanie Gardiner is 18 years old and recently graduated from College Park High School in
Walnut Creek. Tiffanie was in foster care for 3 years and is currently training as a massage
therapist.
CALIFORNIA YOUTH CONNECTION
CALIFORNIA
"Working to Improve the Lives of Children & Youth in Foster Care"
1996-1997 SUMMARY
UTH
CONNECTION
California Youth Connection (CYC) is an advocacy
What Is CYC?
organization dedicated to improving the foster care system.
Our members are current and former foster youth ages 14-24.
aya
CYC educates and the public and policy makers about the unique needs of
foster youth, as well as assisting decision makers to implement policies that
truly serve children and families.
FOSTEM YOUTH BUILDING A
COUNDATION FOR THE TUTURE
There are currently 23 CYC chapters in California with over 400
The Facts
members. When the Statewide Office opened in January, 1995, there
Janet Knipe
were only 9. This is an 250% increase in the last 2 ½ years. In 1996-97
Statewide Coordinator
alone, CYC added chapters in Santa Cruz, Shasta, Tehama, Glenn,
Humboldt, Riverside and San Bernadino counties. Counties interested in starting
Joy Warren
chapters in 1997-98 include Orange, Kern, Kings, Santa Barbara, Ventura and Fresno.
Outrench Coordinator
Chapters meet regularly, as well as attend statewide activities. Involvement teaches
youth leadership and advocacy skills.
114 Sansome Street
21
ancisco, CA
Training:
-3820
Accomplishments
Day At The Capitol: Over 120 youth from 20 counties received
training on advocacy and the legislative process, and met with
90 legislators to discuss foster care issues.
Statewide Conferences: Santa Clara: 190 youth and adults attended and received
training on the rights of foster youth, leadership, and identifying local issues.
Los Angeles: 130 youth from 17 chapters worked on developing policy
recommendations and strategies on issues of adoption, kinship care, older/younger
youth and changes in group home policies.
Administrative Board Training: 18 youth Board members learned about strategic
planning and organizational development, as they were guided through a visioning
process to determine where they wanted CYC to be in 1-2 years.
Legislation: This year CYC has collaborated with
Assemblyman Tom Woods (R-Redding) on the Higher Education Grant for Former
Foster Youth. This bill was recently amended into AB 1544 and will soon be heard in
the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Policy Committees: CYC youth participate in the following
committees: Regulatory, which meets quarterly with Community Care Licensing;
Legislative, which reviews all legislation related to foster youth.
Networking with all foster youth: CYC youth produce a
398 1063
quarterly newsletter, send regular legislative updates and minutes from Board meetings
800.397.8236
to all members, are working on the development of 2 videos to recruit more youth and
FAX: 415.956 9022
explain CYC to potential funders, and are in the process of creating a website.
California State Legislature
We Have Made
California Congressional Members and Senators
Presentations To:
County Welfare Directors
Judicial Council of California
Child Welfare League of America
California Association of Children's Homes
California Association of Services for Children
National Resource Center for Youth Services
Los Angeles County judges
Foster and adoptive parent training programs
County social work training programs
CASA volunteer training programs
State of Wisconsin Independent Living Program
Why CYC is Important
CYC gives us a voice. Through our involvement in
CYC we can facilitate positive policy change to benefit
other children and youth in the foster care system.
WHAT Is CYC?
WHAT Is THE MISSION OF CYC?
How CAN You HELP CYC?
Colifornia Youth Connection (CYC) is
California Youth Connection promotes
Contact the statewide other 10
organized by and for foster youth.
the participation of foster youth in policy
il there is a CYC chapter in your
CYC is an advocacy organization of
development and legislative change in
area and help foster youth start.
11- 111 24-year-old current and former
an effort to improve the foster care sys-
if there is not.
foster with throughout California.
tem and strives to forge cullaborations
I ocal chapters are organized on a
Become a supporter with an evst
with decision makers In improve social
county-by-county basis.
CYC chapter.
work practice and child welfare policy.
To educate the general public and poli-
Create an opportunity for CK
How WAS CYC FORMED ?
10 speak to a personal of profess
cy makers about the unique needs of
EYE developed AS an outgrowth of
group of your colleagues.
loster youth and to increase avareness
California Independent Living Programs
of their concerns.
Learn about the needs of foster y
and is modeled after the Canadian
and advocate for them within viil
Youth In Care Network, which featured
To create partnerships in which both
own professional circles.
strong localized efforts to organize foster
youth and adults share responsibility
wouth to advocate for their rights. The
for the success of the organization.
Assist in the development of fune
fin: CYC chapters began meeting in
To support youth leadership at all lev-
resources to support CYC.
1988. Alter several years of increasing
els of the organization, including local
Join the CYC network and help C
worth participation. a statewide office
chapters and the statewide office.
inform the public and legislators
11,15 opened in 1945 to increase commu-
To monitor legislation and act as
about the needs of foster youth.
meation and coordinate advocacy efforts
advocates for foster youth
among the local chapters.
Ti build a national and international
WHAT Do SUPPORTERS Do?
advocacy network of current and
former foster youth.
Supporters in this organization empower
youth !n learn organizational.
To promote a positive image of
leadership and advocacy skills so they
foster youth.
can set the priorities and make the deci-
Sums that shape and guide CYC.
To FIND OUT MORE ABOUT CYC
aya
Contact:
Janel Knipe, Statewide Coordinator
loy Warren, Outreach Coordinator
FOSTER YOUTH BUILDING a
114 Sansome Street, Suite 921
FOUNDATION FOR THE TUTURE
San Francisco, CA 94104
397-8236 / (415) 398-1063
4151 956-9022
California Youth Connection 13 " program of 111.
WHAT HAS CYC ACCOMPLISHED?
CYC has been asked to spenk to the
National Commission on Children
regarding the needs of foster youth.
FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE
FOSTFR YOUTH BUILDING
OC has been invited to present testi-
mom to committee sessions of state
and national legislatures.
aye
( 10 has been instrumental in passing
Price laws in California:
San Francisco, CA 94104-3820
114 Sansome Street. Suile 921
CONNECTION
YOUTH
CALIFORNIA
FOSTLA YOUTH BUILDING A
COUNDATION FOR THE FUTURI
- Waiver of the S1000 limit, allowing
loster youth in Independent Living
Programs to save an unlimited
amount of money toward their
emancipation
CALIFORNIA
- Driver's license bill, allowing foster
parents. relatives, guardians, social
workers. and probation officers to
YOUTH
sign for a youth's driver's license,
without liability, as long as the
young person has auto insurance
CONNECTION
-- Transitional housing bill, allowing
the California Department of Social
Sen ites to create a licensing cate-
gory for Transitional housing as d
alacement option for youth in their
last year of foster care
CYC youth organize and facilitate
two statewide conferences for over
150 foster youth every year.
CYC's annual "Day at the Capitol"
educates youth on the legislative
process and lawmakers on the needs
of foster youth.
W
to Improve
25 of
Mar-24-00 02:35A
P.10
From Dr. Richard Barth
u.c. Berkeley
The Importance of Legal Permanency: Key Points
1. The number of children in foster care continues to grow in
California, even though the number of admissions to foster care
declined in 1995. Exits from foster care also declined and were more
than 5,000 fewer than the entrances.
2. Very young children continue to dominate the entrances into foster
care. Nearly 1% of infants enter foster care each year.
3. Neglect is increasingly the reason for entering foster care.
Neglected children have the longest stays in foster care.
4. When children do not exit from foster care they have many
placement moves. Permanent long-term foster care is an oxymoron.
5. Among infants in non kinship foster care, adoption is nearly twice
as likely an outcome as remaining in foster care by the end of six
years. For infants who enter kinship care adoption is less than one half
as likely as remaining in care.
6. For toddlers and pre-schoolers, the likelihood of adoption drops
dramatically for children in kinship and nonkinship care. For 6-12
year olds, the likelihood of adoption and remaining in care is
equivalent for children in kinship and nonkinship foster care.
7. African American children in nonkinship care are nearly four times
less likely to get adopted as Caucasian children and half as likely to
get adopted as Hispanic children within four years. These differences
are greater for children in kinship care.
8. Overall, about two-thirds of children have achieved the goal of
permanence by exiting to a family via reunification, guardianship, or
adoption within four years.
Summary
Mar-24-00 02:33A
P.03
DRAFT Remarks of Professor Richard P. Barth, Hutto Patterson Professor, School of Social
Welfare, University of California at Berkeley.
Thank you Chancellor Berdahl and a warm welcome to Mrs. Clinton and all of our guests.. It is
a great pleasure to represent the community of researchers and scholars who have contributed to
the passage of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 that we are here, today, to celebrate.
The University of California at Berkeley has a long history of research that informs social policy,
offering courses on philanthropy, charity, and social diagnosis as early as 1904. Berkeley's
School of Social Welfare has been a center for child welfare scholarship for nearly all of its more
than 50 year history. Our faculty identified the limbo and drift of children who were in foster
care in the 1950s (Maas & Engler, 1959), identified the advantages of legal guardianship for
children in foster care in the 1960s (Taylor, 1966), specified methods for permanency planning in
the 1970s (Stein, Gambrill, & Wiltse, 1978), clarified, in the 1980s, that special needs adoption
was generally very successful--especially if placements were made when children were at a
younger age (Barth & Berry, 1988), and have shown that parents who adopt children prenatally
exposed to drugs are as satisfied with their adoptions are parents who adopted children not drug-
exposed (Barth & Needell, 1996; Barth & Brooks, in preparation).
I want to highlight three findings that have recently come out of our Child Welfare Research
Center and that were cited in testimony leading to the child welfare reforms that we recognize
today.
Mar-24-00 02:33A
P.04
2
First, we showed that even very young children too often remain in foster care for extraordinarily
long times. Even six years after entering foster care, more than 20% of the children who entered
foster care as infants remain in foster care (Berrick, Needell, Barth, & Jonson-Reid,
forthcoming).
Second, the likelihood of leaving foster care in great part depends on the age of children. The
first preference of child welfare policy is to prevent children from going into foster care or, if
they do have to enter, to reunify them with their biological families. When children cannot go
home, child welfare policy has long recognized that they should not linger in foster care. Yet,
they do. When holding race constant, children who were younger than 1 at the time of their
placement into foster care and who did not go home were nearly 5 times as likely to be adopted
as children who were placed into foster care between the ages of 3 and 5 (Barth, 1997). Our
data indicate that adoption is far more age and time-sensitive than we ever new. The new child
welfare legislation recognizes that and strives for earlier adoption decisions and placements.
Third, when children are allowed to remain in foster care, we have learned that they experience
extraordinary instability. Among the infants who are placed into nonkinship foster care and
remain there for six years about half of them will live with three or more families and about one
in five of those children will experience five or more placements (Needell, Webster, Barth, and
Armijo, 1996). Stable long-term foster care is an oxymoron. Adoption is clearly the preferable
alternative and one that will now be better supported through out the states.
Mar-24-00 02:33A
P.05
3
These data have made it into the public policy debate in a way that shows the value of the
partnership that we have created in California between the University, the state, the counties
(which administer the child welfare service programs), foundations, and advocates. For the
most part, we did not carry the data back to Washington. Our colleagues in the public agencies
used these longitudinal data to make known their need for legislative reform. Because they are
so emersed in the immediacy of managing child welfare services, agency administrators often
welcome the longer-term view that researchers can provide about the outcomes for children they
serve.
Research is finding its way into practice, too, because of renewed federal, state, county, and
University efforts to educate the public and the profession about the need for effective family
preservation, foster care, and adoption services. Increases in the likelihood that abused and
neglected children will grow up in safe and permanent families, depend on our ability to infuse
current research and policy principles into the training of new child welfare workers and the
professional development of practicing ones.
This is the mission of the California Social Work Education Center (CALSWEC), which is a
collaborative effort between the 12 graduate schools of social work in California, the California
Department of Social Services, and the California Welfare Directors' Association. CALSWEC
is hosted at U.C. Berkeley and funded with University and state contributions and federal Title
IVE training funds. CALSWEC is endeavoring to reprofessionalize public child welfare services
and ensure that we become ever more responsive to the needs of children.
Mar-24-00 02:34A
P.06
4
Although none of us who work in the child welfare field can be satisfied with its current
condition, this is a moment when we can, nonetheless, be satisfied with the progress we have
made analyzing and responding to the needs of society's most vulnerable children.
In closing, I want to express my deep gratitude to the First Lady and tomany of you here who
have worked so vigorously on behalf of the safety and permanence of children over these many
years.
REFERENCES
Barth, R.P. (1997). Effects of race and age on the odds of adoption vs. remaining in long-term
foster care. Child Welfare, 76, 285-308.
Barth, R.P. & Berry, M. (1988). Adoption and disruption: Rates, risks, and resources. New York:
Aldine DeGruyter.
Barth, R.P. & Brooks, D. (In preparation). Outcomes for drug-exposed children eight years after
adoption. Berkeley, CA: University of California, School of Social Welfare, Child Welfare
Research Center.
Barth, R.P. & Needell, B. (1996). Outcomes for drug-exposed children eight years after adoption.
Children and Youth Services Review, 18, 37-55.
Berrick, J.D., Needell, B., Barth, R.P., & Jonson-Reid, M. (Forthcoming, 1998). The tender years:
Toward developmentally sensitive child welfare services for young children. New York:
Oxford University Press.
Maas, H. & Engler, R.E. (1959). Children in need of parents. New York: Columbia University
Press.
Needell, B., Webster, D., Barth, R.P., Armijo, M. (1996). Performance indicators for child
welfare services in California: 1995. Berkeley, CA: University of California, School of
Social Welfare, Child Welfare Research Center.
Stein, T., Gambrill, E., & Wiltse, K.T. (1978). Children in foster homes: Achieving continuity of
care. New York: Praeger.
Taylor, H. (1966). Guardianship or 'permanent placement' of children. California Law Review, 54.
741-747.
YOUTH
L
A
W
CENTER
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Chairman
MOMAS A WELCH
Broweek, Phleger & Harrison
Secretary
CHRISTOPHER M Mil AIN
YOUTH LAW CENTER
Crown Vaniage
Treasurer
(Children's Legal Protection Center)
VAI.F.RIE D LEWIS
Sateway love.
KENNETII A. AUGUST
Ziffren. Brittenham, Brenna & Tischer
PETER HULL
The Youth Law Center, a non-profit, public interest law organization,
Computer Consulcant
has been working to protect abused and at-risk children since 1978. With
MICHAH I DALE
Nava University
offices in San Francisco and Washington, D.C., the Center works nationally
HOWARD t FINE
to serve children, focusing particularly upon the problems of children living
Bsker s McXinzie
EDNA K. HENL
apart from their families in child welfare and juvenile justice systems. The
Attorney " law
goal of the Youth Law Center's work is to ensure that vulnerable children
MAKJA in HERNANDEZ Ph.D
MCII Consulting
are provided with the conditions and services they need to grow into
HELEN KLFINDERC
Commissioner
healthy, productive adults.
1 00 Angeles County Cummission for
Children a Familie-
IRIS F. LITT. M 13.
Staff attorneys investigate reports of abuse of children in adult jails,
Stantord Universing
school of Medicine
county juvenile detention facilities, state institutions, and child welfare
SUZANNE I.YNN
Manpower Demonstration
systems, and use training, technical assistance and negotiation to bring
Corporation
YL L. POINSETTE
about needed change. If abusive conditions or practices continue, the
- Corporation
Center uses litigation as a last resort to protect children and ensure humane
KC.11 PORTER. 1k.
Menicison. Tascill.
treatment. Center attorneys also advocate on behalf of poor and
N Mathiason
disadvantaged children to help them gain access to critical health, mental
STERI INC (TENRY) KOSS
Robb & Kuss
health, and special education services.
HOWARD M. TALENFELD
Coloday. Fass & balenfeld. P.A
NOBERT A. THUMPSON
Over the course of its history, the Youth Law Center has brought
Sheppeed. Mullin. Richer & Hampion
REVEREND WAYNT THOMPSON
about extensive changes and improvements in conditions and services for
First Refriel Institutional Church
hundreds of thousands of children throughout the country. The Center's
(Attiliations listed Inr
information purposes maly)
staff is widely recognized as a resource of expertise and support in
SAN FRANCISCO
children's law, and staff attorneys provide consultation, technical assistance,
Erecutive Director
AROLE B SHAUTFER
and write and widely disseminate educational materials relating to children's
Managing Director
rights. In addition to many articles, book chapters, monographs and reports,
LOREN M WARBOYS
Staff Arronicy:
Youth Law Center staff attorneys have written the leading legal treatise,
IAMES K. BELL
SUSAN L. BURKELL
Representing the Child Client, published by Matthew Bender and used by
MAKIA F. RAMIU
SHANNAN 1. WILBEK
attorneys across the country.
Parulizul
MAMIE 0. YEE
The Center has a staff of 16, including seven staff attorneys, a
Director of Development
VIRGINIA VAN ZANDI
paralegal, a development director, administrator, and clerical staff. The
Legislative Analyse
JOY WARREN
organization is guided by a 21-member Board of Directors that is composed
Administrative Stuff
of representatives of the legal, business, medical, educational, media and
ROBIN HISTION
HONITA BUTLER
philanthropic communities.
RITA GASTON
I.EN GHELH
KIS LINE MONTI.COMERY
SHINGTON, D.C.
President
MARK I SOLER
114 Sansome Street, Suite 950 San Francisco, California 94104-3820 415-543-3379 FAX 415-956-9022
TO:
Nicole Rabner
FROM: Carole Shauffer, Youth Law Center
RE:
California Permanency Efforts
California has been in the forefront of legislative efforts to ensure permanency
for children. Beginning with S.B. 14 which was the prototype for P.L. 96-272, the state
has attempted to limit the amount of time children spend in out -of-home care while, at
the same time providing services to keep families together.
The Youth Law Center, has for many years, been involved in implementation of
the requirement that reasonable efforts be made to maintain families prior to the
removal of a child from home. During that time, however, we found that the concept of
reasonable efforts was widely misunderstood. The public, in general, and many courts
and legislators believed that reasonable efforts meant that services must be provided
even to families that had no hope for successful. safe reunification. Some courts
believed that making efforts to identify an adoptive parent prior to termination of
parental rights was a violation of the reasonable efforts As a result children, spent
extended periods in foster care prior to being placed for adoption.
This misinterpretation was harmful for many reasons. First, it turned public
opinion against the concept of family preservation and reasonable efforts even when
they were appropriate. Second, it resulted in return of children to unsafe homes. Third
it meant that many children missed the opportunity to be adopted when they were
young and, in some cases, missed this opportunity altogether. Finally, it wasted both
social service and court resources on families who could not benefit from them,
reducing the resources available to families that were able to resolve their problems.
In response, over the past two years, the Youth Law Center with the support of
Los Angeles County, has worked with State legislators including Louis Caldera, Dion
Aroner, Cathy Wright, and Hilda Solis to develop legislation that eliminated the delays
caused by providing services to families that could not benefit from them. The
legislation created a presumption against providing services to families that for
example, had killed or maimed a sibling, previously seriously injured the same child, or
lost permanent custody of another child. In addition, violent felons or habitual
substance abusers who repeatedly failed or refused treatment were presumed unable
to benefit from services. In all cases the family has the opportunity to persuade the
court that it will benefit from services. When the provisions apply, parental rights can
immediately be terminated and children freed for adoption.
The legislation also made other changes. Most importantly, it allowed for
concurrent planning, That is, it stated that the fact that a foster family is willing to adopt
cannot be used as evidence that the agency has not made reasonable efforts to
reunify. It further established safety as the primary goal of the child protection system
and all participants including courts lawyers and social workers. It also eliminated many
of the grounds for denying termination of parental rights and so limited the number of
children for whom "long term foster care" was a "permanent plan."
There was opposition to this legislation by several groups. One grounds for
objection was a claim that such legislation violated federal law. For this reason, the
new legislation clarifying this issue is helpful
So far this legislation has had positive results where it has been fully
implemented. The Youth Law Center has worked with Los Angeles County to develop a
program under which "no reunification" is requested in every case to which the specific
exceptions apply. There have been hundreds of filings in the last ten months. No
services have been ordered in about half of these cases. In many of the other cases,
parents have become more serious about services and have committed themselves to
working on their problems. The existence of serious consequences has thus had a
positive effect on family reunification as well as adoption.
NOV-20-97 THU 04:15 PM UCB PUBLIC INFORMATION
FAX NO. 510 643 7461
P.03
research
Academics and Faculty
rankings
Academics and Facult
Berkeley IS awarded the
Top Universities, by Number of Graduate
greatest amount of research and elopment funds
Programs in the Top Iam Their Fields
among universities without medical school Each
year Berkeley demonstrates an outstanding ability to
I. University of California, Berkeley [35]
win support for research and development from all
2. Stanford [31]
sectors-federal, state, private, and nonprofit.
3. Harvard [26]
4. Princeton [22]
Berkeley Extramural Awards
5. MIT [20]
by Sponsor, 995-96
6. Cornell [19]
6. Yale [I9]
Federal
$ 184.3 million 58%
8. Chicago [I8]
Private Sources
$66.4 million 21%
9. Pennsylvania [15]
State
S 44. &million I4%
IO. UC San Diego [14]
University of California
$18 million
6%
IO. Columbia [14]
Miscellaneous Others
$ 4.3 million
1%
IO. Michigan [14]
IO. Wisconsin [14]
Total
$317.6 million 100%
Universities with Highest Number of
erkeley Extramural Awards
"Distinguished" Programs
by Discipline, 1995-96
I. University of California, Berkeley [32]
Life and Health Sciences
$100.2 million 32%
2. Stanford [28]
Engineering and
3. Harvard [25]
Computer Science
$64.1 million
20%
4. Princeton [24]
Physical Sciences
$.58.2 million
18%
5. MIT [20]
Social Sciences and
6. Cornell [19]
Humanities
$39.4 million
I2%
6. Yale [19]
Education
$9.3 million
3%
het
8. Columbia [18]
Public Service Programs
$16.1 million
5%
9.
Michigan [IS]
Others
$30.2 million IO%
IO. Caltech [14]
Total
$317.6 million 100%
IO. UC San Diego [14]
IO. Pennsylvania [14]
IO. UCLA [14]
Source: National Research Council [National
Source: Office of Sponsored Projects, UC
Academy of Sciences, National Academy of
Berkeley; National Science Foundation
Engineering, Institute of Medicine], 1995
NOV-20-97 THU 04:16 PM UCB PUBLIC INFORMATION
FAX NO. 510 643 7461
P. 04
entering ass
student body
profile, fa 1996 by ethni LEV
Qualifications of Freshmen Admitted, Fall 1996
Ethnicity of Undergraduate Students
[Note: The highest-ranked class in Cal's
By Percentage, Fall I996
history]
African American
5%
High School Mean
Asian American
39.5%
Grade-Point Average
84
Caucasian/White
30.1%
Latino
32%
High School Median
Native American
12%
Grade-Point Average
1.00
Foreign
6%
Other
5%
Mean Combined
No Data
5-3%
SAT Score
I295
Mean Combined
Ethnicity of Graduate Students,
SAT Score in California
By Percentage, Fall I996
[1994]
895
African American
4.1%
Mean Combined
Asian American
15.4%
SAT Score in U.S.
Caucasian/White
55.4%
[1994]
902
Latino
6.3%
Native American
7%
Foreign
14.4%
Number of Freshmen
Other
I.I%
Applications to Berkeley
No Data
2.6%
for Fall 1996
25,104
Number of Freshmen
Admitted to Berkeley
for Fall 1996
9,020
Freshmen Enrollment
for Fall 1996
3,708
Source: Office of Student Research, Fall I996
Source: Office of Student Research, Fall 1996
Registration Files, UC Berkeley
Registration Files, UC Berkeley
NOV-20-97 THU 04:13 PM
UCB PUBLIC INFORMATION
FAX NO. 510 643 7461
P. 02
enrollment
Students
quality of Students
entering student
Total, Fall 1996
29,797
Undergraduate Students
21,358
Graduate Students
8,439
Top National Universities,
By Percentage of Freshmen in Top IO% of High
Enrollment by Colleges and Schools, Fall 1996
School Class
Walter A. Haas School of Business
MIT
1,296
97%
College of Chemistry
University of California,
I,IOO
Graduate School of Education
Berkeley
95%
384
College of Engineering
Yale
3,690
95%
College of Environmental Design
Harvard
92%
1,001
School of Information
Princeton
92%
Management and Systems
Duke
87%
N/A
Graduate School of Journalism
Stanford
7.8
87%
Boalt Hall School of Law
887
College of Letters and Science
16,276
School of Library and
formation Studies* =
22
(
of Natural Resources
1,024
So
61 of Optomerry
280
School of Public Health
345
Graduate School of Public Policy
84
School of Social Welfare
210
The Board of Regents in May 1995 approved
replacing the School of Library and Information Studies
with the new School of Information Management and
Systems. The new school's first student admissions are
anticipated for the fall of 1997.
ce: Office of Student Research, Fall 1996
Registration Files, UC Berkeley
Source: U.S. News & World Report, September 1996
PRESIDENT CLINTON SIGNS THE ADOPTION AND SAFE FAMILIES ACT OF 1997
November 19, 1997
Today, President Clinton signs into law the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 to help thousands of children waiting
in foster care move more quickly into safe and permanent homes. This overwhelmingly bipartisan legislation was based
in large part on the recommendations of the Administration's "Adoption 2002" report. The report takes its name from
one of the President's central goals to at least double, by the year 2002, the number of children adopted or permanently
placed each year.
The Act makes sweeping changes in federal law on adoption and foster care enacted in 1980. The new law makes clear
that the health and safety of children must be the paramount concerns of state child welfare services. It sets swifter time
frames for making permanent placement decisions and terminating parental rights for children. For the first time, states
will have financial incentives to increase adoptions. Children with special needs and ongoing medical needs are ensured
health care coverage. Federal funds will continue for programs that work to keep families together when it is appropriate
and safe to do so.
Ensuring that Children are Safe
Clarifies Reasonable Efforts: As the President proposed, the new law ensures that children's health and safety are the
paramount concerns of the public child welfare system. It clarifies that there are instances when states are not required to
make "reasonable efforts" to keep children with their parents, such as when a parent has been convicted of murdering
another child or a child has been abandoned, tortured, or chronically abused.
Doubling the Number of Children Adopted or Permanently Placed by 2002
Creates Financial Incentives: The new law contains the President's plan to offer a financial bonus to states that increase
the number of children who are adopted from the public foster care system. These incentives will help to double the
number of children adopted. For every additional child adopted, a state will receive $4,000, with an additional $2,000
paid for each child with special needs. The Act authorizes $20 million for each of 5 years (FY 1999 to FY 2003) for the
bonuses, though eventually the bonuses will be offset by savings in foster care expenses.
Establishes Tighter Time Limits: Children who cannot safely return to their own families often wait far too long in foster
care typically over 3 years, but for many much longer. Under the new law, permanency hearings will now be held no
later than 12 months after a child enters foster care, 6 months earlier than under previous law, and states must initiate
termination of parental rights proceedings, except in specified circumstances, for any child who has been in foster care for
15 of the previous 22 months.
Breaking Down Barriers, Promoting Safe and Stable Families, and Achieving Accountability
Eliminating Obstacles: The new law prohibits delaying or denying adoptions across state or county lines, thereby
breaking geographic barriers to adoption.
Providing Supportive Services: The new law ensures that children with special needs keep health insurance coverage
when they are adopted, either through Medicaid or through the new children's health program. In addition, the new law
reauthorizes the Family Preservation and Family Support Services Program, renamed Promoting Safe and Stable
Families, which provides services to strengthen families before crises occur and to ensure safe, stable homes for children
who return to their families.
Emphasizing Results for Children: The new law authorizes HHS, in consultation with states, to develop new measures to
track and rate state performance efforts in providing child welfare services to ensure successful results for children.
Recognizing Success: Prior to the bill signing today, HHS recognized 13 awardees for significant achievement in helping
both adopted children and those waiting for adoption. Among the awardees are families, foundations, members of the
media and states that have improved the management of child welfare programs.
THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION RECORD ON ADOPTION
November 19, 1997
"/ am pleased that the Senate and the House of Representatives have passed historic, bipartisan legislation to promote adoption and
improve our nation's child welfare system, giving our nation's most vulnerable children what every child deserves a safe and
permanent home." Statement by President Clinton, November 13, 1997
Today, President Clinton signs into law the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 to help thousands of children waiting
in foster care move.more quickly into safe and permanent homes. This overwhelmingly bipartisan legislation was based
in large part on the recommendations of the Administration's "Adoption 2002" report. The report takes its name from
one of the President's central goals -- to at least double, by the year 2002, the number of children adopted or permanently
placed each year.
The Act makes sweeping changes in federal law on adoption and foster care enacted in 1980. The new law makes clear
that the health and safety of children must be the paramount concerns of state child welfare services. It sets swifter time
frames for making permanent placement decisions and terminating parental rights for children. For the first time, states
will have financial incentives to increase adoptions. Children with special needs and ongoing medical needs are ensured
health care coverage. Federal support will continue for services to keep families together when it is appropriate and safe.
The Clinton Administration has previously taken several important steps to encourage and increase adoptions and to
support the families who choose to open their hearts and their homes to these children. Since taking office in 1993, the
President has championed programs that find and-assist adoptive families, and has committed his Administration to
breaking down barriers, including high adoption costs and complex regulations. These steps include:
MAKING ADOPTION AFFORDABLE FOR FAMILIES. Last year, President Clinton signed into law the Small
Business Job Protection Act of 1996, which provides a $5,000 tax credit to families adopting children, and a $6,000 tax
credit for families adopting children with special needs. This provision has alleviated a significant barrier to adoption,
helping middle class families for whom adoption may be prohibitively expensive and making it easier for families to
adopt children with special needs. Since President Clinton took office, the number of children with special needs who
have been adopted with federal adoption assistance has risen by 60 percent. This year, in signing the Balanced Budget
Act of 1997, President Clinton ensured more support for families who adopt children with the $500 Per-Child Tax Credit.
GIVING STATES FLEXIBILITY AND SUPPORT. To test innovative strategies to improve child welfare systems,
the Clinton Administration has granted child welfare waivers to California, Delaware, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland, North
Carolina, Ohio and Oregon, giving the states more flexibility in tailoring services to meet the needs of children and
families. Up to two more states will receive approval for waivers under previous authority. Under the new Adoption and
Safe Families Act, HHS will grant up to 10 waivers per year to states. In addition, this Administration has provided states
with enhanced technical support and helped improve court operations. In September, HHS awarded 40 demonstration
grants to states, local agencies, courts, private organizations, and others committed to promoting adoption, a total of $7.9
million, for innovative programs to increase adoptions and reduce the number of children in foster care. To prevent
children from entering foster care in the first place, in 1993 the Clinton Administration secured federal funding for the
Family Preservation and Family Support Program to help states, local governments and service providers develop
effective programs to serve children and families at risk.
