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Date: August 4, 1998 FACT SHEET Contact: HHS Press Office (202) 690-6343
MAJOR HHS PROGRAMS SERVING CHILDREN
One of HHS' highest priorities is serving children and teens who are disadvantaged. The Department's programs form a safety net, and launching pad, for these children. HHS programs for children in need serve about one in every five children in America. In addition, all children, youth and families are served by broad-based research supported by HHS.
Major HHS programs serving children include:
HHS child-related spending in FY 1998: $20 billion Estimated children served: 18 million
TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES (TANF):
HHS spending in FY 1998: $16.7 billion Estimated children served: 6 million
FOSTER CARE & ADOPTION ASSISTANCE:
HHS spending in FY 1998: $4.3 billion Estimated children served: 475,000
HEAD START:
HHS spending in FY 1998: $4.4 billion Estimated children served: 830,000
CHILD CARE PROGRAMS:
HHS spending in FY 1998: $3.1 billion Estimated children served: 1 million
Other HHS investments for children and youth include: FY 1998 Child support enforcement $2.7 billion Immunization $844 million Social services programs $5.7 billion Youth programs $73 million
EXPANDING ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE
Because more than 10 million American children-- one in seven-- lacked health insurance, President Clinton has put extending health coverage to more children at the top of his term agenda.
Children's Health Insurance Program. The number of children lacking health insurance has risen from 9.9 million in 1995 to 10.6 in 1996. To help address this current problem, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) was launched as part of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. The legislation sets aside $24 billion over five years for states to provide new health coverage for millions of children-- the largest children's health care investment since the creation of Medicaid in 1965.
The program's goal is to cover children who are uninsured because (1) their parents' employers don't cover them; (2) their parents earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to afford private insurance; or (3) they are eligible for Medicaid but not enrolled. States creating new health insurance programs must have those programs approved by the Secretary of Health and Human Services before they can draw down their state allotments. As of July 1998, 26 Children's Health Insurance plans had been approved.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. On August 21, 1996, President Clinton signed into law the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, which includes important new protections for an estimated 25 million Americans (approximately 1 in 10) who move from one job to another, who are self-employed, or who have pre-existing medical conditions. It is designed to improve the availability of health insurance to working families and their children.
State Medicaid Demonstrations. Since January 1993, HHS has approved 18 comprehensive health care reform demonstration projects. When fully implemented, these demonstration projects will extend health care coverage to 2.2 million Americans who would not have otherwise had coverage. In addition, 19 states have received Medicaid waivers since January 1993, as part of larger welfare reform projects; and 25 local Medicaid demonstration projects have been approved, affecting smaller components of state Medicaid programs.
Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant. Title V of the Social Security Act awarded $683 million in block grants to individual states for FY 1998. Title V is administered by Health Resources and Services Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau.
REDUCING INFANT MORTALITY
Thanks to an intensified national commitment to giving babies a healthy start in life, the U.S. infant mortality rate, which is the rate at which babies die before their first birthday, is at an historic low of 7.2 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1996, and the proportion of mothers getting early prenatal care is at a record high of 82 percent. The infant mortality rate has dropped 17 percent since 1990. We've also seen declines in some of the risk factors for low birth weight and infant mortality: teen births dropped for the fifth straight year in 1996 and smoking among pregnant women has been decreasing in recent years. Nevertheless, the United States continues to have unacceptably high infant mortality rates with significant disparities among racial and ethnic groups. HHS has several initiatives to reduce infant mortality:
Healthy Start. The Healthy Start Initiative, administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), reaches out to high-risk women and families in 60 communities reporting high infant mortality rates, and builds local community partnerships to serve them. FY 1998 spending was $94 million.
First-Ever Prenatal Care Hotline. To further help assure that women have proper prenatal care, HHS announced in February 1997 the first nationwide toll-free referral and information service to help women obtain proper prenatal care throughout their pregnancies. Under the program, callers in all 50 states can telephone 1-800-31 1 -BABY (2229) for pregnancy and prenatal care information, including referral to local clinics and physicians. A separate phone number is available for Spanish speakers: 1-800-504-7081. The new service is supported by HRSA's Healthy Start program.
