[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 16 (Monday, April 21, 1997)]
[Pages 535-536]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Memorandum on Improving the Quality of Child Care in the United States

April 17, 1997

Memorandum for the Secretary of Defense

Subject: Using Lessons Learned from the Military Child Development 
Programs to Improve the Quality of Child Care in the United States

    We now know that children's earliest experiences, including those in 
child care, have significant effects on learning and development. I 
believe we all have a role to play in making sure that all of our 
children have a strong and healthy start in life.
    The Military Child Development Programs have attained a reputation 
for an abiding commitment to quality in the delivery of child care. The 
Department of Defense's dedication to adequate funding, strict 
oversight, improved training and wage packages, strong family child care 
networks, and commitment to meeting national accreditation standards is 
laudatory. I believe that the military has important lessons to share 
with the rest of the Nation on how to improve the quality of child care 
for all of our Nation's children.
    I therefore direct you, consistent with existing statutory 
authority, to share the expertise and lessons learned from the Military 
Child Development Programs with Federal, State, tribal, and local 
agencies, as well as with private and nonprofit entities, that are 
responsible for providing child care for our Nation's children. I 
further direct you, in doing so, to consult with the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services, the Administrator of General Services, and the heads 
of other Federal departments or agencies with statutory authority over 
child care programs. I ask that you provide me with a preliminary report 
within 6 months, and with a final report within 1 year on actions taken 
and further recommendations, including recommendations on any needed or 
appropriate legislation. I urge you to consider the following:
I.          In consultation with States, encourage military installation 
            child development facilities in the United States to partner 
            with civilian child care programs in their local communities 
            to improve the quality of service offered. The Department of 
            Defense staff could provide assistance with local 
            accreditation efforts, offer training as available, assist 
            with State and local child development credentialing 
            processes, and provide models of effective child development 
            practices.
II.         Establish military Child Care Programs of Excellence, to the 
            greatest extent feasible, to offer training courses to 
            civilian child care providers. These training courses could 
            demonstrate model practices for child care centers, family 
            child care homes, and school-age facilities.
III.        Make widely available to the civilian child care community 
            information on the model approaches and designs that the 
            military uses for training and compensation, accreditation 
            and evaluation, playground and facility design, support 
            systems linking individual family child care providers, as 
            well as overall financing strategies.
IV.         Establish partnerships with State or county employment and 
            job training programs to enable Military Child Development 
            Centers and Family Child Care Homes to serve as training 
            locations for welfare recipients moving from welfare to 
            work. The Department of Defense programs could provide on-
            the-job training, work experience, and an understanding of 
            best practices for the delivery of child development 
            services.
                                            William J. Clinton

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