[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 45 (Wednesday, April 16, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3243-S3245]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  A NATIONAL AGENDA FOR YOUNG CHILDREN

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, tomorrow, the White House is hosting an 
extraordinary conference on ``Early Childhood Development and Learning: 
What the newest research on the brain tells us about our youngest 
children.'' It is the first time a President has focused national 
attention on this issue.

[[Page S3244]]

Experts from across America will explore the implications of new 
scientific research on the intellectual development of young children. 
In their early years, children have an ability to assimilate far more 
knowledge than at any other time in their lives. If a child's curiosity 
is encouraged and his or her mind regularly stimulated, the capacity to 
learn can be substantially expanded.
  If, conversely, a child receives little interaction and stimulation, 
that capacity declines just as an unexercised muscle atrophies. These 
findings dramatically reinforce the urgency of programs which will 
provide parents with the support they need to enrich their children's 
early years.
  There is no more important responsibility which we in the Senate have 
than to provide a secure foundation on which America's children can 
build their futures. Now that we have a far greater understanding of 
the significance of the early childhood years in an individual's 
development, we know the extraordinary impact which the quality of care 
and nurturing in those years can have on a child's intellectual and 
emotional growth. Does a child have access to good preventive medical 
care? Are parents able to spend time with their child or are they 
unable to leave work? Do the hours spent in child care provide a real 
learning experience?
  Does the child have access to a quality preschool education program? 
The answers to questions like these will have a substantial effect on a 
child's long-term ability to reach his or her full potential. The 
opportunity lost cannot be recaptured. Making these basic opportunities 
the birthright of every child should be our national agenda for young 
children. It should be our highest priority.
  Congressional action this year could bring the essential elements of 
sound early childhood development within the reach of every child. Such 
an agenda for young children has four key elements: First, providing 
affordable child health insurance coverage for working families. The 
Hatch-Kennedy bill will make health care more accessible for the 10 
million children whose families cannot afford insurance. Many of these 
children currently see a doctor only when they are acutely ill. They 
never receive the preventive health care which is so essential to 
proper growth and development.
  Second, extending the Family and Medical Leave Act to 13 million more 
employees so that they have the same opportunity to spend precious time 
with a newborn child or to care for a seriously ill child. Giving each 
employee 24 hours of leave a year to accompany their child to a school 
event or on a visit to the pediatrician would also strengthen parental 
involvement.
  Third, improving the quality of child care for infants and toddlers 
by providing incentive grants to States to make child care programs 
early learning opportunities. Programs that encourage a child's 
curiosity and stimulate communication skills can enhance long-term 
educational development.
  Fourth, fully funding Head Start and expanding the Early Start 
initiative for younger children.
  This program is widely recognized for its success in providing 
children from low-income families with a firm educational foundation. 
Yet, funding levels currently limit access to only 40 percent of the 
eligible 4- and 5-year-olds and a much smaller percentage of young 
children.
  In the words of the Carnegie Task Force on Meeting the Needs of Young 
Children: ``The earliest years of a child's life * * * lay the 
foundation for all that follows.'' It calls for a comprehensive 
strategy to ``move the nation toward the goal of giving all children 
the early experiences they need to reach their full potential.''
  Collectively, these four legislative initiatives will provide all 
parents with the tools they require to enrich their children's early 
years.
  Each element--medical care, parental involvement, quality child care, 
and early learning opportunity--is essential to maximizing a child's 
potential. Let me explain how each of these programs would work:


