[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 92 (Thursday, June 20, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1129-E1130]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           SIOUX FALLS MAY REPRESENT THE FUTURE OF MOTHERHOOD

                                 ______


                        HON. PATRICIA SCHROEDER

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 19, 1996

  Mrs. SCHROEDER. Mr. Speaker, talking family values is one thing. But 
in yesterday's Los Angeles Times article ``Sioux Falls May Represent 
the Future of Motherhood'' Melissa Healy tells us how one community is 
living them. The article tells how family values and working mothers 
are coexisting peacefully in Sioux Falls, SD, because, as Ms. Healy 
points out, the community, its employers and its institutions, ``are 
scrambling to adapt to the needs of working mothers instead of 
expecting mothers to adapt to theirs.'' Hats off to the Los Angeles 
Times and to the moms in Sioux Falls for showing us how a community can 
work together to help its families thrive.

              [From the Los Angeles Times, June 18, 1996]

           Sioux Falls May Represent the Future of Motherhood

                           (By Melissa Healy)

       Sioux Falls, SD.--Marjorie Beeck, 31, grew up in small-town 
     South Dakota, and she is not abashed about calling herself 
     traditional. There is no trace of irony in her voice when she 
     volunteers that she has family values; she likes to think 
     most folks in Sioux Falls do.
       So when daughter Jessica was born four years ago, Beeck 
     made a decision that she says reflects her deep conviction 
     that family comes first: Seven weeks after giving birth, she 
     enrolled Jessica in day care and returned to her job as a 
     securities broker at Citibank's South Dakota branch.
       For Beeck, whose pay nudges her family's annual income just 
     above the nation's median of $33,000, working outside the 
     home could easily be characterized as a choice in name only. 
     Her family needs her income if it is to afford the trappings, 
     and opportunities, of middle-class life.
       Yet there's more involved here than economic necessity. The 
     fact is, Beeck likes her job. She likes day care too. She 
     says it has given her children, Jessica and 7-year-old Ryan, 
     ``things I couldn't give them at home,'' including field 
     trips, a structured learning environment and other kids to 
     play with--lots and lots of other kids.
       Beeck could easily parlay her skills into a high-intensity, 
     and probably higher-paying, job elsewhere. But she has chosen 
     to stay at Citibank and in Sioux Falls in part because her 
     employer and her community have taken pains to ease the 
     burden on mothers who work outside the home.
       ``Staying here,'' she said, ``is a measure of my commitment 
     to family values.''
       Sioux Falls, in fact, might just represent the future of 
     American motherhood.
       A surprising 84% of mothers who live here are employed 
     outside the home, according to the 1990 census. Among women 
     with children younger than 6, a whopping four out of five are 
     in the paid work force. In a recent national ranking of the 
     best places for mothers to work, Sioux Falls with its 
     population of approximately 100,000 placed first.
       The reason: Local employers such as Citibank are scrambling 
     to adapt to the needs of working mothers instead of expecting 
     mothers to adopt to theirs. Civic leaders are mobilizing 
     private charities an public schools to pitch in. Elected 
     officials are doing their part, providing a model for other 
     cities, and perhaps Washington, to emulate.
       As a result, family values and working mothers are 
     coexisting peacefully here in America's heartland.
       ``I don't think women have to be home to teach their 
     children family values,'' said Liz Bute, a 37-year-old 
     manager at Citibank whose five children have all spent their 
     preschool years in day care. ``I think we're past that.''
       While it is no simple matter for women to simultaneously 
     keep their careers on track and give their kids the moral 
     foundation they need, she said, it's up to ``society as a 
     whole'' to share the burden.
       That, said Bute, is part of what values are all about. And 
     it is a responsibility that Sioux Falls is taking seriously.


