BUSINESS AFFECTED BY SOCIAL PROBLEMS; CARING CONFERENCE EXPANDS ITS TIES TO CORPORATE ENTITIES

Sarah didn't show up for work. She was too embarrassed because of the black eye and bruises suffered at the hands of her drunken husband.

The couple's two children had trouble paying attention in school because of memories of the previous night's violence.

Those involved in Cape Girardeau's Community Caring Council say such a scenario is all too familiar and point to the fact that such social problems are costly ... both to the family in terms of emotional well-being and to businesses and the community in economic terms.

The council, founded by state Rep. Mary Kasten, has been in place for four years, focusing on coordination and cooperation among area social service agencies.

About 135 representatives of public and private social service agencies from Cape Girardeau and the region attended the fourth annual Community Caring Council at the Show Me Center Friday.

This year's conference focused on expanding ties to the business community.

About 30 area business leaders attended a Friday morning breakfast hosted by the Community Caring Council, which preceded the conference.

Kasten said it's important to involve the business community in dealing with social problems because such problems ultimately affect businesses.

Businesses, she said, are affected in many ways, from employees not showing up for work because of family problems to high health insurance costs resulting from employees who have low-birth-weight babies that need costly medical care.

"It's all connected," said Kasten. "The health and well-being of the family dictates the health and success of the economy."

Procter & Gamble realizes the importance of addressing family problems, Kasten said. The company's Cape Girardeau County plant has a person who is in charge of assisting employees in dealing with such problems.

Other businesses nationwide, she said, have looked at providing day-care services for their workers.

"We've got a lot of welfare reform to do," said Kasten, adding that it's important to involve community volunteers in trying to address social problems. "People want to do good things," she said.

Keynote speaker Ronny B. Lancaster, vice president for health and social policy at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, said many businesses nationwide particularly large businesses have been involved in efforts to address social problems.

Lancaster, who previously served as a senior policy adviser with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, cited the Honeywell corporation as an example of a company that has sought to address social ills.

The Minneapolis company has a program that provides services to pregnant teens from health care to completion of high school. The company also employs them or works to get them jobs with other firms, Lancaster said.

Committed business leaders can be found in virtually every community, he said.

Lancaster said the federal government's "21st Century Communities" program involves a partnership between businesses and the government to try to help get people off the welfare rolls.

Lancaster, who helped develop the program, said the program is now being tried in Kansas City.

He said that in high-welfare-benefit states like New York and California, individuals were receiving government services that equated with earnings of $5 an hour, which was 75 cents higher than the minimum wage.

Such individuals, he said, had no incentive to get off the welfare rolls.

Lancaster praised the Community Caring Council and encouraged its members to continue to work to involve businesses in seeking solutions to the social problems.