                         children's health care

  Today, more than 10.5 million children have no health insurance. That 
is 1 child in every 7. The number has been increasing in recent years. 
Every day, 3,000 more children are dropped from private health 
insurance. If the total continues to rise at the current rate, 12.6 
million children will have no medical coverage by the year 2000.
  Ninety percent of these children are members of working families. 
Two-thirds are in two-parent families. Most of these families have 
incomes above the Medicaid eligibility line, but well below the income 
it takes to afford private health insurance today.
  Too many young children are not receiving the preventive medical care 
they need. Uninsured children are twice as likely to go without medical 
care for conditions such as asthma, sore throats, ear infections, and 
injuries. One child in four is not receiving basic childhood vaccines 
on a timely basis. Periodic physical exams are out of reach for 
millions of children, even though such exams can identify and correct 
conditions that can cause a lifetime of pain and disability. Preventive 
care is not only the key to a healthy child, it also is an investment 
for society. Every dollar in childhood immunizations, for example, 
saves $10 in hospital and other treatment costs.
  Every American child deserves an opportunity for a healthy start in 
life. No family should have to fear that the loss of a job or a hike in 
their insurance premium will leave their children without health care.
  Children and adolescents are so inexpensive to cover. That's why we 
can and will cover them this year--in this Congress. The cost is 
affordable--and the positive benefits for children are undeniable.
  The legislation that Senator Hatch and I have introduced will make 
health insurance coverage more affordable for every working family with 
uninsured children. It does so without imposing new Government 
mandates. It encourages family responsibility, by offering parents the 
help they need to purchase affordable health insurance for their 
children.
  Under our plan, $20 billion over the next 5 years will be available 
to expand health insurance coverage to children. When fully phased in, 
it will provide direct financial assistance to as many as 5 million 
children annually. Millions more will benefit because their families 
will be able to buy good quality coverage for their children.
  The plan will be administered by the States, under Federal guidelines 
to guarantee that the coverage is adequate and meets the special needs 
of children, including good preventive care and good prenatal care. 
States will contract with private insurance companies to provide child-
only health coverage to families not eligible for Medicaid. Eligible 
families will receive a subsidy through their State to help pay the 
cost of private insurance coverage for their children. Funding will 
also be available to help provide prenatal services to uninsured 
pregnant women.
  For the youngest children, this medical care is the most vital. It 
can prevent serious illnesses and long-term developmental problems.
  It is the first priority if we are to help children grow to their 
full potential.


                        family and medical leave

  Passage of the Family and Medical Leave Act in 1993 was a true 
landmark for America's families. For the first time, millions of 
working men and women were freed from the threat of job loss if they 
needed time off for the birth of a child or to care for a sick family 
member.
  The act has worked well--for employees and for their employers. 
Employees are now able to take a leave of absence to be with their 
children or with a sick relative at a crucial time for the family, so 
that they can provide the special care and compassion which are the 
glue that binds a family together. In the 4 years since its enactment, 
it has already helped millions of families.
  In more and more American homes today, both parents must have jobs in 
order to support their families. A substantial majority of children 
live in families where neither parent is at home during the day because 
of their jobs. If we value families--if we are serious about helping 
parents meet the needs of their children--then family medical leave is 
essential.
  The Family and Medical Leave Act currently applies to businesses 
which employ 50 people or more. It is time to extend the benefits of 
this landmark

[[Page S3245]]

law to an additional 13 million people who work for firms with between 
25 and 50 employees. Their families face the same crises. Their 
children deserve the same attention. I concur wholeheartedly with 
Senator Dodd, the original architect of the Family and Medical Leave 
Act, who has proposed this expansion.
  There is another very important leave issue for working families--the 
need for a brief break in the workday to meet the more routine, but 
still very important, demands of raising children. Every working parent 
has experienced the strain of being torn between the demands of their 
job and the needs of their children. Taking a child to the 
pediatrician, dealing with a child care crisis or meeting with a 
teacher to discuss a problem at school, accompanying a child to a 
preschool or school event--all of these often require time off from 
work. No parent should have to choose between alienating the boss and 
neglecting the child.
  Many employers understand this, and allow their workers to take time 
for family responsibilities. But many other companies refuse to 
accommodate their workers in this way.
  The ability of parents to meet these family obligations should not be 
dependent on the whim of their employer. In a society that genuinely 
values families, it should be a matter of right.
  Under legislation already proposed by Senator Murray, working parents 
would be entitled to 24 hours of leave a year to participate in their 
child's school activities. I would add time for a parent to take a 
child to the doctor. Employers would have to receive at least 7 days 
advance notice of each absence, so that employers will have ample 
opportunity to arrange work schedules around the brief absence of the 
employee.
  Clearly, this legislation is needed. A recent survey of 30,000 PTA 
leaders found that 89 percent of parents cannot be as involved in their 
children's education as the would like because of job demands.
  A Radcliffe Public Policy Institute study completed last year found 
that the total time that parents spend with their children has dropped 
by a third in the past 30 years. This disturbing trend must be 
reversed.
  Greater involvement of parents in their children's education can make 
a vital difference in their learning experience. A big part of that 
involvement is more regular contact between parent and teacher, and 
more regular participation by parents in their children's school 
activities. Many of those meetings and activities are scheduled during 
the work day. As a result, millions of parents are unable to 
participate because their employers refuse to allow time off. 
Permitting a modest adjustment in a parent's work day can greatly 
enrich a child's school day. All children will benefit from this kind 
of parental support and encouragement, and so will the country.


