THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

                              CHILD CARE: 
                THE UNFINISHED AGENDA AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

                            October 27, 1998

Today, the President signed the Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1998, which renews and strengthens America's premier early childhood program -- Head Start -- and builds on important progress made in the Clinton Administration to improve and expand Head Start services. This legislation represents an important victory on the President's agenda to improve child care for America's working families.

About one year ago, the President and First Lady hosted the White House Conference on Child Care. The Conference showed that America's families, more than ever, are pressed to find safe, affordable child care. Responding to this critical need, the President has proposed and fought for an historic child care initiative -- the largest single investment in child care in the nation's history -- to help working families pay for child care, build the supply of good after-school programs, improve the safety and quality of care, and promote early learning.

The Republican Congress Blocked Key Elements of the President's Child Care Initiative:

• Serving More Families With Child Care Subsidies. The President's proposal for a significant new investment in the Child Care and Development Block Grant, combined with the funds provided in welfare reform, would have served up to one million new children -- assisting low-income working families struggling to pay for child care.
• Increasing Tax Credits for Child Care for Three Million Working Families. The President's proposal to expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit would have helped three million low- and middle-income working families afford child care. The President's plan would have wiped out federal income taxes for families of four making less than $35,000 and saddled with high child care bills. Also, the President's plan included a new tax break for businesses that offer child care assistance to their workers.

The President Has Made Considerable Progress on Child Care Over The Past Year:

• Expanded After School Programs. The President fought for and won his full budget request -- $200 million -- to serve a quarter of a million children with after-school programs that help keep children safe and help them learn.
• Improved Child Care Quality. The President secured $182 million in new money to help states make critical improvements to the quality of child care for America's working families.
• Strengthened Head Start. The President fought for and won an increase of $313 million for Head Start to reach more low-income preschoolers and help prepare them for school. Today, the President signed bipartisan legislation that will increase Head Start funding, improve the quality of the program, and double the percentage of funding for the successful Early Head Start program, which was created by the President to reach children under three years old.
• Facilitated Background Checks on Child Care Workers. The President signed the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact, which, when ratified, will facilitate effective background checks on child care providers by eliminating state law barriers to sharing criminal history information for non-criminal purposes. On the day of the White House Conference on Child Care, the President transmitted this important legislation to the Congress.
• Improved the Quality of Federally-Sponsored Child Care. The President issued an Executive Memorandum to improve the quality of federally-sponsored child care, directing all federally-sponsored child care facilities in the executive branch to become nationally accredited and ensure proper background checks of child care workers. The President believes that the federal government should lead the way in improving the child care it sponsors for the families of its employees.
• Created the Treasury Working Group on Child Care. At the White House Conference on Child Care, the President asked Secretary Rubin to convene a group of business and labor leaders to look at child care problems facing working parents and to examine best practices in the private sector and in public-private partnerships. In a White House ceremony, the President received the report of the working group, which found that investments in child care make good business sense and identified successful programs across the country. There, he announced that the Department of Labor will serve as a clearinghouse for businesses interested in child care and set up a business-to-business mentoring program on child care.
• Improved After-School Care through Nutrition. The President will soon sign legislation that strengthens after-school care for children by expanding the reach of nutrition initiatives, such as the School Lunch Program and the Child and Adult Care Food Program, to serve children in after-school programs.

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