Student Mentoring Programs: Education's Monitoring and		 
Information Sharing Could Be Improved (25-JUN-04, GAO-04-581).	 
                                                                 
As part of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) of 2001, the	 
Congress authorized a 3-year, $17 million per year school-based  
mentoring grant program. For fiscal year 2004, Congress has	 
increased funding to about $50 million to fund additional	 
mentoring efforts. Congress requested that GAO provide		 
information on the student mentoring program. To do this, GAO	 
answered the following questions: (1) What are the basic	 
elements, policies, and procedures of successful mentoring	 
programs? (2) What are the key characteristics of NCLBA-funded	 
mentoring efforts, including the extent to which they have the	 
basic elements, policies, and procedures of successful mentoring 
programs? (3) How does the Department of Education monitor	 
program implementation? (4) What are Education's and grantees'	 
plans to assess program outcomes?				 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-04-581 					        
    ACCNO:   A10607						        
  TITLE:     Student Mentoring Programs: Education's Monitoring and   
Information Sharing Could Be Improved				 
     DATE:   06/25/2004 
  SUBJECT:   Academic achievement				 
	     Aid for education					 
	     Audit reports					 
	     Compensatory education				 
	     Educational grants 				 
	     Educational standards				 
	     Marketing						 
	     Monitoring 					 
	     Performance measures				 
	     Planning						 
	     Program evaluation 				 
	     Students						 
	     Mentoring						 
	     Policies and procedures				 

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GAO-04-581

United States General Accounting Office

GAO

                       Report to Congressional Requesters

June 2004

STUDENT MENTORING PROGRAMS

        Education's Monitoring and Information Sharing Could Be Improved

GAO-04-581

Highlights of GAO-04-581, a report to congressional requesters

As part of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) of 2001, the Congress
authorized a 3-year, $17 million per year school-based mentoring grant
program. For fiscal year 2004, Congress has increased funding to about $50
million to fund additional mentoring efforts. Congress requested that GAO
provide information on the student mentoring program. To do this, GAO
answered the following questions:

(1) What are the basic elements, policies, and procedures of successful
mentoring programs? (2) What are the key characteristics of NCLBA-funded
mentoring efforts, including the extent to which they have the basic
elements, policies, and procedures of successful mentoring programs? (3)
How does the Department of Education monitor program implementation? (4)
What are Education's and grantees' plans to assess program outcomes?

GAO is recommending that Education

o  	explore ways to facilitate the sharing of successful practices and
lessons learned,

o  	ensure that the office monitoring mentoring grantees uses grantees'
single audit reports, and

o  	undertake a national study of its mentoring program outcomes.

www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-04-581.

To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click on
the link above. For more information, contact Marnie S. Shaul at (202)
512-7215 or [email protected].

June 2004

STUDENT MENTORING PROGRAMS

Education's Monitoring and Information Sharing Could Be Improved

According to the literature GAO reviewed, successful mentoring programs
(1) plan their programs carefully prior to implementation; (2) develop
policies and procedures to effectively manage their programs, including
mentor screening and training; (3) ensure program sustainability through
marketing; and (4) evaluate program outcomes and disseminate their
evaluation findings.

Most of the 121 mentoring grantees that Education funded shared many
characteristics--most had 5 years or more of experience mentoring youth,
had similar goals, and offered "one-to-one" mentoring. All mentoring
grantees listed in their applications that they had some elements of
successful programs, but established grantees GAO visited reported fewer
implementation challenges, such as problems recruiting mentors, than did
newer grantees. Most of the 11 grantees GAO visited said they would
benefit from learning about other implementation strategies through
information sharing. However, Education has not facilitated information
sharing among mentoring grantees, although it is considering doing so.

School-age mentoring

Source: Digial Vision.

Education used multiple methods to monitor grantees, including expenditure
tracking, but the office responsible for monitoring mentoring grants did
not review single audit reports as required by its guidance. Education's
Chief Financial Officer reviewed the audits but did not forward audits to
the office overseeing the mentoring grants because findings did not
pertain to these new grants. However, GAO found that 8 percent of the
mentoring grantees had audit findings related to how well they handled
other Education grants.

Education is currently assessing whether it will conduct an overall
evaluation of its mentoring program. Education required that all grantees
have evaluation plans, and most plan to report on youth outcomes related
to academic achievement and attendance. However, grantees plan to use
different methodologies, making it difficult for Education to have a
cohesive picture of its mentoring program as a whole.

