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REMARKS BY:  DONNA E. SHALALA, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
PLACE:	     National Child Care Conference for State Administrators, Washington, D.C.
DATE:	     July 28, 1998

Whoever wrote that proverb obviously knew something about taking care of children.

It may not have sunk in with Congress, but it has certainly sunk in with parents - that the people who take care of America's children are heroes. Just try to imagine how many times a day in this country a parents says to a child care worker: "You saved my day." Or even, "You saved my life."

For parents, child care really means family care - because it's one of the most important survival tools working families have. So I believe the time has come to draw a line in the sand and say: Working families can't leave home without child care, and Congress shouldn't leave Washington without passing the President's Child Care Initiative.

I mentioned that child care workers are heroes. But even heroes need a helping hand sometimes. That's what you've always offered. State and county administrators - and advocates - are the support; the creative thinkers; the financial lifeline; and an important voice for child care workers across our country. One of the great untold stories of state and local government, is the success you've had allocating and using limited child care dollars.

But perhaps more important, you've taken an issue that was barely a blip on the national radar screen five years ago and made it part of our national dialogue. It's on the radar screen and no amount of hiding, stalling or excuse-giving will make it go away. That's why the President, the First Lady and our Department are absolutely committed to the President's Child Care Initiative. We refuse to give in to opponents because we refuse to give up on this country's working families.

We're going to take this battle right down to the wire.

However, we're not joining this fight at the endgame. From day one, we've made the child care needs of working families a priority. We streamlined our services and created the first Child Care Bureau. Our National Child Care Information Center is sharing important trends and ideas with states and communities. We added 4 billion dollars for child care to the new welfare law. Our Maternal and Child Health Bureau is looking at ways to use child care to promote good health. We're giving states technical assistance and information about models that work to help you improve child care.

And today I'm proud to announce that we're issuing new child care regulations that will help make child care more accessible and trustworthy. I wanted to bring this news to this conference because you are the experts - and you have the power to make these regulations work.

The regulations require that children receiving services under the block grant be immunized; that child care premises be safe; and that staff receive health and safety training. The regulations also cover giving parents information on payment rates; maintenance of effort; and minimum funding levels for quality. And to better inform parents about choices, the regulations require states to provide consumer education to all parents on a full range of available providers.

For parents, the three questions most often asked about child care are: Can I get it? Can I afford it? Can I trust it? The President's Child Care Initiative will help consumers answer `yes' to all three of those questions.

But it's the last one that I really want to focus on today. The question: Can I trust it? really comes down to just one word - quality.

If a young parent stops me in the street and asks, `Secretary Shalala, what can I do to make sure my child gets quality child care?' I can always say: Join the army. That's because the Army takes protecting and nurturing the children of its soldiers seriously. They have a child care system that includes surprise inspections four times a year. Frankly, we need to give the children of all working families the same kind of protection that military families have.

So what is high quality child care?

Let's start by saying that most parents can walk into a child care center and immediately recognize poor quality. Bad smells. Poor lighting. Lack of supervision. Lack of supplies. Chaos.

But quality cannot simply be measured by what's wrong. Quality child care is care that meets a minimum level of performance. Care that we can measure. Care that we can sustain. Care that we demand for our own children.

Imagine you're taking your toddler to a birthday party. You're not going to leave your child for even one afternoon at a house that isn't safe, sanitary and well supervised. Now imagine you're the parent who's throwing this birthday party. I can practically hear the groans. And for good reason. Taking care of young children - for even one afternoon - is a tough and tiring job.

Still, there's a right way and a wrong way to keep the kids safe - and you sane. Your quality birthday party will be a small group in a well lit, child-proof space. Other responsible adults who have experience with children will add their eyes and ears to yours. You - and not the children - will be picking the menu because you know better than to serve three courses of Gummi Bears and ice cream. And you'll be prepared for any kind of health emergency - including quick access to expert medical care.

That's quality child care when it's only needed for one afternoon. And it's better - unfortunately - than many children receive today in both institutional and family child care settings. But when that one afternoon becomes five or even six days a week, quality has to be taken to an even higher level. That means everything offered at a good birthday party - and more.

The overall goal should be good interaction between the children and the provider - and between the provider and parents. So in addition to a small group of children, in a good facility, watched over by responsible adults, quality means on going training - not just initial training.

Quality means having a continuous improvement strategy that stays on top of child development research and invites the thinking of outside experts and consultants.

Quality means having a strong and meaningful relationship with families based on trust and sharing information about the children the child care program serves.

Quality means teaming up with health experts, and building a seamless system where health care and child care are viewed as two sides of the same coin. Some states, for example, are now having community nurses visit child care centers on a regular basis - or be available for phone consultations.

Quality also means having supportive directors that respond to the needs of staff but demand accountability.

And let's face it, quality means good working conditions for day care providers. Child care programs will not be able to attract the kind of motivated and well trained staff they need without good space, decent pay, leave and family-friendly policies.

Right now we're in the middle of a great national debate on health care. The President is determined to make sure that the managed care revolution doesn't reduce the quality of our health care - or our access to it. And he's demanding that Congress act now. The President's vision for good health care is also our vision for good child care. Like health care, we want to do more than just pay for child care - we want to make it good.

That is the big challenge all of us face today - because whether you're a child care administrator, advocate or practitioner, if you don't invest in quality, practice quality, and constantly improve quality - you're out of the ball game for the new century.

Notice I said the "big" challenge. That's because we have other important child care challenges ahead of us. As child care leaders and decision makers, we must make sure more hard working families become eligible for child care. In too many states, families earning as little $20,000 dollars a year do not qualify for child care. That's just not good enough.

We also need to do a better job of getting the word out to working families that subsidized child care is an option. That means coming up with highly creative messages, and finding new ways to reach child care consumers - because choice doesn't mean much to parents who don't know they have it.

The same is true for CHIP - our Children's Health Insurance Program.

Too many low income families simply don't know their children are eligible for Medicaid or other coverage under a state CHIP plan. As of this morning, we've approved 24 states and Puerto Rico that will provide coverage to 2 million currently uninsured children within the next three years. But we still have 10 million uninsured children in this country. And our goal is to eventually cover them all. Child care programs are an ideal place for letting parents know about CHIP - and for getting their children signed up. So I hope you will help enlist the child care programs you regulate in a massive effort to make sure children receive the health care coverage they need - and deserve.

My last challenge is simply this: Don't go it alone.

Investing in child care is about more than just money. It's about getting the community involved. There is wisdom in the experience of teachers, parents, clergy, businesses and law enforcement. These community players should be involved in your decisions about funding, safety, training, eligibility and access. They are a resource you don't want to lose.

I started with one definition of a hero. Let me conclude with another.

Jonathan Swift said a hero is one excels in what we prize. As a country I don't think there's anything we prize more than the courage and capacity to build healthy, emotionally strong and well-educated children. That is what you have devoted your lives to doing. And that's why today it is an honor for to say to each of you: You are a hero too.

Thank you.