BREAKING DOWN RACIAL AND ETHNIC BARRIERS TO ADOPTION. The Small Business Job Protection Act
of 1996 also ensures that the adoption process is free from discrimination and delays on the basis of race, culture and
ethnicity by strengthening the Multi-Ethnic Placement Act which the President signed in 1994.
PROVIDING SUPPORTS FOR CHILD PROTECTION AND ADOPTION. In 1993, President Clinton signed into
law the Family and Medical Leave Act which enables parents to take time off to adopt a child without losing their jobs or
health insurance. In addition, the welfare reform bill that the President signed into law maintains the guarantee of child
protection and adoption, and does not reduce funds for child welfare, child abuse, foster care and adoption services.
RAISING PUBLIC AWARENESS. Through speeches, writings, events and public service announcements. the
President and First Lady have promoted the importance and benefits of adoption.
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
November 19, 1997
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AND FIRST LADY
AT ADOPTION BILL SIGNING
The East Room
1:53 P.M. EST
MRS. CLINTON: Thank you and welcome to the East Room.
Please be seated. We are delighted to have all of you join us today
for this very important event and one that many of you in this room
have worked for and looked for for many years.
There are some people that I would like to acknowledge
and introduce before we get started. You will hear from the four
members of Congress who are here on the stage, Representative
Kennelly, Representative Camp, Senator Chafee and Senator
Rockefeller. Also attending are Senator Craig, Senator DeWine,
Senator Landrieu, Representative Levin, Representative Oberstar,
Representative Maloney, and Representative Morella. And I'd like to
ask all the members of Congress to please stand. (Applause.)
This was truly a bipartisan piece of legislation. It
could not have been passed without the strong support of the members
whom you see, including the sponsors who are here on the stage. It
was also a work that was very much in the heart of Secretary Donna
Shalala and her team from HHS -- Richard Tarplin, Mary Bourdette, and
Carol Williams. And I'd like to ask the Secretary and her team to
stand please. (Applause.)
There were also a number of members of the White House
staff who worked very hard with members of Congress and with members
of the HHS contingent, and I'd like to acknowledge just a few of them
-- John Hilley. "Bruce Reed, Elena Kagan, and in particular Jen Klein
and Nicole Rabner. I want to thank all of them. (Applause.)
I'm also pleased that we have Governor Romer of
Colorado. We have children, families, advocates, and leaders of the
child welfare constituency here in our audience.
Nearly a year ago, the President and I met with children
waiting in the foster care system for caring families to call their
own. There the President pledged to reform the child welfare system
to work better for the children it serves, to put their health and
safety first, and to move children more quickly into safe and
permanent homes. Today we as a nation make good on that pledge.
And for the thousands of American children who wait for
a stable, loving home that will always be there, it is not a moment
too soon. Right now there are nearly half a million children in
foster care. For most, foster care is a safe haven on the road to a
permanent home or back home. Too many, however, make countless
detours along the way, shuffling from family to family without much
hope that they will ever find permanent parents to love and take care
of them. These children who will enter this holiday season unsure
about whether the family they celebrate this year will be there with
them next year deserve better.
We know it makes a difference for children to have
permanent loving homes. It's not only research that tells us this;
we know it by our intuition, by our own experience and we have all
seen it firsthand. It was here in this room two years ago that a
young woman named Deanna -- a child waiting to be adopted in foster
care stood up and read a poem about what she wanted in life, and it
wasn't real complicated. It is what all of us want. I'm happy that
because of that event here in the East Room, she was able to meet a
family who did adopt her. And I saw her last year at an event in
Kansas City and almost didn't recognize her -- from a shy, withdrawn
13-year-old, she had blossomed into a cheerful, outgoing, confident
teenager with a brilliant smile.
This landmark legislation that the President is about to
sign will see to it there are more stories like Deanna's. This
legislation stands as proof of what we can accomplish when we come
together. As we see today, the national government does have an
important role to play in reforming our foster care system, and
giving guidance to courts and states in offering incentives to speed
up and increase the numbers of adoptions, and in making sure that the
health and safety of our children is always the first priority.
But we know even more, all Americans have a role and a
responsibility. Businesses can make it easier for their employees to
adopt a child. And I want to single out Dave Thomas of Wendy's, who
has led the way in showing all of us how that can be done.
(Applause.)
Religious leaders can help spread the word about the
joys of adoptions. Parents thinking about adoption can expand their
search to reach out to kids in foster care. And if we reform the
system so that it works the way that it should, more Americans will
look to American children to adopt and not feel compelled to go
overseas to adopt children. (Applause.)
With us today are some extraordinary Americans who have
answered this call. This morning, the Department of Health and Human
Services observed National Adoption Month by honoring outstanding
achievements with the 1997 Adoption 2002 Excellence Awards.
Secretary Shalala developed these awards at the request of the
President. The winners are dedicated individuals and organizations,
both large and small, who have worked to move children out of the
foster care system and into permanent, loving homes. Some of them
have been at the forefront of this issue for years; some have
promoted and supported adoption in their communities; and some are
parents who have opened their homes and hearts to our nation's most
vulnerable children.
I'd like to ask all the honorees who were honored this
morning to please stand. (Applause.) We want to thank you for the
work you have done, for the example you have set. And we hope that
through these awards, in conjunction with this legislation, there
will be many, many more in your ranks in the years to come.
*****
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Sue Ann. Thank you, Aaron
(phonetic). And I want to thank the Badeau family for showing up. I
think it's fair to say it was a greater effort for them than for
anyone else here. (Laughter.) I appreciate the rest of your
presence. It was easier for me than anybody; I just had to come
downstairs. (Laughter.) But I'm grateful that they're here.
Secretary Shalala, I thank you and your staff for your
remarkable work on this. And I thank the members of the White House
staff, all the members of Congress who are present here. And
especially I thank Senators Rockefeller and Chafee and Congressmen
Camp and Kennelly for their work and for what they said here.
Congratulations to the Adoption 2002 Excellence Award
winners. I thank all the advocates who are here. And I say a
special word of thanks, along with all the others who have said it,
to the First Lady, who has been passionately committed to this issue
for at least 25 years now that I know. Thank you, Governor Romer,
for coming. And thank you, Dave Thomas, for what you've done.
Again let me say to all the members of Congress who are
here, Republicans and Democrats alike, I am very grateful for what
you've done. This, after all, is what we got in public life for,
isn't it?
Before I make my brief remarks, if you'll forgive me and
understand, I have to make one public statement today about the
situation in Iraq.
As I have said before, I prefer to resolve this
situation peacefully, with our friends and allies, and I am working
hard to do just that. But I want to be clear again about the
necessary objective of any diplomacy now underway. Iraq must comply
with the unanimous will of the international community and let the
weapons inspectors resume their work to prevent Iraq from developing
an arsenal of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. The
inspectors must be able to do so without interference. That's our
top line; that's our bottom line. I want to achieve it
diplomatically. But we're taking every step to make sure we are
prepared to pursue whatever options are necessary.
I do not want these children we are trying to put in
stable homes to grow up into a world where they are threatened by
terrorists with biological and chemical weapons. It is not right.
(Applause.)
It's hard to believe now, but it was just a little less
than a year ago when I directed our administration to develop a plan
to double the number of children we move from foster care to adoptive
homes by the year 2002. We know that foster parents provide safe and
caring families for children. But the children should not be trapped
in them forever, especially when there are open arms waiting to
welcome them into permanent homes.
The Adoption and Safe Families Act, which I am about to
sign, is consistent with the work of the 2002 report and our goals.
It fundamentally alters our nation's approach to foster care and
adoption. And fundamentally, it will improve the well-being of
hundreds of thousands of our most vulnerable children. The new
legislation makes it clear that children's health and safety are the
paramount concerns of our public child welfare system. It makes it
clear that good foster care provides important safe havens for our
children, but it is by definition a temporary, not a permanent,
setting.
The new law will help us to speed children out of foster
care into permanent families by setting meaningful time limits for
child welfare decisions, by clarifying which family situations call
for reasonable reunification efforts and which simply do not. It
will provide states with financial incentives to increase the number
of children adopted each year. It will ensure that adopted children
with special needs never lose their health coverage -- a big issue.
Thank you, Congress, for doing that. It will reauthorize federal
funding for timely services to alleviate crisis before they become
serious, that aid the reunification of families that help to meet
post-adoption needs.
With these measures we help families stay together where
reunification is possible and help find safe homes for children much
more quickly when it is not. We've come together in an extraordinary
example of bipartisan cooperation to meet the urgent needs of
children at risk. We put our differences aside, and put our children
first.
This landmark legislation builds on other action taken
in the last few years by Congress: the Adoption Tax Credit I signed
into law August to make adopting children more affordable for
families, especially those who adopt children with special needs; the
Multiethnic Placement Act, enacted two years ago, ensuring that
adoption is free from discrimination and delay, based on race,
culture, or ethnicity; and the very first law I signed as President,
the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, which enables parents to
take time off to adopt a child without losing their jobs or their
health insurance.
We have put in place here the building blocks of giving
all of our children what should be their fundamental right -- a
chance at a decent, safe home; an honorable, orderly, positive
upbringing; a chance to live out their dreams and fulfill their
God-given capacities.
Now, as we approach Thanksgiving, when families all
across our country come together to give thanks for their blessings,
I would like to encourage more families to consider opening their
homes and their hearts to children who need loving homes. You may
not want to go as far as the Badeaus have -- (laughter) -- but they
are a shining example of how we grow -- (applause) -- they are a
shining example of how we grow when we give, how we can be blessed in
return many times over. We thank them and all -- all of the adoptive
parents in the country.
For those who are now or have been foster or adoptive
parents, I'd like to say thank you on behalf of a grateful nation,
and again say at Thanksgiving, let us thank God for our blessings and
resolve to give more of our children the blessings they deserve.
Thank you very much. (Applause.)
END
2:19 P.M. EST
am
November 14, 1997 - Page 3
COMPARISON OF ADOPTION 2002 PROPOSALS AND ADOPTION LAW AS ENACTED
Topic
Adoption 2002 Report
Law as Passed (enrolled version of H.R. 867)
Reasonable Efforts Regarding
Establish a reasonable efforts requirement to secure an
Requires reasonable efforts to find an adoptive home or
Adoption
adoptive home when reunification has been ruled out.
other permanent living arrangement for children whose
permanency plan is other than return home (section 101)
and requires documentation of such efforts (section 107).
Clarifies that efforts toward adoption may be made
concurrently with reunification efforts.
Use of FPLS in Child Welfare
Encourage States to use the Federal Parent Locator
Specific authority to use the FPLS for these purposes is
Cases
Service to locate absent parents and relatives who might
provided (section 105).
provide a permanent home for the child and to terminate
parental rights when appropriate.
Child Welfare Waivers
Increase the number of child welfare demonstration
The Secretary may authorize 10 demonstration projects
waivers.
per year for each of FYs 1998-2001. The Secretary is
particularly required to consider applications regarding the
removal of barriers to adoption, regarding substance abuse
treatment and placing children in residential facilities with
their mothers, and regarding kinship care. The Secretary
further is granted the authority to extend the duration of
demonstration projects beyond their initial 5 year period
(section 301).
Kinship Care
Suggests this is an issue that needs further study.
HHS must produce a draft report on kinship care which is
Commits to establishing kinship demonstration projects as
to be reviewed by an advisory panel on kinship care (to
provided for in the reauthorized CAPTA legislation, and
be convened by June 1, 1998), and then issue a final
through child welfare demonstration waivers.
report by June 1, 1999 (section 303). The advisory
panel's primary purpose is to review the Secretary's draft
report. See also mention of kinship care under the topic
of child welfare waivers.
November 14,
Page 5
COMPARISON OF ADOPTION 2002 PROPOSALS AND ADOPTION LAW AS ENACTED
Topic
Adoption 2002 Report
Law as Passed (enrolled version of H.R. 867)
Family Preservation and Support
Not addressed, except to note the need for family
Reauthorizes Family Preservation and Support (FP/S) for
services.
three years (FY99 through FY2001) at essentially the
same levels as in current law with minor increases each
year. The program is renamed "Promoting Safe and
Stable Families" and two additional categories of services
are added, time-limited family reunification services and
adoption promotion and support services. In addition, the
state plans for the program must include an assurance that
the safety of the child shall be of paramount concern in
services provided under this program (section 305).
Health Insurance Coverage for
Not addressed.
States' IV-E plans must provide for health insurance
Adopted Special Needs Children
coverage for special needs children for whom there is a
non-IV-E adoption assistance agreement in place (IV-E
children already are eligible for Medicaid). Such
coverage may be provided either through Medicaid or
other means but must be comparable to Medicaid
coverage. States may make cost sharing arrangements
with adoptive parents for such coverage, taking into
account adoptive parents' circumstances and the child's
needs (section 306)
IV-E Eligibility for Special
Not addressed.
If a child placed in an adoptive home under a IV-E
Needs Children Whose
adoption assistance agreement comes back into the care of
Adoptions Disrupt
the state, the child's IV-E eligibility shall continue
(section 307).
Quality Guidelines
Not addressed.
Each state shall, by January 1, 1999, develop and
implement standards assuring that children are provided
with quality services that protect their health and safety
(section 308). This becomes a IV-E plan requirement.
Preservation of Reasonable
Not addressed.
Clarifies that nothing in this act is intended to intrude
Parenting
upon reasonable methods of parenting (section 401).
November 14,
Page 6
COMPARISON OF ADOPTION 2002 PROPOSALS AND ADOPTION LAW AS ENACTED
Topic
Adoption 2002 Report
Law as Passed (enrolled version of H.R. 867)
Standby Guardianships
Not addressed.
Provides a sense of the Congress that states should have
standby guardianship laws (section 403).
Welfare Contingency Fund
Not addressed.
In order to pay for the various provisions of the bill, the
welfare contingency fund is reduced by $40 million
spread over 5 years. This includes $2 million in FY98,
$9 million in FY99, $16 million in FY2000 and $13
million in FY2001.
Report to Ways and Means and
Not addressed except to note the importance of substance
Requires HHS to submit a report to Congress on this
Finance Committees on the
abuse issues to the child protection field and the need for
topic by one year after the date of enactment (section
Coordination of Substance
substance abuse services for families in the child welfare
405).
Abuse and Child Protective
system.
Services
Sense of Congress Regarding the
Not addressed.
To the extent practicable all equipment and products
Purchase of American-Made
purchased with funds under this act should be American-
Equipment and Products
made (section 406).
TALKING IT OVER
BY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bill and I get a lot of letters. Some ask me for advice on hairstyles. Others ask
him for golf tips. But the best letters are always from kids. I'll never forget the letter he
got from a young boy in lowa. It said, "Dear Mr. President, My name is Rollie. I like to
play football and basketball. I've been waiting eight years for an adoptive family. I'm
hoping for a family with pets, a brother and a sister, and nice parents."
Thanks to a new law Bill signed this week, the Adoption and Safe Families Act
of 1997, more children like Rollie will have their hopes fulfilled. This law holds out the
promise that all children in our foster care system will have a chance to find what every
child deserves loving parents and a safe, permanent home.
Right now, there are half a million children in foster care. For most of them,
foster care is a safe haven on the road to a permanent home. Too many, however,
make countless detours along the way, shuffling from family to family, without much
hope that they'll ever find parents to love and take care of them.
This new law will come to their aid. It is the direct result of the President's
commitment to improving the lives of all children. And it will help meet his goal of
doubling by the year 2002 the number of kids who are adopted or placed in
permanent homes each year.
Here's what this legislation will do:
-- With this law, the health and safety of children will always be the first priority.
The best chance children have in this life is with parents who love them and we must
always do our best to give them that. But we cannot ever leave children in unsafe
homes. Under this law, states will no longer be required to try to keep children with
parents who tortured, abandoned or chronically abused a child. When this happens, a
child will be on a fast track to a safe, permanent home. Furthermore, states will conduct
criminal background checks of prospective foster and adoptive parents.
-- With this new law, foster care will become what it was always meant to be -- a
temporary refuge en route to a permanent home not a place to grow up. For kids in
foster care, hearings determining their future will be sped up by at least six months. For
children who have been in foster care for 15 of the last 22 months, states must move
forward to terminate parental rights except in narrowly specified circumstances. For
children who cannot be safely returned to their families, states must do all they can to
find a permanent place to call home. And states now will receive financial incentives to
Clinton Signs Law to Speed Adoption Process for Children in Foster. Care
our most vulnerable children," the
The new law is the latest initiative
Hillary Clinton has made adoption a
Clinton recalled meeting a young girl
States that increase the number of
By Peter Baker
president said during the East Room
embraced by the Clinton White House
pet cause for many years and argued in
waiting for adoption two years ago. "I
children adopted will receive a
Washington Post Writer
ceremony. "The new legislation makes
to encourage adoptions, after a previ.
her book, "It Takes a Village," that
saw her last year at an event in Kansas
$4,000 bonus for every extra child
Joined by dozens of children at the
it clear that children's health and safety
ously enacted tax credit and new rules
100,000 children could be removed from
City and almost didn't recognize her--
placed in a permanent home and
White House, President Clinton
are the paramount concerns of our
intended to break down legal barriers
the adoption and foster care rolls each
from a shy, withdrawn 13 year-old, she
$6,000 for children who are older or
signed legislation yesterday revamp-
public child wellare system."
to cross-racial adoptions.
year with the right policies. Adoption
had blossomed into a cheerful. outgo
have physical or emotional disabili-
ing the nation's adoption laws to make
The legislation, which had biparti-
Separately yesterday, Clinton also
has long hovered around the Clintons'
ing, confident teenager with a briltiant
ties. The new law also ensures that
it easier to move tens of thousands
san sponsorship and passed Congress
signed legislation providing a 2.1 per-
personal lives as well. Hillary Clinton
smile," the first lady:said.
children with special health needs
more children out of foster homes and
last week with near-unanimous sup-
cent cost-of living increase in benefits
had trouble conceiving their only
About 500,000 children now live in
keep their medical coverage when
into permanent families each year.
port, rewrites the 1980 federal law that
for 2.6 million disabled veterans and
daughter Chelsea and as recently as last
foster care, according to officials, and
they are adopted.
The measure, a personal priority of
required states to pursue "reasonable
surviving family members, effective
year the first lady said they were think-
some wait two or three years for place-
"For too long, the cries and pleas of
first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, re-
efforts" to keep families together to
Dec. 1.
ing about adopting a second child.
ment in permanent homes. Under the
children in this system went unheard."
defines national policy toward children
obtain federal money for foster care.
The adoption signing ceremony had
However, after the election, the pres-
new rules, states must hold hearings on
said Sen. John H. Chafee (R-R.I.), who
separated from their parents so that
Instead. officials said, new time limits
the look of a school assembly. Joining
ident privately told people in the White
a child's future within 12 months of
sponsored the legislation along with
the government's top priority from
and federal funding incentives in the
the many politicians, parents and wel.
House that they had opted against such
being removed from the family, instead
Sen. John D. "Jay" Rockefeller IV
now on will be determining the best
measure will result in speedier pro-
fare officials were nearly 50 children
a move, at least while he was still in
of 18 months as previously stipulated.
(D.W.Va.) and others. "Today we sent
interests of the child rather than neces-
cessing with the aim of meeting Clin.
from adoption agencies, foster care
office, because any adopted child would
Officials no longer must make "reason-
them a message of hope and an indica-
sarily reuniting families.
ton's goal of doubling the number of
homes and the Badeau family of Phila-
need more time and attention than they
able efforts" to return children to par-
tion that they and their needs will.no
"Fundamentally, it will improve the
children adopted from foster homes
delphia. Susan and David Badeau have
would have available.
ents if they have been abandoned, tor-
longer be cast aside, ignored or made a
well-being of hundreds of thousands of
each year to 54,000 by 2002.
21 children, 19 of them adopted.
During yesterday's event, Hillary
tured or chronically abused.
second priority."
The Washington Post
FINAL
THURSDAY. NOVEMBER 20. 1997
120ml YEAR
No 350
THURSDAY. NOVEMBER 20, 1997
Five Deaths
Iraq to Back Down,
Shock a D.C.
Albright, U.N. Told
Neighborhood
Conferees Stand Firm in Geneva
By Thomas W. Lippman
rect. an announcement from Bagh-
Washington
dad may come after a special meet.
By Gabriel Escobar
ing of the Iraqi parliament this morn-
Washington
GENEVA Nov. 20 (Thursday)-
ing. diplomats said. Such an outcome
The police tape went up again along Prince-
Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny
would seem to represent a total
ton Place NW this week. sealing off one of the
Primakov told representatives of the
victory for the United Nations-and
two row houses for the second time since May.
U.N. Security Council early today that
in particular the United States-in
Again this neighborhood went through a famil-
lraq is prepared to back down from its
the latest of the seemingly annual
iar. and frightening. routine. Uniformed officers
confrontation with the United Nations
showdowns with Iraqi President Sad-
and detectives poked around. the medical ex-
over weapons inspections, and an an-
dam Hussein.
aminer came. the corpse of another black
D.C. police officer Maureen Walsh leaves 766 Princeton Place NW. where two dead women were found.
nouncement to that effect is expected
The immediate and unconditional
woman was removed.
later today. Secretary of State Made-
resumption of the search for Iraqi
Tuesday's discovery of the body of Jacque-
leine K. Albright announced.
chemical. biological and nuclear
and the discovery. three days later and less than
manual strangulation, and yesterday afternoon
line Teresa Birch. 39. means that four women
"We are looking now for proof that
weapons by U.N. monitoring teams
10 blocks away. of a female torso that is still not
he ruled the case a homicide. That was a
this has happened: we will obviously
that include Americans has been the
have died in the immediate vicinity since No-
identified.
departure from the other cases, including the
be pleased if it does." Albright said at a
Clinton administration's objective
vember 1996. three of them on Princeton Place
In the case of Birch. a question that has hung
torso found behind a building on Meridian
5 a.m. news conference after an ex-
since Saddam Hussein provoked a
and two of those in the same empty row house.
over the neighborhood after each grisly discov-
Place. all of which are officially labeled deaths
traordinary wee-hours gathering here
showdown last month by barring
Adding to the mystery is the Oct. 10 disappear-
ery-how did she die?-was answered for the
due to "undetermined" causes.
to review Russian efforts to end Iraq's
American participants. Over the past
ance of a woman last seen on Princeton Place-
first time. The District's acting medical examin-
Although yesterday's homicide finding ap-
defiance of Security Council resolu-
few days. the urgency of resuming
near Georgia and New Hampshire avenues-
er determined that the latest victim died of
See WOMEN,A20,Col.1
tions ordering the arms inspections.
the inspections has increased as evi.
If Primakov's assessment is cor.
See POLICY,A36. Col.
4 Boys, 3 Girls
Clinton Backs
And 6 Minutes:
'Bill of Rights'
Septuplets Born
For Patients
President to Seek Law
By Sue Anne Pressley
Washington
To Enforce Standards
An Iowa woman gave birth yesterday to
what may be the world's first surviving set of
septuplets, making medical history with the
By Amy Goldstein
successful delivery of four boys and three
Washington
All of the infants, born to Kenny and Bobbi
President Clinton will propose ted:
McCaughey, were listed in serious condition
eral legislation today to create a
after being delivered by Caesarean section at
broad new set of government stan-
lows Methodist Medical Center in Des
dards aimed at guaranteeing Ameri-
PRESIDENT AND FRIEND
cans better care and more clout in
Moines: one. Joel Steven.w briefly listed as
critical but later upgraded to serious. But
the nation's changing health care
President Clinton signed a law to speed adoptions.
doctors and family members seemed elated
system. according to White House
With him at White House was Aaron Badeau, 7. of
officials.
by the babies' apparently robust health and
Philadelphia, youngest of David and Susan Badeau's
The officials said that Clinton
their birth weights. which ranged from 2
21 children, 19 of whom they adopted. Story, A17.
plans to give his full endorsement to
pounds, 5 ounces to 3 pounds, 4 ounces.
"I am probably one of the proudest grand-
a health care "bill of rights" that
fathers in the country at this moment" said
would assure insured patients easier
access to treatment more informa-
Bob Hepworth. Bobbi's father, beaming as
he announced the births. "I would ask that all
tion to help them select health plans
believers across the world join us in praying
and doctors. and new ways to appeal
for Bobbi and the babies."
if they are dissatisfied with their
care.
Bobbi McCaughey, 29. had just entered
her 31st week of pregnancy, short of the
The president plans to call on
typical 40-week gestation period but well past
every U.S. health insurer to adopt
the point where doctors believed the fetuses
these patient protections. which
could survive. Generally, women expecting
were proposed by an advisory com-
multiple births do not go the full term. and
mission that completed work on the
premature infants are most vulnerable to
plan yesterday. Clinton also will in-
respiratory problems and feeding complica-
struct the federal agencies that over-
tions. But doctors said the McCaughey in-
see health insurance to spend three
fants apparently were well developed and had
months studying which of the safe-
benefited from pre-birth medication to
guards can be enforced under exist-
ing law That White House alls iale
See HOWA,A19, Col.
must the president has Conc luded
that many facets of the commission
proposal will require Congress to
act.
By swiftly embracing the work of
the commission he appointed earlier
Columbia River Shores: Wild, Scenic, Radioactive
this year-and by advocating new
lederal standar to enforce " Chn
ton is making his largest and most
controversial foray into the health
By William Booth
lent factory that for four decades produced
faced. on the north bank. by a towering wall
care issue since his attempt at funda-
Washington StateWriter
the palm-sized pucks of plutonium that
of white bluffs.
mental health reforms was rejected
filled the atomic bombs. and left behind an
"It has everything you want a river to
RICHLAND. Wash.-On the last free-
by Congress three years ago.
awful legacy. This is one of the most
have: clean water. good flow, surrounded by
flowing stretch of the Columbia River, the
His decision comes amid growing
poisonous waste dumps on Earth.
wonderful habitat. There's just this one little
big water moves fast and cold, so clear that
evidence that the American public is
And so it is one of the weird ironies of the
problem." said David Goeke, the project
wary of the changes wrought by the
anglers trolling their lures can see the dark
post-Cold War era the a 51-mile stretch of
manager for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
proliferation of health maintenance
shadows of the chinook salmon lurking
the Columbia River that runs through the
Service's refuge here.
organizations and other kinds of
below their boats. awaiting the coming
Department of Energy's nuclear repository
The problem. of course. is the thousands
"managed care." which try to curb
spawn.
is being proposed for federal designation as
of tons of radioactive scrap and the millions
medical costs by limiting how much
But the fishermen do not wander ashore
a Wild and Scenic River
of gallons of screaming hot irradiated ooze
and what kind of care patients may
here. It is forbidden. For along the bluff,
The section of river is known as the
buried on the surrounding reservation-
receive. Though the idea of improv.
spaced like ancient watchtowers on the
Hanford Reach. a precy are of undeveloped
where. as recently as May, a storage tank at
ing the quality of medical care has
Shown with her parents, toddler Mikayia
high dry desert. are the nine reactors of the
water, dotted with islands rich in the re-
a shuttered plutonium processing plant
wide political support, there are in-
McCaughey now has seven baby siblings.
Hanford Nuclear Reservation. the now si-
mains of prehistoric fishing camps. and
See HANFORD,A16, Col.
See CARE.A4.Col.
Emotional Debate Preceded
"The Cow': Who and How
INSIDE
Plans for Race Panel
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1997
The New York Times
Paul Hosefros/The New York Times
Cheers for New Law on Adoptions
With a :rowd of spectators. including Government officials and adopted children, President Clinton yesterday signed legislation to speed the
movement of children from foster homes to adopted homes. The law is intended to double the number of such adoptions each year, to about 54,000.
Measure
to speed up
adoptions
becomes law
By Mimi Hall
USA TODAY
WASHINGTON - Surrounded by doz-
ens of adopted children and their families
Tuesday, President Clinton signed legisla-
tion to speed up adoptions of children who
now spend years in a foster-care limbo.
"This bill will improve the lives of hun-
dreds of thousands of our most vulnerable
children," Clinton said during an emotion-
al ceremony in the East Room of the
White House. "We have put in place here
the building blocks of giving all of our chil-
dren what should be their fundamental
right: a chance at a decent, safe home: an
honorable, orderly, positive upbringing; a
chance to live out their dreams and fulfill
their God-given capacities."
Under a 1980 child-welfare law, the gov-
ernment gave the highest priority to coun-
seling and other efforts to reunite children
with their biological parents, even if the
parents had been abusive or neglectful.
But 500,000 children who cannot return to
their families languish in foster care, wait-
ing an average of more than three years
before they are adopted.
Now, the highest priority is the child.
The White House says adoptions from fos-
ter care should double to 54,000 a year.
House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga.,
who was adopted by his mother's second
By Mark Wilson, Reuters
husband, called the bill a "triumph for
Seeing is believing: Aaron Badeau, 7, attends the ceremony Wednesday for President
common
sense
over political meddling
Clinton's signing of adoption legislation. Aaron's family includes 19 adopted children.
at the expense of helpless children."
Government services to help troubled
any child who has been in foster care for
will enter this holiday season unsure about
families regain their children continue un-
15 of the previous 22 months.
whether the family they celebrate with
der the new law, which passed in Congress
A child with special medical needs
this year will be there with them next year,
with broad support from both parties. But
may not be denied insurance by Medicaid
deserve better."
under the new provisions:
or the new federal children's health pro-
Sueann Badeau, 20, one of 19 children
States no longer have to make "rea-
gram after being adopted - a provision to
adopted by Sue and Hector Badeau of Phil-
sonable efforts" to keep children with
reassure middle- and upper-income fam-
adelphia, attended the ceremony with her
their biological families if a parent has
ilies that they won't lose their health insur-
family, which also includes the Badeaus'
been convicted of murdering another
ance or go bankrupt paying medical bills
two biological children. She and her four
child or the child has been abandoned, tor-
for an adopted child.
biological siblings were adopted when she
tured or chronically abused.
Adoptions may not be delayed or de-
was 7 years old. She said she had spent sev-
States get financial incentives to in-
nied across state or county lines. Until
eral years in seven or eight foster homes.
crease adoptions of kids in foster care. For
now, some states and counties wouldn't
"I know what it's like to be in foster
every adoption over current levels, a state
place a child in another area because they
care," she told the audience, her voice
will get $4,000 - $6,000 if the child is dis-
would lose federal reimbursement.
cracking. "Being adopted is the best thing
abled or has special medical needs.
