2010 White House Conference on Children and Youth

From 1909 to 1970, seven (once every decade) White House Conferences on Children and Youth took place in Washington, DC. These conferences were devoted to improving the lives of children across the nation.

The 1909 President Theodore Roosevelt White House Conference on the Care of Dependent Children opposed the institutionalization of dependent and neglected children, and established the Federal Children's Bureau. Other results of the conference included the development of the widow's pension movement, the growth of adoption agencies, the establishment of boarding-out care for children who were not adopted, and the formation of the cottage plan that replaced the congregate institution.

The 1919 White House Conference on Standards of Child Welfare of President Wilson produced the first significant report on child health and welfare standards, and made recommendations about child labor laws. The 1929 Conference created the most comprehensive report on the needs of children ever written. President Hoover and Congress allocated $500,000 for 1,200 experts to meet and create 643 documents which were given to 3,000 attendees. It also created the National Children's Charter. The 1939 Conference on Children in a Democracy collected research and published an 85-page volume with 98 recommendations which led to the 1943 Emergency, Maternity & Infant Care Program. The Mid-Century Conference of President Truman in 1950 focused on healthy personality development. This was the first conference youth were invited to and each state could also submit a report. Federal funding was limited to $150,000 and was the initial program listing the participants' expertise on the physical and emotional aspects of children. There were 460 national organizations and 200 foreign representatives and racial groups represented (full content found in Appendix E through N, CLWA.org, January 2008). The 1960 Golden Anniversary White House Conference had 7,000 delegates. The theme was to promote opportunities for children and youth to realize their full potential for a creative life in freedom and dignity. This Eisenhower Conference had 210 work groups and 670 final recommendations but no federal funding to support implementation. The last conference, in 1970, strived to strengthen the individuality and identity of children, and was divided into three stages: (a) a conference devoted to children ages 1-13 years; (b) a conference organized and led by youth, themselves, on children ages 14-24 years; and (c) regional conferences that focused on children to 13 years were held in six cities across the nation. The Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) has posted a 77-page document titled The History of White House Conference on Children & Youth with 30 appendices on its Web site (http://www.cwla.org/advocacy/ whitehouseconfhistory.pdf )

President Jimmy Carter followed up a campaign promise to hold a White House Conference on Families in 1979, but it did not follow the process of the previous conferences and, in 1981, the funding allocated for a conference was given to states to hold their own events, which 47 states did without a White House event. In 1990, as part of the HeadStart reauthorization, legislative language allowed for a conference in 1993, but funding was not provided. President Clinton and President Bush have held different child-focused White House Conferences on school violence, early childhood development, teenagers, and missing and exploited children, but no formal White House Conference on Child and Youth.

Incidentally, the CWLA can trace its history back to the 1909 White House Conference, with the creation of the Bureau for Exchange of Information Among Child-Helping Agencies. In 1920, members of this bureau converted it to the CWLA.

In 2007, the CWLA launched a campaign to reesfablish the White House Conference on Children and Youth in 2010. All organizations or groups advocating on behalf of children are asked to join in this effort and demand that Congress and the next president authorize and support such a conference. As of January 2008, there are 26 national organizations and many more state entities signed on; however, no nursing organizations are signed on in support.

A 2010 Conference at the White House reestablishing a focus on the plight of children in America's welfare system is 30 years overdue. We continue to see far too many children victimized by abuse and neglect. According to the CWLA data, there are approximately 3 million reports of abuse or neglect each year, and 800,000 are substantiated. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of these children wait to be adopted many have been waiting for years. Astoundingly, fewer than half of children in care receive federal foster care and adoption support, there is an appalling lack of federal support for kinship care, and the child welfare system is in dire need of reform.

The 2010 Conference would be a 2-year process with the first year allowing for state and local gatherings and input. In addition, setting this conference for 2010 allows a new U.S. President, starting his term in January 2009, time to focus on child welfare needs as a priority. The plan is to get funding and hold a series of events and small conferences through the 50 states in 2009. Delegates would be sent to the White House event representing all states, including the tribes, territories, and Washington, DC.

Authorizing legislation from Congress would outline the focus and goals of the conference specific to child welfare, including prevention and intervention to permanency including reunification, kinship care, and adoption. Congress's role through providing authorizing legislation is to appropriate the funds.

Actions for Each of Us to Take

1. Write and call your member of Congress, 202/ 224 3121 to connect to Congress.

2. Urge your organization's board to adopt a resolution of support that calls on Congress to authorize the Conference.

3. Go to the CWLA Web site (http://www.cwla.org/ advocacy/whitehouseconfl0.hrm) to sign on the call for a White House Conference on Children and Youth.

4. When authorizing legislation is introduced, support it.

I hope we all agree that the commitment of the President and the power of the White House is necessary to once again make vulnerable children a national priority and point the way to significant reform and improvements. We have traced the changes and expansion of White House Conferences for 60 years and are aware that as funding dried up, attention disappeared. The tuning is short if actual work is to begin next year. Sign up yourself and your organization's support. You will receive regular updates as the campaign progresses, alerts to upcoming key developments, and, most importantly, you will be part of a movement to make children a national priority!

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