Contents

  Letter 1

Results in Brief 3
Background 5
Key Elements of Successful Mentoring Programs Are Planning,

Management, Sustainability, and Evaluation 9

Mentoring Grantees Shared Many Characteristics and Had Some
Elements of Successful Programs, but Ease of Implementation
Differed among New and Established Grantees 13

Education Used Multiple Methods to Monitor Program
Implementation, but Monitoring May Not Be Sufficient to
Identify Possible Fiscal and Programmatic Weaknesses 24

The Office Responsible for Monitoring Mentoring Grantees Did Not
Review Grantees' Single Audit Act Reports, Creating the
Potential for It to Miss Fiscal and Programmatic Weaknesses 27

Education Considering Conducting National Study of Mentoring
Programs to Augment the Evaluations It Has Required Grantees
to Submit 28

Conclusions 29
Recommendations for Executive Action 30
Agency Comments 30

Appendix I	Selected Studies on the Elements of Successful Mentoring

Appendix II	Characteristics of Education Mentoring Grantees by State

Appendix III GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments 56

GAO Contacts 56
Acknowledgments 56

Related GAO Products 57

  Tables

Table 1: Legislative Requirements for Mentoring Programs 7

  Table 2: Percentage of Grantees Citing Various Goals 15 Table 3: Elements of
                         OSDFS's Monitoring Process 25

  Figures

Figure 1: Elements, Policies, and Procedures of Successful Mentoring
Programs 10 Figure 2: Percent of Mentoring Grantees by Years of Experience

with Mentoring 14 Figure 3: Proportion of Grantees by Type of Mentoring 15
Figure 4: Types of Mentoring Activities at Selected Grantees 17 Figure 5:
Examples of Ways Established Programs Showed

Appreciation to Mentors 20 Figure 6: Examples of Promotional Materials
Used by Mentoring Grantees 22

Abbreviations

CFO Chief Financial Officer
NCLBA No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
OMB Office of Management and Budget
OSDFS Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools

This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright
protection in the United States. It may be reproduced and distributed in
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separately.

United States General Accounting Office Washington, DC 20548

June 25, 2004

The Honorable Judd Gregg
Chairman
The Honorable Edward M. Kennedy
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Health, Education,

Labor, and Pensions
United States Senate

The Honorable John A. Boehner
Chairman
The Honorable George Miller
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Education and the Workforce
House of Representatives

Children who have mentors are more likely to earn higher grades in
school, develop healthier social relationships, and are less likely to
miss
school and initiate the use of drugs and alcohol compared with similar
children who do not have mentors, according to a 1995 study on
mentoring.1 In passing the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) of 2001, the
Congress sought to improve the outcomes of our nation's school age
children by authorizing a broad range of programs and services for them.
As part of this effort, the Congress authorized mentoring grants for
children who have the "greatest need." In establishing the student
mentoring program, the Congress authorized grants to organizations to
achieve one or more goals for participating children, including improved
academic outcomes; reduced incidence of school dropout, juvenile
delinquency, and alcohol and drug use; and lower involvement in gangs.
The Department of Education's (Education) Office of Safe and Drug Free
Schools (OSDFS), which administers the mentoring grant, funded
122 grantees for a 3-year period ending in 2004, at $17 million a year.
The
average grant amount is about $140,000 each year. As the current wave of
mentoring funding is set to end, Congress has appropriated funding for
additional mentoring efforts. The fiscal year 2004 appropriation of about

1Tierney and Grossman, Making A Difference, An Impact Study of Big
Brothers Big Sisters (Philadelphia, PA: 1995).

$50 million is expected to fund about 200 new grantees and the last year
of the current wave of mentoring grantees.

As part of our ongoing work on NCLBA implementation, you asked us to
provide you with information on school-based mentoring. In response, we
answered the following questions: (1) What are the basic elements,
policies, and procedures associated with successful mentoring programs?
(2) What are the key characteristics of NCLBA-funded mentoring efforts,
including the extent to which they have the basic elements, policies, and
procedures associated with successful mentoring programs? (3) How does
Education monitor program implementation? (4) What are Education's and
grantees' plans to assess program outcomes?

To answer these questions, we reviewed the literature on the elements,
policies, and procedures associated with successful mentoring. For this
report, we are defining successful mentoring as those efforts that have
the elements needed to establish, operate, and sustain mentoring. We
relied heavily on a 2003 publication developed by an expert panel that
described the elements of effective mentoring and reviewed several studies
upon which the publication was based.2 We found that these studies
generally supported the elements identified in the 2003 publication.
However, the rigor of these studies varied, ranging from studies that
included random assignment of participants to control groups, to more
descriptive case studies. See appendix I for a list of studies that
discuss the elements of successful mentoring. We also reviewed the grant
applications of the 121 mentoring grantees Education currently funds to
determine the extent to which the program descriptions contained in
applications aligned with the elements, policies, and procedures
associated with successful programs.

