THE WHITE HOUSE AT WORK



Tuesday, March 10, 1998

PRESIDENT CLINTON:
QUALITY CHILD CARE FOR OUR CHILDREN'S FUTURE

With more families relying on two incomes or working longer hours to make ends meet, millions of children must spend time in care away from their parents. For them, child care is not just an option, it's a necessity. No parent should have to choose between the job they need and the child they love.

- President Bill Clinton
March 10, 1998

Today, President Clinton calls for action making child care better, safer, and more affordable for America's working families. In a speech in Connecticut, the President issues an executive directive to improve federally-sponsored child care, and announces the release of a new report by HHS which reveals a pressing need for greater child care investment.

The Child Care and Development Block Grant: Report of State Plans released today outlines strategies that the states have developed to administer the Child Care and Development Block Grant and meet the pressing child care needs of working families. The report reveals that because of resource constraints, most states have insufficient funds to subsidize all the families meeting their eligibility requirements. The President's Child Care Initiative addresses the need for more resources and builds on innovation in the states and makes an historic investment -- more than $20 billion over five years -- to help working families pay for child care, build the supply of after-school programs, improve child care safety and quality, and promote early learning.

Ensuring Affordable, Accessible, Safe Child Care. The President's child care initiative responds to the struggles our nation's working parents face in finding child care they can afford, trust and rely on. The initiative:

Ensuring the Quality of the Federal Child Care System. The President believes that the federal government should lead the way in improving the child care it sponsors for its employees. The executive directive President Clinton issues today instructs all executive agencies to:



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