White House Conference on Children and Youth

The White House Conference on Children and Youth was a series of meetings hosted over 70 years by the President of the United States of America, and the first White House conference ever held.^[1] Under the leadership of Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Richard Nixon, the Conferences involved thousands of delegates from around the country. According to the Child Welfare League of America, "the conferences were devoted to improving the lives of children across the Nation. Each conference focused on issues relevant to the decade in which the conference was held.^[2]

Topics

• 1909 - Entitled the "White House Conference on the Care of Dependent Children," the theme was opposition to the institutionalization of dependent and neglected children.
• 1919 - The "White House Conference on Standards of Child Welfare" created the most comprehensive report on the needs of children ever written.
• 1929 - The most comprehensive report on the needs of children ever written was created at the "Conference on the Standards of Child Welfare."
• 1939 - The "Conference on Children in a Democracy" highlighted the democratic values, services, and environment necessary for the welfare of children.
• 1950 - Healthy personality development was the topic of the "Mid-Century White House Conference."
• 1960 - The "Golden Anniversary White House Conference on Children and Youth" expanded ways for children to explore their potential in order to discover creative freedom.
• 1971 - The "White House Conference on Youth" focused on the individuality of children through the support of healthy personality development. It was the last conference held. convened by President Richard M. Nixon, it was held from April 18 to April 21, 1971 in Estes Park, Colorado. Over one thousand delegates representing every state and U.S. territory were nominated by their respective governors and appointed by the President. This late April meeting was marred by a snowstorm that required the mobilization of nearby U.S. Army personnel to distribute winter gear to delegates unprepared for severe winter weather. Held at the height of the Vietnam War and amid growing youth dissatisfaction with the Nixon administration, many of the recommendations issued by the conference opposed existing U.S. policies.

Future events

Legislation to convene a White House Conference on Children and Youth in 2010 was filed in both the House and Senate in 2008. On February 14, 2008. The House bill was filed by Congressmen Fattah and Porter. On March 13, Senator Mary Landrieu introduced a Senate bill to re-establish a White House Conference on Children and Youth (S 2771). These bipartisan bills would create a two-year event that will focus on child welfare issues and challenges.

See also

• Timeline of children's rights in the United States
• Child labor laws in the United States
• International Year of the Child

References

1. ^ "White House Conference on Children and Youth: What’s It All About?". Child Welfare League of America. 2008. http://www.cwla.org/advocacy/whitehouseconf10.ppt. Retrieved 2008-06-18. 
2. ^ The History of the White House Conferences on Children and Youth. Child Welfare League of America. Retrieved 4/12/08.

External links

• [1] White House Conference on Children and Youth Records, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
• [2] Papers of Joan B. Gaines (Director of Interpretation, White House Conference on Children and Youth), Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library