[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 128 (Wednesday, September 23, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1775-E1776]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      CELEBRATING KIDS DAY AMERICA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARGE ROUKEMA

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 23, 1998

  Mrs. ROUKEMA. Mr. Speaker, I rise to call attention to the annual 
Kids Day America, a nationwide event that educates children about the 
importance of good health. Taking places at thousands of doctors' 
offices, Kids Day America offers health screening, educational program, 
fingerprinting and identification photos, among other services. This 
event is intended to protect the health and safety of our children--our 
most precious treasures.
  In my Congressional District, Kids Day America was held Saturday, 
September 19, at the Rochelle Family Chiropractic Center in Rochelle 
Park, headed by Dr. David Hager. The funds raised this year will go to 
the Conklin Youth Center's Caring and Sharing Project in Hackensack. 
This important program provides care for abused children who have been 
removed from their parents' homes.
  Free scoliosis screening and dental screening was offered to children 
who attended Saturday's event. In addition, the Rochelle Park Police 
Department fingerprinted and photographed children for identification 
purposes. Police officers also explained the DARE anti-drug program. 
McGruff the Crime Dog, Joey the Clown and free balloons helped make the 
event fun and entertaining for children.

[[Page E1776]]

  Promotion of DARE--Drug Abuse Resistance Education--is one of the two 
most important components of Kids Day America. Before DARE was 
established in 1983, U.S. schools had virtually no formal program to 
teach children about the dangers of illegal drugs and provide them with 
the skills to resist drugs. The DARE program is a 17-week-long course 
taught from elementary to high school levels by specially trained 
police officers across the country. The program now reaches an 
estimated 26 million children in 75 percent of our nation's schools.
  The other key component of Kids Day America is health care for 
children. This program recognizes that it is essential that our 
children receive the highest quality of health care and that is a goal 
to which I am unequivocally committed. I have strongly supported 
programs to make health insurance more widely available to children of 
the working poor--those whose parents fall in the vast chasm between 
Medicaid eligibility and the ability to afford private health 
insurance. The health of our nation's children is far too valuable to 
allow it to be threatened by the lack of adequate insurance coverage. 
The impact of poor health care is far greater for children than it is 
for adults: stunted growth, lifetime disabilities and even early death 
can result from failure to properly treat childhood disease. To allow 
innocent children to suffer when proper care is available is 
unconscionable.
  Mr. Speaker, health and safety are key factors in the development of 
our children into active, productive adult citizens. If started in 
childhood, proper health and safety habits can be maintained for a 
lifetime. This event helps promote those values.
  I ask my House Colleagues to join me in congratulating the sponsors 
of this event on their spirit of caring for our young people.

                          ____________________