                             special place

       At a time when many Americans say they are reexamining some 
     of the fundamental choices made by themselves as 
     individuals--and by society as a whole--the issue of working 
     moms occupies a special place in the national ``values'' 
     debate.
       In the mid-80s, conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly 
     suggested that mothers who remained employed for their own 
     self-fulfillment had contributed to adolescent suicides. As 
     recently as 1991, then-Rep. William Dannemeyer (R-Fullerton) 
     took to the floor of the House of Representatives to denounce 
     the ``devastation'' that results when ``working mothers * * * 
     put careers ahead of children and rationalize material 
     benefits in the name of children.''
       But a substantial number of working mothers, including many 
     who characterize themselves as political and social 
     conservatives, has rejected that argument. They work not just 
     because they need to, but because they want to. They believe 
     they can continue to work without jeopardizing the physical 
     and psychological well-being of their children, particularly 
     if they get a little help from their employers, their 
     communities and their elected representatives.
       Clearly, for women whose families can afford it, curtailing 
     outside work can increase the quantity, as well as the 
     quality, of their involvement in their children's lives. 
     Evidence indicates some women are managing to do so, although 
     their numbers so far don't add up to a significant 
     demographic trend.
       But for a majority of American women, the values debate no 
     longer turns on the question of whether they will or won't 
     work outside the home. They simply will, at a rate of almost 
     seven out of 10 nationally.
       In places like Sioux Falls, the values debate now turns on 
     the question of how husbands, employers, communities and 
     government will adapt to the reality of a society in which 
     both mothers and fathers draw a paycheck.
       ``We have an economy that requires women to work and, of 
     course, by choice, women work,'' said Fran Sussner Rogers, 
     chief executive officer of Work/Family Directions, a Boston 
     consulting firm. ``But we've kept our institutions and the 
     places we work running on rules that were made for men with 
     wives at home. And then we've had such ambivalence about 
     whether women should work that we haven't adapted our 
     communities to a new situation.''
       The solution, Rogers said, is obvious: ``Social 
     institutions, not individuals, need to deal with this as a 
     values issue. Working is a necessity, and it's good for us.''
       Does this mean the end of maternal guilt, and of 
     politicians and activists who prey upon it? Certainly not. 
     But the working mothers of Sioux Falls have a message for 
     public figures who suggest that employed mothers are hurting 
     their kinds and eroding the nation's values: Don't try it 
     here.
       ``To tell you the truth, it kind of makes my blood boil'' 
     to hear politicians who equate stay-at-home moms with family 
     values, said Karla Quarve, a 31-year-old mother of a son in 
     day care and a daughter in first grade.
       An auditor at Sioux Falls' Home Federal Savings Bank, 
     Quarve works because she likes her job. And she offers no 
     apologies. Because she has a boss who values her and respects 
     her family responsibilities, she regularly helps out during 
     school and day-care field trips, and always makes it to her 
     daughter's school ceremonies.
       Although it could probably afford to do without her income, 
     Quarve said, ``I think our family would suffer'' if she 
     stayed home. She would be less happy, and the kids would be 
     denied the fun of their day-care center.
       ``You can still instill values in your children and work,'' 
     she said.


                             dramatic rise

       Today, more than two out of three children have mothers who 
     work outside the home, up from just under half in 1972. More 
     dramatic, however, is the rise in women with very young 
     children at home returning to work. In 1980, 38% of mothers 
     with infants younger than 1 worked outside the home. By 1990, 
     that percentage had climbed to 53%. Among women with 
     preschool children, the figure has risen to 67%, from 44% in 
     1970.
       According to a 1995 Harris Poll cited by the Families and 
     Work Institute, 48% of married women in 1995 were bringing in 
     half or more of their family's income, making women a 
     significant financial, as well as emotional, pillar of their 
     families.

[[Page E1130]]

       The rapid rise in maternal employment has coincided with 
     extraordinary social ferment on a number of fronts: a surging 
     divorce rate, more children born to single moms, a drastic 
     rise in crime, a decline in academic standards and a general 
     sense that the nation's ethical climate has eroded. It was 
     only a matter of time, say some, before mothers who work 
     outside the home got blamed.
       ``Women have always been seen as the people who are the 
     custodians of morals and values,'' said Caryl Rivers, co-
     author of the book, ``She Works, He Works: How the Two-Income 
     Family Is Happier, Healthier and Better Off.'' ``They are 
     seen as the people who are supposed to keep the culture tidy. 
     So when it becomes untidy, there is a rush to say to women, 
     `It's your fault.' ''
       As a result, Rivers said, ``we're loading all the issues of 
     modern society--drugs, crime, violence, rap music--onto the 
     question of whether Mom is home or not.''
       But it remains a subject of intense debate within academic 
     circles whether children--and with them, society--suffer from 
     that decision.
       The early results of the most comprehensive study on the 
     subject, released in April, appear to offer heartening news 
     to women who work outside the home. In the first phase of a 
     study overseen by the National Institute of Child Health and 
     Human Development, psychologists tracked 1,300 families from 
     a child's birth to 15 months. They found that the security of 
     the bond infants form with their mothers is largely 
     unaffected by their having been left in the care of others.
       Behavioral scientists have long surmised, though not yet 
     established, that a weak trust relationship between a mother 
     and her infant often marks a child for future trouble. But 
     the study found that only in cases where the mother is judged 
     to be insensitive to a baby's needs does day care--especially 
     extensive day care or poor-quality day care or a succession 
     of day-care providers--adversely affect an infant's 
     attachment to its mother.
       A 1993 survey by the Education Department also reflects 
     favorably on working mothers. The study gauged parental 
     involvement in their children's school life--a strong 
     predictor of student behavior and in turn, student 
     achievement. It found that mothers in the workplace are, 
     overall, more likely to be involved in their children's 
     school life--going to plays, volunteering in classes, 
     organizing fund-raising or school functions--than mothers who 
     are not employed.