"Foster care is a safe haven on the road
that's ever happened to me."
A hearing to determine whether a
to a permanent home or back home," first
The first lady also choked up.
child should move to an adoptive home
lady Hillary Rodham Clinton said. "Too
The president urged other families to
must be held within 12 months of the child
many, however, make countless detours
consider adoption. "You may not want to
entering foster care. Under the old law, a
along the way, shuffling from family to
go as far as the Badeaus have," he joked,
hearing was required within 18 months.
family without much hope that they will
"but they are a shining example of how we
States must begin proceedings on
ever find permanent parents to love and
grow when we give, how we can be blessed
whether to terminate parental rights for
take care of them. These children, who
in return many times over."
President signs foster care reforms
Law will make adoption easier
permanent placements to 54,000 a
By Cheryl Wetzstein
year by 2002.
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
The new reform "is consistent
President Clinton signed into
with our goals," he said yester-
law yesterday a foster care reform
her three siblings. They were all
to their biological families, but
day, pointing to new, swifter time-
adopted by Hector and Susan
tens of thousands of children
bill that he said will make it easier
tables for making decisions about
for thousands of abandoned and
Badeau, a Philadelphia couple
spend years in the system, waiting
children's futures and the law's
abused children to find permanent
who have now adopted 21 children
for their families to stabilize or for
guidelines telling authorities when
homes more easily.
from foster care.
another family to adopt them.
to stop trying to reunify broken
The law will "help families stay
"I know how hard it is to be in
Each year as many as 13,000
families.
together where reunification is
foster care
not knowing where
children leave foster care as
The law further promotes adop-
possible and help find safe homes
you're going to live," Miss Badeau
adults, never having found a per-
tion by ensuring medical coverage
for children much more quickly
tearfully told the gathering, which
manent home. Studies show that
for children with special needs, re-
when it is not," President Clinton
included her parents and many of
many of these children struggle as
warding states for increased adop-
said at a ceremony in the East
her adopted siblings.
adults - many girls become un-
tions of foster care children and
Room, jammed with adoptive fam-
"Being adopted is the best thing
wed mothers, and many boys enter
instructing states not to block
Reuters
ilies, members of Congress and
that has ever happened to me, and
the criminal justice system.
adoptions because of geographic
President Clinton talks to Aaron Badeau at yesterday's ceremony on the
other supporters of the bill.
I love you very much, Mom and
In 1995, 50,000 children in foster
barriers.
new adoption act. Aaron and his sister Sue Ann (right) were adopted.
"For the thousands of American
Dad," she said.
care were freed for adoption.
Lowering the geographic bar-
children who wait for a stable, lov-
The Adoption and Safe Families
Around 20,000 of those children
riers is a key reform, Mrs. Badeau
focus is adoption, it also reauthor-
tion needs to keep talking about
ing home that will always be there,
Act affects some 700,000 abused,
were adopted; another 7,000 chil-
said later. Several of her children,
izes for three years a massive fed-
adoption.
it is not a moment too soon," said
neglected or abandoned children
dren found permanent homes with
she explained, had to wait as long
eral program aimed at preventing
Adopting a child is "not for ev-
first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.
who spend time each year in the
guardians.
as two extra years in the system
abuse in troubled families.
eryone," he said. "But in many
Mr. Clinton was introduced by
national network of foster homes,
Last December, Mr. Clinton
because their adoptions were
Dave Thomas, founder of
cases, it's the right thing. And it's
Sue Ann Badeau, 20, who spent
group homes and institutions.
called for reform of the system and
across state lines.
Wendy's International and an
especially the right thing for kids
several years in foster care with
Most children eventually return
set a goal of doubling adoptive and
Although the reform's primary
adopted child himself, said the na-
without a home."
The Washington Times
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1997
President Signs Legislation to Speed Adoptions
Associated Press
ing adoption. Clinton called on many
additional $2,000 bonus will be paid for
graphic barriers to adoption, the new
With dozens of adopted children
more American families "to open their
each adoption of a child with special
and their families looking on, Presi-
homes and their hearts to children
law forbids delaying or denying adop-
medical needs.
who need a loving home."
tions across state or county lines.
dent Clinton signed legislation yester-
At present, children who have been
Rep. Barbara B. Kennelly (D-
Other provisions include:
day to speed the movement of children
removed from their natural families
from foster care to "permanent and
Conn.), a member of the bipartisan
and cannot safely return to them typi-
Ensuring that children with special
loving homes."
team responsible for passage of the
cally wait three years or more to be
medical needs retain their health in-
Foster homes have an important
legislation, said, "It not only gives a
placed in permanent homes. The new
surance after adoption, through Med-
place, the president said, "but children
child back their childhood but it gives a
law requires that permanency hear-
icaid or the new children's health
child hope."
should not be trapped in them forever,
ings be held no later than 12 months
program.
Clinton signed the bill with a flour-
after a child enters foster care, six
Maintaining a previous law providing
especially when there are open arms to
ish during a ceremony in the East
welcome them."
months earlier than the old law.
services to strengthen troubled fami-
Room of the White House, which
"Fundamentally, this bill will im-
It also spells out situations in which
lies and ensuring safe and stable
echoed with the cries and exclama-
states are not required to make a
homes for children who return to their
prove the lives of hundreds of thou-
tions of dozens of adopted children.
"reasonable effort" to return a child to
families.
sands of our most vulnerable chil-
In a step designed to encourage a
the child's birth parents. These in-
Authorizing the Department of
dren," Clinton said.
speedier adoption process, the new law
clude cases in which a parent has been
Health and Human Services to consult
The law aims at doubling the num-
offers states $20 million in bonuses for
convicted of murdering another child
with states on new measures to track
ber of adoptions each year to about
each of the next five years. For every
or when a child has been abandoned,
54,000. The White House said about
the performance of states in providing
additional child adopted over current
tortured or abused.
child welfare services "to ensure suc-
500,000 American children are await-
levels the state will receive $4,000. An
And in a bid to break down geo-
cessful results for children."
TheWashington Post
THURSDAY. NOVEMBER 20, 1997
By Hillary Rodham Clinton
New law fosters change
to speed up adoptions
incentives to increase the number
B
ill and I get a lot of letters.
Some ask me for advice
of foster care children who are
on hairstyles. Others ask
adopted each year - especially
him for golf tips. But the
those with special needs.
best letters are always from kids.
This new law removes another
I'll never forget the letter he
barrier: It gets rid of the obsta-
got from a young boy in Iowa. It
cles that keep families from
said, "Dear Mr. President, My
adopting children across state
name is Rollie. I like to play foot-
and county lines. It also tells chil-
ball and basketball. I've been
dren with special needs: You will
waiting eight years for an adop-
continue to have health insurance
tive family. I'm hoping for a fam-
under Medicaid or the new State
ily with pets, a brother and a sis-
Child Health Insurance Program.
ter, and nice parents."
And it tells parents that our gov-
Thanks to a new law Bill
ernment will work harder to
signed this week, the Adoption
strengthen families and prevent
and Safe Families Act of 1997,
child abuse and neglect.
more children like Rollie will
With this new law, we are go-
have their hopes fulfilled. This
ing to demand accountability by
law holds out the promise that all
basing state performance on the
children in our foster care system
only yardstick that matters: re-
will have a chance to find what
sults. The Department of Health
every child deserves - loving
and Human Services will develop
parents and a safe, permanent
an annual report card to show
home.
how states are measuring up -
Right now, there are half a mil-
including the number of adop-
lion children in foster care. For
tions they've completed and the
most of them, foster care is a ha-
amount of time children are stay-
ven on the road to a permanent
ing in foster care.
home. Too many, however, make
Regardless of age, religion or
countless detours along the way,
race, all the children I've met
shuffling from family to family,
over the years have had one im-
without much hope that they'l
portant thing in common: All of
ever find parents to love and take
them needed parents in their
care of them.
lives. Someone to pick them up
This new law will come to
when they've fallen. Someone to
their aid. It is the direct result of
teach them right from wrong.
the president's commitment to
Someone to tuck them into bed at
improving the lives of all chil-
night. Someone simply to love
dren. And it will help meet his
them.
goal of doubling by the year 2002
It is for this reason that, for
the number of kids who are
more than 25 years, I've done my
adopted OF placed in permanent
best to call attention to children
homes each year.
in foster care and to see to it
With this law, the health and
these children are not lost in the
safety of children will always be
system and that those who cannot
the first priority. The best chance
ever go home are freed for adop-
children have in this life is with
tion.
parents who love them - and we
The landmark bill my husband
must always do our best to give
signed will go a long way toward
them that.
making sure this happens. It's a
But we cannot ever leave chil-
historic opportunity, one that
dren in unsafe homes. Under this
couldn't have happened without
law, states will no longer be re-
extraordinary bipartisan work
quired to try to keep children
from members of Congress in
with parents who tortured, aban-
both houses.
doned or chronically abused a
child. When this happens, a child
But this new law will not solve
will be on a fast track to a safe,
all that ails our child-welfare sys-
permanent home. Furthermore,
tem. Businesses can make it eas-
states will conduct criminal back-
ier for their employees to adopt a
ground checks of prospective fos-
child. Religious leaders can help
ter and adoptive parents.
spread the word about the joys of
The Washington Times
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1997
With this new law, foster care
adoption. Parents thinking about
will become what it was always
adoption can expand their search
meant to be - a temporary ref-
to reach out to kids in foster care.
uge en route to a permanent
That's what Bernell and Della
home - not a place to grow up.
Neal did - again and again and
For kids in foster care, hear-
again. This week, the government
ings determining their future will
honored them with a 1997 Adop-
be sped up by at least six months.
tion 2002 Excellence Award.
For children who have been in
These parents have adopted 11
foster care for 15 or more of the
children, many with severe phys-
last 22 months, states must move
ical and emotional needs. Though
forward to terminate parental
the Neals have faced tough chal-
rights except in narrowly
lenges, they have shown that
specified circumstances. For chil-
nothing is impossible. Their fam-
dren who cannot be safely re-
ily motto: "There's always room
turned to their families, states
for one more."
must do all they can to find a per-
Because of this new law, that
manent place to call home. And
will be the motto for other fam-
states now will receive financial
ilies as well.
Clinton to Approve Sweeping Shift in Adoption
KATHARINE Q. SEELYE
the sprawling, fragmented foster-
which had the effect of slowing the
care system, which encompasses a
adoption of black children by white
ASHINGTON, Nov. 16 - Presi-
half-million children.
families. Experts said it was not
dent Clinton is preparing to sign into
The Federal Government, which
clear yet what effect the removal of
law the most sweeping changes to
the nation's adoption and foster-care
provides some cash assistance for
those barriers has had.
foster care and sets standards for
Another reason so many children
system in nearly two decades.
the use of that money, has little actu-
languish in foster care is a 1980 law
The changes, approved by Con-
al control over the system, which is
that requires courts to make "rea-
gress last week as it wrapped up its
administered state by state. "There
sonable efforts" to reunite them with
work for the year, are intended to
is very little at the Federal level that
their biological families before pa-
make it easier to remove children
from abusive families and speed up
we can do," a top Congressional aide
rental rights can be severed and the
conceded. "But we want to send a
children can be legally available for
their adoption.
signal that we don't like what we
adoption. Of the 500,000 children in
The new legislation marks a fun-
damental shift in child-welfare phi-
see."
foster care now, only about 100,000
The numbers of children in foster
have had their parental rights termi-
losophy, away from a presumption
that everything should be done to
care climb every year and are now
nated and are free for adoption.
up 89 percent from 1982 levels. Ex-
It is the interpretations of the 1980
reunite children with their birth par-
law that the current legislation
ents, even if the parents have been
perts attribute the increase to a com-
abusive. The legislation would in-
bination of social problems, includ-
seeks to change. MaryLee Allen, di-
rector of the child welfare and men-
stead give more weight to the child's
ing drug abuse, AIDS and teen-age
tal-health division of the Children's
health and safety.
parenthood, which are responsible in
Defense Fund, said that state courts
Senator John H. Chafee, the Rhode
some cases for a new and severe
had widely interpreted the 1980 law
Island Republican who was a leading
level of child abuse.
as a directive to keep biological fam-
sponsor of the legislation, said on the
But the average number of chil-
ilies together at all costs.
Senate floor before the measure
dren in foster care who are adopted
In a statement saying he was ea-
passed by a voice vote: "We will not
has held steady, at about 20,000 per
ger to sign the legislation, President
tinue the current system of al-
year, according to the W. K. Kellogg
Clinton said the bill "makes clear
S putting the needs and rights of
Foundation in Battle Creek, Mich., a
that children's health and safety are
biological parents first." Al-
nonprofit organization trying to im-
the paramount concerns." He said
ugh that is a worthy goal, he said,
prove health and education. The chil-
the bill would help meet his goal of
"it's time we recognize that some
dren who are adopted spend an aver-
doubling the number of adoptions by
families simply cannot and should
age of three and a half years to five
2002.
not be kept together."
and a half years in foster homes
The new legislation would require
before finding permanent homes.
states to set up a permanent-place-
Children in foster care are gener-
ment plan for a child after one year
ally perceived as hard to adopt.
of foster care, as opposed to after 18
Many are older, some have major
months under current rules. The
disabilities and some come from se-
courts would have to terminate pa-
verely abusive homes. Some are part
rental rights after a child has been in
of sibling groups that do not want to
a foster home for 15 of the previous
be broken up.
Times
22 months - and almost immediate-
In addition, many middle-class
ly if there is evidence of severe
families who are looking for children
buse, including abandonment, tor-
want healthy white infants and can
re or physical or sexual abuse, or if
more readily find them through pri-
è parent has caused the death of a
vate adoption agencies, private law-
bling.
yers or overseas.
The legislation also would provide
About 63 percent of children in the
cash bonuses to states that increase
American foster-care system are
their adoptions, giving them $4,000
nonwhite, according to the Kellogg
for each child adopted above the
Foundation. About 47 percent are
previous year's number and $6,000
black, almost three times the per-
for each adoption of a child who is
cent of black children in the popula-
Ider or has some physical or emo-
tion at large. President Clinton
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1997
al disability.
signed legislation last year to re-
ven if the legislation eliminates
move barriers to cross-racial adop-
rtain hurdles to adoption, some
tions. Some agencies believed it was
child-welfare experts said that it was
inappropriate for families of one
only a first step toward improving
race to adopt a child of another race,
ON CAPITOL HILL
Congress Acts to Speed Adoptions
Foster Care Overhaul Shifts Focus From Biological Ties to Child Welfare
S Vote by March
more stringent rules and others. such as Rep. John T
Doolittle (R-Calif.), urged deregulation of the pro
nance Changes
cess.
By Judith Havemann
The House approved the bill 406
help states pay the costs of welfare
Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), who tried to
Washington Writer
to 7 and the Senate gave its unani-
reform.
Gingrich (R-Ga.) promised
bring a bipartisan reform bill to the House floor this
mous consent last night. It has the
Lauding the passage of the bill at a
House vote on campaign
year, also said any bill would have to have bipartisan
The House and Senate yesterday
support of President Clinton and
House news conference yesterday,
metime in March" but did
support and reserved the right to use a discharge
passed the most significant overhaul
incorporates many of his initiatives
Sister Josephine Murphy, adminis-
le or whether votes will be
petition to bring alternatives to the floor if the
of the nation's foster care system in
aimed at doubling the number of
trator of St. Ann's Infant and Mater-
Republican bill fails that test. A petition circulated by
17 years, approving legislation de-
adoptions by 2002.
n this year, Gingrich used
nity Home in Hyattsville, said she
conservative Democrats already has nearly 190 of
signed to speed up the adoption of
State child welfare officials ap-
e session to stage a news
has recently taken in an 8-year-old
the 218 signatures needed to force votes on cam-
abused and neglected children who
plauded the legislation as a limited
e determination of House
child who has been in 10 foster
paign finance plans.
now spend an average of two years in
"thorough, exhaustive" and
but important improvement in the
Gingrich's pledge of a March vote means that both
foster homes.
homes. A 3-year-old was admitted
or reforms next year.
law, and social welfare groups called
houses could be voting on campaign finance at the
covered with cuts and bruises, and
Under the bill, states will be re-
!W withering criticism from
it the most significant step in the
same time next year. Under pressure from Demo-
quired to begin proceedings to ter-
an eye almost swollen shut from a
Voters. which has been
crats and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Senate Majori-
right direction since the federal gov-
ampaign finance bill. "The
minate the birth parents' rights after
beating. She described a baby whose
ernment assumed a role in the trou-
ty Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) recently agreed to
sider campaign finance re-
a child has spent 15 months in foster
mother had been in 19 drug treat-
votes on the issue by March 6.
bled child welfare system nearly two
care. and almost instantly if a child
ment programs.
gue as to be meaningless."
decades ago.
-Helen Dewar
has been abandoned. tortured.
"This child deserves a life." she
Becky Cain. "This was a
"Too many children languish in
mumbo jumbo-a commit-
chronically physically or sexually
said.
foster care while stable adoptive fam-
ualistic activity intended to
abused or if the parents have mur-
In 1980. the federal government
Coin Legislation Sent to Clinton
ilies wait in the wings," said Rep.
dered or assaulted a sibling.
Dave Camp (R-Mich). And Sen. John
agreed to pay about 55 percent of the
ensus has yet developed on
In a bill sent to President Clinton yesterday. Con-
The legislation represents a fun-
H. Chafee (R-R.I.) called the child
cost of the foster care program if the
S listed nine questions to be
gress authorized the Treasury Department to create a
damental shift in the philosophy of
bill, including whether "soft
gold-colored dollar to replace the Susan B. Anthony
welfare system "a lonely and tragic
states followed federal rules. includ-
dollar as well as new quarters honoring the 50 states.
child welfare. from a presumption
wait with no end."
ing one that required that children
itical parties can be curbed.
Beginning in 1999. Treasury will issue five new
that the chief consideration ought to
Although the central components
have court hearings on their future
without violating constitu-
speech.
quarters a year, each commemorating a state. The
be returning a child to his biological
of the bipartisan legislation were
within at least 18 months of their
r that any bill would include
head of George Washington will remain on one side
parents. to one in which the health
broadly supported. the measure was
removal from their families. But
of the quarters. with the other side, now carrying the
and safety of the child is paramount.
use of members' dues for
stalled for eight months in a fight
many states have missed the dead-
American eagle, to carry designs distinctive to the
State officials and courts will still
over money. The House wanted to
lines or so bungled their programs
out the members' approval.
and so do over 80 percent of
states.
make the day-to-day decisions about
set new standards for the states with
that they came under federal court
hat people should have the
It does not say who or what should replace
when a child should be removed
bonuses for good performance and
injunction.
or not money comes out of
suffragist Susan B. Anthony on the face of the dollar
from the home and whether the child
penalties for failure. The Senate ini-
The new law will give states a
ical causes, Gingrich said.
coin. That design is left up to the Treasury secretary.
should be put up for adoption. But
tially proposed spending $3 billion
bonus of $4,000 per child for each
nance issues, Rep. Deborah
The Anthony coins, minted from 1979 to 1981. have
the new law will give states a power-
on improved services for children
adoption that exceeds the previous
ere "really is no consensus
been largely unpopular, partly because they look and
ful financial inventive to move chil-
who are in foster care.
year's level. and $6,000 for adoption
be going." a point that was
feel like a quarter.
dren out of the foster care system.
The final bill calls for spending $76
of older children or those with spe-,
ne Republicans called for
-Associated Press
which has grown by 85 percent since
million over five years, with the mon-
cial needs such as physical or emo-
1980.
ey to come from funds set aside to
tional disabilities.
First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton
Talking Points for University of California, Berkeley
Remarks on the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997
November 25, 1997
ADOPTION 2002 REPORT
A little less than a year ago, the President pledged to reform the public child welfare
system, and he called on his Administration to report to him with specific
recommendations of strategies to move children more quickly from foster care to
permanent homes and to meet the goal of doubling, by the year 2002, the number of
children adopted or permanently placed each year.
The report came to the President on Valentines Day of this year, and it outlined an
ambitious administrative and legislative agenda with three key principles:
-- first, that every child deserves a safe, permanent family;
-- second, that children's health and safety should be the paramount concern of the
public child welfare system; and
-- third, that foster care is by definition a temporary situation, not a place for
children to grow up.
The Adoption and Safe Families Act that the President signed last week reflects those
principles and includes many of the specific recommendations in the President's report.
MAJOR PROVISIONS OF THE ADOPTION AND SAFE FAMILIES ACT OF 1997
Safety
Focuses on Safety: The new legislation makes clear that the health and safety of children must
be the paramount concerns of the public child welfare system.
Clarifies "Reasonable Efforts" Standard: The legislation reaffirms the importance of making
reasonable efforts to preserve and reunify families, but emphasizes the need the put children's
health and safety first in all such decisions. The new law clarifies that there are instances
when states are not required to make efforts to keep children with their parents, such as cases
in which a parent has been convicted of murdering another child or has had rights to another
child terminated involuntarily, or when a court has found that the child has been subjected to
aggravated circumstances as defined in State law (such as abandonment, torture or chronic
abuse).
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Permanency
Establishes Tighter Time Lines: Children who cannot safely return to their own families often
wait far too long in foster care - typically over 3 years, but often much longer. Under the
new law, permanency hearings will now be held no later than 12 months after a child enters
foster care -- 6 months earlier than under previous law -- and states must initiate termination of
parental rights proceedings, except in specified circumstances, for any child who has been in
foster care for 15 of the previous 22 months.
Creates Financial Incentives: The new law contains a specific proposal of the President to
offer a financial bonus to states that increase the number of children who are adopted from the
public foster care system. These incentives will help to meet his goal of doubling, by the year
2002, the number of children-adopted or permanently placed each year. Here's how it will
work: for each child adopted above the previous year's baseline, a state will receive $4,000,
with an additional $2,000 paid for each child with special needs who is adopted.
Providing Technical Assistance to Promote Adoption: The new law authorizes $10 million in
yearly technical assistance to States, with at least half of the funds targeted for providing
assistance to the courts.
Breaks down Geographic Barriers to Adoption: The new law prohibits States from delaying or
denying adoptive placements across State or County lines, and requires States to develop plans
for the effective use of cross-jurisdictional resources to promote adoption.
Services for Children and Families
Promoting Safe and Stable Families: The legislation recognizes the importance of timely,
quality services to families. It reauthorizes and expands the Family Preservation Program:
-- for services that strengthen families and alleviate crises before they become serious;
-- for services that prevent the need to remove children from home;
-- for time-limited family reunification services for families with children in foster care;
and
-- for pre- and post-adoption services for adoptive families.
Ensures Access to Health Care for Children With Special Needs: The new legislation ensures
that adopted children with special needs will not lose health insurance, by requiring States to
provide health coverage for these children through Medicaid or the new State Children's
Health Program.
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Accountability
Emphasizing Results for Children by Tracking State Performance: The new law instructs the
Department of Health and Human Services, in consultation with States and other child welfare
advocates, to develop child welfare outcome measures and establish a rating system on State
performance efforts. This new requirement represents the first performance-based standards in
the child welfare system.
Calls for Further Study on Performance-Based Incentives: The new law requires the
Department of Health and Human Services to study the feasibility of developing a
performance-based incentive system for child welfare and make recommendations to Congress
on the development of such a system.
BUILDING ON PAST ACHIEVEMENTS
Since taking office in 1993, the President has championed programs that find and assist
adoptive families, and has committed his Administration to breaking down barriers, including
high adoption costs and complex regulations. These steps include:
Making Adoption Affordable for Families: Last year, President Clinton signed into law the
Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996, which provides a $5,000 tax credit to families
adopting children, and a $6,000 tax credit for families adopting children with special needs.
Since President Clinton took office, the number of children with special needs who have been
adopted with federal adoption assistance has risen by 60 percent. This year, in signing the
Balanced Budget Act of 1997, President Clinton ensured more support for families who adopt
children with the $500 Per-Child Tax Credit.
Breaking Down Racial Barriers to Adoption: The Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996
ensures that the adoption process is free from discrimination and delays on the basis of race,
culture and ethnicity by strengthening the Multi-Ethnic Placement Act which the President
signed in 1994.
Giving Parents Time Off to Adopt: In 1993, President Clinton signed into law the Family and
Medical Leave Act which enables parents to take time off to adopt a child without losing their
jobs or health insurance.
Protecting Child Welfare Services: The President ensured that the welfare reform bill
maintains the guarantee of child protection and adoption, and does not reduce funds for child
welfare, child abuse, foster care and adoption services.
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Giving States Flexibility and Support. To test innovative strategies to improve child welfare
systems, the Clinton Administration has granted child welfare waivers to California and 8
other States, giving them more flexibility in tailoring services to meet the needs of children
and families. Under the new Adoption and Safe Families Act, HHS may grant up to 10
waivers per year to states. In addition, this Administration has provided states with enhanced
technical support and helped improve court operations. In September, the Department of
Health and Human Services awarded 40 demonstration grants totaling $7.9 million, to states,
local agencies, courts, private organizations, and others committed to promoting adoption for
innovative programs to increase adoptions and reduce the number of children in foster care.
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Office of the Press Secretary
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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
November 19, 1997
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AND FIRST LADY
AT ADOPTION BILL SIGNING
The East Room
1:53 P.M. EST
MRS. CLINTON: Thank you and welcome to the East Room. Please be seated. We are
delighted to have all of you join us today for this very important event and one that many of
you in this room have worked for and looked for for many years.
There are some people that I would like to acknowledge and introduce before we get started.
You will hear from the four members of Congress who are here on the stage, Representative
Kennelly, Representative Camp, Senator Chafee and Senator Rockefeller. Also attending
are Senator Craig, Senator DeWine, Senator Landrieu, Representative Levin, Representative
Oberstar, Representative Maloney, and Representative Morella. And I'd like to ask all the
members of Congress to please stand. (Applause.)
This was truly a bipartisan piece of legislation. It could not have been passed without the
strong support of the members whom you see, including the sponsors who are here on the
stage. It was also a work that was very much in the heart of Secretary Donna Shalala and her
team from HHS Richard Tarplin, Mary Bourdette, and Carol Williams. And I'd like to ask
the Secretary and her team to stand please. (Applause.)
There were also a number of members of the White House staff who worked very hard with
members of Congress and with members of the HHS contingent, and I'd like to
acknowledge just a few of them -- John Hilley, Bruce Reed, Elena Kagan, and in particular
Jen Klein and Nicole Rabner. I want to thank all of them. (Applause.)
I'm also pleased that we have Governor Romer of Colorado. We have children, families,
advocates, and leaders of the child welfare constituency here in our audience.
Nearly a year ago, the President and I met with children waiting in the foster care system for
caring families to call their own. There the President pledged to reform the child welfare
system to work better for the children it serves, to put their health and safety first, and to
move children more quickly into safe and permanent homes. Today we as a nation make
good on that pledge.
And for the thousands of American children who wait for a stable, loving home that will
always be there, it is not a moment too soon. Right now there are nearly half a million
children in foster care. For most, foster care is a safe haven on the road to a permanent home
or back home. Too many, however, make countless detours along the way, shuffling from
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family to family without much hope that they will ever find permanent parents to love and
take care of them. These children who will enter this holiday season unsure about whether
the family they celebrate this year will be there with them next year deserve better.
We know it makes a difference for children to have permanent loving homes. It's not only
research that tells us this; we know it by our intuition, by our own experience and we have
all seen it firsthand. It was here in this room two years ago that a young woman named
Deanna a child waiting to be adopted in foster care stood up and read a poem about what
she wanted in life, and it wasn't real complicated. It is what all of us want. I'm happy that
because of that event here in the East Room, she was able to meet a family who did adopt
her. And I saw her last year at an event in Kansas City and almost didn't recognize her
from a shy, withdrawn 13-year-old, she had blossomed into a cheerful, outgoing, confident
teenager with a brilliant smile.
This landmark legislation that the President is about to sign will see to it there are more
stories like Deanna's. This legislation stands as proof of what we can accomplish when we
come together. As we see today, the national government does have an important role to
play in reforming our foster care system, and giving guidance to courts and states in offering
incentives to speed up and increase the numbers of adoptions, and in making sure that the
health and safety of our children is always the first priority.
But we know even more, all Americans have a role and a responsibility. Businesses can
make it easier for their employees to adopt a child. And I want to single out Dave Thomas
of Wendy's, who has led the way in showing all of us how that can be done. (Applause.)
Religious leaders can help spread the word about the joys of adoptions. Parents thinking
about adoption can expand their search to reach out to kids in foster care. And if we reform
the system so that it works the way that it should, more Americans will look to American
children to adopt and not feel compelled to go overseas to adopt children. (Applause.)
With us today are some extraordinary Americans who have answered this call. This
morning, the Department of Health and Human Services observed National Adoption
Month by honoring outstanding achievements with the 1997 Adoption 2002 Excellence
Awards. Secretary Shalala developed these awards at the request of the President. The
winners are dedicated individuals and organizations, both large and small, who have worked
to move children out of the foster care system and into permanent, loving homes. Some of
them have been at the forefront of this issue for years; some have promoted and supported
adoption in their communities; and some are parents who have opened their homes and
hearts to our nation's most vulnerable children.
I'd like to ask all the honorees who were honored this morning to please stand. (Applause.)
We want to thank you for the work you have done, for the example you have set. And we
hope that through these awards, in conjunction with this legislation, there will be many,
many more in your ranks in the years to come.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Sue Ann. Thank you, Aaron (phonetic). And I want to
thank the Badeau family for showing up. I think it's fair to say it was a greater effort for
them than for anyone else here. (Laughter.) I appreciate the rest of your presence. It was
easier for me than anybody; I just had to come downstairs. (Laughter.) But I'm grateful that
they're here.
Secretary Shalala, I thank you and your staff for your remarkable work on this. And I thank
the members of the White House staff, all the members of Congress who are present here.
And especially I thank Senators Rockefeller and Chafee and Congressmen Camp and
Kennelly for their work and for what they said here.
Congratulations to the Adoption 2002 Excellence Award winners. I thank all the advocates
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who are here. And I say a special word of thanks, along with all the others who have said it,
to the First Lady, who has been passionately committed to this issue for at least 25 years
now that I know. Thank you, Governor Romer, for coming. And thank you, Dave Thomas,
for what you've done.
Again let me say to all the members of Congress who are here, Republicans and Democrats
alike, I am very grateful for what you've done. This, after all, is what we got in public life
for, isn't it?
Before I make my brief remarks, if you'll forgive me and understand, I have to make one
public statement today about the situation in Iraq.
