Family Time for Gores

Al and Tipper Gore’s annual “Family Re-Union” conference truly is a reunion this year, as participants from all nine previous policy meetings on strengthening families return Monday to discuss their accomplishments and new ideas.

The Gores, who made only a brief appearance via satellite last year because the 2000 election remained undecided in mid-November, will moderate it in person again.

“Every year, Tipper and I look forward to the chance to talk with families and to those who have made a difference in their lives,” the former vice president said in a statement promoting the conference. He declined a request for an interview.

About 1,000 people--including educators, policymakers and business leaders--will attend the conference, which is sponsored by Vanderbilt University here and the University of Minnesota.

Earlier conferences focused on the roles of senior citizens, men, government and communities in families. This year, the conference is titled “Back to the Future, Accomplishments and Next Steps.” Co-sponsor Andy Shookoff said it’s an opportunity to “see what progress has been made, what frustrations they faced and what steps still need to be taken.”

The conference gained national prominence when Gore was elected vice president in 1992. He and President Clinton used it as a national platform for V-chip television screening legislation, the Family and Medical Leave Act and after-school programs.

Now the conference could be a springboard for Gore to take another shot at the presidency, which he lost narrowly to George W. Bush last year. Gore says he hasn’t decided whether he will run in 2004, but he has resurrected his political action committee and visited key states.

But since Sept. 11, Gore has been supportive of President Bush’s response to the terrorist attacks and has played down talk of his political future.

At this year’s conference, Tipper Gore will moderate a panel of children who will discuss how they can make a difference.

One panelist, 11-year-old Brandon Laws, will talk about Hope Meadows, a unique neighborhood in Rantoul, Ill. Residents are families with older adopted or foster children who were abused or neglected, along with senior citizens who help care for the children.

When he was adopted at age 5, Brandon had never held a crayon and couldn’t read. Thanks to his adoptive parents and 75-year-old Irene Bohn, his “Grandma Irene,” he moved out of special education last year and now reads above his grade level.

Another participant is Jim Bueermann, police chief in Redlands, Calif., whose department oversees housing, recreation and senior services for the city of 70,000.

The department helps arrange no-interest loans for people who buy a house or fix one up in a dilapidated neighborhood. It organizes tutors and distributes toys, games and snacks for kids in poor neighborhoods, and maintains a volunteer phone bank that checks on older shut-ins.

“It’s a very holistic approach. If we want to be good stewards of taxpayer money, we need to do more than wait for a crime and then apprehend the criminal,” said Bueermann, who has attended the conference twice before.