To better understand how grantees implemented such elements, we visited 11
grantees. We selected these grantees to reflect a diversity of mentoring
approaches and geographic areas. Our initial work led us to explore
whether established and new grantees approached implementation differently
and whether lessons could be learned from their experiences. As a result,
we ensured that the 11 grantees we visited also included a mixture of
relatively new mentoring efforts-6 grantees with fewer than 5 years of
experience mentoring youth and 5 established grantees that had

2See Elements of Effective Practice, 2nd Edition, Mentor/National
Mentoring Partnership (Alexandria, VA: 2003).

been operating for 5 years or more. We visited one grantee in California,
Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Nebraska, New Mexico, New
York, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

During our visits with grantee staff, we covered a range of topics,
including mentor recruitment, screening, and training; mentoring approach;
goals for youth; plans for evaluation; and Education's monitoring of its
programs. In most instances, we spoke with mentors about their mentoring
experiences and the kinds of support and training they received. We also
observed mentoring, noting the nature of the interaction between mentors
and youth, including the kinds of activities and discussions that occurred
between them.

In addition, we reviewed Education's monitoring policies and procedures
and interviewed Education officials about how they monitor the mentoring
grantees. We also reviewed the monitoring documentation that Education
maintains on grantees and discussed Education's monitoring with the
grantees that we visited. Using the online Single Audit Act database, we
compiled summary reports of audit findings on all mentoring grantees that
had fiscal years 2001 and 2002 audits. Such audits contain information on
a grantees use of federal funds. Finally, we interviewed Education
officials about their plans for evaluating the mentoring program, and we
reviewed the evaluation plans of individual grantees. We conducted our
work between June 2003 and May 2004 in accordance with generally accepted
government auditing standards.

According to the literature that we reviewed, successful student mentoring
programs carefully plan their programs, develop policies and procedures to
effectively manage their programs, ensure program sustainability through
marketing, and evaluate program outcomes. First, in planning their
programs, successful mentoring programs make many decisions, including the
number of youth they can realistically serve and what kinds of services
they will offer and expected outcomes. The program will also determine
where and when mentoring will take place, what types of individuals
program staff will recruit as mentors, and how staff will fund and manage
the program. Second, successful mentoring programs develop policies and
processes to screen and train mentors to better ensure that they are
committed to mentoring and understand the needs of youth. The programs
also establish data collection procedures to facilitate program monitoring
and assessment. Third, successful programs have marketing and
sustainability strategies in place that help them retain the support of
current funders and garner financial backing from new sources. Finally,

  Results in Brief

successful student mentoring programs evaluate program outcomes and
broadly disseminate their evaluation findings.

Most of the student mentoring efforts that Education funded shared many
characteristics-most had 5 or more years of experience mentoring youth,
had similar goals, and offered "one-to-one" mentoring. Grantees did differ
somewhat in their program design, such as the number and characteristics
of at-risk youth they planned to serve and the services offered them. All
mentoring efforts had some elements of successful programs, but we found
that established grantees reported fewer implementation challenges, such
as difficulties recruiting mentors, than did newer grantees. Some of the
established grantees we visited told us that they had experienced some
implementation difficulties when they began mentoring youth and that they
had refined their programs over the early years. Many of these grantees
also told us that they benefited from learning about implementation
strategies from other more experienced mentoring programs. Most of the new
grantees reported that this type of information would help them to better
implement their programs. However, Education has not facilitated
information sharing among mentoring grantees, although it is considering
such an effort.

