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REMARKS BY: DONNA E. SHALALA, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES PLACE: National Network for Youth Annual Conference, Washington, D.C. DATE: February 8, 1999
I'm reminded of a true story Will Rogers liked to tell. Rogers often spoke about a famous congressman- who prepared a speech but didn't have a chance to deliver it. Greatly distressed, he asked that his oration be printed in the Congressional Record.
The speech contained all kinds of promises for a better, brighter future. The congressman was so certain that he was writing for the ages, that he actually wrote the word "applause" in the text everywhere he thought he'd get one. Unfortunately, the young printer couldn't read the congressman's handwriting. So every time he saw the word applause, he wrote: "applesauce."
I like that story, because it nicely sums up what Americans think about political promises-they're as solid as applesauce. But some promises are just too important not to keep-like a promise that every young person can grow up safe and secure. That's why I was so proud to announce last Monday that we've requested an additional 5 million dollars-that's a 33 percent increase-for the Transitional Living Program for homeless adolescents. And that's why I'm so happy to join all of you here today. Because all of you are on the frontlines-working tirelessly to provide services that vulnerable young people and their families need. Because, as your symposium title suggests, you're helping young people by strengthening the ties between communities, youth and families. And because-to paraphrase the poet-when it comes to keeping that promise of safety and security for all of our youth, we still have miles to go.
It's true that most American young people are prospering today. And it's true that some adolescents run away from home because of the garden variety teenage rebellion. But we still have miles to go when so many kids are forced to flee troubled homes. We still have miles to go when so many runaway, throwaway and homeless kids have been scarred by years of physical violence or emotional neglect. And we still have miles to go when so many youth-like a lot of the young people in our audience-have stories like John's.
John was one of five children in a poor and troubled Pennsylvania family. For years, his parents abused his body and attacked his spirit. Then, a week before his thirteenth birthday-without warning-his parents threw him out of the house-and told him to never come back. For two years, John bounced around a number of uncaring foster homes and indifferent institutions. Finally, a social worker took a real interest in John and referred him to Valley Youth House in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Funded through the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, Valley Youth House provided John with something he had never had-a community of adults who cared, and who listened, and who tried to understand. Neglect turned to nurturing. Sadness became self-esteem. And where there was once only pain there were now possibilities. John was able to move ahead with his life, and today he has a Masters Degree from Leigh University.
I tell that story-not because all of you aren't familiar with people like John-but because it speaks to five challenges we face today. They're five challenges to helping runaway and homeless youth. They're five challenges that government cannot meet alone. And they're five challenges that we must meet if we want to keep our promise that every young person can grow up in the safety and security God intended.
Our first challenge is to reauthorize the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act-and we must reauthorize it in a form that will help our communities help kids like John-because we need this act now more than ever. We know that the number of runaways has remained relatively stable-with an estimated 500,000 to 1.5 million leaving or being forced out of their homes each year, and 200,000 homeless and living on the streets-but the problem is worse than it was 25 years ago for three reasons.
First, shelter directors, researchers and other experts agree that the problems that cause many young people to run away-including drug and alcohol abuse in their homes-have grown more severe in the past 15 years. One earlier study by the National Association of Social Workers showed that two-thirds of all runaways who seek shelter have been physically or sexually abused. No wonder an Executive Director of the Empire State Coalition for Youth and Family Services remarked that for too many young people, "The streets start looking pretty good."
And as the problems at home have grown more severe, over the past two decades we've also witnessed a loss of community-and of community involvement. At one time, an adolescent like John who was experiencing abuse or other problems at home could turn to neighbors, youth organizations, or schools. But as the Carnegie Report on Adolescent Development stressed, there has been an erosion of traditional support systems and neighborhood networks. It concludes that "Young adults from all economic strata [now] find themselves alone in communities where there are few adults to turn to, and no safe places to go." Where once we had front porches, we now have back decks-so the cry for help too often goes unnoticed, unheard, and unanswered.
The final reason the problem is more severe today is that runaway and homeless youth face health risks on the streets like AIDS and new antibiotic resistant strains of tuberculosis that were unheard of 25 years ago.
Given the situation, we certainly need the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act. Of course, this Act is only one component of the larger "Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974." And as debate over the reauthorization of the entire Act continues, we must make it our business to ensure that one of its central mandates-that runaways will not be placed in detention facilities-is not overturned.
There's a growing-and I think well-intentioned-parental rights movement that wants youth held in secure facilities. But we simply cannot-and must not-turn back the clock and return to the days when runaways were treated like criminals. We know that runaways are best served in community-based programs-programs that support youth development-and programs like the ones so many of you are running. These facilities are less expensive to operate than detention centers. They are much more likely to give youth the support and attention they need. And they can best support family reunification. When it comes to runaways and homeless youth, our policy must always be prevention and intervention-but never detention.
But as we work to help kids who have already fled to shelters or the streets, the best way to prevent young people from leaving in the first place is to aid troubled families. Helping troubled families-like John's-is our second challenge. And it's why the President has asked for 295 million dollars in the Fiscal Year 2000 budget for the "Promoting Safe and Stable Families" program. This initiative gives child welfare agencies and Native American tribes funding for family support, preservation, and reunification services.
