[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 100 (Wednesday, June 30, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S5702]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DODD:
  S. 3559. 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.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, today I rise to introduce the Mentoring 
America's Children Act of 2010, which will help promote positive youth 
development for children.
  Approximately 17.6 million young people, which is nearly half the 
population between ages 10 and 18, live in situations that put them at 
risk of not living up to their potential. Without intervention by 
caring adults, these young people could make choices that undermine 
their future as well as the economic and social well-being of our 
Nation.
  Mentoring programs that provide youth with support, advice, 
friendship, positive reinforcement, and constructive examples have 
proved to be a powerful tool for enhancing positive development among 
youth. I, myself, was a mentor in the Big Brother Program in 
Connecticut, and I saw first-hand the impact these programs have on the 
children involved. Research has found that mentored youth have fewer 
school absences, better attitudes towards school, less drug and alcohol 
abuse, fewer incidents of hitting, better relationships with their 
parents, and more positive attitudes towards helping others. Mentored 
youth are also more likely to graduate from high school and go on to 
higher education. Thus, mentoring invests not only in the individual 
child, but our Nation's future success. However, approximately 14.6 
million young people are in need of mentors; they are part of what we 
call our nation's ``mentoring gap.''
  The Mentoring America's Children Act of 2010 amends the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 ESEA, in order to strengthen the 
mentoring program is several ways. First, it will update the purpose of 
the program to include character education and school connectedness, 
which has been found to reduce school absentee rates and improve 
academic performance. This bill broadens the scope of mentoring to 
include special populations such as indigenous youth, delinquent and 
neglected populations, and programs targeting middle and high school 
migrant youth. All of these special populations are at increased risk 
of not reaching their potential.
  The Mentoring America's Children Act of 2010 also provides training 
and technical assistance to grantees, tracks student outcomes, and 
improves the sustainability of grant recipients. Finally, it 
strengthens the research related to school-based mentoring to help 
inform future mentoring programs in order to best meet the needs of our 
youth.
  Mentoring plays a key role in improving the lives of youth, 
especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. It is critical that we 
invest in our youth and help provide them with the opportunities to 
reach their potential. Thus, I urge my colleagues to join me in 
supporting the Mentoring America's Children Act of 2010. Together we 
can invest in the lives of our youth and improve the future of our 
nation.

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