On January 30, 1978, President Jimmy Carter announced his intention to hold a White House Conference on Families (WHCF). Carter envisioned the goals of the conference were to examine the strengths, challenges, and how family life is affected by public policies. The conference looked at how these topics were viewed through mass communication, the courts, and private institutions.<\/p>\n
In April 1979, former United States Congressman Jim Guy Tucker was named chairman. He was initially reluctant to accept the position. He felt that prior administration White House Conferences did not accomplish much, but he accepted the position and devoted his\u00a0attention to this new endeavor. Tucker had a non-traditional family, having\u00a0married Betty Allworth in 1975. She had two children from a previous marriage, and the couple would have two daughters together.<\/p>\n
Shortly after Tucker assumed his chairmanship, he named 40 members to the National Advisory Committee. The diverse membership included Mario Cuomo, Coretta Scott King, Jesse Jackson, Bettye Caldwell, Gloria Chavez, and Harold Yee. Tucker noted that these members represented “the rich diversity and pluralism which enhance our national life.”<\/p>\n
The committee members established eight goals they hoped to achieve during the year-long proceedings. Their ultimate goal was to discuss the role of families in the United States while understanding how economics and public policy could assist this country’s diverse cultural landscape.<\/p>\n
In a break from prior White House administration conferences, the WHCF National Advisory Committee chose to have three conferences throughout the United States in the summer of 1980. Prior conferences were held only in Washington, D. C. This “taking it to the people” approach, in Tucker’s words, allowed for a more intimate setting for delegates to get feedback on a variety of topics affecting the American family. The three conferences were held in Baltimore, Milwaukee, and Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
In addition to the three conference locations, seven cities were chosen as hearing sites. The hearings allowed anyone to speak on families’ “concerns, ideas, successes and problems about contemporary life.” Over 2,000 witnesses spoke\u00a0at these meetings. The information gleaned from these hearings would be used as background information for the national conferences.<\/p>\n
Another important aspect of the WHCF was the Tucker established liaisons in all 50\u00a0states, who held their own state conferences on the family from November 1979 to May 1980.<\/p>\n
Nearly 125,000 people attended the year-long WHCF gatherings. Over a 100\u00a0recommendations were approved by the delegates in each of the three conference locations. Attendees championed several recommendations: family-oriented personnel policies, prevention of drug and alcohol abuse, unfair marriage tax penalty, issues relating to handicapped persons, and Social Security reform.<\/p>\n
The final report, Listening to America’s Families: Action for the 80’s<\/em>, was published by the conference in December 1980. In its\u00a0report the WHCF Task Force proposed 20 recommendations with\u00a0a six-month implementation window. Of these, only two were implemented:<\/p>\n Full implementation of the Conference’s recommendations was left\u00a0to the individual states, and little federal policy was enacted into law.<\/p>\n\tngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" White House Conference on Families On January 30, 1978, President Jimmy Carter announced his intention to hold a White House Conference on Families (WHCF). Carter envisioned the goals of the conference were to examine the strengths, challenges, and how family…<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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