[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 14 (Monday, April 6, 1998)]
[Pages 553-554]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7076--National Child Abuse Prevention Month, 1998

April 1, 1998

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    All of us at one time or another have been shocked by news reports 
about a child who has been abused, neglected, or abandoned. Unable to 
comprehend such a betrayal of trust, we find ourselves hoping that these 
incidents are isolated and rare. The most recent reports from State 
child welfare agencies, however, confirm that one million cases of 
substantiated child abuse or neglect occur in our Nation every year. Of 
these cases, more than a thousand children--many under the age of four--
do not survive; and most die at the hands of a parent or other family 
member. As a caring society that cherishes our children, we must work 
together to protect these little ones who cannot protect themselves.
    Two of our greatest resources in the crusade against child abuse and 
neglect are knowledge and compassion. We must raise public awareness 
that these cases, while often hidden, can occur in any family and 
community in America. As responsible adults, we must learn more about 
the signs of child abuse so that we may report suspected incidents as 
soon as possible. We must support community programs that help to 
identify families at risk and intervene before abuse becomes deadly. As 
individuals and as members of our communities, we need to support 
services, programs, and legislation that will help to relieve the 
stresses on families that can sometimes lead to violence. We must 
strengthen the partnerships among schools, social service agencies, 
religious organizations, law enforcement, and the business community so 
that child abuse prevention efforts will be comprehensive, swift, and 
effective.
    Backing up such efforts at the State and local level, my 
Administration is focusing Federal attention and resources on combating 
child abuse and neglect. We are supporting family-based prevention 
services that help at-risk families reduce violence in the home. We also 
are continuing to give the States resources to build and maintain strong 
protection systems for children in danger. And for those children who 
cannot remain safely at home, we worked with the Congress to enact the 
Adoption and Safe Families Act, which makes it easier to place at-risk 
children more quickly into a permanent and secure environment.
    This month, as Americans celebrate spring and its promise of new 
life, let us reaffirm our commitment to the lives of our Nation's 
children. I encourage communities across the country to join together to 
raise awareness of the tragedy of child abuse, to learn more about what 
we can do to help end such abuse, and to strengthen efforts to support 
children and their families before the cycle of abuse can begin.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the 
Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 
1998 as National Child Abuse Prevention Month. I call upon all Americans 
to observe this month by resolving to take every appropriate means to 
protect our children from abuse and neglect, to restore their shattered 
trust, and to help them grow into healthy, happy adults.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of 
April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, and of 
the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
twenty-second.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 10:40 a.m., April 2, 
1998]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on April 
3.

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