The White House Conference on Children and Youth has been held every ten years since it was first originated by James E. West and sponsored by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1909. The purpose of the conference is to assess the needs and conditions of children, and the theme of the 1960 conference was "to promote opportunities for children and youth to realize their full potential for a creative life in freedom and dignity." The 8,000 participants of the conference heard and discussed problems typical of the 1960s; focus was leveled on larger families, changing population problems, increased numbers of women and young people entering the work force, unemployment problems, broken homes, out of wedlock birth increases, the rise of juvenile delinquency and shortages of programs for assisting the juvenile offender, substandard housing and slums in rural areas and inner cities, health problems in children such as blindness, birth defects, mental illness, immunization, carcinomas, and poor nutrition. Proposals for changes in legislation, education, government funding, and medical care were discussed, as well as future trends in these areas. Honorary Chairman was president Dwight D. Eisenhower (who called for the conference0; Honorary Vice Chairman, Arthur S. Flemming; Chairman, Mrs. Rollin Brown, Vice Chairmen, Dr. Hurst R. Anderson, Dr. Philip S. Barba, Mrs. James E. Blue, Robert E. Bondy, Erwin D. Canham, Dr. Donald K. David, Luther Foster, Msgr. Raymond J. Gallagher, Caroline W. Gannett, Dr. Edward D. Greenwood, Dr. Daryl P. Harvey, Dr. Donald S. Howard, Dr. Ruth A. Stout, Rabbi Marc C. Tannenbaum, Rev. Dr. William J. Villaume; Secretary, Mrs. Katherine B. Oettinger; Executive Director, Ephraim R. Gomberg. Records of the conference in Mrs. Gannett's papers include much printed matter, published reports, minutes, memoranda, speeches, and drafts.