USD President's Report 1999

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WORD AND DEED

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v) Professor Robert C Fel/meth School of LaiL Director ofthe Ch,/dren 's Ad 1

unwed parents live at a median of $II ,000 per year in family income, and chil dren of married parents live at above $44 ,000. If that private responsibili ty is once again honored , ch ildren wi n , and win big. What we h ave forgotten a lso i ncludes pub l ic invest e nt in K-1 e u aation, re~ ion iCTlaM ize I I . and in c ·e.ased pare ta hoice , o reflect t e fee li g I j our grea t-grandp arents had whe n they bu1 t tJ:i. t one-room schoo lh o u se and spent half t h ei r h arvest to bring in a school teac h er from the Eas . n 'pe · l ps osCimp ortant, it means

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Pnce Professor of Publ,c Interest Lai•

W e have accomplish ed much in the 20th century. The growth of democracy , advances in medicine , agriculture, and especially , in transportation and communications. And until recently we kept alive a proud tradition of each generation sacr ifi cing so its children cou ld h ave it better. It may be a son who was the first in the family to own a h ome, or a daughter who was the first to finish college , or a thousand other dreams. For a n otherwise diverse nation, t h.a t dedication to our children h as serve d as a com~ on and profound bond, a bond cemented not only by willingness to invest in our own children , but in each other's ildren . As e lo ok oward t 1e 21st cent ury, e face a serious ch allenge to that tradition. A 32 percent unwed birth rate, child poverty rates remain i ng close to record post-depression levels and declining test scores. We face the prospect of being the first generation of adults in a century to fail to keep the si lent American promise of advancing our children beyond our own attainments . The more than one - third of American children living at or near the poverty level will likely not be ab le to afford their own h omes , will not have co ll ege enrollment slots avai lab le and , for many , will not find emp loyment in the projected international eco n omy . Their realistic plight currently is as a hu ge and intractab le underclass. That like ly prospect co n trasts with our generous comm itment to ourse lves as adu lts now , a nd later as senior citizens . What we have forgotten about the past has merit and deserves restorat ion. That includes, perhaps first and foremost, a restored commitment to marriage, to vindicate a child 's right to be reared by two committed ad u lts , particularly in a society where the children of

expan ion o hi gHer ed u cation capacity, from v cation a schoo l s to graduate university education. Th e jobs of the fu tu re are not on assembly lines or in the fields , but require mastery of technogeek s ~ill s. That is this nation ' s niche , and that is o ur chi ldr en ' s hope fo r emp loyment and opport unity. We have not been doing it, and we h ave to start. How do we work toward our vision? By every means available . In the courts, in the legislature , before the agencies , and through research and pub li c ed u cation . We are training dedicated child advocates, many now working effectively for chi ldren . Advocacy is not easily supported , because too many mistakenly den igrate it as "political. " We advocate for a group not othe r wise professionally represented, and whose interests are honored loudly in word , rarely in deed. Our watchwo rd will b e

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