[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 498 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 498

       Recognizing January 2022 as ``National Mentoring Month''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 20, 2022

  Mr. Whitehouse (for himself, Mr. Blunt, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Kennedy, 
Mrs. Capito, Mr. Booker, Mr. Peters, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. 
Boozman, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Reed, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Wyden, Mr. 
Braun, Mr. Cornyn, Ms. Smith, and Mr. Sullivan) submitted the following 
 resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 
                          Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
       Recognizing January 2022 as ``National Mentoring Month''.

Whereas the goals of National Mentoring Month are to raise awareness of and 
        celebrate the powerful impact of mentoring relationships, recruit new 
        mentors, and encourage institutions to integrate quality mentoring into 
        their policies, practices, and programs;
Whereas quality mentoring fosters positive life and social skills, promotes 
        self-esteem, bolsters academic achievement and college access, supports 
        career exploration, and nurtures youth leadership development;
Whereas mentoring happens in many settings, including community-based programs, 
        elementary and secondary schools, institutions of higher education, 
        government agencies, religious institutions, and the workplace, and in 
        various ways, including formal mentoring matches and informal 
        relationships with teachers, coaches, neighbors, faith leaders, and 
        others;
Whereas effective mentoring of underserved and vulnerable populations helps 
        individuals confront challenges and enjoy improved mental health and 
        social-emotional well-being;
Whereas studies have shown that incorporating culture and heritage into 
        mentoring programs can improve academic outcomes and increase community 
        engagement, especially for Alaska Native and American Indian youth;
Whereas youth development experts agree that mentoring encourages positive youth 
        development and smart daily behaviors, such as finishing homework and 
        having healthy social interactions, and has a positive impact on the 
        growth and success of a young person;
Whereas mentors help young people set career goals and can help connect mentees 
        to industry professionals to train for and find jobs;
Whereas mentoring programs generally have a significant, positive impact on 
        youth academic achievement, school connectedness and engagement, and 
        educational success, which leads to outcomes such as improved 
        attendance, grades and test scores, and classroom behavior;
Whereas research has found that young people facing a risk of not completing 
        high school but who had a mentor were, compared with their peers, more 
        likely to enroll in college, to participate regularly in sports or 
        extracurricular activities, to hold a leadership position in a club or 
        sports team, and to volunteer regularly, and less likely to start using 
        drugs;
Whereas mentoring has long been a staple of juvenile justice and violence 
        prevention efforts, and can offer comprehensive support to youth at risk 
        for committing violence or victimization, as mentoring can address many 
        risk factors at once;
Whereas mentoring relationships for youth facing risk, such as foster youth, can 
        have a positive impact on a wide range of factors, including mental 
        health, educational functioning and attainment, peer relationships, 
        employment, and housing stability;
Whereas mentoring programs have been found to positively impact many aspects of 
        mental well-being, including reducing unhealthy coping mechanisms, 
        improving interpersonal relationships, and reducing parental stress;
Whereas mentoring is an innovative, evidence-based practice and, uniquely, is 
        both a prevention and intervention strategy that can support young 
        people of all demographics and backgrounds in all aspects of their 
        lives;
Whereas each of the benefits of mentors described in this preamble serves to 
        link youth to economic and social opportunity while also strengthening 
        communities in the United States;
Whereas, despite the benefits of mentoring, one young person of every three is 
        growing up without a mentor, which means a third of the young people of 
        the United States are growing up without someone outside of the home to 
        offer real life guidance and support; and
Whereas this ``mentoring gap'' demonstrates the need for collaboration among the 
        private, public, and nonprofit sectors to increase resources for 
        relationship-centric supports for youth in communities, schools, and 
        workplaces: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes ``National Mentoring Month'';
            (2) recognizes the caring adults who serve as staff and 
        volunteers at quality mentoring programs and help the young 
        people of the United States find inner strength and reach their 
        full potential;
            (3) acknowledges that mentoring supports educational 
        achievement, engagement, and self-confidence, supports young 
        people in setting career goals and expanding social capital, 
        reduces juvenile delinquency, and strengthens communities;
            (4) promotes the establishment and expansion of quality 
        mentoring programs across the United States to equip young 
        people with the tools needed to lead healthy and productive 
        lives; and
            (5) supports initiatives to close the ``mentoring gap'' 
        that exists for the many young people in the United States who 
        do not have meaningful connections with adults outside the 
        home.
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