Of course, the best way to help troubled families is to help every family.every day.everywhere-and that's exactly what this President and this Administration have worked to do. We've expanded economic opportunities by passing the Family & Medical Leave Act; raising the minimum wage; and extending the Earned Income Tax Credit. We've adopted the historic Children's Health Insurance Program to cover millions of children from working families who have no health care coverage. And the President's Fiscal Year 2000 budget proposes the largest investment in child care in our nation's history. These measures will help all of our families cope with the pressures and problems that can create an unhealthy environment for youth.
But as I said before, this isn't a job for government alone. All of you who are at ground zero in our communities need to continue your efforts to help families-so that kids won't feel they have to leave home in the first place or that they can't go home again.
But sometimes, despite all of our efforts, some families-like John's-may be just too broken to be mended. As one continually bruised and battered 15 year old in New York State announced at a runaway shelter, "I'll go anyplace but home." So our third challenge is to give young people-who have no choice but to leave their homes-a safe place to go to. We need to provide more emergency shelter beds and more long-term options in our communities. That's why the President's Fiscal Year 2000 budget requests 79 million dollars for the Runaway and Homeless Youth Program. As most of you are aware, this program provides grants for communities to provide temporary shelter, outreach and other services.
And as I noted earlier, that's why we've requested an additional 5 million dollars-a 33 percent increase- for the Transitional Living program. Last week at a White House event, I met with a number of youth who were once homeless and on the streets-and I heard story after story about the difference that transitional living programs made in so many of their lives. By providing these additional funds to community based organizations for residential care and life skills training, this increase will help many more runaway and homeless youth ages 16 to 21 make the transition to independent living. And it will help keep our promise that all young people can grow up safe and secure. Now we just need Congress to fund it.
But it's really not enough to simply give kids a safe place to go to. The key to John's success at Valley Youth House was finding an environment where adults worked hard to care for him, and to understand him. And that leads to our fourth challenge: We must try to understand our runaway, and homeless youth. According to one social worker in Phoenix, the most common complaint she hears from young people is that their case workers and advocates don't really understand what they've been through-or what they're going through. When dealing with runaways and homeless kids, we must ensure that we're listening- talking with them and not at them. We must ensure that their concerns and their voices are being heard. And we must ensure that we don't simply react to their situation-but try to find how they'd like us to help.
But there's also another component to understanding. All of us-especially you young people who have been in the shelters and on the streets-have to help change inaccurate perceptions about runaways. Mention the word "runaway" and too many people still picture Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer floating down the Mississippi-searching for adventure. But we know that the life of a runaway often reads less like an adventure novel-and more like a horror story-sleeping in doorways and under bridges.not knowing where the next meal is coming from.getting thrown out of bus stations when they close. We know that running away is usually a desperate cry for help. And we know that, according to a study done by my Department, more than half the youth we questioned living in shelters or on the streets reported that they're parents told them to leave-or didn't care they were gone. As a society, we cannot turn our backs on these kids-and as a member of this Administration I'm here to tell you we won't.
And that brings me to my fifth and final challenge: Our young people must be everybody's responsibility. The National Network for Youth recognizes this in its philosophy that "Youth need the support that comes from an entire community." And Colin Powel speaks to this when he says that one of the things that saved him from the street is what he calls, "the aunt net." He said, "When I went off to school each morning, I had an aunt in every other house, stationed at the window with eyes peeled-ready to spot the slightest misbehavior on my part and report it back to my parents." He added, "The Internet pales in comparison to the Aunt Net." We need that kind of interest, involvement, and commitment from adults today.
I'm reminded that Julia Ward Howe-who wrote the Battle Hymn of the Republic-once asked Senator Charles Sumner to help a certain mother and her children. The Senator sighed and said, "Julia, I've become so busy that I can no longer concern myself with individuals." Without missing a beat, Howe replied, "Charles, I find that quite remarkable-Even God isn't that busy."
I realize that I'm preaching to the choir-because all of you here certainly make everyone's children your responsibility. We need to convince others that our young people are everyone's responsibility. We need to get everyone in America to follow your lead. And we need to work together to weave a safety net for all of our youth-because no private or public program can ever help a young person or save a young person by itself-it takes the human touch of caring people.of people like you.
I've no doubt we can weave that safety net-and fulfill the promise that every young person can grow up safe and secure-if we meet the five challenges that John's story speaks to. And we must do it not just for our youth-but for ourselves and our nation. Because today's young people will define our nation's greatness in the 21st Century. Who knows what future promise these young people hold? And who knows what future course they may one day chart? They may discover new paths to better health.they may map a new route to understanding the origins of the universe.or they may blaze new trails in the global struggle for peace and equality. But right now, their fate and their future is very much in our hands. When it comes to our young people-all of our young people-including our runaway, throwaway and homeless youth-we must always be willing to stand up, to speak up, and to never give up.