    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
    [February 14, 1997]
    [Pages 157-159]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Receiving the ``Adoption 2002'' Report and an Exchange With
    Reporters
    February 14, 1997

        The President. Thank you very much, Olivia. Ladies and gentlemen and
    boys and girls, thank you all for being here. I also want to say a
    special word of thanks to some Members of Congress who are not here
    today but who have done an enormous amount of work on this issue,
    including Senators Rockefeller, Chafee, and DeWine, and Congresswoman
    Kennelly and Congressman Camp.
        Let me begin by also saying Happy Valentine's Day. All the kids look
    wonderful. The rest of us look all right, too--[laughter]--but the kids
    look especially wonderful.
        I want to thank you, Olivia, for the work you've done. And I want to
    thank the First Lady for the work she has done on this issue over more
    than 20 years now. I'll never forget the first conversation we had,
    shortly after we were married, about a case that she had involving a
    child in foster care who wanted to become an adopted child. I didn't
    know very much about it before then, and ever since then this issue has
    been of consuming interest to me because of what I learned through her.
    And I thank her for that.
        We know that our children's fundamental well-being depends upon
    safety and stability, that without these, children have a very hard time
    in this complicated, challenging world of ours. We know that far too
    many of our own children are indeed now in danger in the homes in which
    they live. The public child welfare system was created to provide a
    temporary haven for those children but not to let them languish forever
    in foster care.
        As you heard Olivia say, we have nearly half a million of our
    children in foster care today. Nearly 100,000 will never return to their
    original homes. Many of those children still will never know what it's
    like to live in a real home until they grow up and start their own
    families. But it does not have to be that way. We can find adoptive and
    other permanent families for waiting children like these fine children
    who have joined us today and the children whose valentines you see
    hanging behind me and here in front.
        In December I asked the Department of Health and Human Services to
    come up with an aggressive legislative and administrative strategy to
    double the number of children we move from foster care to permanent
    homes annually by the year 2002 and to move them there much more
    quickly. I'm proud to say that the Department went to work to produce
    this blueprint for achieving our goal.
        Now we have to move quickly to put this plan into action, so that no
    child is deprived

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    of a safe and permanent home for even one day longer than necessary.
    Every agency of every State, every family court, every case worker in
    the country must understand that children's health and safety are the
    paramount concerns of the child welfare system, especially when
    determining whether to remove a child from his or her home or return
    them there. We'll work with Congress to make sure the law explicitly
    reflects this priority. We'll issue guidelines to the States so there
    will be no question as to the law's meaning.
        Second, to meet the goal of moving 54,000 children into permanent
    homes in 2002, we'll work with States and set yearly targets. We'll give
    them, as my balanced budget does, $10 million a year for the next 3
    years to give them the assistance they need, to State agencies, courts,
    and communities, to devise such a system. We'll also have $10 million to
    establish competitive grants for States to develop model strategies for
    moving children from foster care to permanent families.
        Third, we'll propose legislation that gives States bonuses, as
    Olivia said, for every child that is adopted over the prior year's
    total, with even larger bonuses when the child has special needs. The
    balanced budget will start paying for these bonuses, but we know they'll
    pay for themselves, since foster care costs far more than adoption. This
    isn't just cost effective; of course, it's the right thing to do.
        Fourth, to achieve our goal of moving children more quickly, we'll
    work with Congress to shorten from 18 to 12 months the time a child
    waits for the first hearing. And we're going to call it a permanency
    planning hearing, so that there's no mistake as to its purpose.
        Fifth, to give credit for model strategies that are working, we'll
    give national awards for excellence every year in November, National
    Adoption Month.
        Finally, we'll redouble our efforts to make sure no child of one
    race is deprived of a loving home when a family of another race is
    prepared to give it. That is illegal and wrong and often hurts our very
    neediest children. The Department of Health and Human Services will
    continue to ensure that States are meeting their obligations under this
    law.
        Putting this plan into action today will mean that we are ensuring
    that no child will languish in foster care when loving families are out
    there ready, willing, and able to open their hearts and their homes.
    This is just one part of our strategy to guarantee the well-being of our
    most vulnerable children. By giving States the flexibility to develop
    their own strategies, we're moving closer to achieving that goal.
        I'm proud to announce that we have approved Ohio's request for a
    waiver in dealing with their child welfare system. This is the fifth of
    its kind, and there will be more to come. It gives Ohio the authority to
    design and to test a managed care approach to improve child welfare
    services and move children out of foster care more quickly.
        By working together across party lines at every level of government,
    in businesses, religious groups, communities, and in our homes, we can
    make sure that every child in America grows up in a safe and nurturing
    home. That is a goal every American should be proud to support. That is
    a gift of love we can make to all of our children. And if you look at
    the children here today, it's hard to think of anything more important
    we could be doing to say, Happy Valentine's Day.
        Thank you.

    [At this point, the President and the First Lady greeted the children,
    and then the President took questions from reporters.]

    American Airlines Labor Dispute

        Q. Mr. President, both sides of the American Airlines dispute seem
    to keep putting the ball into your court. How do you feel about being
    put into that position? Both sides of the dispute seem to keep putting
    the ball into your court.
        The President. They need to go back to work. They've got a few more
    hours of work to do.
        Q. Let me put it this way: What's the upside and the downside of
    your acting one way or the other?
        The President. I'm going to have a meeting on this later this
    afternoon to get an update, and then I think I should make myself
    available for questions after I see where we are in a couple hours.

    Note: The President spoke at 12:51 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Olivia A. Golden, Acting Assistant
    Secretary of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and
    Families.

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