The 1990 U.S. Census revealed that¹:

12.9% of U.S. children rely on Aid to Families and Dependent Children (AFDC). "According to Heritage Foundation analyst Robert Rector, most of the families currently on AFDC will experience long-term dependency. Historical data show that roughly two-thirds of the families receiving AFDC at any point in time will ultimately receive AFDC for eight years or more."

21.8 %, or more than one-fifth of U.S. children live in poverty. "Senator Daniel Moynihan writes that although poverty has historically come as the result of unemployment and low wages, today it derives from family structure."

Although the infant-mortality rate in the U.S. has dropped almost 66 percent in the past three decades, " the U.S. infant-mortality rate in 1987 was higher than 23 other countries or territories, including most of Western Europe, Hong Kong, and Singapore...it was about 20 percent higher than in the Netherlands, and about 200 percent higher than Japan's....Dramatic increases in illegitimate births, drug, alcohol and tobacco abuse, and the failure of parents to take advantage of pre-natal care are the primary reasons for the higher than expected rates..."

 Between 1976 and 1991, the number of reported cases of child abuse more than quadrupled. While it is believed that "there is now a 'child abuse establishment' ... that actually encourage false charges of child abuse", sadly I suspect that false reports don't even begin to offset incidents which still go unreported.

"The fastest growing segment of the criminal population is our nation's children. The nearly quadrupling in juvenile arrests has involved not only the 'disadvantaged minority youth in urban areas,' but 'all races, all social classes and life styles.'

 The teen suicide rate increased more than triple-fold between 1960 and 1990. In addition, "According to Edward Zigler, professor at Yale University, for every successful suicide there are fifty to one hundred adolescent suicide attempts. Looked at another way, in 1990 ... more than five percent of all teenagers tried to take their lives, compared with one percent in 1960.

^{1 Bennett, William J.,  former Secretary of Education.  The Index of Leading Cultural Indicators.   New York: Touchstone, 1994.}

A LICENSE SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO REAR A CHILD. This is the business innovation being presented here, applying to the business of government service regarding regulation: licensure requirements for custody of a child's upbringing. Licensing levels would mandate the level of ongoing monitoring, counseling, and training prescribed after the license is issued, as well. Prohibiting of custody would be enforced in extreme cases.

1. Psychological and alcohol and drug, including tobacco and caffeine, abuse. This also includes criminal and other background/character checks.
2. Health conditions and family and nutritional training.
3. Ability to provide for child, including income, job-skills, environment, and possible family support (financial, emotional, child-care, environmental, etc.).
4. Educating on the impact of negative parental behavior and of a negative environment.
5. Educating on the impact of negative effects of welfare dependency.
6. How not to "spoil the child".
7. Importance of instilling values, including social and non-materialistic values.
8. Financial planning.
9. "Pro's and con's" of various "currently acceptable" activities of children: watching television, isolated versus group play, encounters with adults, shopping, etc..
10. "Do's and don'ts" (the major ones, anyway).

• Testing and training over a minimum of six month. In itself, this would be one test of the aspiring parent's commitment and willingness to devote time to the child's welfare. It is designed to take place before the child is born. If a child is born more than eighteen months after the license is issued, an abbreviated re-evaluation will be conducted.

• Post-training testing and evaluation. Scores are constructed to pinpoint specific areas of failure and areas in which improvement is needed. Comparison to pre-training scores will be used to evaluate the program, itself.

• Remedies' beginning before the license is acquired. This will help ascertain the feasibility of actual behavioral change in the individual aspiring parent. This will, also, enable the parent to be better prepared by the time the child is born.
 

• Requirement of proof of licensure:

	Before a child is released to the custody of a natural parent or other caregiver at the place of birth or elsewhere.
	To take advantage of licensed day-care (See Connecticut's strict licensing requirements, including those who fall under its jurisdiction.).
	To receive "aid", i.e., AFDC, etc..
	To enroll a child in school or in other activities.
	In any situation involving a parent where police have reason to be at the scene. This may include a routine motor vehicle check.
	In any situation that arouses suspicion or concern regarding a child's welfare.

• Random re-evaluation throughout the childhood.

Remedies may include:

	Evaluation and counseling: psychological, financial, environment, etc..
	Child-care training.
	Job-skills development.
	Alcohol and drug, including tobacco and caffeine, rehabilitation.
	Assignment of a social worker/case manager.
	Location of an "absent parent", and "possible couple counseling".

 Implementation needs to be progressively phased-in over an extended period of time. The process would be initially introduced through a voluntary pilot project, with provisions for participant feedback and its incorporation into design modifications. The latter should continue to be carried out on an on-going basis even after participation becomes mandatory. This will increase acceptance, as well as help refine the quality of these efforts and enable it to continue to evolve to meet the challenges of a forever-changing environment.

 After participation becomes mandatory, failure to meet licensure requirements by the time of the child's birth triggers implementing the following measures:

• The child is placed in a more suitable environment until the parent(s) are "qualified'.
• Parental visitation may be restricted or even prohibited, although, in most cases, the parent will be required to contribute to the child's financial support.
• A parent's inability to "qualify" within five year's after the child is placed in an alternative custody situation may be considered abandonment. This makes the child eligible to be formally and permanently adopted by another individual(s). Determination of "abandonment" will be made on a case-by-case basis.
• Alternate caregivers must be equally licensed.

Argument: It violates individual freedom and parental rights. People will not stand for it.

Response: Admittedly, a great deal of work is needed before this is accepted. However, and unfortunately, the public is all too aware of the problems it is designed to address; I feel that the public recognizes that drastic measures are needed. Therefore, most people may accept licensure more readily than would ordinarily be expected. The current response to proposed changes in welfare programs is an indicator.

Only recipients of borderline scores would truly have freedom restricted. Remedies applied to others should be viewed as general-safety-screening and educational benefits.

Parental rights should not override the right of an innocent child to a safe and healthy upbringing.

Response: Income-based license fees will subsidize these costs to a limited extent. In addition, in the long-term, these investment costs should offset the alternative costs of welfare, healthcare, crime, counseling, other social services, etc..

Response: There are probably plenty of people willing to volunteer time and/or otherwise contribute to these efforts.

In addition, there are plenty of under-employed workers who prefer to be under-employed in a job like this, in which the result of their labor is so obvious and "rewarding" than the job they currently hold, or perhaps don't hold.

Response: At first, parental licensure will probably meet with considerable resistance because it introduces a new area of government intervention. As said, a tremendous public relations campaign will be needed.

However, because of it's effective enforcement policies, only the most hardened and intentional child offenders would refuse to adhere to the regulation at the cost of their child's welfare. Hopefully, this represents only a very small minority.

Ideally, it will reduce the fantasy/glamorized image of childbearing and discourage some from creating a child they are unprepared to accept.
 

The Business Innovation of

makes the government
more effective in achieving its goal of
"promoting the general welfare."
In addition,
it facilitates
a more healthy return on taxes.

Additional readings:
Bennett, William J.  The De-Valuing of America : The Fight for Our Culture and Our Children.  Touchstone Books. Reprint edition, April 1994.

Bennett, William J.  The Index of Leading Cultural Indicators.   New York: Touchstone, 1994.   Reprint available October, 19, 1999:  Bantam Doubleday Dell Pub (Trd Pap) as author "Bill Bennett".

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