Research. HHS supports medical research through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other agencies to prevent birth defects, premature birth, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and other life-threatening conditions. Efforts by CDC and NIH created the groundwork for the decision in February 1996 by the FDA to fortify foods with folic acid to ensure that women have sufficient amounts of the vitamin shortly before and during early pregnancy. Folic acid, or folate, reduces the risk of neural tube birth defects such as spina bifida when consumed in adequate amounts by women before and during early pregnancy.
Back to Sleep Campaign. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), part of the National Institutes of Health, launched the public-private Back to Sleep campaign in 1994 to amplify the message that back sleeping can reduce the risk of SIDS and save lives. Largely due to the increase in awareness produced by the Back to Sleep campaign, SIDS deaths declined by nearly 40 percent between 1992 and 1996. In March 1997, Tipper Gore began leading an expanded Back to Sleep effort designed to reach a larger audience of caregivers and to reach populations at high risk for SIDS.
EXPANDING AND IMPROVING HEAD START
Head Start is America's premier early childhood development program. Giving a boost to children's education and helping strengthen the skills of parents to better nurture and provide their children, Head Start is making a significant difference in the lives of children and families. With bipartisan support from Congress, President Clinton has made the expansion and improvement of Head Start a top priority for his Administration.
Increased Funding. Under the Clinton Administration, funding for Head Start has nearly doubled, increasing from $2.2 billion in FY 1992 to $4.4 billion in FY 1998. These additional funds have enabled Head Start to increase the number of children and families served by approximately 35 percent, enhance the quality of Head Start services, launch a new initiative to serve infants and toddlers, and improve program research. In FY 1998, Head Start will serve an estimated 836,000 children and their families. President Clinton has committed his Administration to future funding increases with a goal of serving one million children in Head Start by the year 2002. The President's FY 1999 budget provides $4.7 billion for Head Start, which will enable the program to serve an additional 30,000 to 36,000 children.
Early Head Start. The landmark Head Start Act Amendments of 1994 established the Early Head Start program, which expands the benefits of early childhood development to low income families with children under three and to pregnant women. Funding for FY 1998 totals $279 million, and the FY 1999 budget includes $350 million, allowing the program to serve nearly 50,000 infants, toddlers, and their families.
Assuring Head Start Quality. In November 1996, HHS published revised Head Start Program Performance Standards, developed with the consultation of thousands in the Head Start field, that improve on the program's existing quality standards. These revised, more user-friendly standards remove rigid and prescriptive requirements, integrate infants and toddlers into the Head Start program, and promote collaboration with other community programs. From 1992 through 1998, HHS will have invested nearly $700 million in quality improvements to ensure that every Head Start program works. Head Start programs across the country have used these quality resources to fix leaky roofs, make sure facilities are healthy and safe for children, and hire more teachers to reduce class size and eliminate double-session classes.
Head Start Full-Day, Full-Year Initiative. On March 25, 1997, Secretary Shalala announced a new Head Start initiative to expand Head Start services for children while also helping parents on welfare to move to work. Under the new initiative, Head Start expansion funds are used the first time to build partnerships with child care providers to deliver full-day and full-year Head Start services. Full-day and full-year services, in turn, can help parents attain full-time work.
INCREASING CHILDHOOD IMMUNIZATION
Childhood immunization was one of the earliest priorities of the Clinton Administration. In response to disturbing gaps in the immunization rates for young children in America, the Administration designed a comprehensive Childhood Immunization Initiative. This national initiative addresses five areas:
1. Improving the quality and quantity of immunization services; 2. reducing vaccine costs for parents; 3. increasing community participation, education and partnerships; 4. improving systems for monitoring diseases and vaccinations; 5. improving vaccines and vaccine use.
Record Childhood Immunization Levels. Since 1993, childhood immunization rates have reached all-time highs, with 90 percent or more of America's toddlers receiving the most critical doses of most of the routinely recommended vaccines for children by age 2. In addition, reported levels of disease were at or near record lows in 1996. Minority children, however, still lag behind white children when overall vaccination rates are compared. While 79 percent of white children have received the full series of vaccinations by age two, only 74 percent of African-American children and 71 percent of Hispanic children are fully vaccinated against childhood disease.
To help close these gaps, President Clinton announced a plan as part of the HHS Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Initiative to eliminate disparities in childhood immunization by 2010, including interim goals for immediate progress. On April 20, 1998, HHS unveiled two new public awareness campaigns designed to underscore to parents and caregivers the importance of all children receiving a full course of recommended vaccinations by age two. The campaigns, one in English and one in Spanish, feature print, radio, and television public service announcements.
Increased Funding. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention manages the National Childhood Immunization Initiative. The FY 1998 budget included $528 million for vaccine purchase and $316 million for immunization program activities. In all, funding for childhood immunization has increased by 147 percent since FY 1993.
New Regulations. On July 23, 1997, President Clinton proposed new child care regulations which include a provision to help more children in child care receive the immunizations they need, on time. The new rule requires that all children receiving federal child care assistance be immunized according to State public health agency standards.
EXPANDING ACCESS TO CHILD CARE
On January 7, 1998, President Clinton proposed an historic investment in child care for America's working families. The unprecedented $21.7 billion program would expand subsidies for low income working families, increase tax credits for middle income families and provide resources to states and communities to enhance and ensure that parents have quality choices in child care providers. The President's plan gives parents flexible options to choose a child caretaker in their home, in a neighborhood home or a center. There are about 10 million children eligible for federal subsidies, yet as of 1995, only a little over 1 million children received support. With 70 percent of America's mothers in the work force, the President's Proposal offers help providing for safe and healthy places for their children for part of the day.
Increased Funding. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, signed into law by President Clinton, included $13.9 billion in mandatory child care funding -- an increase of $3.5 billion over six years -- allowing more mothers to leave welfare for work or avoid welfare altogether. The law also authorized $7 billion in discretionary funding for FY's 1996-2002. Overall, child care funding has increased by 80 percent since 1993.
Healthy Child Care America. Healthy Child Care America is an HHS initiative that promotes partnerships between child care providers and health care services in projects in 48 states and territories. HHS is in the final stages of funding the remaining states and territories. The purpose of the initiative is to enhance health education for child care workers and parents, to support programs' efforts to create healthy environments for children, and to better link programs with community health resources.
ASSURING CHILD SUPPORT
President Clinton has made improving child support enforcement and increasing child support collections a top priority. Since taking office, President Clinton has cracked down on non-paying parents and strengthened child support enforcement, resulting in record child support collections. In FY 1997, the federal-state partnership collected a record $13 billion from non-custodial parents, an increase of $5 billion, or 63 percent, since 1992. The number of families that are actually receiving child support has also increased: in 1997, the number of child support cases with collections rose to 4.2 million, an increase of 48 percent from 2.8 million in 1992.
Increasing resources. President Clinton has proposed annual expansions in child support enforcement, increasing resources by 53 percent since taking office. HHS has also launched an initiative and given demonstration grants to states to promote improved performance, service quality and public satisfaction in the child support program. The President's FY budget proposal allocates $3.2 billion to state child support enforcement programs, a 17 percent increase over FY 1998.
Encouraging state innovations. In October 1997, HHS announced the award of $1.5 million in demonstration grants to 17 states to support innovative projects to improve the nation's child support enforcement program. In addition, in December 1997, HHS announced approval of a child support waiver to allow the State of Washington to use federal funds normally used for child support enforcement to fund "Devoted Dads," an innovative public/private partnership to promote the responsible roles of fathers in the financial and emotional support of their children. The project, which serves the Tacoma, Washington Enterprise Community, intends to reach non-custodial parents, particularly young and at-risk fathers. This demonstration is the first child support waiver granted for an enterprise community.
Executive Action. While working toward comprehensive improvement of child support enforcement, President Clinton used his executive authority to increase child support collections. In 1996, President Clinton directed the Treasury Department to activate a centralized, streamlined Federal system to offset child support debts against most Federal payments; ordered Federal agencies to take necessary steps to deny loans, loan guarantees, or loan insurance to any individual who is delinquent on child support debt; and issued an executive order to make the federal government a model employer in the area of child support enforcement.
ADOPTION AND CHILD PROTECTION
With substantial increases in child abuse and neglect in America, states are confronting a dramatic increase in foster care needs. The foster care caseload has grown from 340,000 cases in 1988 to 500,000 cases in 1996, an increase of 47 percent. The cost of the federal foster care program, both in maintenance payments and administrative and training costs, has grown from $891 million in 1988 to $3.7 billion in 1996, a 315 percent increase. The Clinton Administration has provided an unprecedented level of technical assistance and local flexibility to allow states to focus on outcomes and family preservation and adoption. As a result, the number of children with special needs who have been adopted with federal adoption assistance has increased by over 60 percent since 1993.
President Clinton's Initiative to Increase Adoption. On December 14, 1996, President Clinton announced a comprehensive initiative to reduce barriers to adoption and double the number of children adopted or permanently placed each year, from 27,000 in 1996 to 54,000 in 2002. The initiative, Adoption 2002, recognizes that foster care is a temporary solution and not an appropriate place for children to grow up. As part of the President's initiative, HHS on October 17, 1997 awarded 40 demonstration grants totaling $7.9 million for programs aimed at increasing adoptions and reducing the number of children in public foster care. In November 1997, President Clinton signed into law the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, enacting a key part of the President's plan by changing federal law to require that children in foster care receive permanent placements within 12 months. To help states meet ambitious new adoption targets, HHS' FY 1998 budget includes a new adoption bonus for states and $10 million for technical assistance, grants, innovative demonstrations, and a national public awareness campaign.
Reducing Barriers to Adoption. In October 1994, President Clinton signed the Multiethnic Placement Act, which helps increase the number of adoptions by prohibiting discrimination based on race or ethnicity, and by increasing recruitment of parents. In August 1996, President Clinton signed legislation providing a $5000 tax credit to families adopting children and a $6000 tax credit for families adopting children with special needs. This tax credit is designed to help alleviate some of the financial barriers to adoption. The President has also signed legislation enabling parents to take time off to adopt a child without losing their jobs or health insurance. In addition, HHS is working with state courts to improve the timeliness and quality of decision-making that leads to adoption. More timely decisions will ensure children do not languish in foster care and can more quickly be placed in permanent, stable families.
State Child Welfare Demonstrations. The Clinton Administration has granted ten states waivers of federal regulations to allow them to reform their child welfare systems: California, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Oregon. The states have the flexibility to design their child protection and child welfare systems in ways that will better ensure the safety of children in troubled families, offer preventive services that will intervene early to better address the needs of families at risk, and improve the management of child welfare systems by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of services.
Protecting Children. The Clinton Administration has also responded to increases in child abuse and neglect by creating "Promoting Safe and Stable Families" programs to intervene early in troubled families and help provide children a safe home, free of child abuse and neglect. The Administration also secured the first funding for the Community-Based Family Resource Program. This program provides support to statewide prevention networks and family resource programs to help identify families at risk and intervene with appropriate services to ensure the safety of children. In addition, HHS' Children's Bureau has created "Promoting Prevention," a bulletin that offers step-by-step advice on how to build support for prevention activities. HHS has also established a web site providing information on child maltreatment and effective prevention programs, as well as other resources available to the public. The address is www.acf.dhhs.gov/ news/.
FOCUSING ON CHILDREN'S UNIQUE HEALTH NEEDS
Because children's bodies respond differently than adults' to medical treatments and environmental hazards, HHS has made meeting children's special health needs an important part of our strategy to see that all children get a safe and healthy start in life.
Increasing Pediatric Labeling. On August 13, 1997, President Clinton unveiled a new FDA regulation to protect children by requiring drug manufacturers to study the safety and appropriate dosage levels of medications for pediatric populations. The regulation also requires proper labeling of drugs for use by children. Even though many drugs affect children differently than adults, most drugs have not been tested on pediatric populations. Under this rule, manufacturers of prescription drugs likely to be used by children will be required to complete studies and place information on drug labels to health care providers make scientifically-based treatment decisions when prescribing drugs to children.
Food Safety. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that each year as many as 33 million cases of foodborne illness in the United States result in up to 9,000 deaths. For children, especially younger children, the problem is especially relevant. The president has proposed and Congress has enacted a $43 million Interagency Food Safety Initiative for FY 1998. HHS is partnering with the Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Education to strengthen surveillance systems for foodborne illnesses, improve Federal/State coordination in responding to foodborne disease outbreaks, improve oversight of our food supply, and increase consumer awareness of safe food handling practices.
Protecting Children from Environmental Exposures. In April 1997, President Clinton issued an executive order assigning high priority to addressing environmental health and safety risks to children. The executive order established a Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children, co-chaired by the HHS Secretary and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. The task force has identified four priority areas: 1. Asthma, 2. Unintentional injuries, 3. Developmental disorders, 4. Cancers. Through this task force, HHS is working with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promote policies and practices that emphasize child health. On September 3, 1997, HHS and EPA announced that they are creating the first federal research centers dedicated to the protection of the health of children from environmental threats. A total of $ 10 million has been allocated for the initial year of the centers. The agencies plan to establish six centers nationally.
INCREASING RESOURCES FOR CHIDREN'S MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
Facilitating Community-Based Programs. Since 1992, the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children and their Families program has worked with communities to develop systems of care for children who need mental health services. In FY 1998, approximately $73 million will be distributed to 40 grantees. These grants assist communities in developing local systems of care that link mental health with child welfare, education, juvenile justice, and other appropriate agencies. More than 24,000 children have been served in this program.
Starting Early, Starting Smart. Research shows that increasingly many young children demonstrate problems with respect to relationships, emotions, and behavior, entering school with few intellectual, social, and emotional school readiness skills. Our "Starting Early, Starting Smart" initiative seeks to fill this gap by reaching children at their most critical time for mental and physical development. This public-private collaboration is developing strategies to address the needs of children from birth to seven years who are affected by alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health disorders in their families. Thirteen cooperative agreements and one cross-site data center were funded in September 1997.
HIV/AIDS Mental Health Services. As a part of Title IV of the Ryan White CARE Act, the HIV/AIDS Mental Health Services Demonstration Program assists parents with HIV in planning for the care of their children upon their death. The program is also aggressively promoting risk reduction techniques and HIV education to the children of parents who have HIV/AIDS, since many of them are at higher risk of contracting the virus.
ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT: "SAFE PASSAGES"
PREVENTING YOUTH TOBACCO USE
Each day, almost 3,000 young people in the United States become regular smokers, and nearly 1,000 of them will die prematurely from diseases related to tobacco use. Each year, more than 400,000 Americans die from smoking-related diseases, more Americans than are killed each year by AIDS, alcohol, car accidents, murders, suicides, illegal drugs, and fires combined.
FDA Authority. On August 23, 1996 President Clinton announced the FDA tobacco rule designed to reduce the incidence of youth smoking. The FDA rule made it a federal violation to sell cigarettes or spit tobacco to anyone younger than age 18, and required retailers to ask for photo identification from anyone under age 27 who attempts to purchase tobacco products.
Tobacco Legislation. The administration has also worked to pass comprehensive national tobacco legislation to finish the job. The President's five key principles for comprehensive tobacco legislation are: (1) a comprehensive plan to reduce youth smoking by raising the price of a pack of cigarettes by up to $1.50 over 10 years through a combination of annual payments and tough penalties on the tobacco industry; (2) full authority for the FDA to regulate tobacco products; (3) changes in the way the tobacco industry does business, including an end to marketing and promotion to children; (4) progress toward other public health goals, including biomedical and cancer research, a reduction of second hand smoke, promotion of smoking cessation programs, and other urgent priorities; and (5) protection for tobacco farmers and their communities. Though the legislation was never voted on in Congress, it is expected to be a priority item for the Administration during the next congress.
Helping Retailers Prevent Sales to Youths. On February 27, 1998, Vice President Gore announced a new national education campaign to educate consumers and help retailers prevent illegal sales of tobacco products to children. The Vice President also announced progress by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in implementing the Synar Amendment, legislation that requires states to monitor retailer compliance to ensure they prohibit tobacco sales to children.
PREVENTING TEEN PREGNANCY
On January 4, 1997, President Clinton announced a comprehensive effort by his Administration to prevent teen pregnancy. The new initiative, led by the Department of Health and Human Services, responds to a call from the President and Congress for a national strategy to prevent out-of-wedlock teen pregnancies and to a directive, under the new welfare law, to assure that at least 25 percent of communities in this country have teen pregnancy prevention programs in place. Building on the variety of efforts already underway at HHS and around the country, the national strategy works to prevent teen pregnancies and encourage adolescents to remain abstinent. There is reason to believe that past efforts to combat pregnancies were successful. A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of teen pregnancies between 1992 and 1995 showed that in each of the 42 states reporting plus the District of Columbia, teen pregnancy rates for females aged 15-19 decreased. The decline was 12 percent between 1991 and 1996 and four percent from 1995 to 1996. All 50 states had a sustained decline in their teen birth rates between 1991 and 1995, and 21 of these states had declines of more than 10 percent over this period.
Supporting Promising Approaches. The Clinton Administration supports innovative teen pregnancy prevention strategies tailored to the unique needs of communities. HHS-supported programs in this area already reach about 30 percent, or 1,410 communities in the United States. HHS programs are based on five principles: (1) parental and adult involvement; (2) abstinence and personal responsibility; (3) clear strategies for the future; (4) community involvement; and (5) sustained commitment.
Implementing New Efforts Under Welfare Reform. Under the welfare law signed by President Clinton on August 22, 1996, unmarried minor parents are required to stay in school and live at home, or in an adult-supervised setting, in order to receive cash assistance. This approach was proposed by President Clinton in 1994, and incorporated into numerous state demonstration projects approved by the Administration prior to the new welfare law. The law also supports the creation of Second Chance Homes, which will provide teen parents with the skills they need to become good role models and providers for their children, giving them guidance in parenting and in avoiding repeat pregnancies. The welfare law also provides $50 million a year in new funding for state abstinence education activities, beginning in FY 1998. Finally, the new welfare law includes the tough child support enforcement measures President Clinton proposed in 1994, which will send a strong message to adolescents and adults alike that they should not have children until they are ready to provide for them.
PREVENTING YOUTH SUBSTANCE USE
The Clinton Administration has developed a comprehensive drug strategy, with a particular focus on preventing substance abuse by young Americans. In addition to its broad research agenda and funding for drug treatment and prevention, HHS is targeting resources toward public education of America's young people about the dangers of drug use.
New Initiatives. HHS plays a key role in the Administration's substance abuse strategy, leading drug abuse research, prevention, and treatment. HHS funding accounts for about 46 percent of the federal government's demand reduction activities, and -- as part of the overall Administration strategy -- HHS is increasing its resources dedicated to preventing youth substance abuse. For FY 1998, HHS plans to spend approximately $116 million for new youth-focused initiatives, which will work to improve substance abuse prevention programs, raise awareness among youth, counter pro-drug messages, and provide State level estimates of drug abuse. As part of its youth strategy, HHS has awarded State Incentive Grants for Community-Based Action to Governor's offices in 19 States to support statewide planning for coordinated substance abuse prevention services. HHS' FY 1998 substance abuse budget totals $2.5 billion, an increase of 6 percent over the FY 1997 level.
President Clinton's FY 1999 budget continues this investment by including $2.8 billion for HHS substance abuse-related activities, an increase of 11 percent from FY 1998. As part of his budget, President Clinton proposed an additional $200 million in budget authority for the Substance Abuse Performance Partnership Block Grant to increase substance abuse treatment. The President's FY 1999 budget also increases funding for youth substance abuse prevention, anti-tobacco activities, and addiction research.
In 1997, HHS released data showing that illicit drug use among younger teens has leveled off for the first time since 1992. The data, taken from the 1997 Monitoring the Future Survey and the 1996 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, also shows that after doubling from 1992 to 1995, marijuana use is leveling off among younger teens, and shows signs of beginning to level off among older teens as well. The surveys also found an improvement in drug-related attitudes, with disapproval of drug use increasing among younger teens.
Reality Check Anti-Marijuana Campaign. On June 24, 1996, Secretary Shalala launched Reality Check, a national public education campaign designed to counter recent increases in marijuana use by youth. The campaign is targeted in particular at improving information and parent-child communications about marijuana. "Keeping Youth Drug Free: A Guide for Parents, Grandparents, Elders, Mentors and other Caregivers," the key ingredient of the Reality Check campaign, endorsed by the National PTA, is designed to help parents talk with their children about drug issues. The PTA will work with HHS toward the goal of distributing the guide to some 14 million parents. A Reality Check web site is on the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI) homepage (www.health.org/reality).
Guide to Preventing Youth Substance Abuse. On March 6, 1997, HHS' National Institute on Drug Abuse released the first research-based guide to preventing young people from using drugs. The new guide, "Preventing Drug Use Among Children and Adolescents: A Research-Based Guide," can be obtained free of charge from the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI) at 1-800-729-6686.
Targeting At-Risk Youths. HHS has launched new initiatives to address the unique needs facing at-risk youths including children from low-income minority groups and children in rural areas. HRSA's Minority Adolescent Health Program targets minority children disproportionately at-risk for injury, violence and mental health problems. Other programs are focusing on HIV/AIDS education, adolescent pregnancies, school health and genetic disorders. To address the needs of children in rural areas, HRSA's Rural Health Services Outreach Grant Program provides fiends to rural people who lack access to health care. Services provided to children include immunizations, suicide prevention and developmental testing.
Positive Activities Campaign. This component of the Secretary's Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Initiative seeks to raise awareness of the connection between youth participation in positive skill-building activities with caring adults and the reduction of substance abuse by young people. The campaign identifies ways adults can provide positive activities for children as a means of reducing existing use of drugs among youths age 7 to 14.
PROMOTING HEALTHY DEVELOPMENT
HHS is supporting new partnership efforts to help adolescents in their development to adulthood. HHS efforts are aimed at areas where research has shown a need for extra efforts.
Girl Power! Launched in November 1996, Girl Power! is a multi-phase, national public education campaign sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services to help encourage and empower 9- to 14-year-old girls to make the most of their lives. Studies show that girls tend to lose self confidence and self worth during this pivotal age, becoming less physically active, performing less well in school, and neglecting their own interests and aspirations. It's during these years that girls become more vulnerable to negative outside influences and to mixed messages about risky behaviors. Girl Power! is designed to combine strong "no-use" messages about tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs with an emphasis on providing opportunities for girls to build skills and self-confidence in academics, arts, sports, and other endeavors. Within the first 18 months of the campaign, Girl Power! product requests and web site hits totaled more than 5 million. Girl Power! has more than 100 public and private partners, including young, visible leaders like Olympic Gold Medallist Dominique Dawes.
"Choose Your Cover" Skin Cancer Prevention Campaign. In May 1998 HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala launched a national, multi-year awareness initiative to prevent skin cancer among Americans. The "Choose Your Cover" public service announcements target 18- to 25-year-olds, an age group that spends many hours out in the sun. The "Choose Your Cover" initiative will also reach out to 9- to 18-year-olds -- a critical time when adolescents set patterns of behavior that they carry with them into adulthood.
Promoting Physical Activity. According to the 1996 study Physical Activity and Health: A Report by the Surgeon General, 60 percent of young people are not regularly active. In March 1997, the CDC reported that the proportion of young people who are overweight has more than doubled in the last 30 years. To try to reverse these trends, the CDC on March 13, 1997 released new guidelines urging schools, parents and communities to promote physical activity programs for young people that will lead to lifelong benefits. In its "Guidelines for School and Community Health Programs to Promote Lifelong Physical Activity Among Young People," CDC makes comprehensive recommendations, aimed at encouraging physical activity for youngsters today as well as creating lifetime physical activity habits. The guidelines recommend physical education programs for all children in kindergarten through 12th grade, and at the same time they suggest new and different-- kid friendly -- approaches and urge parents and communities to become involved.
Other HHS Fact Sheets on Child and Adolescent Issues:
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) July 17, 1998 Preventing Teen Pregnancy June 25, 1998 Child Support Enforcement: A Clinton Administration Priority June 24, 1998 The Childhood Immunization Initiative April 20, 1998 13 - 15 -