Agenda - 09-17-1991 - Laserfiche WebLink

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i- 4 Congress completed its deliberations soon thereafter and on May 18, 1928, approved its Joint Resolution which read as follows: "Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President of the United States is hereby authorized and requested to issue annually a proclamation setting apart May 1 of each year as Child Health Day and inviting all agencies and organizations interested in child welfare to unite upon that day in the observance of such exercises as will awaken the people of the Nation to the fundamental necessity of a year -round program for the protection and development of the health of the Nation's children." Many organizations interested in child welfare had prevailed upon the Congress to enact the resolution. Among them were the American Child Health Association and the National Education Association. Many States had been proclaiming Child Health Day for five years or more. Advocates for Child Health Day submitted to the President proclamations or statements of support from the governors of 29 States and Mayor Jimmy Walker of the City of New York as evidence of the "practically unanimous" public sentiment "in support of this most commendable project." The States included: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Mrs. Miller told the President... "the women of the country are hoping to use the day to raise funds in two states where the governors have vetoed the appropriations for child hygiene in the state boards of health." In gratitude, after the President had acted, she wrote: "Your Proclamation will mean a great deal to the whole country, and especially to the organizations who are trying to center attention upon the child as America's greatest asset." For many years, Child Health Day consisted of little more than a Presidential Proclamation. In 1982, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development ( NICHD) held the first of what has become an annual event -- a national symposium to mark the day. The first symposium had as its theme adolescent risk taking behavior, subsequent themes ranged from the molecular genetics of Down syndrome, to the history of neonatal intensive care, to the effects of day care on child development. In 1989, a coalition of Federal and private agencies joined the NICHD in expanding the scope of Child Health Day. The coalition sponsors not only the national symposium in Washington, D.C. but encourages consumer, education and advocacy groups across the country to conduct Child Health Day projects and activities on the same topic. Child Health Day themes under the expanded format have, to date, included access to prenatal care and adolescent health. Preventing childhood injuries is the theme selected for this 10th national symposium and the 1991 celebration.