As I have said before, I prefer to resolve this situation peacefully, with our friends and
allies, and I am working hard to do just that. But I want to be clear again about the
necessary objective of any diplomacy now underway. Iraq must comply with the unanimous
will of the international community and let the weapons inspectors resume their work to
prevent Iraq from developing an arsenal of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. The
inspectors must be able to do so without interference. That's our top line; that's our bottom
line. I want to achieve it diplomatically. But we're taking every step to make sure we are
prepared to pursue whatever options are necessary.
I do not want these children we are trying to put in stable homes to grow up into a world
where they are threatened by terrorists with biological and chemical weapons. It is not right.
(Applause.)
It's hard to believe now, but it was just a little less than a year ago when I directed our
administration to develop a plan to double the number of children we move from foster care
to adoptive homes by the year 2002. We know that foster parents provide safe and caring
families for children. But the children should not be trapped in them forever, especially
when there are open arms waiting to welcome them into permanent homes.
The Adoption and Safe Families Act, which I am about to sign, is consistent with the work
of the 2002 report and our goals. It fundamentally alters our nation's approach to foster care
and adoption. And fundamentally, it will improve the well-being of hundreds of thousands
of our most vulnerable children. The new legislation makes it clear that children's health and
safety are the paramount concerns of our public child welfare system. It makes it clear that
good foster care provides important safe havens for our children, but it is by definition a
temporary, not a permanent, setting.
The new law will help us to speed children out of foster care into permanent families by
setting meaningful time limits for child welfare decisions, by clarifying which family
situations call for reasonable reunification efforts and which simply do not. It will provide
states with financial incentives to increase the number of children adopted each year. It will
ensure that adopted children with special needs never lose their health coverage -- a big
issue. Thank you, Congress, for doing that. It will reauthorize federal funding for timely
services to alleviate crisis before they become serious, that aid the reunification of families
that help to meet post-adoption needs.
With these measures we help families stay together where reunification is possible and help
find safe homes for children much more quickly when it is not. We've come together in an
extraordinary example of bipartisan cooperation to meet the urgent needs of children at risk.
We put our differences aside, and put our children first.
This landmark legislation builds on other action taken in the last few years by Congress: the
Adoption Tax Credit I signed into law August to make adopting children more affordable
for families, especially those who adopt children with special needs; the Multiethnic
Placement Act, enacted two years ago, ensuring that adoption is free from discrimination
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and delay, based on race, culture, or ethnicity; and the very first law I signed as President,
the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, which enables parents to take time off to adopt
a child without losing their jobs or their health insurance.
We have put in place here the building blocks of giving all of our children what should be
their fundamental right -- a chance at a decent, safe home; an honorable, orderly, positive
upbringing; a chance to live out their dreams and fulfill their God-given capacities.
Now, as we approach Thanksgiving, when families all across our country come together to
give thanks for their blessings, I would like to encourage more families to consider opening
their homes and their hearts to children who need loving homes. You may not want to go as
far as the Badeaus have (laughter) -- but they are a shining example of how we grow --
(applause) -- they are a shining example of how we grow when we give, how we can be
blessed in return many times over. We thank them and all -- all of the adoptive parents in
the country.
For those who are now or have been foster or adoptive parents, I'd like to say thank you on
behalf of a grateful nation, and again say at Thanksgiving, let us thank God for our blessings
and resolve to give more of our children the blessings they deserve.
Thank you very much. (Applause.)
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COMPARISON OF ADOPTION 2002 PROPOSALS AND ADOPTION LAW AS ENACTED
Topic
Adoption 2002 Report
Law as Passed (enrolled version of H.R. 867)
Interjurisdictional Issues
Proposes technical assistance to support the development
The law explicitly prohibits states from delaying or
of collaboratives that encourage placements across
denying adoptive placements outside State or county
geographical boundaries.
jurisdictional lines. In addition, title IV-E state plan
requirements are amended to include an assurance that the
state shall develop plans for the effective use of cross-
jurisdictional resources. The GAO is also required to
study the issue and to submit a report to Congress within
one year of the date of enactment (section 202).
Notice of Hearings and Right to
Not addressed.
Foster parents, preadoptive parents, and relative caretakers
Be Heard for Foster Parents,
of children must receive notice of and an opportunity to
Preadoptive Parents, or other
be heard at reviews and hearings regarding the child's
Caretakers
status. They do not, however, become a party to the case
(section 104).
Criminal Background Checks
Not addressed.
Each state's IV-E plan must include procedures for
conducting criminal background checks for foster parents
and adoptive parents. For some crimes, approval would
be denied if the crime were committed during the last five
years, while for other crimes, approval would be denied
regardless of the date of the criminal act.
States may opt out of this provision (section 106).
Clarification of Independent
Not addressed.
Clarifies that children shall continue to be eligible for
Living Services Eligibility
independent living services even if they have accumulated
assets up to $5,000 which would otherwise be counted for
eligibility purposes (section 304).
86/1/1
PHOTOCOPY
PRESERVATION
Office of the Press Secretary
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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
January 7, 1998
REMARKS BY THE FIRST LADY
AT CHILD CARE ANNOUNCEMENT
The East Room
MRS. CLINTON: Thank you very much. I am delighted to welcome all of you to the White
House. I want to thank Tipper Gore for that introduction, but more than that, for her
lifelong commitment to children.
I want to thank the children who walked in with us. You represent millions and millions of
other children. And you did a wonderful job, and I think we should applaud for you.
(Applause.)
I am pleased that as I look around this East Room, which has seen so many important
events in our nation's history, to see so many friends and advocates of our nation's children
and families who have helped push child care to the forefront of America's agenda.
Today, we join together with the President in taking this historic step forward for America's
children, for our working families, and for our country. We have much to be thankful for in
this new year when it comes to the well-being of our children. Immunization rates are the
highest in our history. Infant mortality is at an all-time low. And teen pregnancy is down.
The President signed the largest expansion of health care coverage in over 30 years to
provide health insurance for millions more of our nation's children. And thanks to the
adoption bill recently signed by the President, more kids will have a shot at growing up in
safe and loving homes.
This administration is also helping parents make the choices that are right for their families,
whether that means working or staying home to care for their own children. From the $500
per child tax credit for families with children, to the Earned Income Tax Credit that lifts
millions of working families out of poverty, we are now providing as a nation greater
resources and real choices for America's parents.
Today, however, more of America's parents are working, by choice or by necessity. More
than ever, parents rely on child care and after-school programs to care for their children for
part of the day. We all have a stake in making sure that every child in care is safe and
nurtured. This is part of America's unfinished business, because while we've made
important progress in strengthening child care in this country, it still fails too many of our
children and working parents.
I've worked on children's issues, as many of you have, for more years than I care to
remember. I've been privileged to travel around our country, and indeed the world, visiting
day care centers, talking to experts, talking to moms and dads. And I've seen firsthand what
it means to a family when a child is well cared for while a mother or father has to work.
And I've also seen the results of our failures to invest in our children at the most critical
stages of their young lives.
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I think we all understand how important child care is. But I believe that the daily struggle
that many parents undergo to balance the demands of work and family is only now getting
the attention it deserves. A few months ago with the help of many of you here, the
President and I hosted a first-ever White House Conference on Child Care where we sought
to turn the literally millions of private conversations that occur in homes and workplaces
and supermarket aisles and after church and in every setting you can imagine -- turn those
private conversations into a national dialogue on how to improve the availability,
affordability, safety and quality of child care in America.
We were spurred by the recent scientific studies that were discussed at last year's White
House Conference on Early Childhood Development and Learning -- studies that confirm
what every parent and grandparent has intuitively known, that the love and attention a child
receives in that child's earliest years have a direct impact on the development of that child's
brain and dramatically affect how children learn and develop over an entire lifetime.
As more of our nation's parents join the work force, and as we reform the welfare system
which requires more of our nation's parents to join the work force, more children are
spending their early years in child care. Today, over half the infants in this country are in
day care and millions more school-age children have both parents or their only parent in the
work force. And for many of those parents it is a struggle to find the child care they need.
They hobble together relative care, family day care, center day care, anything they can
imagine. And then, as their children get older, they have to worry about after-school care.
For too long America's parents have struggled with too little information, too few choices,
and too many worries.
Today, the President announced an historic child care proposal that seeks not only to give
working parents the peace of mind they need and deserve, but also to give more of our
children the kind of care they have to have. By helping working families pay for child care
and improving the safety and quality of that care, this proposal truly will help parents better
balance the demands of both home and family.
We are so privileged to live in a time when America is at peace and our economy is doing
so well. It's also a time of enormous change and transition as more parents join the work
force of the 21st century. Times like this present unique opportunities for action as well as
challenges for leadership. And I believe that we should ensure, as we are attempting to do
today, that no family in this time of rapid change falls through the cracks and no child is
left behind. I believe the President's proposal will help us all move together in fulfilling our
most important responsibility as individuals or as a nation -- the care and nurturing of our
children.
And now it is my great pleasure to introduce our Vice President who has not only cared and
nurtured, along with Tipper, his own children, but who has provided visionary leadership in
improving the lives of America's families and children. Please welcome Vice President Al
Gore. (Applause.)
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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
January 7, 1998
CHILD CARE: A CHALLENGE FOR AMERICA'S WORKING FAMILIES
January 7, 1998
Millions of Americans, struggling to be both good parents and good
workers, rely on child care and after-school programs for part of each
day. As the White House Conference on Child Care showed, America's
working families, more than ever, are pressed to find safe, affordable
care for their children.
Millions of America's children are in child care. In 1995, of the
approximately 21 million infants, toddlers, and preschool children
under the age of six in the U.S., more than 12.9 million children were
in child care. Forty-five percent of children under age one were in
child care on a regular basis. [National Center for Education
Statistics, U.S. Department of Education]
Children are in care for many hours each working day. In 1990,
more than half of children under five with mothers in the workforce
were in child care 35 hours or more each week. [National Child Care
Survey, 1990]
Families struggle to afford child care. Working parents who rely
on child care often have a hard time paying for it. In 1993, the
average family with an employed mother and a child under five spent
about $74 per week for child care for all preschoolers in the family.
[U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1997] Infant care
is generally more expensive: in 1995, center-based care for infants
averaged $112 per week. [Cost, Quality and Child Outcomes in Child Care
Centers, University of Colorado at Denver, 1995] For families with
children between three and five, at all income levels, child care is
the second or third greatest household expense. [U.S. Department of
Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1997]
In 1993, families with annual incomes under $14,400 paying for
child care for children under five years old spent 25 percent of their
income on child care, compared with six percent for families with
incomes of $54,000 or more. [What Does it Cost to Mind Our
Preschoolers?, U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Pop. Reports, 1995]
Many children are in settings that are not healthy or safe and
do not promote early learning and development. Recent studies have
raised concerns about the quality of care:
A four-state study of quality in child care centers found that
only one in seven centers (14 percent) were rated good quality.
[Cost, Quality and Child Outcomes in Child Care Centers, University
of Colorado at Denver, 1995] According to another study, 13 percent of
regulated and 50 percent of unregulated family child care providers
offer care that is inadequate. [The Study of Children in Family Child
Care and Relative Care, Families and Work Institute, 1994]
In the words of one well-respected report, Many children living
in poverty receive child care that, at best, does not support their
optimal development and, at worst, may compromise their health and
safety. [New Findings on Children, Families, and Economic Self-
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Sufficiency, National Research Council, 1995]
The quality of child care matters. Research shows that when
children are in better quality child care programs, they have
stronger language, pre-mathematics, and social skills; better
relationships with their teachers; and stronger self-esteem. In some
instances, quality has even greater impact on children who are
typically at-risk. [Cost, Quality, and Child Outcomes in Child Care
Centers, University of Colorado, 1995]
After-school programs are in short supply. The Bureau of the
Census estimates that in 1997 38.8 million children between the ages
of five and 14 lived in the U.S., of whom 24 million had parents in the
workforce or school. [1994 SIPP data from the Bureau of the Census]
Experts estimate that nearly five million school-age children spend
time as latchkey kids without adult supervision during a typical week.
[National Institute for Out-of-School Time at Wellesley College]
Good after-school programs matter. Constructive activities for
children and youth are critical to enhancing their development and
keeping them out of trouble. Studies show that school-age children
who are left alone after school are at greater risk of truancy,
risk-taking behavior, substance abuse, poor grades, and stress.
[Characteristics of Eighth-Grade Students Who Initiate Self-Care in
Elementary and Junior High School, Pediatrics, 1990] Youth between
the ages of 12 and 17 are most likely to commit violent acts or be
victims themselves between 2:00 pm and 6:00 pm. [OJJDP 1997]
Studies also indicate that children under adult supervision in a
formal program during after-school hours show improved academic
achievement and better attitudes toward school than their peers in
self- or sibling-care. [Miller and Marx, 1990, in Supplement to the
National Assessment of Chapter 1]
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THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
TO:
THE PRESIDENT
THE FIRST LADY
THE VICE PRESIDENT
MRS. GORE
WHAT:
CHILDCARE ANNOUNCEMENT
WHEN:
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 1998
WHERE:
BRIEFING, RED ROOM
MEET AND GREET, BLUE ROOM
EVENT, EAST ROOM
# OF GUESTS:
APPROX. 180
FROM:
CAPRICIA MARSHALL, LAURA SCHWARTZ
1:45 p.m.
East Visitors Gate opens for guest arrival.
2:05 p.m.
THE PRESIDENT, THE FIRST LADY, THE VICE PRESIDENT
and MRS. GORE arrive in the Red Room for briefing.
Briefing
Secretary Shalala Secretary Riley
Secretary Rubin
Jen Klein
Bruce Reed
Melanne Verveer
Gene Sperling
Elena Kagan
Ron Klain
Susan Liss
June Shih
2:20 p.m.
THE FOUR PRINCIPALS proceed to Blue Room for two meet and
greets.
Blue Room Greet #1
Contact: Emily Bromberg and Jessica Gibson
Participants:
Governor Lincoln Almond, R-RI
State Representative Jane Maroney, R-DE
State Senator Pat Piper, D-MN
Commissioner Jane Campbell, D-OH
Commissioner Jane Hague, R-WA
Councilwoman Marilyn Praisner, D-MD
Sen. Landrieu, D-LA
Rep. DeLauro, D- 3rd CT
Rep. Tauscher, D-10th CA
Rep. Holmes Norton, D-DC
Rep. Roukema, R-5th NJ
Rep. Morella, R-8th MD
Rep. Moran, D-8th VA
Rep. Kennelly, D-1st CT
Rep. P. Kennedy, D-1st RI
Rep. Weygand, D-2nd RI
Blue Room Greet #2
Contact: Robin Leeds
Participants:
YWCA Center (Lancaster, PA)
mother: Birdie Eckenrode
daughter: Sandy Eckenrode - 8 yrs
father: Mark Dalton
daughter: Hilary Dalton - 6 yrs
School for Friends Day Care Center (DC)
father: Gary Dikeos
son: Darien Dikeos - - 5 yrs
mother: Beverly Lancaster-Hyde
daughter: Camille Hyde- 4 yrs
Arnold and Porter Children's Center (DC)
mother: Sally D'Italia
daughter: Sarah D'Italia - 15 yrs
mother: Tanya Sanders
daughter: Tia Sanders -15 yrs
mother: Mary Anne Carter
son: Matthew Lundy - - 5 yrs
Fingerprints -GSA/OPM/Interior (DC)
grandmother: Binnie Harris
son: Juan Gary Jr. Harris - 4 yrs
mother: Leslie Bermudez
daughter: Vivianna Bermudez - 7 yr
Yorktown Before and After School
(PG County, MD)
father: Marcus Wilkins
daughter: Rebecca Wilkins - 8 yrs
Foundry Pre-school/ Methodist Ch. (DC)
mother: Yvonne T. Reyes
son: Mulawin Diwa Reyes-Lozada - 4 yrs
2:35 p.m.
THE FOUR PRINCIPALS are announced and proceed into the East
Room via the Cross Hall accompanied by children.
MRS. GORE makes remarks and introduces THE FIRST LADY.
THE FIRST LADY makes remarks and introduces THE VICE
PRESIDENT.
THE VICE PRESIDENT makes remarks and introduces THE
PRESIDENT.
THE PRESIDENT makes remarks.
3:30 p.m.
Upon conclusion of remarks, THE FOUR PRINCIPALS depart.
PRESIDENT CLINTON ANNOUNCES CHILD CARE INITIATIVE
January 7, 1998
President Clinton today announced an historic initiative to improve child care for
America's working families. The President's FY 1999 budget will include approximately $20
billion over five years for child care, the largest single investment in child care in the
nation's history. President Clinton's initiative responds to the struggles our nation's working
parents face in finding child care that they can afford, trust, and rely on. The President's proposal
will help working families pay for child care, build the supply of good after-school programs,
improve the safety and quality of care, and promote early learning.
Doubles the number of children receiving child care subsidies to more than two
million by the year 2003 by increasing funding for the Child Care and Development
Block Grant by $7.5 billion over 5 years.
Increases tax credits for three million working families to help them pay for child
care by investing $5.2 billion over 5 years in the Child and Dependent Tax Credit. The
President's proposal also provides a new tax credit for businesses that offer child care
services for their employees.
Provides after-school care for up to half a million children per year by expanding
the 21st Century Community Learning Center program by $800 million over 5 years to
provide funds to school-community partnerships to establish or expand programs for
school-age children.
Improves child care safety and quality and enhances early childhood
development by establishing a new Early Learning Fund as well as supporting
enforcement of state child care health and safety standards, providing scholarships to
up to 50,000 child care providers per year, and investing in research and consumer
education.
Child Care Block Grant Increase
$7.5 billion over five years
Child and Dependent Tax Credit Reform
$5.2 billion over five years
Tax Credit for Businesses
$500 million over five years
After-School Program
$800 million over five years
Early Learning Fund
$3 billion over five years
Head Start Increase
$3.8 billion over five years
Standards Enforcement Fund
$500 million over five years
Child Care Provider Scholarship Fund
$250 million over five years
Research and Evaluation Fund
$150 million over five years
TOTAL:
$21.7 billion over five years
MAKES CHILD CARE MORE AFFORDABLE FOR WORKING FAMILIES
Doubles the Number of Children Receiving Child Care Subsidies to More than Two
Million. The President proposes to expand the Child Care and Development Block Grant to
help working families struggling to meet the costs of child care. This block grant is the
primary federal subsidy program to pay for child care, enabling low-income parents to work.
Funds are distributed by formula to the states to operate direct child care subsidy programs, as
well as to improve the quality and availability of care. The President's initiative will more than
double the number of children served from the one million served in FY 95 (the latest year for
which data are available). The President's budget will increase funding for the block grant by
$7.5 billion (with a match) over five years. which will enable states to provide subsidies for
more than two million children by 2003.
Increases Tax Credits for Child Care for Three Million Working Families. The Child
and Dependent Care Tax Credit provides tax relief to taxpayers who pay for the care of a
child under 13 or a disabled dependent or spouse in order to work. The credit is equal to a
percentage of the taxpayer's employment-related expenditures for child or dependent care,
with the amount of the credit depending on the taxpayer's income. The President's proposal
increases the credit for families earning under $60,000, providing an additional average tax cut
of $358 for these families and eliminating income tax liability for almost all families with
incomes below 200% of poverty ($35,000 for a family of four) that take the maximum
allowable child care expenses under the law. The President's budget will include $5.2 billion
over five years to expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit for three million working
families.
Provides New Business Tax Credits. The child care initiative includes a tax credit to
businesses that provide child care services for their employees, by building or expanding child
care facilities, operating existing facilities, training child care workers, or providing child care
resources and referral services to employees. The credit covers 25% of qualified costs, but
may not exceed $150,000 per year. The President's budget will include approximately $500
million over five years for these tax credits.
PROMOTES EARLY LEARNING AND HEALTHY CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Promotes Early Learning. Research shows that children's experiences in the earliest years
are critical to their development and future success. The President's proposed Early Learning
Fund provides challenge grants to communities (distributed by states) to support programs to
improve early learning and the quality and safety of child care for children ages zero to five.
Funds may be used for the following activities: providing basic training to child care providers
(including first aid and CPR); connecting individual child care providers to centers for
education and support: assisting child care providers to meet accreditation and licensing
requirements; linking child care providers with health professionals: reducing group sizes and
child-to-staff ratios: and providing home visits, parent education, and consumer education
about child care. The President's Early Learning Fund builds on state initiatives such as North
Carolina's Smart Start. which helps North Carolina's children enter school healthy and ready
to succeed. Smart Start funds a broad variety of local efforts, including improving staff-to-
child ratios, health linkages that have raised immunization rates, and parent education and
mentoring programs to give new parents support. The President's budget will include $3
billion over five years for this fund.
Increases Investment in Head Start and Doubles the Number of Children Served by
Early Head Start. Head Start provides early, continuous and comprehensive child
development and family support services, preparing children for a lifetime of learning and
development. The President is committed to reauthorize Head Start and reach one million
children by 2002. The President's budget will invest $3.8 billion over five years to keep on
track his commitment to serving one million children by 2002, and to double the number of
infants and toddlers in Early Head Start to 80,000
IMPROVES THE QUALITY OF CHILD CARE
Steps Up Enforcement of State Health and Safety Standards. Building on the military's
model child care program. this proposed initiative will fund state efforts to improve licensing
systems and enforce child care health and safety standards, including by increasing
unannounced inspections of child care settings. The President's budget will include $500
million over five years for this program.
Facilitates Background Checks on Child Care Providers. On the day of the White House
Conference on Child Care, the President transmitted to Congress the National Crime
Prevention and Privacy Compact. which will facilitate effective background checks on child
care providers by eliminating state law barriers to sharing criminal history information for non-
criminal purposes. Although the vast majority of child care providers are dedicated to the
teaching and nurturing of children. one tragedy in child care is too many. Background checks
are an important way to ensure that the people watching our children are fit for this
responsibility.
Increases Scholarships and Training for Child Care Providers. At the White House
Conference on Child Care, the President proposed establishing a Child Care Provider
Scholarship Fund to enable states to provide scholarship funds to students working toward a
child care credential. Eligible child care workers must commit to remaining in the field for at
least one year for each year of assistance received and will earn increased compensation or
bonuses when they complete their course work. The President proposed a federal investment
of $250 million over five years, which will support 50,000 scholarships per year. The
President is also proposing to expand the Department of Labor's Child Care Apprenticeship
Program to fund the training of child care providers.
Invests in Research Because too little is known about our child care system. the President's
budget will increase support for data. research. and evaluation. This research fund will also
support a National Center on Child Care Statistics and a child care hotline that parents can call
to get information about how to find child care in their communities and how to identify
appropriate. quality care for their children In addition. the research fund will support
demonstration projects to test approaches to help new parents who choose to stay home to
care for their newborns or newly adopted children. The President's budget will include $150
million over five years for this fund.
EXPANDS AND STREAMLINES AFTER-SCHOOL CARE
An estimated five million school-age children spend time as "latchkey kids" without adult
supervision during a typical week. Research indicates that during these unsupervised hours
children are more likely to engage in at-risk behavior, such as crime, drugs, and alcohol use.
To meet this pressing demand, the President is proposing a dramatic expansion of after-school
care.
Provides After-School Care for up to Half a Million Children a Year. The President
proposes a dramatic expansion of the 21st Century Community Learning Center Program to
provide start-up funds (with a local match) to school-community partnerships to establish or
expand before- and after-school programs for school-age children. The program increases the
supply of after-school care in a cost-effective manner primarily by funding programs that use
public schools and their existing resources, such as computers, gymnasiums, and sports
equipment. The program also includes a set aside to fund programs run by community
organizations. The President's budget will request $800 million of entirely new money for this
program. for a total of $1 billion over five years.
Improves Coordination of Federal After-School Initiatives to Help Communities Make
Best Use of Existing Resources. The President will put in place a collaborative effort
involving numerous federal agencies to eliminate duplication and better coordinate federal
funding for after-school programs in three to five pilot cities, including the District of
Columbia.
Prepared for The Preside
The President's Child Care Initiative
Internal Questions & Answers
January 12, 1997
1. What is your child care initiative?
Last week, I announced an historic initiative to improve child care for America's working
families. My FY 1999 budget will include over $20 billion over five years for child care, the
largest single investment in child care in the nation's history. This initiative responds to the
struggles our nation's working parents face in finding child care that they can afford, trust, and
rely on. My proposal will help working families pay for child care, build the supply of good
after-school programs, improve the safety and quality of care, and promote early learning.
Doubles the number of children receiving child care subsidies to more than two
million by the year 2003 by increasing funding for the Child Care and Development
Block Grant by $7.5 billion over 5 years.
Increases tax credits for three million working families to help them pay for child
care by investing $5.2 billion over 5 years in the Child and Dependent Tax Credit. The
President's proposal also provides a new tax credit for businesses that offer child care
services for their employees.
Provides after-school care for 500,000 children per year by expanding the 21st
Century Community Learning Center program by $800 million over 5 years to provide
funds to school-community partnerships to establish or expand programs for
school-age children.
Improves child care safety and quality and enhances early childhood
development by establishing a new Early Learning Fund as well as supporting
enforcement of state child care health and safety standards, providing scholarships to
up to 50,000 child care providers per year, and investing in research and consumer
education.
Child Care Block Grant Increase
$7.5 billion over five years
Child and Dependent Tax Credit Reform
$5.2 billion over five years
Tax Credit for Businesses
$500 million over five years
After-School Program
$800 million over five years
Early Learning Fund
$3 billion over five years
Head Start Increase
$3.8 billion over five years
Standards Enforcement Fund
$500 million over five years
Child Care Provider Scholarship Fund
$250 million over five years
Research and Evaluation Fund
$150 million over five years
TOTAL:
$21.7 billion over five vears
1
2. You have been in office for five years. Why are you proposing a child care initiative
now? Is this a new problem?
The child care initiative underscores my commitment to strengthening America's families. I
believe child care represents the next great frontier to make sure all Americans can succeed at
home and at work. The initiative that I announced last week builds on the Earned Income Tax
Credit, the Family Medical Leave Act, the Child Tax Credit, the new children's health
insurance program, and a host of other legislation I have fought for to help American families.
The initiative also builds on my continuing efforts to improve and increase funding for child
care. During my administration, federal funding for child care has increased by 70%, helping
parents pay for the care of about one million children. The 1996 welfare reform law increased
child care funding by $4 billion over six years to provide child care assistance to low-income
working families moving from welfare to work.
3. Some conservatives claim you are promoting institutionalized day care. Is this true?
I am committed to helping parents make the choices that are right for their families, whatever
care they choose for their children. Today, 62% of mothers with children under six work.
We must ensure that child care is safe. affordable and accessible for those families that need it.
As part of the child care initiative, I proposed substantial increases in funding for the child
care block grant. Through the block grant. states choose how best to provide child care for
low-income families. Currently, care funded by the block grant is provided in centers and
family child care homes. The entire package is tailored to provide maximum flexibility to
parents so that all their child care choices are supported.
4. How are you going to pay for this big package?
My budget carefully pays for each and every element of the child care initiative. The package
is funded in a variety of ways some on the mandatory and others on the discretionary side of
the budget. The offsets for the mandatory items include but are not limited to expected
revenues from a national tobacco settlement, which I hope and believe Congress will pass this
year.
5. Since much of the funding of this proposal is based on the tobacco settlement, aren't
you counting your chickens before they've hatched? What will you do if the tobacco
settlement does not go through?
First, the initiative is paid for in a number of ways only one part comes from tobacco
revenues. Second, and more important, we believe that a national tobacco settlement will
pass. I support strong tobacco legislation. and many Republicans and Democrats alike are
working vigorously to craft comprehensive legislation. Of course. no offset proposed in a
budget is guaranteed: the Congress can reject any proposed way of financing a program. If
2
Congress does not pass comprehensive tobacco legislation, we will work with Congress to
find other offsets. This is a high Administration priority, and we will find an effective funding
mechanism.
6. Aren't you just creating a new federal bureaucracy? Isn't this a big government
proposal?
The child care initiative creates no new federal bureaucracy. Rather, it relies on states and
communities to decide for themselves how best to address the child care challenges they face.
Indeed, the funds for each major initiative flow either to states or communities, or in the case
of tax credits, to individuals themselves.
7. The White House Conference on Early Learning and Development highlighted the
crucial development that takes place in the first years of a child's life. Given that the
best caregiver is a parent. what are you doing to help parents stay at home with their
children during this important time?
The program I announced is primarily oriented toward families where both caregivers go to
work, usually for reasons of financial necessity. It is designed to ensure that children in these
families receive quality care even though their parents are in the workforce.
I believe strongly, however. that we should support parents who can and choose to stay home.
Two of my proposals will help parents stay at home. First, I will support demonstration
projects in states and communities to test policies to help new parents who choose to stay
home to care for their newborns or newly adopted children. Second, the Early Learning Fund
supports parents who stay at home by supporting home visits and parent education.
These initiatives build on a record of providing real choices and opportunities for parents. I
have fought for: a $500 per-child tax credit for families with children; the Earned Income Tax
Credit that gives 15 million working families tax relief; health insurance for children; increases
in the minimum wage; and the Family and Medical Leave Act. I am committed to helping
parents make the choices that are right for their families, whether that means working or
staying home to care for their children.
8. Republicans -- Senator Craig in particular -- have proposed alternatives to your
child care proposal. They propose to enable more parents to stay at home with their
children by lowering the tax burden on families in which one parent does not work
through "income splitting" allowing a spouse to claim half of his or her spouse's
income as their own. Do you support this?
I believe that we should respect and support parents in whatever choices they make. whether
to work or to stay at home And I have tried to support that choice through a variety of
actions to increase family income. such as expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit.
increasing the minimum wage. and passing the $500 per-child tax credit. My Administration
3
has looked at ways through the tax code to promote choice and enable more parents to stay at
home with their children, and have found those options to be prohibitively expensive in the
context of a balanced budget. In fact, the "income splitting" option that Senator Craig
suggested has been estimated by the Congressional Budget Office to cost about $25 billion
each year, nearly six times the cost of my entire child care package. I do, however, believe
that these are important issues to consider, and am looking forward to working with the
Congress to explore ways to support parents and to improve child care in the coming year.
9. What role did the First Lady have in developing this initiative?
Hillary has been a strong voice for children and families for over twenty-five years and
continues to work on these issues. She played an important role in developing the White
House Conference on Early Learning and Development and the White House Conference on
Child Care. During the policy development process for the child care initiative, I looked to
her for advice and expertise on the problems with the child care system and on possible
solutions.
10. How do you expect to get Republican support for this initiative?
Child care traditionally has been a bipartisan issue. In fact, two of the central elements of my
child care initiative were strongly supported by previous Republican Presidents and Members
of Congress. Both Presidents Reagan and Bush supported the expansion of the Child and
Dependent Care Tax Credit, and President Bush supported the creation of the Child Care and
Development Block Grant.
