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REMARKS BY:	DONNA E. SHALALA, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
PLACE:		First Years Forum, New York, New York
DATE:		July 14, 1998

When it comes to raising healthy and happy children in America, it's well beyond the time to read -- it's time to take action. Because we all know what needs to be done. And we all know we've all got to get into the game -- parents, government and the business community. And we know this because the Committee for Economic Development has been telling us for almost 20 years -- and I'm happy Frank Doyle and Charles Kolb from the CED are here to tell us more today.

Almost 20 years ago, I had the pleasure of working with the CED and the late Bob Butler, who -- after retiring as Chairman of Proctor and Gamble -- refused to fade away. Instead, he served on a special CED subcommittee on the educationally disadvantaged in America. It was this panel that spearheaded a compelling report titled, "Children in Need -- Investment Strategies for the Educationally Disadvantaged." It was ground-breaking work. And it helped change the way business looked at its role in society at large. It called on business to take part in boosting the well-being of children. To take the lead. To speak out. To make a difference. Because it's good corporate citizenship. But it's also good business. As the report stated, "improving the prospects for disadvantaged children is not an expense but an excellent investment, one that can be postponed only at much greater cost to society . "Our nation's need for a qualified work force to compete in the fast-changing global economy."

Today, I'm glad to see that the CED is not only still in the game-it's still taking the lead on behalf of our children. And I'm glad to see how much CED has made a difference -- and how many corporate leaders understand that raising each new generation of American children is everybody's business-and good business. That's why I applaud Rob Reiner's efforts in sponsoring these leadership forums on early childhood education And I congratulate all of you for being here today. To hear this important information on child development -- and child investment. And to pass on what you're hearing to all of your business colleagues.

Today, I want to give you a progress report on America's children -- and the Clinton Administration's agenda for children. I'm proud to serve with a President and a First Lady who have consistently stepped up to the plate to help parents struggling to raise families today. They understand today's children will determine America's success in the new millennium. That today's families are raising the children of the millennium. And that by several measures, this is a good time to be a child in America.

As I mentioned this morning, tomorrow the federal government will release a comprehensive report on the well-being of America's 70 million children. And there is good news to report. Children are off to a healthier start. In the past five years, infant mortality has reached an all-time low. More children are surviving their first year than ever. And childhood immunization rates have reached an all-time high, as vaccine- preventable diseases have reached an all-time low. We're also seeing a decline in teenage pregnancies, as young people are getting our message to protect themselves and their future. We've enrolled more children in Head Start and Early Head Start than ever before. We've extended health insurance coverage to millions of uninsured children from working families. We've also taken a number of steps to help families with their struggle to obtain affordable, quality child care.

But as a nation, we haven't done enough. With so many parents working outside the home, raising healthy babies is more than a challenge of good parenting. It's a challenge to find good child care. Today, three out of five mothers with children under six are now employed outside the home. And so, millions of working families must rely on child care providers-even in their children's zero to three development years. To ensure those early development years are quality years, we must ensure quality child care-and we all have a role to play.

I'm sure you're all aware that child care is an urgent problem facing our workers.our families.our nation. We heard the message loud and clear during the White House conference on child care that was hosted by the President and the First Lady last October. We learned that poor quality child care during the first three years of life actually causes a toddler's cognitive and language development to suffer. We learned that children who receive warm and sensitive care enter school ready and eager to learn, and they get along well with other children. And we learned that with 45 percent of our children under age one in day care on a regular basis, quality child care is a national interest-and it must be a national priority.

But we also heard that children are not getting the care they need. We heard that parents wake-up each and every morning with three child care worries on their minds: Can I find it? Can I afford it? Can I trust it? We learned that only one in ten children who are eligible for child care assistance is currently being served. That poor families spend up to 25 percent of their income for child care. That more than 5 million school- age children spend some time each week as latchkey children-because they have no where else to go. And almost half of our infants and toddlers are in child care settings that offer poor or mediocre quality at best.

That's why the Clinton Administration has offered child care assistance to those who need it most. We've put more child care funding in the new welfare-to-work system. We're linking the public and private sectors to offer more child care that families can afford and trust. We've helped states improve health and safety standards.

We've promoted partnerships between child care and health care agencies. We've established the National Child Care Information Center. And with the stroke of his pen, the President directed federal child care centers to make themselves a national monument of quality care.

These are great accomplishments. But they are steps to build on-not to rest on. They certainly don't mean that we've already won the game for our children. We still have a long way to go.and much to do. When I think of the current status of our child care efforts, I see us in the 7th inning stretch. The most important part of the game is still ahead of us. And it's also time not only to stand up-but to look around and see where we are. Despite our numerous accomplishments, what we see are too many children still left out of the game-children whose parents can't get quality, affordable day care.

President Clinton is determined to turn this picture around. That's why he proposed the historic Child Care Initiative-the single, largest investment in child care, ever. It will help parents find child care by creating more care-particularly after school care during those hours when parents are working and trouble is lurking. It will help parents afford child care by doubling the number of children receiving child care subsidies-and by increasing tax credits for three million working families. Finally, it will help parents trust child care. It will provide more than 3 billion dollars over five years to improve the quality of child care.to train providers.and to help states enforce their own health and safety standards. The President's initiative will give American child care a giant booster shot. And Congress needs to take action on it before the end of the year.

But Congress is really only part of the child care solution. We still need the business community to invest in child care. It's a good investment in a strong workforce for a strong American economy. Consider a case study CED documented in the 1980s in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Between 1962 and 1967, three and four year olds from poor families took part in an experimental pre-school program. Follow-up research when the oldest was 27 showed that these children entered the American mainstream with such hallmarks as steady jobs and homes. And on a test of functional competence, those who went through the pre-school program were more than 50 percent more likely to score at or above the national average. But a control group from the same neighborhood, who were not enrolled on the pre-school program, were far more likely to have spotty employment histories and prison records.

If this was true in the mid-eighties, it's even more so today, with a greater number of parents working outside the home -- and needing a good place to care for their children. I know that many corporations are already recognize that helping your workforce with its child care needs is good business. And the Clinton Administration recently issued two reports that confirms this strategy. They found that more and more companies are offering child care and family friendly policies. And those that do experience higher productivity, lower turnover, better recruitment and retention, reduced absenteeism and improved morale.

To help spread the wealth of knowledge, this Administration has set up a clearinghouse for businesses interested in child care. And we've established a business- to-business mentoring program on child care and developed a program to train child care workers. We're also working with the "Big Three Automakers" to develop their own on- site child care centers. And as part of the Child Care Initiative, the President has also proposed a new tax credit for businesses that provide child care services for their employees. We want to help your employees succeed around the kitchen table-so they'll help American business succeed in the global marketplace.and so no child will ever be left behind.

You probably remember the famous Yogi Berra line -- "The future ain't what it used to be." Well, if we all invest in our children, together we can make the future everything it could be.