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REMARKS BY:   DONNA E. SHALALA, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN 	
		   SERVICES
PLACE:        100th Annual National PTA Convention, Washington, D.C.
DATE:	      June 24, 1996

For 100 years, the PTA has been one of the most important grassroots organizations in America.

100 years of saving lives, saving educations and saving futures.

And 100 years of bringing parents, teachers and communities together to protect our greatest resource: our children.

That's never been more important than right now.

Because each and every day in America, about 15 children die in gun-related accidents, suicides, and homicides.

Every day, more than 1,000 young people give birth out-of-wedlock.

Every day, more than 3,000 young people start smoking.

Every day, more than 1,000 children drop out of high school.

And more than 2 million 12-to-17-year-olds have at least five alcoholic drinks.

A recent report to the President showed that at least one American teenager is becoming infected with HIV every hour of every day.

And then there's the resurgence of marijuana among 12- to 17-year olds -- the monthly usage rate has nearly doubled since 1991.

Make no mistake about it, if we don't act fast, we could lose an entire generation.

That was the message of a major report released by the Carnegie Corporation of New York last fall, which found that at least one-half of our teenagers are at risk for dangerous behaviors that could seriously diminish their lives.

These aren't somebody else's children, and this isn't somebody else's problem.

This is our problem -- an American problem that touches the lives of each and every family -- regardless of race, religion, region, and economic background.

But don't take my word that something must be done. Let's hear first-hand, from the experts themselves:

A 16 year-old girl says: "I'd like to be a model. Smoking burns off a lot of calories."

A college sophomore says: "I'm not even a heavy drinker, except every time I drink, I get drunk."

A high school freshman says, "I like violence. I like seeing violence. I just really like watching violence" -- especially video games.

Why do young Americans who are for many years on the right track end up veering off course and diminishing their lives?

Lots of reasons.

Part of it is poverty and the lack of opportunity -- primary indicators of a child's future health and future life chances in this country.

Part of it is the dangerous messages some parts of our culture send to the young, messages like:

"Smoking is glamorous."

"Marijuana is cool."

"Everybody's having sex."

"A gun gets you respect."

Part of it is that we have to do a better job educating and inspiring each new generation to live healthy lives: We can never give up.

But critically important is something else.

I have a teenage advisory group -- 17 young people from all walks of life who meet with me about once a month.

Whether we're talking about preventing drug use or depression, smoking or sex, they say the same thing:

They say that their parents are by far the most influential people in their lives.

They say that parents and families can do the most to save them.

And -- despite the aura of independence that teenagers project so well --

-- they say that most young people need and want the everyday love, attention, involvement, and, yes, discipline of their parents.

We all know that my teenage advisors are right -- the family is the core institution in this country --

-- and yet somehow we have evolved into a society in which a gauntlet of factors keep mothers and fathers from raising their children the way they would like to.

I don't have to tell any of you about the pressures facing parents today:

Parents are working more hours with less job security and less time to spend with their children;

They are finding it harder to pay today's grocery bills while saving for tomorrow's college bills;

There are more single parent families,

more families where both spouses are working,

And more and more families who don't feel connected to strong, supportive communities.

And there is more competition for our children's attention.

So there you have it:

It has become harder and harder for parents to raise their children -- at the precise moment when children need their parents -- and other caring adults -- more than ever.

No wonder so many parents are terrified.

One mother in suburban Virginia put it best when she said, "I went from wanting my son to win the Nobel Prize to wanting him to survive."

As a society, we have to lock arms to help that mother and all parents.

And that's why we have developed a new public health strategy for adolescents that we call "Safe Passages."

"Safe Passages" is our comprehensive approach to tackling tough challenges like substance abuse, tobacco use, teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, violence, diet and physical activity.

It's about working in partnership with the PTA and all the other different adults and institutions in young people's lives --

-- to help them steer their precious young people through the sometimes rocky waters of adolescence.

This is not the old top-down, overly programmatic federal approach to solving problems.

Instead, we are defining the federal role more clearly: to serve as the glue that holds together and empowers our various partners, and to fill gaps that would become gaping holes without our collective efforts.

So what does Safe Passages mean specifically?

It means increasing our capacity to support major research on all aspects of adolescent health and development --

-- from HIV infection to violence and from teen pregnancy prevention to understanding the evolving needs of vulnerable populations.

