[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 4914]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                        FRIENDS OF THE CHILDREN

 Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, today I rise in support of Friends 
of the Children, FOTC, a revolutionary organization founded and based 
in my hometown of Portland, OR, that provides intensive, long-term 
mentors to highly vulnerable kids in need. FOTC takes a preventive, 
early intervention approach that breaks the cycle of poverty and helps 
children grow up to be productive citizens.
  The key to FOTC's success is its mentors, called Friends. Each Friend 
is full time, paid and professionally trained. The Friends are matched 
with the most severely at-risk children at an early age--selected in 
kindergarten--and make a 12\1/2\ year commitment to each child, guiding 
them through high school graduation.
  Friends of the Children was founded in 1993 and is celebrating its 
20th anniversary this year. My friend Duncan Campbell, founder of FOTC, 
grew up in poverty himself, and his persistence, hard work and 
entrepreneurial spirit continue to be a driving force behind FOTC's 
success.
  The goals for FOTC's children are both simple and profound: success 
in school with a minimum of a high school diploma or GED; avoid 
involvement in the juvenile justice system, and avoid early parenting. 
And independent research has shown that Friends of the Children is 
achieving those goals: 85 percent of FOTC graduates have completed high 
school, despite 54 percent having a parent who did not graduate; 97 
percent of FOTC youth are not involved in the juvenile justice system 
despite 60 percent having a parent who has been incarcerated; and 98 
percent of FOTC adolescents avoid early parenting despite 60 percent 
having been born to a teen mother.
  Friends of the Children works because it treats every child as an 
individual facing a set of unique circumstances, and takes a committed, 
hands-on approach to improving those circumstances. It works because it 
focuses on one-on-one relationships using a rational, intelligent and 
proven system.
  While headquartered in Portland, Friends of the Children now has 
chapters in four additional cities: Klamath Falls, Seattle, Boston and 
New York. Today, I am proud to congratulate this remarkable program on 
its 20th anniversary, and look forward to celebrating many more years 
of its continued success.

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