Many Members of the House and Senate from both sides of the aisle have shown a
commitment to taking action by introducing legislation that would improve the quality of child
care, make it more affordable. and promote early learning. We look forward to working with
them to pass significant child care legislation this year.
TAX CREDITS
11. Today, the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) favors middle-income
taxpayers and offers less relief to lower-income taxpayers. Wouldn't it be more fair to
make the CDCTC refundable?
Our proposed expansion of the CDCTC would wipe out tax liability for most families with
incomes under 200% of poverty (e.g., $35,000 for a family of four) who have the maximum
allowable child care expenses. In addition, the proposal significantly expands the Child Care
and Development Block Grant. which is an effective mechanism to help low-income working
families with child care costs. The two proposals together offer significant relief to both low-
and middle-income parents.
4
12. Wouldn't eliminating the marriage penalty help millions of working families with
children? Why aren't you supporting eliminating the penalty as part of your child care
initiative?
I believe that proposais currently on the table to eliminate the marriage penalty are
prohibitively expensive in the context of a balanced budget. I chose instead to provide
targeted tax cuts to assist American families struggling to meet child care costs. These tax
cuts will help more than three million families to pay for high-quality child care.
Helping working families, especially those with children, has been the centerpiece of my
agenda on tax cuts. In 1993, we expanded the Earned Income Tax Credit to give the average
recipient with two children more than $1,000 in tax relief. In 1997, I signed into law a $500
per-child tax credit that will help 27 million families meet the costs of raising their children. In
addition, our $1,500 HOPE Scholarship Tax Credit and Lifelong Learning Tuition Tax Credit
will help nearly 13 million students meet the costs of college and higher education. I will
continue to focus tax and overall economic policy on helping working families.
13. Won't the employer credit for child care expenses that you are proposing create a
windfall for companies already operating child care centers or otherwise subsidizing
employee child care?
Very few for-profit employers are currently making child care services available to their
employees. The credit will provide a real incentive to employers to create new employee child
care programs. Also, for those employers who already have a child care program. the credit
will help support expansion of services.
SUBSIDIES
14. Why are you expanding the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG)
when states aren't using all of their child care subsidy money now?
In fact, we are very encouraged by state reports which show they have obligated over 99% of
the child care fund available under the new welfare law for FY 1997. This demonstrates the
tremendous need states have for child care, and I have continued to urge states to invest their
dollars into helping these working families. But let's be clear-this current initiative is not
aimed at mothers on welfare. It's aimed at working parents who desperately need this
assistance. For example, working families with annual incomes under $14,400 that pay for
care for children under five spend 25% of their income on child care and even then it's
difficult finding accessible. quality care.
15. According to some news stories, states have big surpluses which they could spend
on child care. Rep. Clay Shaw recently issued a report saying that states have
significant and growing surplus federal welfare dollars. The report also said that given
the surpluses and the increase in child care funding under the new welfare law. there
5
isn't a need now for more child care money. Why are you proposing to add to
CCDBG?
I am very pleased that a strong economy and state welfare reform efforts have helped families
move from welfare to work. But let's be clear-this initiative is not aimed at mothers on
welfare. It's aimed at working parents. For example, working families with annual incomes
under $14,400 that pay for care for children under five spend 25% of their income on child
care. Currently, we're serving only a small percentage of eligible children from working
families: there are approximately 10 million children who are eligible for federal child care
assistance, but we are able to serve only over a million of these children.
For America's working families to succeed in the workplace, they need quality choices in
affordable and accessible child care. My initiative, with its combination of increased subsidies
for low-income families and tax credits for moderate- and middle-income families, will provide
working parents the opportunity to remain self-sufficient and succeed both at home and at
work.
16. When you signed the welfare bill, you claimed that the big increase in CCDBG
would make welfare reform work. Now that you are proposing adding to it, are you
admitting that your previous child care efforts were not sufficient?
No. I fought to spend $4 billion more on child care in welfare reform legislation to help
mothers on welfare go to work, and I continue to believe that child care is a critical
component of welfare reform. However, low-income parents who have never been on welfare
are also struggling to afford child care, and all working families want their children to be in
safe, healthy settings where they can learn and grow. These initiatives address the concerns
and needs of all working families in this country. In particular, expansion of the block grant
will enable many states to provide subsidies for the first time to the non-welfare working poor.
17. In order to keep up with the additional need for child care under welfare reform.
aren't states creating new slots at the expense of quality? What protection do you have
against states just increasing slots without regard to quality if you simply increase the
block grant?
I believe that we must make child care more affordable as well as improve quality because
both are important. That is why my child care initiative includes investments in both, and that
is why I fought hard during the welfare debate to preserve 4% of funding through the child
care block grant for state investments in quality.
6
QUALITY
18. What does the Early Learning Fund actually do? How will you measure results?
Recent scientific research has demonstrated that experiences during the earliest years of life --
before children reach school age are critical to their cognitive, emotional, and physical
development. Nurturing and stimulating children in the first years of life help their brains
develop and prepare them for the challenges of school and later life. We also know that too
much child care for infants and toddlers is inadequate: one respected study found that 13% of
regulated and 50% of unregulated family child care providers offer care that is inadequate for
children ages zero to three. The proposed Early Learning Fund is designed to improve early
learning and development for our youngest children; to ensure health and safety in child care;
and to support parents as they raise their children.
The Early Learning Fund builds on state initiatives such as North Carolina's Smart Start,
which helps North Carolina's children enter school healthy and ready to succeed. Smart Start
funds a broad variety of local efforts. including improving staff-to-child ratios, health linkages
that have raised immunization rates. and parent education and mentoring programs to give
new parents support.
19. Why haven't you proposed national standards?
As we learned at the White House Conference on Child Care, safe facilities, ongoing guidance
from health professionals. and child care providers who are well trained and adequately
compensated result in quality care. However, we also learned at the conference that many
states have good quality standards. but do not have the resources to fund enforcement of
those standards. The Standards Enforcement Fund will help states improve licensing, enforce
standards, and increase unannounced inspections of child care settings. In addition,
particularly when it comes to the youngest children. different states face different challenges in
their child care systems. That IS why the Early Learning Fund gives states a menu of
allowable activities to promote early learning and development so that states can concentrate
on those areas where they are falling behind. In this way, the quality of care will improve
across the country.
AFTER- SCHOOL PROGRAMS
20. Your after-school proposal requires programs to be run in the schools. What do
you do for those children in communities where the school will not or cannot provide an
after-school program?
While a major purpose of the 21st Century Learning Centers Program is to make use of
underutilized school facilities. the program includes a set aside to fund programs run by
community groups. In addition. my FY 1999 budget includes $95 million for after school and
7
other prevention programs administered by the Department of Justice. Innovative programs
that are run by community groups in museums. recreation centers or other places outside
schools may receive funding from this after-school initiative.
GENERAL
21. Much attention has been given to the au pair system since nineteen year old Louise
Woodward was tried for killing a baby in her care. What are you doing to reform the
au pair system?
The U.S. Information Agency (the agency that runs the au pair program) announced in
September updated regulations on the screening and placement of au pairs. Under the new
regulations: au pairs who care for children under two years old must have 200 or more
documented hours of infant-care experience; au pair training will include 24 hours of child-
development instruction; au pairs will be limited to working 10 hours a day and 45 hours a
week; their pay will be increased from $115 to $139 a week; and the screening and selection
process will be improved.
22. What is the child care system for federal employees?
There are more than 230 child care centers for civilian government employees in federal
buildings in as many as 36 states. including 108 centers overseen by the General Services
Administration (GSA). Seventy-three percent of GSA sponsored centers are accredited by
the independent National Association for Education of Young Children, and GSA is working
to reach 100% accreditation within two years. Striving to meet the needs of parent workers,
89% of GSA centers have infant care, 74% have drop-in/emergency care, and 42% provide
summer programs for school-aged children. In addition, more than 80% of centers are open
11 or more hours per day. Notably, nearly 70% of the child care center directors have ten or
more years of experience in early childhood education.
23. You have touted the military's child care system as a model for the nation. Isn't it
good because they spend so much?
While the military does invest significant resources into their child care system, they also set
and enforce high quality standards (including through unannounced inspections), support
family day care networks. offer a strong resource and referral system, and provide a wide
variety of care options. all of which increase quality without large investments.
The Department of Defense's Child Care System serves over 200,000 children daily (age zero
to 12), making it the largest employer-sponsored child care program in the nation. Through
this system. the military offers full-day, part-day. and hourly child care, part-day preschools.
before- and after-school programs for school age children. and extended hour care. Because
of the Department of Defense S commitment to excellence in child care. since 1992, the
number of military child care facilities that are accredited by the independent National
8
Association for the Education of Young Children has risen from 55 to 353. Currently, over
75% of military child care programs are accredited, as compared to only 7% of other child
care facilities nationwide.
24. How do you respond to the recent Wall Street Journal article that charges your
own NIH studies indicate that children who spend more time in day care suffer from
proportionally greater ill effects -- regardless of the quality of care?
In fact, according to date published in 1997, quality child care in the early years, meaning care
with a high degree of positive interaction between caregivers and children, can also lead to
better mother-child interaction, the study finds.
According to the NICHD Director Duane Alexander, the most striking aspect of these results
from the early child care study is that children are not being placed at a disadvantage in terms
of cognitive development if they have high quality day care in their first three years. The
proposed Early Learning Fund directly addresses these concerns about quality. It is designed
to improve early learning and development for our youngest children, ensure health and safety
in child care, and support parents as they raise their children.
25. Republicans are saying that this is not the biggest increase in child care and that
last year they provided more funding, $30 billion, in fact. Are you taking credit where
you shouldn't?
No. The Republicans may be referring to the 1996 welfare law where child care funding was
increased $4 billion over six years to help families move from welfare to work and low-income
families move from welfare to work. The $21.7 billion child care proposal which President
Clinton announced is significantly different. It is directed at helping working families make
choices in affordable and accessible child care through a combination of tax credits for
moderate- and middle-income families and increased subsidies for low-income families.
9
PAGE
2
3RD STORY of Level 1 printed in FULL format.
Copyright 1997 Newsweek
Newsweek
November 3, 1997 , UNITED STATES EDITION
SECTION: SOCIETY; Between the Lines; Pg. 70
LENGTH: 924 words
HEADLINE: MAKING CHILD CARE MACHO
BYLINE: BY JONATHAN ALTER
HIGHLIGHT:
As she turns 50, Hillary Clinton seizes the chance to take her pet issue to the
big time
BODY:
FORGET THE PRESIDENT'S GENITALS. I'M more interested in the genitals of an
issue. I'm wondering if child care can develop some cojones and move out of the
ladies' department into the macho world of big-time, bone-crunching legislation,
where the real nuts get cracked. Offended? I hope so, because I'm offended, too.
I'm offended by men so out of touch with the needs of children (including their
own) that they think of "child care" as just another feminist whine imported
from Denmark or someplace. I'm offended by women who claim to recognize that the
poor quality of much of the care is a national scandal, but are so badly
organized that for a decade many states have actually had to return federal
child-care money to Washington because no one persuaded their lame legislatures
tch it. And I'm doubly offended by communities all over the country where
get out of school at 3 p.m. and spend the rest of the day totally
4. upervised. Then we wonder why they get into drugs and knock each other up.
Hillary Clinton is offended, too, though she is working hard to control the
thermostat of her outrage. With her popularity soaring, she found the perfect
way to spend the week before her 50th birthday. After five years in Washington,
she is finally immersed in the issue that has been closest to her heart for the
last 20. But to what end? The question that hung in the East Room chandeliers
last week was whether the White House Conference on Child Care, chaired by the
First Lady, was the beginning of a big 1998 idea -- a bid to finally catch up to
every other industrialized country in the world on this front -- or just another
gabfest for the faithful.
The statistics are horrifying. Average pay for child-care workers: $ 12,000,
with turnover greater than every occupation except gas-station attendants.
Average training: none. Average portion of a low-income worker's wage that goes
for this often inadequate care: 25 percent. According to one study, only one in
seven child-care facilities meets minimal standards for quality. Hillary says
she wants to "start a national conversation" on all of this, with an eye toward
what her husband promises will be a major child-care plan in his State of the
Union speech next January. The president asked for public advice on what the
specifics should be. Expansion of Head Start to reflect new research on the
critical importance of the ages zero to 3? Expanded tax credits for child care?
Help for after-school programs (many of which have been canceled in recent
voors) for older kids? All of the above? Because the much-touted "conversation"
ce relations isn't likely to lead to new lawmaking, child care might be
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'98 JAN 6 PM8:22
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
January 6, 1998
ANNOUNCEMENT OF CHILD CARE INITIATIVE
DATE:
January 7, 1998
LOCATION:
East Room
TIME:
2:30 p.m.
FROM:
Bruce Reed
Melanne Verveer
Elena Kagan
I.
PURPOSE
To announce the child care initiative in your FY 1999 budget and highlight your
commitment to helping American families succeed at home and at work.
II.
BACKGROUND
Your child care initiative of about $20 billion over five years is the largest single child
care investment in our nation's history. The initiative will help working families afford child
care, improve the safety and quality of child care, promote early learning, and build the supply of
good after-school programs.
At the White House Conferences on Early Childhood Development and on Child Care,
you and the First Lady called together parents, experts, and advocates to discuss the importance
of the earliest years of life and the challenge of ensuring that children get the care they need in
those critical years and beyond. This initiative responds to what you heard at those conferences
that America's working families, more than ever, are pressed to find safe, affordable care for
their children. The child care initiative also builds on your record of providing opportunity to
American families that includes: significant expansions of the Earned Income Tax Credit; an
increase in the minimum wage; welfare reform; the Family and Medical Leave Act; children's
health insurance; and the $500 per child tax credit.
The child care initiative will:
Double the number of children receiving child care subsidies to more than two
million by the year 2003 by increasing the Child Care and Development Block Grant
by $7.5 billion over five years.
Help three million working families pay for child care by increasing their tax credits
under the Child and Dependent Tax Credit (estimated at $5.2 billion over five years).
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PAGE 02
Provide a new tax credit for businesses that provide child care services for their
employees (estimated at $500 million over five years).
Establish an Early Learning Fund to provide grants to communities to promote early
childhood development and improve child care quality for young children, with an
investment of $3 billion over five years.
Provide after-school care for 500,000 children per year by expanding the 21st Century
Community Learning Center program, which provides start-up funds to
school-community partnerships to establish or expand before- and after-school
programs for school-age children, through an investment of $1 billion over five years.
Step up enforcement of state child care health and safety standards by establishing a
Standards Enforcement Fund for state efforts to improve licensing systems and
enforce standards, including by increasing unannounced inspections of child care
settings, with an investment of $500 million over five years.
Promote training of child care providers by establishing a Child Care Scholarship
Fund to support 50,000 scholarships per year, with an investment of $250 million
over five years.
Invest in research by establishing a Research and Evaluation Fund to increase support
for data, research, and evaluation in child care, as well as finance a child care hotline
for parents and a National Center on Child Care Statistics, with an investment of $150
million over five years.
Increase Head Start to serve one million children by 2002 and double the number of
children served by Early Head Start with an increased investment of $3.4 billion over
five years.
Child and Dependent Tax Credit Reform
$5.2 billion over five years
Tax Credit for Businesses
$500 million over five years
Child Care Block Grant Increase
$7.5 billion over five years
Standards Enforcement Fund
$500 million over five years
Early Learning Fund
$3 billion over five years
Head Start Increase
$3.4 billion over five years
Child Care Provider Scholarship Fund
$250 million over five years
Research and Evaluation Fund
$150 million over five years
21st Century Learning Center Program
$1 billion over five years
TOTAL:
$21.5 billion over five years
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III.
PARTICIPANTS
Briefing Participants:
Secretaries Shalala, Riley and Rubin, Bruce Reed, Gene Sperling, Melanne Verveer, Ron
Klain, Elena Kagan, Susan Liss, Jennifer Klein, June Shih
Meet and Greet Participants:
Members of Congress (subject to change):
Senator Mary Landrieu
Representative Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT)
Representative Ellen O. Tauscher (D-CA)
Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)
Representative Marge Roukema (R-NJ)
Representative Constance A. Morella (R-MD)
Representative James P. Moran (D-VA)
Representative Barbara B. Kennelly (C-CT)
Representative Patrick Kennedy (D-RI)
Representative Robert A. Weygand (D-RI)
Other Elected Officials:
Governor Lincoln Almond (R-RI)
State Senator Pat Piper (D-MN)
State Representative Jane Maroney (R-DE)
County Commissioner Jane Campbell (D-OH)
County Commissioner Jane Hague (R-WA)
County Councilmember Marilyn Praisner (D-MD)
Children and Families:
Bridie Eckenrode and daughter Sandy Eckenrode (8 years old)
Mark Dalton and daughter Hilary Dalton (6 years old)
Gary Dikeos and son Darien Dikeos (5 years old)
Beverly Lancaster-Hyde and daughter Camille Hyde (4 years old)
Sally D'Italia and daughter Sarah (15 years old)
Tanya Sanders and daughter Tia (15 years old)
Mary Anne Carter and son Matthew Lundy (5 years old)
Binnie Harris and son Juan Gary Jr. (4 years old)
Leslie Bermudez and daughter Vivianna (7 years old)
Marcus Wilkins and daughter Rebecca (8 years old)
Yvonne Reyes and son Mulawin Diwa Reyes-Lozada (4 years old)
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PAGE 04
Event Participants:
The President
The Vice President
The First Lady
Mrs. Gore
Cabinet Members Attending:
Secretaries Shalala, Rubin, Riley, Slater, and Administrator Barram
Audience:
Approximately 160 leaders in the child care community, including experts and advocates (see
attached list). Most were also present for the White House Conference on Child Care.
IV.
PRESS PLAN
Open Press.
V.
SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
YOU will proceed to the Red Room for a briefing.
YOU will proceed to the Blue Room to meet with elected officials and Members of
Congress.
YOU will meet with children and their parents in the Blue Room.
YOU, the First Lady, the Vice President, and Mrs. Gore will proceed to the East
Room, accompanied by children.
YOU, the First Lady, the Vice President, and Mrs. Gore will proceed to stage.
YOU, the First Lady, and the Vice President will be seated on stage.
Mrs. Gore will make opening remarks and introduce the First Lady.
The First Lady will make remarks and introduce the Vice President.
The Vice President will make remarks and introduce YOU.
YOU will make remarks.
YOU, the First Lady, the Vice President, and Mrs. Gore will depart.
PAGE
3
Newsweek, November 3, 1997
the last signature legislation of the Clinton era.
ut first "Billary" (remember that?) must prove they learned something from
health-care fiasco. There are two big lessons that seem to have been drawn
that sorry episode -- one right, one wrong. The right lesson is that a
Washington-designed Rube Goldberg contraption -- even if it's good enough for
the U.S. military -- will fail; 1970s-style federalized child care is DOA. The
wrong lesson is that any kind of big new spending program on a so-called liberal
issue is doomed. Quite the contrary. Flexible, hardheaded, locally run liberal
ideas that relate to women are booming, and almost untouchable by Republicans
staring into the abyss of a 17-point gender gap.
The politics of what were once known as woman's issues are rapidly changing.
Remember the "Violence Against Women" bill? A few years ago, it was laughed off
Capitol Hill; this year it sailed through virtually unopposed, thanks to the
gender gap. Meanwhile, welfare reform (a macho issue) has now melded with
child care. Any politician who's for forcing welfare mothers to work without
providing help with child care now looks like an idiot.
The Christian Coalition notwithstanding, child care can be redefined as apple
pie -- under two conditions. The first is that the Democrats aim high. If they
propose Dick Morris -- style incremental change, without serious money, they' 11
end up with virtually nothing. The second condition is that the issue be framed
so as not to offend stay-at-home mothers. Hillary already seems sensitive to
that, stressing that she rejects "one size fits all" ideas about child care. She
even points to a North Carolina program that offers new mothers stipends for
diapers and baby food if they stay home with their newborns instead of rushing
back to work.
ven so, child care is a perfect example of a common conundrum in the Clinton
how do you replicate what's working in places like North Carolina (the
Smart Start early-childhood program). It's not as easy as it sounds. According
to market principles, the good ideas should naturally spread, but they don't.
"Why is the market dysfunctional in cases like this?" the president asked
Treasury Secretary Bob Rubin at the conference last week. Rubin paused, then
said, "Are you asking me?" The crowd laughed, but the president was earnest: "I
think it's the single most important question about social policy today." Rubin,
whose success with the economy allows him some cheekiness, replied, "You're the
president of the United States. You're supposed to know the answer to these
things."
But of course he doesn't. Even with their bully pulpits and gender gaps, the
president and First Lady seem small when arrayed against our longstanding
neglect of children. Now we'll see if they're serious about growing larger.
GRAPHIC: Picture, Children's hour: At the conference, the First Lady focused on
an issue that has long been close to her heart, WALLY MCNAMEE FOR NEWSWEEK
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: November 03, 1997
PHOTOCOPY
PRESERVATION
01/97/1
January 25, 1998
VIDEOS
DATE:
January 26, 1998
TIME:
11:15 am
LOCATION:
Video Studio
459 OEOB
FROM:
Michael O'Mary
I.
PURPOSE
To record several video messages.
II.
BACKGROUND
HACIA (Hispanic American Construction Industry Association
You have been asked to tape brief remarks to the Hispanic American Construction
Industry Association's (HACIA) 19th Annual Awards Banquet in Chicago. HACIA has
helped develop Hispanic construction firms and worked with the public and private
sectors to diversify the construction industry in the Chicago area. At the banquet, they
give out scholarships to young people who want to get involved in an area of construction.
They also pay tribute to minority/women-owned businesses and public and private sector
leaders who have helped open doors of opportunity for women and minorities. While
most HACIA members are Latino, many are women and members of other minority
groups. Their focus reflects this diversity. HACIA has expressed great support for the
President's efforts to promote opportunity --especially his position on Affirmative Action
and his national dialogue on race. FYI: One of the elected officials who has worked
closely with them is Alderman Danny Solis (Patty's brother), who will be at the event.
Wellesley College Women and Political Activism Conference
You have been asked to tape remarks to be shown at the opening session of the Wellesley
Women in Political Activism Conference on February 17. This conference has been
organized by the Wellesley College Republicans and the Wellesley College Democrats and
will include women from the entire Boston area. Other speakers will include women
leaders from politics, academia, and the media.
Lifetime PSAs
You have been asked to tape a public service announcement about the Child Care Initiative
for Lifetime Television. These PSAs (one long and one short) will be shown in the days and
weeks after the State of the Union. Lifetime has indicated that they are supportive of the
administration's initiative on child care. They will add a trailer to your PSA which calls
upon women to contact an 1-800 number, send in cards and letters, and email in support
of the child care initiative. They hope to collect 10,000 messages to deliver to Congress
before the recess in February.
Ralph Lauren Humanitarian Award
You have been asked to provide video remarks for a reception at which Ralph Lauren with
receive the Dom Perignon Humanitarian Award. (Further information to be forwarded.)
Boston Community Centers
You have been asked to tape video remarks for the 25th Anniversary Gala of Boston
Community Centers. The gala will be held Saturday, March 7 at the Boston Park Plaza and
approximately 600 people are expected to attend. Boston Community Centers is a
private-public partnership aimed at stopping youth crime by giving young people positive
experiences that contribute to their development. On a recent trip to Boston, you met with
Angela Menino to discuss the Community Center Model and she asked you to attend the
gala on March 7th.
III.
PARTICIPANTS
-The First Lady
IV.
SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
The First Lady arrives video studio
The First Lady records video messages.
The First Lady departs
V.
PRESS
Closed press.
VI. REMARKS
Provided by Michael O'Mary
As you well know, Democrats and Republicans don't exactly agree on everything.
But today, regardless of where you stand on the political spectrum, you are standing together
to send a powerful message: For our democracy to thrive and for us to make a difference on
the issues that affect our lives and our nation, women must participate in the political process
at every level.
Yet, while we have clearly made great progress, we also know that our work is far
from done. More than 75 years after we won the right to vote, too many women don't
exercise that fundamental right. Too many women don't know how to make their voices
heard. And too many young girls are taught to value the size of their clothes more than the
size of their dreams.
This conference is an important step forward. So ask questions. Find out how to get
involved. Because what you learn today and what you do tomorrow can open doors for the
next generation of women --not only at Wellesley, not only in our nation, but all over the
world. Thank you.
FIRST LADY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
PSA FOR LIFETIME TELEVISION (30 SECONDS)
JANUARY 26, 1998
Hello. I want to spend a moment talking to you about child care. As you may know,
the President has proposed the largest single investment in child care in our nation's history.
He's seeking to make child care and after-school care better, safer, and more affordable for
millions of America's working families.
We know every child deserves to feel safe and to get the love and attention they need
to grow and learn. So I urge you to get involved. Help make quality child care and after
school care not only a national goal, but a reality for children across America.
FIRST LADY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
PSA FOR LIFETIME TELEVISION
JANUARY 26, 1998
In this year's State of the Union, the President announced the largest single
investment in child care in our nation's history. He's seeking to make child care better, safer,
and more affordable for millions of America's working families.
As you well know, Democrats and Republicans don't exactly agree on everything.
But today, regardless of where you stand on the political spectrum, you are standing together
to send a powerful message: For our democracy to thrive and for us to make a difference on
the issues that affect our lives and our nation, women must participate in the political process
at every level.
Yet, while we have clearly made great progress, we also know that our work is far
from done. More than 75 years after we won the right to vote, too many women don't
exercise that fundamental right. Too many women don't know how to make their voices
heard. And too many young girls are taught to value the size of their clothes more than the
size of their dreams.
This conference is an important step forward. So ask questions. Find out how to get
involved. Because what you learn today and what you do tomorrow can open doors for the
next generation of women --not only at Wellesley, not only in our nation, but all over the
world. Thank you.
FIRST LADY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
PSA FOR LIFETIME TELEVISION (30 SECONDS)
JANUARY 26, 1998
Hello. I want to spend a moment talking to you about child care. As you may know,
the President has proposed the largest single investment in child care in our nation's history.
He's seeking to make child care and after-school care better, safer, and more affordable for
millions of America's working families.
We know every child deserves to feel safe and to get the love and attention they need
to grow and learn. So I urge you to get involved. Help make quality child care and after
school care not only a national goal, but a reality for children across America.
FIRST LADY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
PSA FOR LIFETIME TELEVISION
JANUARY 26, 1998
In this year's State of the Union, the President announced the largest single
investment in child care in our nation's history. He's seeking to make child care better, safer,
and more affordable for millions of America's working families.
The President recognizes, as I do, that there's no more important job than raising a
child. And we must give parents the tools and resources to succeed in that job, whether they
decide to stay at home or go to work.
We know that every child deserves to feel safe, and to get the love and attention they
need to grow and learn. The President's Child Care Initiative goes a long way towards
making sure that child care everywhere meets those needs.
So I urge you to get involved. Help make quality child care and after school care not
only a national goal, but a reality for children across America.
FIRST LADY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
VIDEOTAPED REMARKS
HISPANIC AMERICAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION
19TH ANNUAL AWARDS BANQUET
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
FEBRUARY 26, 1998
Good Evening. I am honored to join you tonight in paying tribute to the scholarship
winners and the businesses and individuals who are opening doors of opportunity in my
home town of Chicago and throughout our nation.
I'd like to acknowledge just a few of the people who made this 19th Annual Awards
Banquet --and the success it celebrates --possible. The co-chairs: Governor Edgar, Mayor
Daley, and Cook County President Stroger. Alderman Danny Solis. And the leaders and
members of HACIA --especially President Dominic Delgado and Founder Rodrigo
D'Escoto [DES-KOH-TO].
None of us got to where we are today without standing on the shoulders of another.
And none of us will ever get to where we need to go tomorrow without reaching back to lift
up someone who comes after us. The President has made it clear that we must all do our
parts to create those "Bridges to Success" that you commemorate tonight. And he has
challenged each of us to engage in a national dialogue about race that brings us together,
instead of driving us apart.
I want to commend HACIA and each of you for working together to create real
opportunities for young people, for Latinos, for all minorities --indeed for all Americans.
I hope you have a wonderful evening.
FIRST LADY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
VIDEOTAPED REMARKS
HISPANIC AMERICAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION
January 23, 1998
VIRTUAL Y CHILD CARE EVENT
DATE:
Monday, January 26
TIME:
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
LOCATION:
P.S. 154 Harriet Tubman School
New York, New York
FROM:
Brenda Costello
I.
PURPOSE
To visit The Virtual Y after-school program, highlighting the after-school component to
the President's recent Child Care Initiative, as well as a successful public-private
partnership.
II.
BACKGROUND
On Monday afternoon you will visit The Virtual Y after-school program at P.S. 154
Harriet Tubman School in central Harlem. This event will complement your morning
event with the Vice President announcing the Mott Foundation funding for after-school
programs, underscoring the after-school component to the President's Child Care
Initiative.
The Virtual Y
The Virtual Y after-school program is a partnership of the YMCA of Greater New York,
the NYC Board of Education and the United Way of NYC, funded by corporate and
foundation donations. The Virtual Y provides a safe, educational environment for
students after school every day. Secretary Riley visited P.S. 92 in Harlem last October
to highlight The Virtual Y program and announce its expansion.
Currently, The Virtual Y serves approximately 3,000 grade school students in 66 public
schools throughout the city, with the goal of reaching 10,000 students in 200 schools by
September, 1998. Of those schools, 12 are located in the Upper Manhattan
Empowerment Zone, and eventually 24 schools in both the Upper Manhattan
Empowerment Zone (Harlem) and in the Bronx Empowerment Zone (south Bronx) will
have Virtual Y programs.
Purpose
The Virtual Y program is intended to support NYC Schools Chancellor Rudy Crew's
mandate to improve the reading scores of all students up to grade level. Chancellor
Crew joined forces with the United Federation of Teachers to improve schools ("SURR"
schools or School Under Registration Review) that were threatened to be taken over by
the state due to low-performance. The Virtual Y emphasizes early literacy and
improving reading scores and also attempts to bring more after-school programs to the
schools and students.
The Virtual Y incorporates the YMCA's triangle philosophy of spirit/mind/body --
designed to build strong values, enhance education and promote health lifestyles -- into
the curriculum, and combines this with a second triangle of community/family/school.
Parental/family involvement is a crucial component of the Virtual Y program,
including involvement in the pilot program and continued service as volunteers in the
program.
