[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 114 (Tuesday, July 17, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S9499]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. CLINTON (for herself, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Akaka, and Mr. 
        Bayh):
  S. 1812. A bill to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965 to strengthen mentoring programs, and for other purposes; to 
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, research indicates a caring adult can 
make a difference in a child's future. Today, I am pleased to introduce 
legislation that will expand the mentoring programs found in the No 
Child Left Behind Act. If adopted, the Mentoring America's Children Act 
of 2007 would help close America's ``mentoring gap'' and match more at-
risk students with high-quality mentors. I thank my colleagues, 
Senators Kerry, Akaka, and Bayh, for joining me on this important 
legislation.
  Mentoring programs are a cost-effective way to expand a young 
person's ability for success. Studies have shown young people with 
mentors perform better in school and are more likely to graduate and go 
on to higher education. Mentors also play a role in improving the 
social and emotional well-being and reducing the negative behaviors of 
the children they mentor.
  Despite the positive effects of having a mentor, nearly 15 million 
young adults are still in need of mentoring. These young people 
encompass America's ``mentoring gap.'' That is why I have joined with 
my colleagues to introduce the Mentoring America's Children Act of 
2007.
  This legislation broadens the reach of mentoring to include specific 
populations of young people who could particularly benefit from a 
mentor's involvement, including children in foster care and kids in 
communities with a high rate of youth suicides. It also provides much 
needed training and technical assistance to grantees, tracks youth 
outcomes, strengthens research on the effects of mentoring, and 
improves the sustainability of grant recipients. Finally, this bill 
allows students to gain professional skills while working with mentors 
by establishing internship programs during the school year.
  Mentoring plays a key role in improving the learning environment for 
a young person, as mentored youth have better attendance and are more 
connected to their school, schoolwork, and teachers. Mentors serve as 
role models, advisors, and advocates for the children they mentor. We 
must work together to match even more high-quality mentors with our 
neediest children.
  This legislation is supported by MENTOR/National Mentoring 
Partnership, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and the National 
Collaboration for Youth. I ask my colleagues to join me in approving 
this legislation.
  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, our Nation's children are our greatest 
resource. They represent the future of this country and we should do 
everything we can to foster their growth and ensure they lead happy and 
productive lives. That is why I am proud to cosponsor the Mentoring 
America's Children Act of 2007 which was introduced today by Senator 
Clinton. This important legislation highlights the significant impact 
mentoring can have on a child.
  Research has shown time and time again that mentoring is an important 
component to a child's development. Often these children come from 
broken homes or communities affected by violence. The relationship 
formed between a mentor and a child helps support their studies in 
school, their relationships with their families at home, and gives them 
the confidence they need to withstand the pressures they are faced 
with. Our children are confronted with much more than some of us even 
realize. By providing a mentor, parents and teachers have another line 
of defense in allowing our children to grow up in a safe nurturing 
environment.
  The consequences of letting young people grow up without a support 
system are dire. In 2006 America's law enforcement officers arrested 
approximately 250 teens an hour, and it's estimated that 900,000 of our 
children are victims of abuse and neglect. Studies show that most teens 
that use alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana do so before they are 14. 
This is unacceptable. We must do more to foster these children so they 
stay in school, keep clean and out of trouble.
  Mentoring can help improve the social and mental well being of a 
child so they can deal with the myriad of challenges they face. 
Massachusetts has many notable mentoring programs that have affected 
thousands of children's lives. Strong Women, Strong Girls is a program 
started by a Harvard graduate that matches local university women with 
girls in targeted communities to help create another generation of 
strong women through mentoring. The Boys and Girls Club has a long and 
storied history in my State as does the Big Brother Big Sister program. 
A study of Brother Big Sister showed that children that benefited from 
their program were 46 percent less likely to use drugs, 52 percent less 
likely to skip school and have fewer conflicts with their families.
  The Mentoring America's Children Act would help these programs and 
others like them across the country. It builds on the mentoring 
programs already put in place in the No Child Left Behind Act by 
ensuring that they are as effective as possible. The bill provides for 
additional training and technical resources as well as studies the 
efficacy of these various programs. More importantly, it widens the net 
of children that can be helped by mentors by focusing on children in 
the foster care system and those that live in communities with high 
suicide rates. We should be focusing our energies on helping the 
children most in need and providing them with mentors that can enrich 
their lives and help them succeed.
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