It means sponsoring major national health campaigns in areas like tobacco use, drug prevention, physical activity and the nutrition food labels --

-- to empower teenagers and their parents with critical information needed to choose healthy lives.

In fact, today I am pleased to announce a new national public education campaign to help counter increases in marijuana use among teenagers that have been occurring since 1991.

Today, too many teenagers think marijuana won't harm their health or ruin their lives.

It is time for a "Reality Check" -- and that's what we're calling this new campaign.

From new public service announcements to new educational materials, this campaign is about empowering and inspiring parents to talk often and early with their children about substance abuse.

We want to help them send a clear message to their children that drugs are illegal, dangerous and wrong.

We want to help parents sit down with their children around the kitchen table and make it clear that they don't want them to use drugs, alcohol, or tobacco.

A key ingredient of "Reality Check" is the publication Keeping Youth Drug-Free, which, thanks to the PTA, will reach millions of homes.

[Copies are available at the PTA materials table].

When you open this booklet, you won't find mind-boggling statistics and pie charts.

What you will find is this: practical advice and practical information to help you reach your children before substance abuse does.

Our goal is to get this information into 14 million homes that have children between the ages of 7 and 13 --

-- and with your help, we can do it.

Perhaps the Administration effort that most clearly reflects our "Safe Passages" strategy is our children's tobacco initiative, which is ultimately about giving power back to parents.

Never before in history -- Let me repeat -- Never before in history has a President had the courage and conviction to take on the fight against tobacco -- in the name of public health and the name of our children.

I am proud of that -- and I know you are too.

Overall, our goal is to reduce smoking among children and adolescents by 50 percent within seven years.

And, to do that, this President has offered some of the boldest public health proposals this country has ever seen.

To reduce the access and appeal of tobacco to children, we propose to limit all the easy ways that children get tobacco;

keep tobacco billboards at least 1,000 feet from our children's schools;

take the Marlboro man and Joe Camel out of publications read by millions of children;

and prohibit tobacco companies from using the allure of their brand names in sponsoring events.

From kitchen tables to the soccer fields to movie theaters, we need to send anti-tobacco messages to kids where they live, where they learn and where they hang out --

-- in words and images they understand.

That's why we're teaming up with the U.S. Women's National Soccer team, using powerful public service announcements to send a clear message to millions of children: like oil and water, tobacco and fitness just don't mix.

That's why we're joining with leaders throughout the media and entertainment industries --

-- and challenging them to create characters who are hip and cool enough not to smoke.

And that's why I want to thank you for all the work you've done with us on the "Stop The Sale - Prevent the Addiction" video education program.

By distributing thousands of videos to PTA chapters across the country, you are educating parents and teachers about the problem of youth tobacco use -- and what they can do to stop it.

Some might say, "Can't parents take care of their children?"

The answer is, of course they can.

That's precisely the point of our proposal -- to make sure children are getting their information about tobacco from parents and other caring adults -- not from Joe Camel.

That's why we are standing with parents and saying, "Yes, we will help you protect your children."

Yes, we will put your interests before the special interests -- and not just with tobacco.

We're a safer country because of the Brady Bill and the assault weapons ban -- and the President will not let them be overturned.

We're a healthier country because we've stood our ground and protected Medicaid's historic guarantee of health care for our most vulnerable children.

And we will be a wiser country when parents are able to take advantage of the V-chip and voluntary ratings system worked out with the entertainment industry -- to control the level of violence that our children are exposed to on TV.

But government cannot do it alone.

It's going to take all of us -- the media, parents, grandparents,

older siblings, doctors, and teachers,

coaches, counselors, and clergy,

public health leaders and business leaders.

Quite frankly, it's going to take you.

Because the real road to health and hope for our children must always begin and end in the same place -- with parents.

There is no job more difficult, more important, more demanding than raising our children.

And there is no stronger safety net in this country than parents who love and guide and support their children.

It may sound simple, but most common sense things do.

We need parents to find time -- to make time -- to really talk with their children,

to help them with their homework,

And from day one, to teach them right from wrong.

And we need parents to give their children the anchors of confidence and character they need to make the right decisions -- the smart decisions -- the healthy decisions with the only lives they'll ever have.

And if we do that, we will achieve a result that no government program ever could:

We will raise the voices of parents across this country far above the volume of CDs, movies and television.

It is the parents who will be heard.

As FDR said: "We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future."

And together, that's exactly what we'll do.

Thank you.