Structure
The Virtual Y focuses on second, third and fourth graders and targets low-performing
schools. The Virtual Y provides tutoring and homework help as well as learning
enrichment and recreational activities from 3pm - 6pm each school day. The Virtual Y
comprises many of the Administration's initiatives, including community service,
reading, and corporate responsibility. A total of 72 AmeriCorps volunteers work in
Virtual Y programs within the Empowerment Zone. In addition, through the America
Reads challenge, college work-study students work in the program which is part of the
America Reads working group. The Virtual Y was a member of the 1997 America Goes
Back to School steering Committee, the annual initiative of the U.S. Department of
Education focusing on the back-to-school months.
Each Virtual Y program is funded for 50 students in grades 2-4, and up to 80 students in
programs in the empowerment zones. Enrollment fluctuates and occasionally there is a
waiting list at a school. Half of the students are selected by the school based on need,
while the other half are first come/first served. Students are separated by grade level
into small groups in different classrooms. Once there, students rotate between the
various activities, either reading and discussion, artwork, or recreation.
Generally there are one or two counselors per class for every 10-13 students. A Virtual
Y Site Coordinator oversees the program and rotates through the school. At some sites,
the Site Coordinator is an AmeriCorps volunteer.
A different theme and value is highlighted each month, with all activities structured
around that particular theme. The values component addresses Respect, Responsibility,
Caring, Fairness, Trustworthiness and Citizenship, focusing on themes ranging from
racism to the environment. Students may, for example, help clean up the schoolyard
when learning about the environment.
Funding
The Virtual Y is funded primarily through corporate sponsors who donate $25,000 per
school to cover all program costs at each school. Programs within the empowerment
zone are funded an additional $15,000 for 30 more students beyond the 50 already
covered. In addition, individual and foundations help fund the additional
administrative costs for training and program evaluation. There is no cost to students
in the program.
Nearly 80 private entities had raised $5.35 million by the end of lat year. Time Warner
Inc. has been one of the largest supporters, with a commitment to fund 19 schools over
2 years in the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, including P.S. 154 Harriet
Tubman School. In kind contributions from Scholastic has provided all the books and
for the Virtual Y program.
P.S. 154 Harriet Tubman School
P.S. 154 Harriet Tubman School is an elementary school serving approximately 650
students in grades pre-K through grade 5. Located in central Harlem, approximate 90
percent of the students at PS 154 are African American and 5 percent are Hispanic, and
most fall below the poverty level. Ninety-two percent of students are eligible for free
lunch. P.S. 154 is located in an the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, which
increases available funding for the Virtual Y program.
Identified by the New York State Department of Education as a "non-performing" or
SURR school two years ago due to low reading scores, P.S. 154 has made a remarkable
comeback and has been removed from SURR list after literacy programs were
implemented and test scores rose nearly 20 percent.
The school's current Principal, Elizabeth Jarrett, was appointed in July 1996. While not
mandatory, uniforms are strongly recommend at PS 154. Approximately 50 percent of
the students participate.
The Virtual Y at P.S. 154
Between 60 and 70 students are enrolled in The Virtual Y program at P.S. 154, with a
total of five staff - two paid Virtual Y counselors and three volunteer positions. The
theme this month is racism, and the value of the month is honesty.
Format
Guided by Jennifer Ford, The Virtual Y Coordinator at P.S. 154, you and Principal
Jarrett will visit in two classrooms in the after-school program, where students will be
working on various reading or art projects.
Following the tour, you will proceed to another classroom for a short speaking program
on the Virtual Y program. Other speakers include Principal Jarrett, Paula Gavin,
President, YMCA of Greater New York, and Rosetta Moore, the parent of a student in
the after-school program. Approximately 30 guests from the school, YMCA and
sponsors will be in the audience.
III.
PARTICIPANTS
Program Tour
-The First Lady
-Elizabeth Jarrett, Principal, PS 154
-Jennifer Ford, Virtual Y Program Coordinator
Remarks
-The First Lady
-Elizabeth Jarrett, Principal, PS 154
-Rosetta Moore, Virtual Y parent
-Paula Gavin, President, YMCA of Greater New York
IV.
SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
The First Lady proceeds to Third Floor of P.S. 154 with Principal Jarrett.
The First Lady enters Classroom 303.
Jennifer Ford, Virtual Y Coordinator, gives the First Lady a tour of Classroom
303: counselors and children describe the activities available at the Virtual Y after
school program.
At the end of the tour of Classroom 303, the children ask the First Lady a
question.
The First Lady and Jennifer Ford proceed to Classroom 304.
Jennifer Ford gives the First Lady a tour of Classroom 304 with counselors and
children available to describe their activities.
At the end of the tour of Classroom 304, the children present the First Lady with
a card.
The First Lady, Jennifer Ford, and Principal Jarrett proceed to Classroom 306
where the other after school program children are gathered.
The First Lady briefly says hello to children in Classroom 306.
The First Lady proceeds to Classroom 309.
Principal Elizabeth Jarrett makes welcoming remarks and introduces Rosetta
Moore, Virtual Y parent.
Rosetta Moore makes remarks and introduces Paula Gavin, President, YMCA of
Greater New York.
Paula Gavin makes remarks and introduces The First Lady.
The First Lady makes remarks.
Upon conclusion of remarks, the First Lady departs.
V. PRESS
Tour:
Pool Press.
Remarks:
Pool press/WH Photo.
VI. REMARKS
Talking points provided by Christy Macy.
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NEWS FLASH
NEWS FLASH
NEWS FLASH
NEWS FLASH
AFTER-SCHOOL
and Fantilies community J Groupy Groups.
21st CENTURY COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTERS
AFTER-SCHOOL, WEEKEND AND SUMMER PROGRAMS FOR YOUTH
PARTNERSHIP
for Family
Involvement
in Education
WHAT IS THE 21ST CENTURY COMMUNITY
aimed at kindergarten and early elementary
LEARNING CENTER PROGRAM?
school students, and focus on supervised
care rather than academic instruction. This
The 21st Century Community Learning
program will bring much-needed attention to
Center program is authorized under Title X,
the provision of supplementary learning
Part I (21st Century Community Learning
activities and on activities addressing the
Centers) of the Elementary and Secondary
needs of adolescents and the problems of
Education Act. The funds can be used to
drug use, gang involvement and violence.
expand the school's capacity to address the
educational needs of its community after-
A 1994 survey of parents found that 56
school. weekends and summers. The focus
percent think that children are left alone too
of this program will be to provide expanded
much after school, and a 1989 survey
learning opportunities for participating
showed that 84 percent of school principals
children in a safe, drug-free and supervised
expressed a need for before- and after-school
environment. A priority of the program will
programs. According to the Federal Bureau
be to focus on middle
of Investigation,
school students.
youth between the
Empowerment Zones
Deadline for transmittal of application is
ages of 12 and 17 are
and Enterprise
March 9, 1998.
most at risk of
Communities will
The announcement of grant awards is
committing violent
also be a target of the
expected in early May 1998.
acts and being
program.
victims between 3
p.m. and 6 p.m.--a
WHY DO WE NEED THIS PROGRAM?
time when they are not in school. Many
children and youth can benefit from extra
While some communities are already
learning time after school, summer and
developing after-school programs, they are
weekends A priority would be given to
not widespread, particularly in the public
programs serving early adolescents and
schools. In 1995, there were 23.5 million
middle school-age children. The 21st
school-aged children with parents in the
Century Learning Center program meets this
workforce. But as recently as the 1993-94
need by providing a safe place for
school year, 70 percent of all public
homework centers, intensive mentoring in
elementary and combined schools did not
basic skills, drug and violence prevention
have a before- or after-school program. In
counseling, help for middle school students
rural arcas. 82 percent of public schools did
to prepare to take college prep courses in
not have such programs. In addition, the
high school, enrichment in the corc
majority of extended-day programs are
academic subjects, as well as opportunities
CI
NFWS FLASH
NEWS FLASH
0202 401 3038
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to participate in chorus, band and the arts,
under the 21st Century Community Learning
technology education programs and services
Centers program. The workshops will assist
for children and youth with disabilities.
potential applicants to plan and implement
Before- and after-school and summer
high-quality after-school programs, and will
programs can help children stay on the right
feature:
track.
Technical assistance - tips on how to
prepare the grant application
How MUCH FUNDING IS AVAILABLE FOR
Research results
2 I ST CENTURY COMMUNITY LEARNING
Examples of high-quality after-school
CENTERS?
programs and activities in the region
The President received $40 million in his
The C.S. Mott Foundation is sponsoring the
FY 1998 budget to expand this program. It
workshops, which are free of charge to
is estimated that this amount will fund 200
applicants. The schedule and location for
to 300 new after-school grants that can
the workshops are listed below:
include more than one local project, as in the
February 2 - Boston, Atlanta
case of a local education agency applying to
February 4 - New York, Dallas
serve several local schools.
February 6 - Washington DC, St. Louis
February 9 - Los Angeles, Chicago
WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE FUNDING?
February 11 - Seattle; Flint, Michigan
February 13 - Denver
A school or consortia of schools, but they
must be in collaboration with other public
The deadline to register is January 26,
and non-profit agencies and organizations,
1998. For additional information or to obtain
local businesses, educational entities (such
a registration form, go to the Web site at
as vocational and adult education programs,
www.ed.gov/offices/OERI/21stCCLC
or
school-to-work programs, community
contact the National Community Education
colleges, and universities), and
Association at 703-359-8973.
scientific/cultural, and other community
institutions. By and large, according to a
How DO I APPLY FOR FUNDING?
1992 Gallup poll, the public favors keeping
school buildings open for use by school
To request an application packet, please
children (with adult supervision): 87 percent
contact: Amanda Clyburn
after school; 67 percent on weekends: and
U.S. Department of Education
72 percent during vacation. Grants will be
Office of Educational Research and
funded for a period not to exceed three
Improvement
years.
555 New Jerscy Avenue, NW
Washington DC 20208-5644
REGIONAL WORKSHOPS
E-mail: [email protected]
FAX: 202-219-2198
The U.S. Department of Education, with the
National Community Education Association
You can also download the application
(NCEA) and the National Center for
packet from the U.S. Department of
Community Education (NCCE), is offering a
Education's Web site at
series of one-day regional workshops to
www.ed.gov/offices/OERI.
assist people who may apply for grants
B
THE NEW YORK Ti.
ETRO
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 1997
Y.M.C.A. and School Board Unite on a Reading Program
By SOMINI SENGUPTA
the after-school programs once sup-
Using private donations to make
ported by city money.
up for city budget cuts, the Board of
Five years ago, every elementary
Education and the Y.M.C.A. of Great-
school In District 15 In Brooklyn of-
er New York announced a plan yes-
fered after-school programs at least
CHISSM
terday for new after-school pro-
three days a week, focusing on aca-
grams with a special focus on Im-
demic enrlchment, arts and athlet-
proving reading skills for 10,000 ele-
Ics. They were financed by discre-
mentary school students.
tlonary money from the Board Of
The proposal, for second, third and
Education, sald the district superin-
fourth graders in 200 elementary
tendent, Willlam F. Casey.
schools, is the first major effort to
The board also paid for after-
extend the school day since budget
school sports programs five days'
cuts to the Board of Education and
week In each of the middle schools in
the Department of Youth Services
the district, which stretches from
eliminated much of what used to be
Sunset Park to Park Slope. Money
an array of after-school programs,
from the city's Department of Youth
from basketball to math tutorials.
Services supplemented the school's
Drawing on corporate and Indlvid-
programs.
ual donors as well as grants from the
Since then, with steep city budget
United Way, the Y.M.C.A. will spend
cuts for education and youth serv-
about $25,000 on staff and materlals
Ices, district superIntendents have
at each school, to be matched by
been forced to channel discretionary
about $7,500 a year from the Board of
spending toward classroom Instruc-
Education to keep the schools open
tion, Mr. Casey said. "Any kind of
from 3 to 6 P.M. The corporate do-
discretionary money you could find
nors will be able to display their
in the budget, you kind of used it to
Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times
company banners at the schools in
ease the pain of the cuts," he sald.
exchange for their donations.
Chess is among the activities in a new program offered by the Y.M.C.A.
Now Mr. Casey uses Federal and
The Y.M.C.A. has ralsed $1 million
Alejandro Garcia, 10, left, and Shantel Jackson, 8, playing at P.S. 145.
state money for after-school reading
so far and will require $5 million
classes In three or four schools. Par-
each year to sustain the program.
60 schools. The rest will have it by
Children's advocates sald yester-
ents in four schools also pay, on a
Fifty children will take part at
the end of the next school year.
day that while phllanthropic efforts
sllding scale, for their own after-
each school, half of them selected by
"We will go into the schools of
could not compensate for severe city
school programs.
the principal on the basls of academ-
greatest need, with low reading and
budget cuts, programs Ilke the Virtu-
Some school officials have tried to
Ic or social needs. Y.M.C.A. employ-
math performance," sald the
al Y are crucial for students and
fill the gap with outside grants. Dis-
ees and volunteers will offer home-
Y.M.C.A. president, Paula Gavin.
working parents, and are becoming
trict 3, on the Upper West Side, raises
work help and athletic and arts activ-
Speaking at a news conference
even more Important as new welfare
$400,000 to $500,000 in state and Fed-
Ities like chess, dance, and basket-
yesterday at Public School 40, at 319
rules require single parents to work.
eral grants, for after-school pro-
ball, as well as a curriculum Intend-
East 19th Street In Manhattan, Rich-
"It's not golng to fill the gap." sald
grams alone. The district is unusual
ed to Increase reading skills. One of
ard A. Grasso, chalrman and chief
Rose Anello, the associate director of
in that all of its 38 schools have
Chancellor Rudy Crew's prloritles Is
executive of the New York Stock
the Citizens' CommIttee for Chll-
programs after school.
to have all third graders reading at
Exchange, Issued an appeal.
dren. "It's going to help us meet the
On a recent afternoon at P.S. 185
grade level.
"I'm a product of the public educa-
needs of school-age children and
on West 112th Street, a dozen first
The Y.M.C.A. currently offers pro-
tlon system In this town, and 1 be-
working parents, as well as parents
and second graders huddled around
grams in 40 schools, concentrated In
lleve very deeply that the Virtual Y
who are required to go to work to
a teacher as she read aloud "The
the city's poorest nelghborhoods. Its
will make a very Important contribu-
keep their welfare benefits."
Snowy Day," by Ezra Jack Keats.
new venture, which grew out of con-
tion that reminds the private sector
Board of Education officials sald
The children, many of them Imntf-
versatlons between the organlza-
and certainly those of us In financial
they do not know how many after-
grants from Latin America and Af.
tion's president and Dr. Crew, an
services that there Is no greater In-
school programs exist now. But sev-
rlca, described winter, wrote stories
honorary board member, will serve
vestment in our future than In our
eral school district superintendents,
and drew plctures about the season,
children In a third of all elementary
klds," sald Mr. Grasso, who is alsoon
who are in charge of the city's 848
"This is a continuation of school,
schools. By next fall, the program,
the board of the Y.M.C.A. "The re-
elementary and middle schools, said
but more relaxed," the assistant
called the Virtual Y, will be In about
turns are Incalculable."
they have had'to slash almost all of
principal, Nortna Genao, sald.
10/2/97
DAILY
NEWS
$1.1M
to aid
literacy
By LAURA WILLIAMS
Short
Daily News Staff When
Vowais
An after-school literacy
program got a $1.1 million
shot in the arm yesterday
from Time Warner Cable
and the Upper Manhattan
Empowerment Zone Devel-
Popment Corp.:
The money will help a
YMCA program that gives
extra instruction to students
to expand to 19 schools in
Harlem and upper Manhat-
tan.
In announcing the dona-
tion. Deborah Wright. the
head of the development
corporation. said all New
Yorkers should pitch in
however they can to help
students learn to read.
"We must put our arms
collectively around these
kids so they have the support
we did." Wright said during
a panel discussion on litera-
cy with U.S. Education Sec-
retary Richard Riley. Depu-
ty Chancellor Judith Rizzo
BILL TURNBULL DAILY NEWS
and other officials.
EDUCATION SECRETARY Richard Riley visits classroom at upper
Riley said he intends to
Manhattan's Public School 92 yesterday.
take the YMCA program. or
similar efforts, to school sys-
struction to students three
community organizations.
tems across the country.
hours a day, five days a
There are now 65 Virtual
This is a national move-
week. In order to give each
Y centers - with a total of
ment." he said. "It's very.
child a lot of attention, there
3,500 children - in all five
very important for this coun-
is one counselor for each 10
boroughs. By the year 2000.
try.
students. Virtual Y is funded
the YMCA hopes to have 200
The program. called Virtu-
largely by private companies
New York sites serving up to
al Y. gives free literacy in-
as well as some nonprofit
12.000 students.
6 EDUCATION WEEK OCTOBER 8, 1997
P hila nthrop y
Time Warner Inc. and the
Upper Manhattan Empowerment
Zone recently announced a $1.1
million commitment designed to
give more New York City
elementary students a safe place
to go when the school day ends.
The pledge will enable 19
Harlem-area schools to
participate in the "Virtual Y"
after-school program, in which
trained volunteers, college work-
study students, and YMCA staff
members work with children in
grades 2, 3, and 4 to improve
literacy skills.
The Virtual Y program is not
related to high-tech computing or
Internet surfing, but rather it
delivers academic and
recreational resources from the
YMCA to each of the 66 schools
currently being served by the
three-hour, extended-day
program, said Paula Gavin, the
president of the YMCA of Greater
New York.
The joint contribution of Time
Warner and the Upper
Manhattan Empowerment Zone,
which is part of a federal
initiative that gives tax breaks
and financial resources to
struggling communities, is the
program's largest gift to date.
Virtual Y sponsors, including
the New York City board of
education and the local United
Way affiliate, hope to install the
program in 200 underserved
public schools in the city by 2000,
Ms. Gavin said. When it started
as a pilot program last spring,
Virtual Y served only 10 sites.
01/23/98 15:24
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004
Where We Stand - December, 1997
http://www.att.org/NS/Getl.HP?url=42fwws%2fwws12197.htn&ternsps,)54
Where We Stand
by Sandy Feldman
President, American Fedcration of Teachers
Two years ago,
children in PS 154
were among
the lowest-achieving
students in the city.
A School is Reborn
A critical question in American education is how to provide poor children in failing and mostly urban
schools with a good education. Voucher advocates have given up and argue that we should just rescue a
few children by subsidizing their tuition at private schools. But how can we have a public policy of
saving a few kids and ignoring the rest? If a school is that bad, no one should be stuck there.
Instead, we must-and can--educate all the children by rurning around schools that are disorderly and
unsafe and where kids are not learning. Close them if necessary; rethink everything about them-and do
it fast.
This is not just talk. It's what Chancellor Rudy Crew, with the support and collaboration of the United
Federation of Teachers, is doing in New York City. Schools that were performing so poorly the state
threatened to take them over are being redesigned. Most are starting to improve, and some have made
remarkable progress.
I recently visited PS 154 in central Harlem, where scores in a state-wide reading exam have risen 19.5
percent since the redesigned school opened in September 1996. (This figure is solidly documented,
unlike the claims made for some private school voucher programs.)
PS 154 looks the way a good school should. The hallways are bright and clean and filled with the terrific
work of children. There are no graffiti. no torn-up bulletin hoards. Classroom doors stand open, and you
can hear the sounds of children and teachers working together. They look busy and intent on what
they're doing.
Most of the students are poor. They come from a public housing project across the street, and nearly 95
percent are eligible for Title I funds. Some have very serious problems, but the majority are average,
normal-to-bright, big-city kids--and they are thriving.
A Dirty, Disorderly Place
Two years ago, the children in PS 154 were among the lowest-achieving students in the city. The school
they attended, this same school, was dirty and disorderly. It was always short of books and supplies, and
the adults--tcachers and administrators--were frequently at odds with one another. There was no vision
1/23/98 3:08
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1
005
Where We Stand December, 1997
http://www.aflorg/NS/GctLHP?url=%2fwws2fwws12197.htn&temsps,
of what the school should be like--or any hope of making it different and better.
How did all this change? First, PS 154, which had been ncglected and starved for support and resources
by its local sub-district, was taken over by the chancellor. The chancellor's office, together with the
United Federation of Tcachers, assisted PS 154's administrators, parents, teachers, and other staff in
redesigning the school. The idea was to draw up a plan whose evcry part would contribute to improving
student learning. Ultimately PS 154 chose, as a centerpiece, "Success for All," a reading program that
has proven very effective in inner-city schools, and they organized the rest of the education plan around
that program.
Teachers who wanted to be part of the new PS 154 were invited to apply; others transferred to schools
elsewhere in the district. In all, 50 percent of the teachers stayed on. The rest were mostly new, young
teachers who were eager to work in the redesigned school. All of the teachers--both new and
experienced--got extra training to prepare them for putting the education plan into action.
Working Together
As for the leadership, the final and all-important piece, the school got an excellent new principal. She
and the school's talented union building rep were able to work together and help teachers and parents
follow through on every detail of the redesign.
This is a story about one school--and it's only the first chapter. Bul there are many storics like it, and
more to come. In fact, as I was writing this column, the state education department and the Chancellor
announced that PS 154, along with 14 other schools, was being removed from the state's list of
low-performing schools--a major accomplishment in a relatively short period of time.
But there's another angle--an important one: Vouchers divide a community; they pit the few families
who "win" the voucher lottery against the many who do not. They encourage people to give up on
neighborhood schools and take scarce resources out of these schools. The rebuilding of PS 154
demonstrates something very different. Many groups made a commitment to fix this school so all the
kids in the neighborhood could get a good education. Together, they achieved what none of them could
have done alone. And in helping a community get back its neighborhood school, they made the
community stronger.
Previous "Where We Stand" Columns
Back to the Main AFT Web Page
American Federation of Teachers 555 New Jersey Ave, NW Washington, DC 20001
Copyright 1997 by the American Federation of Teachers. All rights reserved. Photographs and illustrations, as well as text,
cannot be used without permission from the AFT.
View the original document.
View documents like this one.
1/23/98 3:08
TALKING POINTS FOR HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
VIRTUAL Y SCHOOL SITE VISIT
HARLEM, NEW YORK
MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 1998
Acknowledgments to come from advance.
I've been so impressed with what I've seen here today. This is a great place for kids, not
only because it's fun, and safe, and warm, but because it helps children at Harriet
Tubman to do better in school. Today, we see what's possible when we create
partnerships and invest in our children.
This "Virtual Y" is a model program:
** It's a public/private partnership (the YMCA of Greater New York; the New York City
Board of Education; United Way of NYC; Time Warner; AmeriCorps);
** helps kids learn (children work in small groups to improve reading and overall
academic skills);
** emphasizes the Y's core values respect, responsibility, caring and honesty;
brings child care directly to the people it serves;
offers an organized program for volunteers to participate in a major literacy effort;
provides a safe and stimulating environment for kids during the hours of the day
when they're most at risk.
This program is a model for after school care not only here in Harlem and New York
City, but around the nation. It's an example of how we're expanding the opportunities
and programs that help kids to say no to drugs and alcohol and crime, and yes to reading,
and computers, and learning.
The "Virtual Y" program exemplifies what's possible when everyone the
government, the schools, the community, non profits, and the private sector -- joins
hands around our children, and provides them safe and stimulating places to learn and
grow.
Tomorrow night, in his State of the Union, the President will unveil the single largest
investment in child care and after school care in our nation's history. This $20 billion
investment over five years will make child care more affordable for millions of working
parents; promote early learning and healthy child development; and ensure child care is
safe and of high quality.
We're making child care more affordable for working families, by investing $7.5 billion
over five years to double the number of children receiving child care subsidies; by
investing $5.2 billion in increased tax credits for child care; by proposing a new tax credit
for businesses that provide child care for their employees;
We're promoting early learning and healthy child development by providing $3 billion
over five years to establish an Early Learning Fund that helps local communities improve
the quality and safety of child care.
We're making sure these child care programs are safe and high quality, by stepping up
enforcement of state health and safety standards, facilitating background checks on child
care providers;
But as we all know, and as Rosetta Moore has just reminded us, the need for child care
doesn't disappear once our children begin school. That's why the President is making a
significant investment in after school programs -- $1 billion over the next five years. And
because of that investment, more parents, and more school aged kids, will have the
opportunity to participate in a quality program like this one we've seen today.
This morning, we saw another example of how the private/non profit sector is supporting
this national commitment to improve and expand before and after school care. Along
with the Vice President and Secretary Riley, we announced that the C.S. Mott
Foundation will invest $55 million over the next five years in after school programs --
specifically in program quality that includes training and technical assistance.
There is no more important job than raising a child. And no greater responsibility than to
create the conditions and give families and communities the tools to succeed in that
critical task. The President's child care and after school initiative will bring us closer to
fulfilling this fundamental promise to America's parents and children.
I want to thank everyone in this coalition for setting such an impressive and inspiring
example of what, together, we can accomplish on behalf of our nation's children.
LEXIS®-NEXIS®
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Copyright 1998 The New York Times Company
The New York Times
January 27, 1998, Tuesday, Late Edition - Final
SECTION: Section A; Page 16; Column 1; National Desk
LENGTH: 774 words
HEADLINE: THE PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE: THE FIRST LADY;
Mrs. Clinton in Harlem: A Portrait of Resilience
BYLINE: By FRANCIS X. CLINES
BODY:
Hillary Rodham Clinton kept to her smiling round of tours in behalf of needy children today, offering
the nation no revealing words but a steadfast bearing as her First Lady's defense of her
scandal-embattled President.
Beaming as she entered a third-floor classroom here at the Harriet Tubman Learning Center on West
127th Street in Harlem, Mrs. Clinton asked a dozen youngsters what they were studying.
"The Four Values," the third and fourth graders responded in unison.
And what are they? The First Lady encouraged, fairly glowing in a yellow pants suit as she worked the
class.
"Honesty," they began slowly, "Caring. Respect. And responsibility."
"Those are really important values," Mrs. Clinton said, adding, "Boy, that's a big word responsibility
--isn't it?"
This was a day more for generating self-confident tableaux than explicit discussion of the President's
predicament, as the First Lady made clear in declining to field reporters' questions at the school.
Instead, she immersed herself, with camera crews in attendance, in picturesque visits with children, with
the fleeting dialogue on the Four Values as close as anyone came to the sensitive subject of morality at
the heart of the criminal investigation now under way into the President's personal behavior.
The First Lady's visit here was a respite from the legal and political cauldron that the White House has
become. Mrs. Clinton once more presented a classic study in resilience under pressure - her virtuoso
role in past campaigns of defending her husband when his career was on the line.
Her agenda was well tailored to the Clintons' current need to display themselves in positive,
business-as-usual situations, with an evening Unicef dinner address following her afternoon visit to the
Y.M.C.A. literacy program in Harlem. There, the official gathering of 50 people immediately stood,
cheered and applauded the sight of her.
"She's holding up well," one woman in the room said discreetly to a colleague, eying the First Lady as if
for signs of physical illness or personal grief.
Mrs. Clinton seemed resolved to offer the watching world not the faintest hint of personal
discouragement. She projected a redoubtable presence in control of the moment as she asked individual
students about their work and leaned to touch and talk with them encouragingly.
"Learning how to spell is a lot easier than stopping people from hating you," she sympathized with
9-year-old Danquan Love as she helped with his "I have a dream" essay assignment, correcting his
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spelling, but underlining his understanding of what makes for a better world.
She began the day at her husband's side, smiling confidently and listening as he offered, in a stronger
delivery than previously, another brief denial of the accusations that he had a sexual affair with a
21-year-old White House intern and sought to have her lie under oath to keep it concealed.
"I pray to the Lord it's not true," said Edna O'Bryant, a gray-haired retiree who said she journeyed down
from the Bronx just to stand in the passing crowd and try to buck up the Clintons. "He's doing
everything in his power to help this nation. We'll all be destroyed if this is true."
Nearby in the school corridor, Louis Jones, a retired postal worker agreed. "I don't think he'd have time
for that sort of thing, you know," Mr. Jones said. "But it's been going on in the White House ever since
there was a White House. And if he has to go and we get Al Gore, well I could get with the program."
Mrs. Clinton traveled in the city in a virtual bell jar of politeness. She praised the success of the "Virtual
Y" program of special after-school tutoring in literacy, financed in 66 neighborhoods by the public and
private sectors. For this day, the worthy program attracted an outsized throng of news workers and
equipment, most of it kept away in the streets, waiting for any word or bit of body language on whether
the First Lady would take cognizance of the investigation and the uproar she left behind.
She did not. But Mrs. Clinton, who has been reported to be helping engineer the White House's defense
in the current struggle, kept a keen eye for detail through the day, touching her audience by telling of a
student's "I have a dream" essay in which the girl dreamed that "I visited my Grandma in the grave and
she told me to keep my eye on wanting to be a teacher and not live in the streets."
The First Lady departed from the Harlem school to another standing ovation that drowned out news
questions from the rear about her husband and the furor and criminal investigation back at the White
House.
GRAPHIC: Photo: Hillary Rodham Clinton leaving the Harriet Tubman School in Harlem yesterday
after speaking with children about "The Four Values." (Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times)
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: January 27, 1998
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Copyright 1998 Sentinel Communications Co.
THE ORLANDO SENTINEL
January 27, 1998 Tuesday, METRO
SECTION: A SECTION; Pg. A4
LENGTH: 420 words
HEADLINE: HILLARY CLINTON VISITS HARLEM;
WHILE TOURING A SCHOOL, SHE AVOIDED ANY DISCUSSION OF THE SCANDAL
ROCKING HER HUSBAND'S PRESIDENCY.
BYLINE: Compiled From Wire Reports
DATELINE: NEW YORK
BODY:
First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton toured a Harlem elementary school Monday in her first trip out of
town since the scandal that has shaken her husband's administration broke but she avoided any
discussion of the crisis.
The first lady arrived in New York hours after appearing by the side of the president, who vehemently
denied, at a White House event on child care, allegations that he had sexual relations with a White
House intern and urged her to lie about it.
Hillary Clinton visited the Harriet Tubman Learning Center, formerly known as Public School 154, and
learned about the school's "virtual Y," a program run by the YMCA aimed at developing after-school
programs for children in need.
Speaking of the administration's plan to devote $21 billion over five years to child care and after-school
programs, the first lady said, "We will make child care more affordable for millions of working parents."
Dressed in sunny yellow and smiling, Clinton strode before the cameras with something to prove. While
her official topic was the importance of child care, the unstated one was the strength of her marriage.
As President Clinton fends off new allegations of infidelity, Americans' eyes are also on his wife. And
she is not flinching.
She was visibly affected by the time she spent with one student, who was working on a theme based on
slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech.
She said the girl told her "I had a dream I visited my grandmother in her grave and she told me to keep
my eye on wanting to be a teacher and not live in the streets."
"I had to think about that," Clinton said. "And then about how we want to give these messages to our
children."
