A Gore ‘Family Reunion’: Where Real Policy Is Made

It’s not every day that Matthew Cavedon finds himself in the company of the vice president of the United States. And so on Tuesday, the 10-year-old seized the moment to tell Al Gore about Boundless Playgrounds, a national effort to make playground equipment user-friendly for kids with disabilities.

Matthew, who has suffered since birth from a devastating joint disease, described a boat-shaped swing for his wheelchair that he himself designed. “For once I can actually, really get the feeling of swinging,” he said.

The exchange between Matthew and Gore captured the spirit of Family Reunion, a conference that began eight years ago when then-Sen. Gore and his wife, Tipper, invited government officials, educators, parents and experts on children and the family to help reinvent family policy so it would realistically reflect challenges facing families and government.

“We found that these challenges were oversimplified and misunderstood by most leaders,” Gore said Tuesday.

The two-day, invitation-only meeting at Vanderbilt University grew into a yearly opportunity for grass-roots groups and individuals to network with key policymakers, prompting the New Republic magazine to observe that, unlike the snooty Renaissance Weekend favored by Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton, Family Reunion is where real ideas get exchanged and real policy gets made.

A White House initiative strengthening fatherhood stemmed directly from topics raised at Family Reunion.

Discussions about the V-chip, to limit children’s access to the Internet, also came out of Family Reunion. The 1996 “Family Friendly Federal Workplace” memorandum, providing leave time for federal workers, was another Family Reunion product.

Last year’s conference resulted in Boost-4-Kids, a plan to streamline the delivery of social services to families. The initial program--at work in 13 localities around the country, including Placer and San Diego counties--began after the director of health and human services for San Diego County waved at the vice president a 350-page compendium of applications that citizens and communities must go through to obtain social services.

“Every problem generated its own separate program, and every program generated its own red tape--and all this mess,” Gore remembered.

Dr. Robert Ross recalled hesitating last year before daring Gore to try to fix the problem. “But I thought, ‘You seem like a really nice guy,’ ” Ross told Gore.

“So do you,” Gore interjected, prompting laughter from the audience of 1,100.

On Tuesday, Gore announced a new initiative, led in part by educators at UCLA, to teach community-building at the college level. He also unveiled plans for a “safe cities network” aimed at reducing gun violence through community awareness programs, and a $20-million federal grant program to help 2,000 families build their own homes.

In an indirect swipe at his leading Republican presidential rival, Texas Gov. George W. Bush, Gore also urged parents to create a family lobby “as powerful as the gun lobby.” He offered no details, but said, “If we did that, instead of fighting off new protections for gun manufacturers that would shield them from lawsuits, we can start passing legislation to actually shield our children from gun violence.”

Characteristically starchy as he read a dull introductory speech, Gore soon softened into something akin to a talk-show host: relaxed, attentive and at times, downright funny.

Gore’s easy, down-home manner reflected the nature of a gathering that remains resolutely nonpolitical, even as Campaign 2000 hovers. Only in his opening remarks did Gore briefly refer to his boss. His swipe at the gun lobby was his only major mention of Washington.

“I’ve got to believe this is how he hears directly from people who engage with families and children, without the bureaucracy,” said Redlands Police Chief James Bueerman.

Still, when the Rev. Eugene Rivers--founder of an anti-crime coalition in Boston--implored the vice president to “help us connect with the people who make the decisions,” Gore couldn’t help himself.

“I’ll try to get into a position to do that,” he deadpanned.

As for Matthew Cavedon, he just wanted Gore and others to be aware that playgrounds need to be for all kids, not just able-bodied kids. “Everybody needs to have fun,” he said.

As he headed home to Berlin, Conn., Matthew’s father, David, said conference organizers had promised that his son would be able to wheel right up to top government officials and speak his mind.

“I was like, yeah, right,” the elder Cavedon said. “But it turned out to be true.”