Proclamation 6828

By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation

In hospitals and homes across the country, children begin life free from the burdens of the world. With their eyes and minds open to every influence, they depend on their caregivers to help them take the first, tentative steps toward adulthood. Parents and other family members, communities and churches, educators and the media-all play a role in these crucial early years, providing young people with the direction they need to become happy, productive citizens.

Tragically, far too many children go without this essential love and guidance, living in homes, neighborhoods, and schools where they see and endure violence. One in five pregnant women is abused by her partner; millions of children each year are reported to public social service agencies as being neglected or abused; and in the decade between 1982 and 1992, the number of these reports increased 132 percent. We know that young men and women suffer lasting effects from such experiences-teen suicides have tripled in the last 35 years, and countless youth have grown up to continue the cycle of destructive behavior in their own relationships and families.

In recognition of these heartbreaking realities, the theme of Child Health Day, 1995, is the elimination of violence. As our Nation observes this special day, let us renew our commitment to America's children and rededicate ourselves to ending the physical and emotional mistreatment that damage self-esteem and well-being. Solutions to the plague of violence lie within our own society, and we can find hope in the partnerships forming among public health and mental health professionals, schools, law enforcement officers, religious groups, child care experts, and community leaders. Their efforts, aided by the extensive Federal network already in place, will help to strengthen families and instill in our young people the ambition and spirit that has always driven America forward.

To emphasize the importance of nurturing children's growth and development from birth to maturity, the Congress, by joint resolution approved May 18, 1928, as amended (36 U.S.C. 143), has called for the designation of the first Monday in October as "Child Health Day" and has requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this day.

Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Monday, October 2, 1995, as Child Health Day. On this day, and on every day throughout the year, I call upon my fellow Americans to deepen their commitment to protecting children, taking the necessary steps to meet our obligations to them and to our Nation's future.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this second day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twentieth.

William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 2:58 p.m., October 2, 1995]