"We can't just tell them, we have to show them. We can't just preach at them, we have to work with
them," she added.
The Clintons' marriage has baffled many ever since the couple first emerged on the national stage early
in 1992. Clinton's presidential campaign was in turmoil after Gennifer Flowers' accusations of a 12-year
affair and other rumors of womanizing.
Whispers about marital shouting matches and lamps thrown in anger have alternated with images of the
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couple cuddling in a hammock or dancing on the beach.
At a child-care event in Washington Monday morning, cameras whirred as the first lady leaned over to
whisper in the president's ear.
Her demeanor also will be closely watched tonight as she watches her husband's State of the Union
address from the congressional gallery.
GRAPHIC: PHOTO: A helping hand. Hillary Rodham Clinton gives
a spelling assist to Dan Quan, 9, on his 'I Have a Dream' project.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHOTO: A public whisper. The Clintons at a scrutinized White House
event on child care, where observers sought signs of her feelings.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
COLUMN: White House crisis
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Copyright 1998 The Austin American-Statesman
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January 27, 1998
SECTION: News; Pg. A6
LENGTH: 599 words
HEADLINE: In firestorm, first lady acts cool, calm, collected
BYLINE: FRANCIS X. CLINES
BODY:
NEW YORK -- Hillary Rodham Clinton kept to her smiling round of tours in behalf of needy children
Monday, offering the nation no revealing words but a steadfast bearing as her first lady's defense of the
scandal-embattled president.
Beaming as she entered a third- floor classroom at Harlem's Harriet Tubman Learning Center, Clinton
asked a dozen youngsters what they were studying.
The Four Values," the third- and fourth-graders responded in unison.
And what are they? The first lady encouraged, fairly glowing in a yellow pants suit as she worked the
class.
Honesty," they began slowly, Caring. Respect. And Responsibility."
Those are really important values," said Clinton, adding Boy, that's a big word -- responsibility -- isn't
it?"
This was a day more for generating self-confident tableaux than explicit discussion of the president's
sex-scandal predicament, as the first lady made clear in declining to field reporters' questions at the
school.
Instead, she immersed herself, with camera crews in attendance, in picturesque visits with children. The
fleeting dialogue on the Four Values was as close as anyone came to the sensitive subject of morality at
the heart of the criminal investigation under way into the president's personal behavior in the Oval
Office.
The first lady's visit was a respite from the legal and political cauldron that the White House has
become. She once more presented a classic study in resilience under pressure -- her virtuoso role in past
campaigns of defending her husband when his career was on the line.
Her agenda was well-tailored to the Clintons' current need to display themselves in positive,
business-as-usual situations, with an evening UNICEF dinner address following her afternoon visit to
the YMCA literacy program in Harlem. There, the official gathering of 50 people immediately stood,
cheered and applauded the sight of her.
She's holding up well," one woman in the room said discreetly to a colleague, looking at the first lady as
if for signs of physical illness or personal grief.
Hillary Clinton, who will appear this morning on NBC's Today" show, seemed resolved to offer the
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watching world not the faintest hint of personal discouragement. She projected a redoubtable presence in
control of the moment as she asked individual students about their work and leaned to touch and talk
with them encouragingly.
Learning how to spell is a lot easier than stopping people from hating you," she sympathized with
9-year-old Danquan Love as she helped with his I Have a Dream" essay assignment, correcting his
spelling but underlining his understanding of what makes for a better world.
She began the day at her husband's side, smiling confidently and listening as he offered, in a stronger
delivery than previously, another brief denial of the allegations that he had a sexual affair with a
24-year-old former White House intern and sought to have her lie under oath to keep it concealed.
I pray to the Lord it's not true," said Edna O'Bryant, a gray-haired retiree who said she journeyed from
the Bronx just to stand in the passing crowd and try to buck up the Clintons. He's doing everything in his
power to help this nation. We'll all be destroyed if this is true."
Nearby in the school corridor, Louis Jones, a retired postal worker, agreed.
I don't think he'd have time for that sort of thing, you know," Jones said. But it's been going on in the
White House ever since there was a White House. And if he has to go and we get Al Gore, well, I could
get with the program."
GRAPHIC: First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton leans over to help Danquan Love, 9, spell in his I Have
a Dream' assign ment during her visit to the Virtual Y after-school pro gram at New York's P.S. 154 in
Harlem on Monday afternoon. Danquan's classmate Kyaseem Andrews, also 9, watches the first lady
closely.
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January 24, 1998
ANNOUNCEMENT OF MOTT FOUNDATION COMMITMENT TO EXPAND
AFTER-SCHOOL CARE FOR CHILDREN
Date:
Monday, January 26, 1998
Time:
10:00 - 10: 45 am
Location:
Roosevelt Room
From:
Nicole Rabner
I.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this event is (1) to announce that the C.S. Mott Foundation will commit up to $55
million over five years to enhance the quality of before- and after-school programs; and (2) to
highlight the after-school component of the President's child care initiative in advance of the
State of the Union Address and discuss details of the proposal.
II.
BACKGROUND
Mott Foundation Announcement
The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation has pledged up to $55 million over five years to support
the President's proposal to dramatically expand after-school opportunities for children through
the 21st Century Learning Center program. The Mott Foundation intends to use the new funds
for training and technical assistance to help achieve four goals: (1) integrate learning into after-
school programs; (2) expand access to quality, extended learning programs; (3) ensure program
availability among low-income and hard-to-reach populations; and (4) develop innovative
models to be shared with the field. In addition to this new investment, the Mott Foundation has
made a $2 million grant to fund 11 regional meetings to assist schools applying for the $40
million available in the 21st Century Learning Center program in the current fiscal year.
21st Century Learning Center Program
As a part of his child care initiative, the President has proposed to dramatically expand the 21st
Century Learning Center program, which is currently funded at $40 million for FY 1998. The
21 st Century Learning Center program will help school-community partnerships create or
expand before- and after-school programs, primarily by allowing public schools to stay open as
safe havens. The President proposes to expand the funding level to $1 billion over the next five
years to enable up to 500,000 children to participate in after-school programs. The Vice
President will discuss details of the program, including (1) a new provision of local match to
leverage $2 billion nationally for after-school programs; (2) better targeting of the funds to high-
need communities; (3) a requirement that schools work closely with community organizations in
establishing these programs; and (4) a set-aside of up to 10 percent of funds for community
organizations to establish or expand their own after-school programs.
Senator Kennedy Proposal
Senator Kennedy plans to highlight the need for after-school programs at an event in Boston, MA
on Monday afternoon. He will likely announce his plans to introduce legislation to build the
supply of good after-school programs, through investments in the 21st Century Learning Center
program, a new title to the Child Care and Development Block Grant, and new funding in the
Juvenile Justice bill.
Roosevelt Room Event
The Roosevelt Room event will consist of a small speaking program before an assembled group
of leading education and child care advocates. Secretary Riley will open the program and
highlight the need for good after-school programs, and introduce parents from Arlington,
Virginia, who rely on after-school programs for their children. The parents, Rand and Debra
Bass, will make brief remarks and introduce you. You will make remarks about the signficance
of the President's overall child care initiative and emphasize the importance of the after-school
component. You will also have a opportunity to mention your plans to go to Harlem, New York
later in the day to visit a model after-school program. You will then introduce the Vice
President, who will make the specific announcement about the Mott Foundation's new
investment in this area and discuss the President's proposal further. He will introduce Mott
Foundation President Bill White, who will emphasize that it was the President's bold proposal to
expand after-school opportunities for children that led the Foundation to make this commitment.
The Vice President will close the program.
III.
PARTICIPANTS
The First Lady
The Vice President
Secretary Riley
Senator Chris Dodd
Approximately 40 leading education and child care advocates (see attached list of participants)
IV.
SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
You and the Vice President will proceed to a briefing in the Vice President's West Wing
Office;
You, the Vice President, and Secretary Riley will proceed to the Roosevelt Room;
Secretary Riley will make opening remarks and introduce Rand and Debra Bass, parents
from Arlington, VA;
Rand and Debra Bass will make very brief remarks and introduce you;
You will make remarks and introduce the Vice President;
The Vice President will make remarks and introduce Mott Foundation President Bill
White;
Bill White will make brief remarks; and
The Vice President will close the program.
V.
PRESS PLAN
Pool press.
THE VICE PRESIDENT AND FIRST LADY ANNOUNCE NEW COMMITMENT
TO EXPAND AFTER-SCHOOL CARE FOR AMERICA'S CHILDREN
January 26, 1998
Today, the Vice President and First Lady will announce one of the largest private donations ever made to
public education, and provide further details on the President's initiative to leverage a $2 billion investment
in quality after-school programs. The C.S. Mott Foundation will donate up to $55 million over 5 years to
enhance the quality of before- and after-school programs and will provide needed technical assistance and
training to communities starting or expanding these programs for children.
ANNOUNCING NEW DETAILS OF THE PRESIDENT'S PROPOSAL TO PROVIDE AFTER-SCHOOL CARE FOR UP
TO HALF A MILLION CHILDREN: As part of his historic child care initiative, the President has made quality
after-school programs a national priority. That is why he proposed a dramatic expansion of the 21st Century
Community Learning Center Program, which will help school-community partnerships create or expand
before- and after-school programs. Today, the Vice President and the First Lady are announcing the details of
this initiative, including: a provision for a local match to leverage $2 billion nationally for after-school
programs; better targeting of funds to high-need communities; a requirement that schools work closely with
community organizations in establishing these programs; and a set-aside of up to 10 percent of funds for
community organizations to establish or expand their own after-school programs.
These efforts will allow schools to stay open as safe havens in a cost-effective manner by primarily using
public schools and their existing resources. The expansion of the 21st Century Learning Centers Program will
promote learning and enrichment programs in such areas as computer skills, the arts, drama, music,
community service, and the basic skills. The President's budget will request $200 million per year, for a total
of $1 billion over five years, reaching up to 500,000 children a year. For FY 1998, the program is funded at
$40 million a year.
ANNOUNCING AN HISTORIC PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP: The C.S. Mott Foundation's donation of up to
$55 million over 5 years demonstrates their commitment to the expansion of the successful 21st Century
Community Learning Centers program. Through Mott's generosity, the U.S. Department of Education will
offer regional conferences, beginning next week, to help communities nationwide learn about quality after-
school care and take advantage of new federal funds for before- and after-school programs.
ADDRESSING THE HUGE DEMANDS FOR AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS: An estimated five million school-age
children spend time as "latchkey kids" without adult supervision during a typical week. Research indicates
that during these unsupervised hours children are more likely to engage in at-risk behavior, such as crime,
drugs, and alcohol use. In fact, according to FBI statistics, most juvenile crime (youth 12 and 17) takes place
between the hours of 3 pm and 8 pm.[Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, 1997] Young people need a safe place
after school that provides enriching experiences for their physical well-being. However, only about 1.7 million
children from kindergarten through grade 8 were enrolled in 49,500 formal before- and after-school programs
of any type. [Seppanen, 1993] Programs in schools are even more scarce: 70 percent of all public elementary
and combined schools do not offer such programs. [NCES, September 1996]
HIGHLIGHTING A PROGRAM THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE: The First Lady will travel to the Harriett
Tubman School in New York City to take a tour of their Virtual Y Program. The Virtual Y after-school
program is a partnership of the YMCA of the Greater New York, the New York City Board of Education and
the United Way of New York City. In addition to its strong focus on building academic skills, it also provides
a safe and stimulating environment during the hours of the day when children are most at risk. During her
visit to this Virtual Y program. the First Lady will highlight how the Administration's after-school initiative
will help ensure that children across the country will have access to programs as enriching as the after-school
program at the Harriett Tubman School.
JAN. 24. 1998 4:23PM
OFFICE OF SECRETARY
NV. CARD
C
21ST CENTURY COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTERS
First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, U.S. Secretary of Education Richard V.
Stewart Mon Foundation President William S. White today announced that the
Mon Foundation has pledged up to $55 million in support of a five-year. 51-billion federal proposal to
expand before- and after-school programs for children through the 21st Century Community Learning
Centers program. This money is in addition to a 52-million Mott grant to fund 11 regional workshops to
assist schools applying for the $40-million federal program in the current fiscal year.
The new Mon money will go for training and technical assistance to help achieve four goals: integrate
learning into after-school programs: expand access to quality, extended learning programs; ensure program
availability among low-income and hard-ro-reach populations; and develop innovative models to be shared
with the field.
On the occasion of this announcement. here are some comments and background material from the
Mon Foundacion.
COMMENTS BY WILLIAM S. WHITE,
Chairman. President, CEO, Charles Stewart Mon Foundation
T
his day has been long in coming. Sixty years
Mrs. Roosevelt, our work in this field aptured the
ago, another First Lady, Eleanor Roasevels,
interest of Presidents Eisenhower, Johnson, Nixon,
came to Flint, Michigan. Mrs. Roosevelt. one of the
Ford and Carrer. In fact, at one point. federal legis-
first people to tour some of the after-school pro-
lation was signed to encourage community school
grams the Foundation was funding, wanted to see
development and to create 2 federal office of
and feel for herself what was aking place.
Community Education.
As she made her way through each school
The $6,000 the Mort Foundation committed
building, she saw children at productive play. par-
in early 1935 for a five-school experiment in the
enes discovering how to be involved in their child's
Flin' community schools. has grown into six
daily learning. adults working on long overdue
decades of continuous funding support rocaling
remedial education. seniors mentoring children.
$177.5 million to community school partnerships
Ourside the building she was shown a park that had
locally, nationally and internationally. and today
been made from a dump;inearby residents who had
makes us a natural partner in this important collab-
opened their property as 2 safe play place foreneigh-
oracive effort
borhood children and much more
hus, we are pleased to announce that the
What Mrs. Roosevele saw was a community and
More Foundation is prepared IO commit up to 555
school system working together in common purpose
million for training. technical assistance and evalua-
- to meet the needs of awens and especially ics
tion as part of this five year initiative
children, and to create opportunity for people
Although our contribution may seem small in
ages, and all backgrounds, to learn to help themselves
the context of a billion dollar initiative. we believe it
Today. anocher First Lady, who has made
is quite large in the context of our years of experi-
the needs of children particularly low-incoine
ence commitment to academic achievement and
youth one of her top priorities. stands before you dedication to ensuring that all schools have the
in support of a hisroric commitment to America's
opportunity to participate
children. The Mon Foundation is honored to be
We recognize that there 218 ocher funders
part of this initiative. which is also supported by
interested in this field Pooling our experiences and
Vice President Gore and Secretary Riley.
resources can only contribute to the success of this
The 21st Century Community Laming
initiative. To that end, we would encourage this
Centers program goes to the core legacy of the Mon
becoming 2 wide-ranging collaboration.
Foundation. building off our earliest work. work
Just as the Mort Foundation helped open the
done before I was bom to encourage and train
school house doors literally and figuratively to the
communicies and schools to work togerher to
Flint communicy many. many years ago, today we
address community needs and student achievement
hope 10 help open doors to a new cra of partnership
Indeed, the Mon Foundation's heritage is
in education. As I said when I began, this day has
steeped in the community school tradition. Beyond
been long in coming!
JAN. 24. 1998 4:13PM
OFFICE OF SECRETARY
NO. 6268 P. 4
Rand and Debra Bass
Arlington, VA
-- Parents of two children attending Barcroft Elementary Extended Day program - --
Rand is a retired military security specialist with the Department of Army at Fort Belvoir. Debra
works at the Community Association Institute as a VP of Communications and Marketing. Rand
and Debra have two adopted kids from Bogota, Columbia who are 1st and 2nd graders at
Barcroft Elementary School's Extended Day Program in Arlington, VA. Their names are Susie,
6 years old, and Mitchell, 8 years old.
A daily routine for the Rands' involves Debra dropping the kids off before going to work and
Rand picking the kids up after their extended day program. Both parents are heavily involved in
the PTA and feel so at ease that their kids are a part of this great program which provides them
with the learning enrichment, homework time, and a safe environment which is extremely
important to them as parents. The PTA also offers several enrichment courses like Spanish or
pottery several weeks out of the year that both of their kids have enjoyed.
A few years ago, they did a lot of research in order to choose the right school for Susie and
Mitchell. One of the key factors in enrolling them at Barcroft was the Extended Day Program.
With all of the benefits that an after-school program provides their family and kids, they still
mentioned that with more support it would be great to add a computer lab or more computers to
the few that they have now. In a few years, they would also really like to have the opportunity to
put Mitchell and Susie into a middle school program, but unfortunately there are not any
available to them.
2-3 minute remarks:
Describe the Barcroft program
--mention PTA involvement
Explain why the after-school program is important to them
Introduce FLOTUS
PRESIDENT CLINTON'S PROPOSAL:
CHILD CARE THAT STRENGTHENS AMERICAN FAMILIES
"I am proud to propose the single largest child care investment in the history of our
nation. It is a comprehensive and fiscally-responsible plan to make child care more
affordable and accessible, to raise the quality and assure the safety of care for millions of
American families. This is an issue that touches nearly every family, one that should rise
above politics and partisan interests."
President Bill Clinton
January 7, 1998
President Clinton announced an historic initiative to improve child care for America's working families. The
initiative proposes $21.7 billion over five years for child care, to help working families pay for child care,
build a good supply of after-school programs, improve the safety and quality of care, and promote early
learning.
ENSURING AFFORDABLE, ACCESSIBLE, SAFE CHILD CARE. The President's child care initiative responds to
the struggles our nation's working parents face in finding child care they can afford, trust and rely on. The
new initiative:
Makes child care more affordable for working families. To help working families struggling to
meet the costs of child care, the initiative invests $7.5 billion over five years to double the number
of children receiving child care subsidies to more than two million by the year 2003. The initiative
also invests $5.2 billion over five years to increase tax credits for child care for three million
families and provides a new tax credit for businesses that provide child care services to their
employees.
Increases access to and promotes early learning and healthy child development. To improve
early learning, the initiative includes $3 billion over five years to establish an Early Learning Fund
that helps local communities improve the quality and safety of child care for children ages zero to
five. The initiative also increases investment in Head Start and doubles the number of children
served by Early Head Start to 80,000.
Improves the safety and quality of child care. To help ensure safe, quality child care, the initiative:
steps up enforcement of state health and safety standards in child care settings, facilitates background
checks on child care providers, increases scholarships and training for child care providers, and
invests in child care research and evaluation.
Expands access to safe after-school care. To help create safe, positive learning environments for
American school-age children who lack adult supervision during a typical week, the initiative
increases the 21st Century Learning Center Program by $800 million over five years to provide after-
school care for up to half a million children a year. The initiative will also improve coordination of
federal after-school initiatives to help communities.
Child Care Block Grant Increase
$7.5 billion over five years
Child and Dependent Tax Credit Reform
$5.2 billion over five years
Tax Credit for Businesses
$500 million over five years
After-School Program
$800 million over five years
Early Learning Fund
$3.0 billion over five years
Head Start Increase
$3.8 billion over five years
Standards Enforcement Fund
$500 million over five years
Child Care Provider Scholarship Fund
$250 million over five years
Research and Evaluation Fund
$150 million over five years
TOTAL:
$21.7 billion over five years
MAKES CHILD CARE MORE AFFORDABLE FOR WORKING FAMILIES
Doubles the Number of Children Receiving Child Care Subsidies to More than Two
Million. The President proposes to expand the Child Care and Development Block Grant to
help working families struggling to meet the costs of child care. This block grant is the
primary federal subsidy program to pay for child care, enabling low-income parents to work.
Funds are distributed by formula to the states to operate direct child care subsidy programs,
as well as to improve the quality and availability of care. The President's initiative will more
than double the number of children served from the one million served in FY 95 (the latest
year for which data are available). The President's budget will increase funding for the block
grant by $7.5 billion (with a match) over five years, which will enable states to provide
subsidies for more than two million children by 2003.
Increases Tax Credits for Child Care for Three Million Working Families. The Child
and Dependent Care Tax Credit provides tax relief to taxpayers who pay for the care of a
child under 13 or a disabled dependent or spouse in order to work. The credit is equal to a
percentage of the taxpayer's employment-related expenditures for child or dependent care,
with the amount of the credit depending on the taxpayer's income. The President's proposal
increases the credit for families earning under $60,000, providing an additional average tax
cut of $358 for these families and eliminating income tax liability for almost all families with
incomes below 200% of poverty ($35,000 for a family of four) that take the maximum
allowable child care expenses under the law. The President's budget will include $5.2 billion
over five years to expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit for three million working
families.
Provides New Business Tax Credits. The child care initiative includes a tax credit to
businesses that provide child care services for their employees, by building or expanding
child care facilities, operating existing facilities, training child care workers, or providing
child care resources and referral services to employees. The credit covers 25% of qualified
costs, but may not exceed $150,000 per year. The President's budget will include
approximately $500 million over five years for these tax credits.
PROMOTES EARLY LEARNING AND HEALTHY CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Promotes Early Learning. Research shows that children's experiences in the earliest years
are critical to their development and future success. The President's proposed Early Learning
Fund provides challenge grants to communities (distributed by states) to support programs to
improve early learning and the quality and safety of child care for children ages zero to five.
Funds may be used for the following activities: providing basic training to child care
providers (including first aid and CPR); connecting individual child care providers to centers
for education and support; assisting child care providers to meet accreditation and licensing
requirements; linking child care providers with health professionals; reducing group sizes and
child-to-staff ratios; and providing home visits, parent education, and consumer education
about child care. The President's Early Learning Fund builds on state initiatives such as
North Carolina's Smart Start, which helps North Carolina's children enter school healthy and
ready to succeed. Smart Start funds a broad variety of local efforts, including improving
staff-to-child ratios, health linkages that have raised immunization rates, and parent education
and mentoring programs to give new parents support. The President's budget will include $3
billion over five years for this fund.
Increases Investment in Head Start and Doubles the Number of Children Served by
Early Head Start. Head Start provides early, continuous and comprehensive child
development and family support services, preparing children for a lifetime of learning and
development. The President is committed to reauthorize Head Start and reach one million
children by 2002. The President's budget will invest $3.8 billion over five years to keep on
track his commitment to serving one million children by 2002, and to double the number of
infants and toddlers in Early Head Start to 80,000.
IMPROVES THE QUALITY OF CHILD CARE
Steps Up Enforcement of State Health and Safety Standards. Building on the military's
model child care program, this proposed initiative will fund state efforts to improve licensing
systems and enforce child care health and safety standards, including by increasing
unannounced inspections of child care settings. The President's budget will include $500
million over five years for this program.
Facilitates Background Checks on Child Care Providers. On the day of the White House
Conference on Child Care, the President transmitted to Congress the National Crime
Prevention and Privacy Compact, which will facilitate effective background checks on child
care providers by eliminating state law barriers to sharing criminal history information for
non-criminal purposes. Although the vast majority of child care providers are dedicated to
the teaching and nurturing of children, one tragedy in child care is too many. Background
checks are an important way to ensure that the people watching our children are fit for this
responsibility.
Increases Scholarships and Training for Child Care Providers. At the White House
Conference on Child Care, the President proposed establishing a Child Care Provider
Scholarship Fund to enable states to provide scholarship funds to students working toward a
child care credential. Eligible child care workers must commit to remaining in the field for at
least one year for each year of assistance received and will earn increased compensation or
bonuses when they complete their course work. The President proposed a federal investment
of $250 million over five years, which will support 50,000 scholarships per year. The
President is also proposing to expand the Department of Labor's Child Care Apprenticeship
Program to fund the training of child care providers.
Invests in Research. Because too little is known about our child care system, the President's
budget will increase support for data, research, and evaluation. This research fund will also
support a National Center on Child Care Statistics and a child care hotline that parents can
call to get information about how to find child care in their communities and how to identify
appropriate, quality care for their children. In addition, the research fund will support
demonstration projects to test approaches to help new parents who choose to stay home to
care for their newborns or newly adopted children. The President's budget will include $150
million over five years for this fund.
EXPANDS AND STREAMLINES AFTER-SCHOOL CARE
An estimated five million school-age children spend time as "latchkey kids" without adult
supervision during a typical week. Research indicates that during these unsupervised hours
children are more likely to engage in at-risk behavior, such as crime, drugs, and alcohol use.
To meet this pressing demand, the President is proposing a dramatic expansion of after-
school care.
Provides After-School Care for up to Half a Million Children a Year. The President
proposes a dramatic expansion of the 21st Century Community Learning Center Program to
provide start-up funds (with a local match) to school-community partnerships to establish or
expand before- and after-school programs for school-age children. The program increases the
supply of after-school care in a cost-effective manner primarily by funding programs that use
public schools and their existing resources, such as computers, gymnasiums, and sports
equipment. The program also includes a set aside to fund programs run by community
organizations. The President's budget will request $800 million of entirely new money for
this program, for a total of $1 billion over five years.
Improves Coordination of Federal After-School Initiatives to Help Communities Make
Best Use of Existing Resources. The President will put in place a collaborative effort
involving numerous federal agencies to eliminate duplication and better coordinate federal
funding for after-school programs in three to five pilot cities, including the District of
Columbia.
Out-of-School Time
School-Age Care
Brding to the Bureau of the Census, in 1997 there were 38.8 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 years living
in the U.S. There are approximately 24 million school-age children with parents in the workforce or pursuing education
(based on 1993 SIPP data from the Bureau of the Census).
Care Arrangements of School-Age Children
Experts estimate that nearly 5 million school-age
School-age children are likely to spend time in many
children spend time as latchkey kids without adult
different care arrangements. According to the National Child
supervision during a typical week.
Care Survey (1990), 76 percent of school-age children with
an employed mother spend time in at least two child care
Approximately 1.7 million children in kindergarten
arrangements during a typical week, in addition to their
through grade 8 were enrolled in 49,500 formal before-
time in school.
and/or after-school programs in 1991, according to the
National Study of Before and After School Programs.
According to the National Child Care Survey, children aged
5 to 12 with employed mothers use the following types of
In 1993-94, according to the National Center for Education
supplemental care: 7% are in family day care; 14% are in
Statistics, there were 18,111 before- or after-school programs
centers, 3% are cared for by in-home providers, 25% are
in public schools-70% of public schools did not offer extended
cared for by relatives and 44% do not use supplemental care.
learning programs.
Use of Supplemental Care,
Children 5 to 12 with Employed Mothers
Center
In-home
14%
3%
Family Day Care
Relative
7%
25%
Other
7%
None
44%
The Effects of Out-of-School Time on Children
Children under adult supervision in a formal program during after-school hours have demonstrated improved academic
achievement and better attitudes toward school than their peers in self- or sibling care. Miller and Marx, 1990 in Supplement o the
National Assessment of Chapter 1
Youth are at greatest risk of violence after the regular school day. Youth between the ages of 12 and 17 are most at-risk
of committing violent acts or being victims between 2:00 pm and 6:00 pm-a time when they are not in school. Fight Crime: Invest
in Kids, 1997
The most frequently mentioned barrier to participation is the parents' inability to pay the tuition and fees charged by
programs. Other barriers include availability, quality of activities, inadequate facilities, transportation, high staff turnover, hours
of the program and lack of resources.
Components of Successful Before- and After-School Programs include: linkages between after-school and regular school
programs, children's participation in age appropriate learning activities, hiring of qualified staff, low student-staff ratio,
vement of parents, program evaluation and coordination with the schools and other community organizations.
For information on what states and communities are doing to meet the need for school-age care, contact the National
Institute on Out of School Time (formerly the School-Age Child Care Project), Center for Research on Women,
Wellesley College at (617) 283-2547 or visit the World Wide Web site at: http://www.wellesley.edu/WCW/CRW/SAC/.
For additional information on extended learning in after-school programs in schools, contact the U.S. Department of
Education, please call (800) USA-LEARN or visit the World Wide Web site at: http://www.ed.gov/PFIE.
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Copyright 1998 News World Communications, Inc.
The Washington Times
View Related Topics
January 27, 1998, Tuesday, Final Edition
SECTION: Part A; NATION; Pg. A4
LENGTH: 532 words
HEADLINE: Clinton finds funds for 'latchkey' children
BYLINE: Cheryl Wetzstein; THE WASHINGTON TIMES
BODY:
The White House yesterday introduced plans to encourage new public and private funding for
after-school programs for 500,000 children.
Meanwhile, a traditional values group released a poll saying that Americans view commercial day care
and government-run day care as the "least desirable" choices for their children.
Instead, a child's mother was the "single most desirable form of child care," with close relatives and
friends the next best choices, the Family Research Council poll showed.
Child care funding is a top White House agenda item for 1998.
President Clinton has called for nearly $22 billion to be spent on child care for poor mothers, child care
tax credits, Head Start programs, tax credits to businesses that provide child care to employees and other
incentives to create high-quality day care.
The spending package included $2 billion for quality after-school programs, so that the estimated 5
million "latchkey" schoolchildren will have somewhere other than an empty house to go home to.
"Every child needs someplace to go after school," Mr. Clinton said at a White House news conference
with Hillary Rodham Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and core child care supporters.
After-school programs can keep children and teens out of trouble during the "vulnerable hours" of 3 p.m.
to 7 p.m., Mr. Clinton said. They can also "keep our kids healthy and happy and safe," and help teach
them "to say no to drugs, alcohol and crime" and "yes to reading, sports and computers."
In addition to budgeting $2 billion for after-school programs, the president announced that the Mott
Foundation of Flint, Mich., "has pledged up to $55 million to help ensure that after-school programs,
supported by federal funds, are of the highest quality."
Americans want tax relief to help them care for their young children, said the Family Research Council,
citing a poll of 1,004 adults taken Dec. 19-21 by Wirthlin Worldwide. The poll has a 3.09 margin of
error.
Seventy-one percent of adults said that "tax relief should be available to all families with preschool
children, not just families who pay someone for day care."
"These results show that when it comes to child care, Americans want options that allow them to spend
more time with their families," Family Research Council policy analyst Charmaine Yoest said.
The poll showed that family day care providers, nannies and commercial and government-run day care
centers were viewed as the "least desirable" choices.
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Families would be better off with flexible working hours and bigger dependent tax exemptions and
per-child tax credits, the Family Research Council said.
****CHART
MOM'S DAY CARE STILL NO. 1
Recently, 1,004 adults were asked to rate day care options on a scale of 1 (least desirable) to 10 (most
desirable).
Child's own mother - 9.6
Child's own grandmother or other family member - - 8.6
Child's own parents working split shifts - - 8.4
Church-run center - - 7.1
Neighbor or family friend - 6.9
Day care provider in their home - 5.9
Nanny or au pair - - 5.4
Commercial day care center - 5.1
Government-run day care center - 4.8
Source: Family Research Council
GRAPHIC: Chart, MOM'S DAY CARE STILL NO. 1, By The Washington Times
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
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Copyright 1998 Federal Document Clearing House, Inc.