                           quality child care

  Child care for infants and young children is essential for the 
majority of mothers who work outside the home. However, quality child 
care for these youngsters is often hard to find. A 1995 GAO study found 
a shortage of infant care in both inner city and rural areas.
  Even where facilities are available, they often do not provide the 
type of care which would be an enriching experience for young children. 
A majority of children in child care spend 30 hours or more per week. 
Their well being requires more than merely a safe and clean place to 
stay while their parents are at work--though even this is currently out 
of reach for far too many families. Young children--even infants and 
toddlers--need regular interaction with attentive caregivers to 
stimulate their curiosity and expand their minds.
  This requires a much lower staff to child ratio than most providers 
can afford and it requires a level of training, supervision, and 
compensation which is seldom present. The early years are too 
precious--their potential too great--for children to spend them in 
custodial rather than educational care. Yet according to the Work And 
Family Institute, only one in seven child care centers offers quality 
care and only 9 percent of family child care homes are found to be of 
high quality.
  To say this is not to criticize those currently providing care. Most 
work hard to create the best atmosphere for children they can given the 
current level of resources. However, a simple comparison with the kind 
of support required under the Military Child Care Act demonstrates how 
much better we could be doing with the civilian child care system.
  Under the military statute, each child care provider participates in 
an individualized training program and receives salary increases based 
on their training. Each child care center is monitored at least four 
times a year and has an on-site teacher mentor. In addition, the 
military has established family child care networks designed to serve 
infants and toddlers where similar supports are provided. As a result 
of these provisions, provider salaries have dramatically increased when 
compared to civilian child care and staff turnover is negligible. Staff 
to child ratios have been reduced and individualized care and attention 
increased. The quality of the services provided reflects these changes. 
The children of working families deserve no less.
  I am proposing that we provide incentive grants to States to model 
their child programs after the high quality services offered by the 
military.
  This would include lower ratios as well as better training, 
supervision, salaries, and support. In this way, those who regularly 
care for our youngest children would be able to provide them with the 
nurturing and individualized attention they need and deserve. The time 
spent by children in child care would then become a valuable learning 
experience for them.


                               head start

  Head Start is widely recognized for its success in providing children 
from low income families with a solid developmental foundation. It 
focuses on the complete child--education, emotional growth, physical, 
and mental health, and nutrition. It strongly encourages parental 
involvement. Most importantly, it allows at-risk youngsters to enter 
school ready to learn. Head Start works extremely well for those it 
serves.
  However, even with recent funding increases, it serves only 40 
percent of eligible children. There are few legislative initiatives 
which make more sense than fully funding Head Start. It could truly 
change the lives of many of those children currently excluded.
  In 1994, we established a new Early Head Start initiative for infants 
and toddlers. HHS has awarded 142 grants nationwide for programs to 
provide basic early education, nutritional and health services for 
children under 3 years of age from low income families. This pilot 
program has proven very successful. The scientific research I alluded 
to earlier makes a compelling case for services directed to children in 
their earliest years. If we are seriously concerned about helping 
children expand their learning capacity, the Senate should fund a major 
expansion of Early Start.


                           disabled children

  As we make these reforms for the benefit of all children, we must not 
forget to provide for the special needs of disabled children. Despite 
their disabilities, these children hold great potential. With adequate 
support and assistance from us that potential can be realized. We 
cannot in good conscience leave the families of these children to face 
such enormous challenges alone.


                               conclusion

  The national agenda for young children which I have outlined today 
will give children--regardless of their family's income--a fair chance 
to reach their full potential. What occurs during a child's earliest 
years will make a lifetime of difference.
  We know how important preventive health care, parental involvement, 
quality child care, and early learning opportunity during those years 
are to that child's later development. How can we fail to act? These 
issues are compelling and they deserve a strong bipartisan response. I 
urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to make this agenda for 
young children a high priority for Congress in 1997.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, if the Chair would alert me when I have 1 
minute remaining, I would appreciate that.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Thomas). The Senator has 10 minutes.

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