[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 19 (Monday, May 11, 1998)]
[Page 795]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on the Annie E. Casey Foundation Report on Child Care

May 5, 1998

    I want to commend the Annie E. Casey Foundation for its KIDS COUNT 
Data Book which highlights the need for safe and affordable child care 
for millions of America's working families. The report, released today, 
provides important evidence of the child care challenges facing 
families, businesses, and the economy.
    KIDS COUNT reports that every day parents of 29 million children 
struggle to find safe and affordable child care so that they can go to 
work. The challenge is especially great for the working parents of 10 
million children in low-income families. The report tells us that this 
need continues to grow; that child care is unaffordable for many 
families, consuming 25 percent of income for many low-income families; 
that quality is uneven and often poor; and that inadequate care can have 
a dramatic impact on children's development.
    This report provides further evidence of the urgency for Congress to 
act on child care legislation. Too many American families are struggling 
to find and afford child care to meet their obligations as workers and 
their more important responsibility as parents. My child care initiative 
will help working families pay for child care, build a good supply of 
after-school programs, improve the safety and quality of care, and 
promote early learning. Today I again call on Congress to act, and I 
look forward to working with Members in both parties to enact 
comprehensive bipartisan child care legislation that meets the needs of 
children and families.