FDCH Federal Department and Agency Documents
January 26, 1998; Monday
LENGTH: 897 words
AGENCY: DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
SIC-MAJOR-GROUP: 09 - General Classification
HEADLINE: PRESIDENT, VICE PRESIDENT, FIRST LADY, AND U.S. SECRETARY OF
EDUCATION ANNOUNCES MOTT FOUNDATION PLEDGE FOR AFTER-SCHOOL
PROGRAMS AND REGIONAL CONFERENCES TO ASSIST GRANT APPLICANTS
CONTACT: 202/401-1576
BODY:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Julie Green (202) 401-3026
PRESIDENT, VICE PRESIDENT, FIRST LADY AND
U.S. SECRETARY OF EDUCATION ANNOUNCE MOTT
FOUNDATION PLEDGE FOR AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS AND
REGIONAL CONFERENCES TO ASSIST GRANT APPLICANTS
President Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, First Lady
Hillary Rodham Clinton and U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W.
Riley today announced that the C.S. Mott Foundation will donate
up to $55 million over 5 years to enhance the quality and provide
needed technical assistance and training to communities starting
or expanding before- and after-school programs for children.
Through Mott's generosity, the National Community Education
Association, in partnership with the National Center for
Community Education and the U.S. Department of Education, will
offer 11 regional conferences, beginning next week, to help
communities nationwide take advantage of new federal funds for
before- and after-school programs.
Congress appropriated $40 million for this grant program for
FY98 and the Mott Foundation pledged $2 million in technical
assistance, which will help fund the upcoming conferences.
President Clinton will request an additional $1 billion over five
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years in his FY99 budget to further expand this program. Most of
the Mott commitment will be used to provide the training,
technical assistance and support so that the federal investment
in after-school programs can go directly to schools and school-
community partnerships to operate after-school extended learning
programs.
The regional workshops will assist schools applying for this
after-school program expansion through the 21st Century Community
Learning Center grants. 21st Century Community Learning Centers
help keep schools open as safe, drug-free havens to provide
enhanced learning opportunities and help parents find suitable
and appropriate before- and after-school activities for their
children.
"These grants will help provide safe and exciting learning
environments for children before and after school," said
Secretary Riley. "These programs offer enriching opportunities
for young people to learn about computers, the arts or get basic
skills tutoring. Thanks to the Mott Foundation's unique public-
private partnership and commitment to this issue, many more
families, teachers, communities and parent leaders will be able
to get the support and training they need to apply for funding,
develop and operate these high quality programs in communities
across the country."
"Our responsibility to provide safe, drug-free educational
opportunities for our young people does not end when the school
bell rings," said Vice President Gore. "That's why President
Clinton and I are so committed to helping provide more and better
programs for young people at the end of the school day giving
working parents the assurance that their children are engaged in
constructive and educational after-school activities. But this
job is too big for any one group alone. That's why I'm pleased to
announce a new public-private partnership to help meet the after-
school educational needs of our young people. The Mott Foundation
grant is a significant and generous step toward meeting this
goal."
"Over our 60 years of involvement in community schools, we
have seen the profound effect that schools working with
communities can have upon children and families," said William S.
White, chairman of the Flint, MI-based Mott Foundation. "By
opening the schoolhouse doors literally and figuratively to each
and every citizen beyond the regular school day, all manner of
local problems can be addressed. This historic partnership
between the U.S. Department of Education and the Mott Foundation
is a fitting symbol of the full spectrum of public and private
partnerships we can expect to spring to life as this inevitably
grows and is embraced by communities everywhere. We feel
privileged to be a part of such an important initiative on behalf
of our nation's children and families."
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"The President's child care proposal is historic," said
First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. "It will improve child care in
our country and respond to the struggles our nation's working
parents face in finding child care they can afford, trust and
rely on. Public-private partnerships, such as this association
with the Mott Foundation, allow more children access to the
wonderful possibilities and the safe environments offered by
before- and after-school programs."
Regional workshops will be held in the following locations
to provide potential applicants with the information they need to
plan and implement high-quality after-school programs: Feb. 2 in
Boston and Atlanta; Feb. 4 in New York and Dallas; Feb. 6 in
Washington and St. Louis; Feb. 9 in Los Angeles and Chicago; Feb.
11 in Seattle and Flint, Mich.; and Feb. 13 in Denver. These
workshops are free of charge to applicants. Interested
participants may register to attend by contacting the National
Community Education Association at 703/359-8973.
REGION: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals - Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Washington, D.C.
INDUSTRY-CODE: Educational services
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: January 29, 1998
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REMARKS FOR HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
AFTER SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENT
THE WHITE HOUSE
MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 1998
It's a pleasure to join Vice President Gore, Education Sect. Riley, representatives of the
Mott Foundation, and (parent TBA) for this exciting announcement. We are here this morning
because tomorrow night, in his State of the Union address, the President will discuss an historic
initiative to improve child care for America's working families. The Initiative includes over
$21 billion over five years for child care - the largest single investment in child care in our
nation's history. We know the struggles our nation's working parents face in finding child care
they can afford, trust, and rely on. This President and this Administration are committed to
giving parents the tools and the resources they need to meet that challenge.
There are a number of significant components to the President's child care initiative:
We're making child care more affordable for working families, by investing $7.5 billion
over five years to double the number of children receiving child care subsidies to more than two
million. The initiative also invests $5.2 billion over five years in increased tax credits for child
care for 3 million families. And we're proposing a new tax credit for businesses that provide
child care for their employees.
We're also promoting early learning and healthy child development, by providing $3
billion over five years to establish an Early Learning Fund that helps local communities improve
the quality and safety of child care. We're also seeking to double the number of children served
by Early Head Start.
We're making sure these child care programs are safe and high quality, by stepping up
enforcement of state health and safety standards, facilitating background checks on those who
care for children, and increasing scholarships and training for child care providers.
But as we are all aware, and as (parent) knows so well, the need for high quality child
care doesn't disappear once our children begin school. So many parents have come up to me
over the years, and described how they look at the clock around 3 p.m. every day, knowing their
children are out of school, and perhaps in trouble. It's estimated that 5 million school age
children spend time as latch key kids without adult supervision during a typical week.
So as part of his child care initiative, the President is making a significant investment to
expand before and after school care for our nation's children. Those funds will provide after
school programs for up to half a million children every year. We're doing this by expanding the
21st Century Community Learning Center program, which provides start up funds for school-
community partnerships to establish or expand programs for school-age children, and which the
Vice President will discuss in further detail in a moment. The child care block grant increases
and the tax credit reform will also help parents afford care for their school-age children.
We want more of America's children to say no to drugs and alcohol and crime, and yes to
reading, soccer, and computers. The President's commitment to child care and after school
programs, combined with public/private partnerships in communities across the country, will
ensure more of our nation's young people have that choice, and take that positive road to the
future. And this morning, we will be hearing about one such partner -- the C.S. Mott
Foundation -- who is stepping up to the plate and providing critical private support to improve
after school programs.
This afternoon, I will be traveling to New York to visit a model after school program in
Harlem, created through a public/private partnership of the YMCA, the New York City public
schools, and the United Way. It's the kind of program that I believe every parent would want,
and every child would enjoy -- offering not only academic support, but a safe, stimulating place
for children to spend those after school hours. And it's the kind of quality after school care that
will now be more available to today's working parents -- thanks to the commitment of this
Administration, our nation's public schools, our communities, and the generosity and vision of
partners like the C.S. Mott foundation.
There is no more important job than raising a child. And no more important
responsibility than to create the conditions and give people the tools to succeed in that critical
task. The President's child care and after school initiative will bring us closer to fulfilling this
fundamental promise to America's parents and children.
It's my pleasure to introduce a great supporter of after-school opportunities for children,
and a strong friend for all our nation's children, the Vice President Al Gore.
PHOTOCOPY
PRESERVATION
26/87/1
January 27, 1998
CHILD CARE PANEL DISCUSSION
DATE:
Wednesday, January 28
TIME:
12:10 PM - 3:00 PM
LOCATION:
Trinity College
Hartford, CT
FROM:
Brenda Costello
I.
PURPOSE
To highlight the President's Child Care Initiative, including the Early Learning Fund,
and to highlight what Connecticut has done for child care.
II.
BACKGROUND
Your visit to Trinity College will be comprised of a visit to the Trinity College
Community Child Center, and a panel discussion with leading child care experts and
members of the Trinity College community followed by questions from the audience.
Representative Barbara Kennelly will participate in both. Elaine Zimmerman,
Executive Director of the Connecticut Commission on Children will moderate the
discussion.
Trinity College Community Child Center
Trinity College Community Child Center (TCCCC) was created in 1985 to provide a
fully integrated child care center -- racially, ethnically, and economically -- that serves
the needs of working families. The center is open to anyone in the community, and
serves children from the surrounding neighborhood, children of Trinity faculty,
children whose parents are employed in downtown Hartford, and those recently
coming off public assistance. Sixty-six percent of families are residents of Hartford.
The Center emphasizes scholarship availability to maintain diversity and a highly
qualified staff, and enabled over one-third of families to benefit from scholarship
assistance last year. Serving 180 children ages 6 weeks to 12 years in its seven
nationally accredited programs, TCCCC operates at two sites on campus and one at a
local elementary school. Approximately 26 percent of children enrolled in the Center
are Hispanic, 33 percent African American, and 33 percent white.
The Birth to Five Program was established to provide scholarship support for low-income
neighborhood children and currently serves 50 children. The Campus Care program,
which you will visit Wednesday, describes the Kindergarten, Before-School and After-
school programs, Summer Camp, and Snow and Vacation Day programs. An After-
school program at Fox Elementary is also operated by TCCCC.
A not-for-profit organization, the Child Center is funded by a combination of sources,
including tuition, foundations grants, and in-kind contributions such as free rent from
the University. Recent substantial grant awards have come from the Rosie O'Donnell
Foundation and Travelers (Insurance) Foundation. Tuition is on a sliding-scale basis
and over 60 families benefitted from scholarships last year.
Trinity College
Trinity College is a private, co-educational, non-sectarian institution which was started
as a break-off from Yale by Episcopal faculty concerned about discrimination by the
Congregational Church. Founded in 1823 in the rented basement of a Hartford church
as Washington College, the school changed its name to Trinity College in 1845.
Located in Hartford, Connecticut, the majority of students came from New England and
the Northeast. Trinity has a full-time undergraduate enrollment of 1,840 students, and
of these, 17 percent are minorities, 54 percent male and 46 percent female. Trinity offers
five master's degree programs to approximately 180 students.
Trinity has a comprehensive financial aid program that is providing $12.7 million in
student aid 1997-98. Federal Awards, including both loans and grants totals $8.75
million in 1997-98. Approximately 47 percent of students receive some form of financial
aid.
Famous alumni include Edward Albee, George Will, and our own Julie Mason.
Community Service
Trinity has a very active volunteer corps, with over 1,000 students performing some
form of service. Many students have designed and run their own projects, with over
half participating through Community Service Learning, which operates in conjunction
with some of their classes. Trinity is an America Reads Challenge partner, and is
currently developing a project with the Hartford Public Library and recent Head Start
graduates. Students volunteer in a variety of programs including a campus Habitat for
Humanity chapter, local shelters, Best Buddies, ESL tutoring for Trinity employees, and
Neighborhood Posse, a mentoring and tutoring program with neighborhood kids
which pairs children with a student "buddy".
Neighborhood revitalization
In January, 1996, under the guidance of President Evan Dobelle, Trinity College
announced a comprehensive neighborhood revitalization initiative for the
neighborhoods surrounding Trinity's campus. The initiative seeks to stabilize the
neighborhood from within and create an infrastructure for local families, linking five
non-profit institutions in an unprecedented collaboration which includes an education,
health and technology component. The initiative represents over $200 million in new
investment in Hartford and is supported by a pledge from Fannie Mae to provide at
least $75 million in low-rate mortgage financing to people who buy homes in the
neighborhoods near Trinity as well as substantial support from both public and private
sectors.
Format
You will drop-by the Community Child Center, one of two on-campus sites and the
base of the Campus Care program, where the before -School and After-School programs
are located. Diane Zannoni, Director of the Center will accompany you. Next you will
proceed to Mather Hall for the panel discussion, meeting briefly with participants
before the discussion begins. Questions from the audience follow the discussion.
You have the option of dropping-by the overflow room (cafeteria), where
approximately 700 Trinity students will watch the discussion, linked by audio and
video. A meet and greet with the Trinity College community will follow.
The audience at the panel discussion will be comprised of approximately 400 guest
involved in the child care field, including advocates, the business community, social
service workers, Trinity College faculty, as well as parents of children in the child care
center. Several Yale professors and child care experts were invited as guests: James
Comer, Lynn Kagan, and Donald Cohen, head of Yale Child Studies Center.
III.
PARTICIPANTS
Child Care Center
-The First Lady
-Rep. Barbara Kennelly
-Diane Zannoni, Director, Trinity College Community Child Center
Panel Discussion
-The First Lady
-Rep. Barbara Kennelly
-Elaine Zimmerman, Executive Director, Connecticut Commission on Children (Moderator)
-Ed Zigler, child care expert, Yale Psychology Dep.
-Angela Crowley, R.N., Yale School of Nursing
-David Carson, CEO, People's Bank
-Dr. Eddie Davis, Superintendent, Manchester School System
-Pam Ryder, Director, Mother Goose Child Care Center
-Lisa Edmunds, mother of 3 year old, Kindergarten teacher
-Joyce Thomas, Commissioner, Connecticut Social Services
Meet and Greet
Meet and Greet
-see attached list
IV.
SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
Evan Dobelle, President, Trinity College, makes welcoming remarks, and introduces
The First Lady and Representative Kennelly on stage.
Evan Dobelle then introduces Elaine Zimmerman as the moderator and turns the
program over to her.
Elaine Zimmerman introduces Representative Kennelly who makes brief remarks.
Representative Kennelly introduces The First Lady who makes brief remarks.
Elaine Zimmerman introduces the panel and facilitates the discussion.
Audience Q & A follows discussion.
Upon conclusion of Q & A, The First Lady and Representative Kennelly depart.
V.
PRESS
Child Care Center: Pool press.
Panel discussion: Open press.
VI. REMARKS
Talking points provided.
002
CONGRESSWOMAN BARBARA B. KENNELLY'S
RECORD ON CARING FOR CHILDREN
Barbara Kennelly has fought to provide safe and quality. care for children for more
than twenty years. Even before coming to Congress, she worked to improve the lives of
children as the President of Catholic Family Services in Hartford. When elected to
represent Connecticut's First Congressional District, one of the first bills she introduced
was landmark legislation to increase child support collections from delinquent parents.
The measure, known as the Child Support Enforcement Amendments of 1984, required
among other things that money be directly withheld from the paychecks of absentee
parents who refused to comply with court-ordered child support. This law in
combination with other efforts helped increase child support collections in Connecticut
from $39 million in 1983 to $117 million in 1995.
Her most recent legislative accomplishment also reflects Congresswoman
Kennelly's continuing commitment to the safety and well being of children. She
coauthored a new bipartisan law that will speed the adoption of children in foster care,
and that will help prevent child abuse. The legislation, which was enacted late last year,
now provides financial bonuses to states that find adoptive homes for foster care children
and outlines specific precautions to prevent children from being returned to abusive
homes.
Of course, Congresswoman Kennelly also recognizes the difficulty many parents
have in finding safe and affordable day care for their children. To help low-income
working families pay for quality child care, Congresswoman Kennelly helped lead the
fight in 1990 and 1993 to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). As a result,
more than 130,000 families in Connecticut now benefit from the EITC, which can
provide a working family with up to an additional $3600 every year to care for their
children.
Congresswoman Kennelly also realizes that welfare reform cannot work without a
commitment to quality child care. And that's why in 1995, she offered an amendment in
committee that would have prevented mothers from being penalized for not working if
they were unable to find day care for their children. The amendment was defcated, but it
helped frame the debate from that point on. As a result, the final welfare bill signed into
law increased child care funding by over $4 billion and prevented mothers with children
under the age of six from being cut off when they were unable to work because they did
not have access to child care.
KENNELLY.BIO
Page 1
MEMORANDUM
FROM:
Office of Legislative Affairs
DATE:
January 23, 1998
RE:
Kennelly Bio for First Lady Child Care Event
Representative Barbara Kennelly, first elected in 1982, represents the First District
of Connecticut. In November 1996, Kennelly was reelected by her colleagues to
serve a second term as the Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, the first
woman to serve in this position. Kennelly is a long-time advocate for children,
working particularly to improve the collection of child support payments across
state lines. She has fought for child protection programs, foster care, and health
care for children, and she has championed the Earned Income Tax Credit, which
increases take-home pay for low-income families. In November 1997, the President
signed into law The Adoption and Safe Family Act, legislation sponsored by
Kennelly. The Congresswoman attended the October 23, 1997, child care event at
the White House. (N.B. Kennelly is currently running for the Democratic nomination
for governor.)
60
Trinity College Community Child Center Visit
Diane C. Zannoni has a PhD in economics and has taught at Trinity College since 1975. She is
former chair of the Department of Economics and is the recipient of the College's Brownell
Teaching Award. Her research interests are in economics and philosophy. She has published
numerous articles including "The Philosophical Foundations of Post Keynesian Economics and
"Keynes, Rawls, Uncertainty and the Liberal Theory of the State."
With faculty colleague, Dina Anselmi, she has given workshops at more than 20 colleges on
encouraging active learning both in and out of the classroom. She has also taught economics at
Trinity's Rome campus
Diane, currently the Board President of the Trinity College Community Child Center, was one of
the founding members in 1985 and has been involved in almost every facet of the Center from
grant writing, to presenting workshops on the financial management of a Center, to making
cookies for the bake sale. The Center is currently searching for a new executive director and, in
the interim, Diane is performing many of those duties.
LEACOLL
TRIN
TRINITY COLLEGE NEWS
SANC.
Office of Marketing and Public Relations
(860) 297-2140
Hartford, Connecticut 06106
EVAN S. DOBELLE
President
Advocate for Private Liberal Arts Education in the Public World
Evan S. Dobelle's selection as 18th President of Trinity College in December 1994 confirmed
Trinity's desire to be recognized as America's finest liberal arts college in a city. As President
and Chancellor of the City College system of San Francisco, and previously as President of
Middlesex Community College in Lowell, Mass., Dobelle had distinguished himself in two
different urban settings as a spokesman for liberal arts-centered public education. In
selecting Dobelle as President, Trinity chose someone who would become a national
spokesman for private liberal arts education in the urban-centered, public world.
"For me, Trinity College is a destination I have been moving toward my entire life," Dobelle
said when his appointment was announced. "This is the only place I know that has set as
ts goal the creative combination of the two things that mean the most to me: the intrinsic
alue of a liberal arts education and the challenges of living responsibly in the public world
of the city. I welcome the challenge."
Dobelle, who received a medical discharge from the Citadel in 1964 after his sophomore
year, later went on to earn bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in education at the
University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a master's in public administration at Harvard
University. First, though, he pursued a notable career in the public arena. After serving as
the twice-elected Mayor of Pittsfield, Mass., and the Commissioner of Environmental
Management for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Dobelle was chosen by President
Jimmy Carter to be United States Chief of Protocol for the White House and Assistant
Secretary of State with the rank of Ambassador. He was later appointed Treasurer and Chief
Financial Officer of the Democratic National Committee and was Chair of the
Carter/Mondale Presidential Exploration Committee in 1980 and Financial Chair of the
Campaign. At age 36, he reentered academia and earned three degrees in a six-year period
that culminated in the award of his doctoral degree in 1987.
His extensive experience in politics at the city, state and national levels served to convince
Dobelle that the country has to do a better job of educating its citizens. He took on that
challenge by applying his considerable administrative experience in the public world to a
career in higher education. As chief executive officer of two academic institutions in urban
settings, he put new emphasis on the liberal arts and public responsibility and earned a
eputation as a "practical visionary."
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it Middlesex Community College, Dobelle moved the institution from the rented space it
occupied in suburban Boston to its own campus in Lowell, convincing civic leaders and a
skeptical Massachusetts legislature to provide the funds to make that happen. As he built
the campus, he brought together a group of community and business leaders in the city and
surrounding communities to collaborate with faculty and students in "Community 2000,"
an operation that forged alliances with industries like Raytheon and Mass. Electric to create
mentoring programs and resource centers at the college. Dobelle established a liberal arts
core curriculum at Middlesex when the Massachusetts legislature was pressuring him for
more career and technical education. He formed a cooperative relationship between the
college and the Merrimack Repertoire Theater of Lowell and secured funding from the
National Endowment for the Humanities to set up a Latin American Institute. When
Dobelle left Middlesex, the new library on the campus he built was given his name and the
faculty voted to name its reading room after him in recognition of his achievements.
According to the president who succeeded Dobelle at Middlesex, "Literally and figuratively,
Evan Dobelle put Middlesex College on the map."
Dobelle's record of achievement at San Francisco is equally impressive. After lobbying the
city to impose a one percent tax for education, he convinced the City Council to designate
one quarter of it for the City College system. Once again, Dobelle provided the faculty with
the resources and leadership they needed to make a reality the belief that even public
education should be "at its core a liberal arts education." His efforts brought City College
financial stability, academic prestige, and visibility with the city (and a national champion
botball team in its division in 1994). A columnist at The San Francisco Examiner said,
"Evan Dobelle may be the single best thing that has happened to City College-period. This
town is lucky to have him."
At Trinity, Dobelle leads an institution he believes is poised to set the standard for
excellence in liberal arts education while at the same time serving as a national model for
linking higher education in innovative partnerships with corporate,cultural and
government institutions. Under his leadership Trinity has embarked on a $175 million
neighborhood revitalization initiative in an collaboration among the College, three
hospitals and Connecticut Public Television. The initiative, born at and led by Trinity, has
drawn national attention and unprecedented local support.
Concurrently, the College is engaged in a $55 million campus renewal plan, focused on
making facilities-related investments in the context of a strategic campus master plan.
Dobelle engaged the services of three internationally-known architectural and planning
firms to work with Trinity in this endeavor. "We have an obligation, in building for the
21st century," says Dobelle, "to preserve and protect the best of the architectural legacy which
is ours at Trinity. At the same time, in the context of Trinity's urban environs, we must
strive through our campus master plan to better integrate the College with the physical and
social fabric of our surroundings."
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Hailed as "a visionary college president," in 1996 Dobelle was named "Business Person of
the Year" by the Hartford Business Journal for having taken "swift and decisive" action to
connect Trinity and its future to the neighborhoods that surround the College's campus.
The neighborhood revitalization initiative conceived by Dobelle and spearheaded by Trinity
received page-one coverage in The New York Times in 1997. The article described in great
depth and detail Dobelle's "grand vision for the liberal arts college in urban America" and
lauded him for setting out "to restore his community to health and his institution to
preeminence."
During the first two years of Dobelle's presidency, the College has raised $30 million and
surged past the three-quarter mark in Trinity's $100-million capital campaign. Total
applications for admission to Trinity have increased 34% (and early decision applications by
61%) over that same period. In the past year alone, Trinity's overall acceptance rate -- an
indication of a college's selectivity improved significantly, from 57 percent to 42 percent.
In 1997, minority student enrollments were up by over 80% relative to 1996, and the average
combined SAT score (1248) for the entire enrolling class also reflected improvement relative
to the prior year's results.
"We are a college that is on the move," asserts Dobelle. "Our challenge is to maintain the
momentum, sustain what already is great about Trinity, and create opportunities to
differentiate ourselves in new and imaginative ways. We must move carefully yet boldly
and deliberately in directions and toward goals that, when reached, will ensure our position
mong the nation's very best colleges." In 1997, Dobelle launched a comprehensive strategic
planning effort at Trinity and, more significantly, established a process for strategic planning
at the College -- one which promotes an important new partnership between the academic
and administrative realms and affords Trinity's faculty an unprecedented opportunity to be
involved centrally in overall planning for the College's future.
"Trinity will never abandon its commitment to the liberal arts - that's fundamental," he
says. "This is a superb college. The challenge is to ensure that Trinity's quality is broadly
recognized and appreciated." He believes Trinity is unquestionably the best choice for
outstanding students who want an incomparable liberal arts education and who would like
to take advantage of the diverse and exciting opportunities available in a city. "Most of our
students will spend their lives living and working in cities. At Trinity they are able to come
to terms with both the opportunities and challenges of modem American city life," he says.
"Our graduates leave Trinity prepared for the rigors of the 'real world."
ISS'ON
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1999 NHI
EDITH (KIT) DOBELLE
133 Vernon Street
Hartford, Connecticut 06106
(860) 297-5105
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
1982-1987
Berkshire Community College
Humanities, Science and Engineering
Division Chair (1985-1987)
Responsible for faculty hiring, performance evaluation,
divisional budgeting, and long range educational planning.
Wrote program brochures.
Director of Community Relations (1983)
Acted as College liaison with the external media,
government agencies, legislative delegation, neighborhood
groups, foundations, not-for profit entities and other
educational and community institutions. Oversaw
production of College publications.
Government Instructor (1982-85)
Taught a variety of government courses including: The
United States Presidency, United States Government and
Comparative World Governments.
1979-1980
Office of First Lady of the United States
Chief of Staff to Rosalynn Carter
Responsible for assisting the First Lady with wide range
of domestic and interntional programs. Supervised a staff of
20 individuals responsible for press relations, travel, White
House functions, correspondence and appointments.
1978-1979
Office of the President of the United States
United States Chief of Protocol
Responsible for the arrangement of visits of Heads of State,
official delegations abroad, management of Blair House, liaison
with the diplomatic community, protocol aspects of Presidential
and First Lady travel abroad, and social functions in the State
Department. Directed staff of 54.
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1971-1973
Massachusetts State Department of Education
Grants Administrator
Monitored the financing and administration of federal grants to the
state aimed at providing equal access and promoting diversity in the
Boston Public Schools.
1969-1970
Contemporary University, a Ford Foundation
Grant - Deputy Director
Managed a collaboration between the former Federal City College
(University of District of Columbia), University of South Carolina
and the University of Massachusetts toimprove the retention of
minority students. Wrote program materials and reports.
1967-1968
University of Massachusetts, School of Education
Staff Assistant to the Dean of Academic Affairs
Arranged faculty development conferences. Wrote and
produced program brochures.
1966-1967
Office of Massachusetts Governor John Volpe
Staff Assistant to Governor Volpe
Drafted correspondence on varying issues and served as ombudsman
for the Executive Office. Also served as Press Secretary for the
Governor's wife during re-election campaign.
1965
Crawley-Pickard Advertising and Public Relations
Public Relations Assistant
Coordinated production of printed materials, arranged meetings, and
worked with the press.
VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCES
1995 - Present
Hartford, Connecticut - Member, Board of Directors
The Old State House, The World Affairs Council, The Trinity College
Child Care Center
Member
White House Commission on Presidential Scholars
1992-1995
City of San Francisco - Deputy Chief of Protocol
Serves as San Francisco's liaison with its 64 consul generals and
represents The City at their functions and celebrations.
Former Community Service Board Memberships:
United Way, Hospice, Boys and Girls Clubs, The Center for
Families and Children, League of Women Voters, and The
Multiple Sclerosis Society, Food Runners
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EDUCATION
University of Massachusetts - B.A., Education
North Adams State College - L.L.D - Honorary
PERSONAL
Spouse: Evan Dobelle (m. 6-7-70)
One son: Harry (b. 3-27-87)
JAN. 26. 1998 9:28PM
P.7
ISS'ON
For Hillary Clinton
You have known Evan and Kit Dobelle for almost 30 years, when you were at
Wellesley and he was personal secretary to Governor John Volpe and she for Mrs.
Jenny Volpe. Evan later was Executive Assistant to U.S. Senator Edward Brooke.
Evan served as twice elected Mayor of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, was
Commissioner of Environmental Management for Massachusetts and went to
Washington with President Carter as Chief of Protocol, Treasurer of the
Democratic National Committee and Finance Chair of the 1980 Campaign. Kit
succeeded Evan as Chief of Protocol and then served as Rosalyn's Chief of Staff.
After 1980, Evan went back to school for 6 years and earned a BA, M.ED., and
EdD at UMASS-Amherst and an MPA at Harvard while Kit taught political
science at Berkshire Community College.
In 1987, he was selected President of Middlesex (MA) Community College; 1990
as Chancellor of City College of San Francisco and since 1995 at Trinity College.
They have one son, Harry (age 10) and have been married 28 years. They have not
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JAN. 26. 1998
wanted to go to Washington regardless of their early support. Old friends like
Dick Riley put Kit on The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars and
John Dalton asked Evan to be on the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey.
Jim King is Evan's Presidential Fellow for the next several years.
The neighborhood revitalization undertaken by Evan is a national model equally
supported non-partisanly by Governor Rowland and Congresswoman Kennelly. It
is to the core your village raising a child.
Trinity was founded in 1823. It is a co-educational non-sectarian institution,
although it was started as a break-off from Yale by Episcopal faculty concerned
about discrimination by the Congregationalist Church.
Trinity's alumni run the political gamut from Edward Albee '50 to George Will
'62.
You have seen the Dobelle's in San Francisco, Chicago, Baltimore, and the White
House several times these past five years.
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1996 '92 NHI
JAN-27-1998 TUE 21:01 ID:TRINITY CALENDER
TEL : 860 297 5206
P:02
List:
Dick Huber - CEO of Aetna
Delores Cross - GE Fund
Jennifer Lockhardt - GE Fund
Evan S. Dobelle - President
Kit Dobelle - President's Wife
Harry Dobelle - President's Son
Mally Cox-Chapman - friend of president
Don McLagan - member of board of trustees and president of Desktop Data
Marnie McLagan - daughter
Mari Mullen - former staff to Michael Dukakis
Jim Mullen - VP of the college
Betsy Sloane - Director of Development
Phoebe Sloane - daughter
Mark Petty (husband of Marty Petty) - (his wife is publisher of Courant)
Lindsay Petty (daughter)
Bill Mahoney - Student Government President
Christina Palmese - Senior Class President
David Jewett - Junior Class President
Glenn Williams - Sophomore Class President
Matthew Albrecht - Freshman Class President
Lisa Harrison - Editor of school paper, The Tripod
Sarah Thornton - president of College Democrats
Dari Sylvester - President of College Republicans
Ben Foster - Trustee & Principal of Bloomfield High School
Walton Foster - wife
John B. Kennelly - son of Barbara Kennelly
Mrs. John M. Bailey - Barabara Kennelly's mother
Dee Topel
Carolyn Dodd
Guest Dodd
Tom Ritter