    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 33 (Monday, August 21, 2000)]
    [Pages 1863-1864]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    The President's Radio Address

    August 12, 2000

        Good morning. These are good times for America, with the strongest
    economy we've ever had. And all across our country, Americans of every
    age and background are working together to strengthen the fabric of our
    communities.
        Today I want to talk about some remarkable progress our society has
    made in the last 8 years: Crime is at a 25-year low; the welfare rolls,
    the smallest in 30 years; and a new report from the Centers for Disease
    Control shows that teen birth rates have fallen for the eighth year in a
    row, and now we have the lowest teen birth rate in 60 years. This is a
    remarkable achievement.
        Consider this. If the teen birth rate had stayed at the same as its
    peak in 1991, teen mothers would have given birth to another 120,000
    babies this year. That drop is wonderful news and further proof that
    together we can make real progress on social problems people once said
    were beyond our reach. This is a tribute to community and religious
    groups, to teachers and families, and of course, to our teenagers
    themselves.
        From the start of our administration, we've endeavored to restore
    the sense that responsibility and opportunity are the foundations of a
    strong American community. Five years ago we called upon parents and
    community leaders to launch a national campaign to prevent teen
    pregnancy. The next year we worked across party lines to enact landmark
    welfare reform, which requires unmarried minor parents to stay in school
    and live under adult supervision. We also demanded that fathers live up
    to their obligations and have doubled child support collections. We've
    increased counseling, promoted abstinence, and paired children with
    mentors, documenting our achievements in a report to Congress this week.
        Despite this progress, we know that too many of America's children
    still are having children. As friends and neighbors, we need to reach
    out and help these young people learn and grow.
        Today I'm taking action to promote one innovative approach we all
    know will work. It's called, second-chance homes, an idea that Vice
    President Gore and I have long supported and which was championed early
    on by Senators Moynihan, Kent Conrad, and Joe Lieberman.
        These homes provide teenage moms and their babies with an
    environment that is safe, supportive, and supervised. The teens get the
    help they need to finish school. They learn how to care for their
    children and manage a budget. Some homes also work with teen fathers.
        Experts say mothers in these homes are less likely to have another
    baby or go on welfare and more likely to get an education and find a
    job. I read of one young Massachusetts woman who got pregnant at 14 and
    soon was estranged from her family with no place to live. With the help
    of a second-chance home, she got back on her feet, trained at a
    community college, and has left welfare to become a proud working
    mother.
        Second-chance homes are a good idea that enjoy bipartisan support.
    I've asked Congress already to provide $25 million to start more of them
    across the country. Now let's take bipartisan action to give mothers and
    babies hope for a better future.
        But many families shouldn't have to wait for Congress to act. That's
    why today I'm directing the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and
    Housing and Urban Development to work together to help more communities
    across America open second-chance homes.
        First, we'll make it easier for communities and faith-based groups
    to acquire vacant or foreclosed property to create these homes for teen
    mothers.
        Second, we'll provide communities a blueprint for how to create
    second-chance homes, and a roadmap of Federal and State resources they
    can tap to get one up and running.

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        We extend this helping hand to these families because it's the right
    thing to do and because, over time, it will help the teen birth rate go
    down even more. With these steps, we'll do still more to make welfare
    what it was meant to be, a second chance, not a way of life. Working
    together in a spirit of progress and respect, we can help everyone to
    make the most of their own lives.
        Thanks for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 12:22 p.m. on August 11 in the Map
    Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on August 12. The
    transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    August 11 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast.