FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday February 21, 1997
Contact: Michael Kharfen (202) 401-9215
HHS Child Care Bureau Recognized With Hammer Award
The HHS Administration for Children and Families' Child
Care Bureau was recognized today by Vice President Al
Gore's Hammer Award for exemplary customer service in providing
new child care funds to states under the new welfare reform law in 39
days.
The National
Performance Review, the Clinton administration's reinventing government
initiative, presented the award to the bureau at the National Association
of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies conference in Washington.
On August 22, 1996, President Clinton
signed into law the most sweeping change in welfare reform in 61 years.
This historic new law gives states increased flexibility and accountability
to require work and move welfare families into self-sufficiency. A critical
support for families to succeed in work is child care. The new law provides
increased federal funding, $3.5 billion more over 6 years, to states
for child care.
It also set a deadline of October 1,
1996 for states to receive the first of those child care funds. Guided
by the HHS principles of providing efficient and effective customer
service, the Child Care Bureau conducted extensive consultations with
states, prepared and distributed an informative and easy to complete
guidance and application for states, and granted $1.9 billion funds.
"We're very proud of the Child Care
Bureau for being recognized by Vice President Gore with the Hammer Award,"
said Olivia Golden, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Children
and Families. "The Bureau exemplifies the department's priority to provide
the best services to our customers, quickly and expertly, to help America's
children and families."
"The unprecedented accomplishment of
the Child Care Bureau insured that states received funds and guidance
timely to provide child care for families moving and staying in work,"
added Golden.
The new welfare reform law consolidated
and streamlined federal funding for child care into the Child
Care Development Fund. The law requires states to maintain state
funding investments in child care and meet minimum standards of health
and safety. Also, it gives states the opportunity to undertake planning
that can lead to improved coordination of child care services, increased
accessibility of care and better informed quality choices for parents.
The Clinton administration established
the Child Care Bureau in HHS to improve the coordination and administration
of federal child care funds. The Bureau has launched several initiatives
to improve child care for low income families: the Healthy Child Care
America Campaign to offer safer and healthier child care programs and
better informed parents and providers; the national Child Care Information
Center to disseminate information on child care resources to policy
makers and the general public; and sharing promising practices and trends
from across the country.
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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials
are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.
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