                            Government Help

       When it comes to working moms, many Americans appear 
     willing to abandon their customary caution about the wisdom 
     of out side intervention.
       In a pool conducted in January 1996 as part of a National 
     Issues Convention sponsored by the University of Texas at 
     Austin, 80% said they believe that government should help 
     with child care and preschool would be a ``useful step in 
     strengthening the family.''
       The Clinton administration and its Democratic allies on 
     Capitol Hill have tried to seize upon such views in their 
     efforts to shore up the party's values credentials. Arguing, 
     for instance, that half of all low-wage workers in 
     America have children, Clinton officials have pressed for 
     a boost in the minimum wage, sought to stave off 
     Republican efforts to restrict the earned-income tax 
     credit for low-income families, and endorsed legislation 
     to make women's pensions more comparable to men's.
       ``We as a society cannot and should not separate family 
     values from economic values,'' said Labor Secretary Robert B. 
     Reich. ``And what is the most important family value? The 
     ability to keep your family in shelter, food and clothing.'' 
     On Capitol Hill, Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.) is pressing 
     legislation to create a more generous tax credit than 
     currently exists for day-care costs incurred by families with 
     annual incomes ranging from $20,000 to $80,000.
       Many in the GOP have sought to improve access to day care 
     as well, especially as a corollary to welfare reform, which 
     would allow states to require recipients to go to work.
       Republicans have added $4 billion to bolster welfare 
     recipients' access to day care, and legislation by Rep. 
     Constance A. Morella (R-Md.) would expand poor women's access 
     to day care by providing additional tax credits.
       For middle-class parents, Republicans have argued that the 
     broad design of their policy priorities is family-friendly: 
     By balancing the budget, cutting taxes and reducing the 
     deficit, they argue, Republicans would return more money to 
     families, which they could use as they see fit.


                           workplace changes

       While politicians look for legislative remedies, women 
     increasingly are voting with their pumps and work boots and 
     rubber-soled uniform shoes.
       In places like Sioux Falls--a tight labor market in which 
     working mothers enjoy considerable clout--mothers are doing 
     more than merely hoping their kids will not be adversely 
     affected. They are commanding changes in the ways that 
     employers and the community operate, making the care of 
     children easier and higher in quality, and making vital 
     family time better, both qualitatively and quantitatively.
       Sioux Falls' largest employer, Citibank, subsidizes a day-
     care center for its employees just across a grassy field from 
     its sprawling campus. The firm's corporate culture is 
     consciously pro-family. Supervisors try to accommodate the 
     needs of their largely female work force, offering flexible 
     working hours, insurance for part-timers, and a hotline 
     offering employees advice on everything from breast feeding 
     to balancing career and family.
       Easing the burden on employed mothers is a challenge the 
     Sioux Falls community is working to shoulder as well. The 
     Sioux Empire United Way spends 20% of its funds to help 
     provide day care, compared with a national average of about 
     9%. The Sioux Falls public schools have switched many of 
     their parent-teacher conference times to evening hours, and 
     family physicians like Dr. Jerry Walton have altered their 
     hours so they can see many of their youngest patients, with 
     parents in tow, after the standard workday.
       Privately funded before- and after-school programs serve 
     600 children throughout the Sioux Falls school district, with 
     sliding-scale fees for children from lower-income families. 
     The school district has launched a summer-care program that 
     combines learning and fun, and fills the vital child-care gap 
     that working parents of school-age kids find during the 
     summer months.
       ``We don't take the place of parents, no one could do 
     that,'' said Dennis Barnett, president of Sioux Falls' 
     Volunteers of America, and organization that funds three day-
     care centers in the city. ``But we are partners with parents 
     in teaching some of these values we would all expect in our 
     children. In many cases, parents choose to have that kind of 
     partner in raising their children.''
       Some in Sioux Falls would take the concept of partnering 
     with working parents even further.
       Mark Britzman, a psychologist and 35-year-old father of 
     two, is laboring to create the Circle of Hope Family 
     Enrichment Center, which he calls a ``one-stop shopping 
     center for families.''
       Britzman's center would provide day care with a holistic 
     twist: When a child is enrolled, his or her family would 
     undergo a family assessment, designed to identify areas of 
     strength and weakness, and would agree to volunteer a certain 
     amount of time to the program.
       For families, and especially for stressed-out working 
     mothers, he says, the family enrichment center would be a 
     place to ``relax and connect'' with an extended network of 
     neighbors and other helpers.


                            Top Environment

       Sioux Falls recently topped a list of cities with the 
     friendliest environment for working mothers, compiled and 
     published by the women's magazine Redbook. Some observers 
     caution that the city is still far from nirvana for employed 
     moms and their families. Wages for both men and women remain 
     quite low--part of the region's draw to big corporations like 
     Citibank.
       For all their growing economic clout in their families and 
     the community, professional women here still react coolly to 
     feminist rhetoric.
       Yet it may be that Sioux Falls and other communities like 
     it represent the best available synthesis of our culture's 
     traditional commitment to family and mothers' increasing 
     commitment to work.
       ``There's a quiet revolution going on in this city,'' said 
     Susan Randall, development director of Turning Point, a 
     social service agency that works with troubled children.
       ``There are still the trappings of traditionalism, but the 
     reality is very different.''

                          ____________________