[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 18247-18248]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            REINTRODUCTION OF THE NATIONAL PARENTS CORPS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOHN LEWIS

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 17, 2009

  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I am proud to reintroduce the 
National Parents Corps Act of 2009. Just as it takes a village to raise 
a child, it takes a community to protect a family.
  Unfortunately today, American families in every corner of our country 
are working harder and longer hours to just make ends meet. They labor 
frantically to keep food on the table, gas in the tank, and a roof over 
their heads. As you can imagine the troubled economy makes it 
especially hard for parents to fully shepherd their children through 
those critical formative years. Study after study shows how vulnerable 
pre-teen and teenage young people are to developing life-long, harmful 
behaviors such as smoking and drug abuse.
  The National Parents Corps Act of 2009 helps address this problem, by 
providing parents with the resources necessary to organize and protect 
their children in unique but proven methods. This legislation will 
create a national network of parent leaders who will educate and 
mobilize other parents in their children's schools. These full-time, 
professional parents will serve as liaisons between teachers, parents, 
and administrators to build much-needed safety nets among police, 
social workers and community based organizations in schools across our 
country.
  The program has proven successful in both identifying and preventing 
dangerous behaviors and trends among their middle and high school 
children. Thousands of parents were recruited, and their collective 
efforts resulted in significant decreases in criminal activity, drop-
outs, and disciplinary problems in their schools and communities.
  Madam Speaker, we must adapt our methods to better address the 
challenges facing American families. This legislation is a common-
sense, modern way of building families and communities to support our 
most vital assets--our youth. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in 
supporting the National Parents Corps Act of 2009. It is an investment 
in the core of our society.

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