To monitor grantees, Education officials regularly contacted them by
telephone, examined grantee performance reports, visited a limited number
of grantees annually, and monitored the amount grantees spent, according
to Education documents and interviews with officials. Such monitoring
revealed, for example, that one grantee had spent mentoring funds even
though the grantee was not yet operational. That grantee voluntarily
relinquished its mentoring grant. Although Education used multiple methods
to monitor grantees, OSDFS, which is responsible for monitoring mentoring
grants, did not review grantees' single audit reports as part of its
monitoring, although its guidance states that it review readily available
information, including information from single audits. Instead, according
to Education officials, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer within
Education reviewed these reports, but did not provide the OSDFS with
information about audit findings because none of the audit findings
pertained to the mentoring grants. Because mentoring grants were
relatively new, we did not expect to find information pertaining to
grantees' handling of mentoring grants when we reviewed their online
single audit summary reports. Rather, we wanted to determine if there were
problems in these same grantees' handling of other Education grant funds
they received before or around the time Education awarded them mentoring
grants. How well these grantees handled other funds they received from
Education may suggest how well they would manage their

mentoring grant funds. Our review of all 121 mentoring grantees revealed
that about 8 percent of them had an audit that identified problems, such
as cash management and procurement issues, with respect to other Education
grants they received substantially enough to be reported as audit
findings.

Education does not have plans to assess the mentoring program's outcomes
or effectiveness but is currently discussing the possibility of doing so.
No timeframes have been established for making a determination. While
collecting outcome data would provide a descriptive study of youth
outcomes, an effectiveness study, which involves the use of comparison
groups, would allow Education to determine whether the mentoring program,
rather than other factors, caused any improvement in youth outcomes. While
the agency's plans for an evaluation are undefined, it has required that
individual grantees provide final evaluation reports when their 3-year
grants end. Grantees' evaluation plans show that they intend to report a
range of youth outcomes, such as information on academic achievement and
school attendance. Grantee evaluation plans also reflect variation in data
collection strategies. Such variations were most apparent between new and
established grantees. Specifically, the more established grantees more
often reported that they planned to use data, such as grades and
attendance information to report student outcomes, while newer programs
more often reported that they would rely on self-reported data to measure
youth outcomes, such as surveys of teachers. Because of different data
collection methods, taken together these grantee evaluations cannot
provide a cohesive national picture of mentoring program outcomes.

To improve the mentoring program and provide essential information about
its operations and outcomes, we are recommending that the Department of
Education explore ways to facilitate the sharing of successful practices
and lessons learned, ensure that the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools
use grantees' single audit reports, and undertake a national study of its
mentoring program's outcomes.

Background 	According to a 1995 effectiveness study of the Big Brothers
Big Sisters Program, children who participated in this mentoring program
achieved higher grades in school, skipped school less frequently,
developed closer relationships with parents and peers, and were less
likely to initiate the

use of drugs and alcohol than were similar children who were not enrolled
in the program.3

Mentoring is often defined as a sustained relationship between a youth and
an older person, typically an adult, in which the adult provides the
younger person with support, guidance, and assistance. Mentoring is based
on the premise that if young people have access to caring, concerned
adults, they will be more likely to become successful adults themselves.
Historically, mentoring has meant that one volunteer commits to mentoring
one child at a time. More recently, mentoring has moved beyond this
traditional relationship to encompass other formats, including group and
e-mail mentoring.

Mentoring programs are established in many communities. Programs like the
Big Brothers Big Sisters Program, a national program operating in every
state, have a long history of mentoring neighborhood youth. In
community-based programs, youth are often referred for mentoring by family
members. Potential mentors often submit to extensive background checks and
trained mentors are often allowed to engage in unsupervised activities
with the youth. School-based mentoring, as its name implies, takes place
on school grounds. Given their location in the school, program staff in
school-based mentoring programs can easily meet with teachers. Often
teachers refer youth for mentoring whom they believe could benefit from
additional attention and guidance. In school-based mentoring programs,
volunteers typically meet with the youth during or after school and their
interactions are typically supervised. Mentors and youth can spend time on
schoolwork, but also engage in other activities, including playing sports,
attending a concert, reading, eating lunch together, or just "hanging out
together."

To improve the outcomes of our nation's school age children, Congress
passed NCLBA. Among other things, this act authorized 3-year grants for
student mentoring programs. NCLBA required that selected programs serve
children with the greatest need, that is, children most at risk of failing
school, dropping out of school, or being involved in criminal or
delinquent activity, as well as those lacking strong positive role models.

3See Tierney and Grossman, Making A Difference, An Impact Study of Big
Brothers Big Sisters (Philadelphia, PA: 1995). For this study, researchers
randomly assigned eligible youth to either a treatment or control group
and compared outcomes for these two groups. This study provided
information on the effectiveness of the Big Brothers Big Sisters model,
which provides one-on-one mentoring.

NCLBA also authorized grants to entities to achieve one or more goals for
participating children, including improved academic achievement and
reduced delinquent behavior and involvement in gangs. (See table 1.)

            Table 1: Legislative Requirements for Mentoring Programs

Aspect Requirement

Purpose 	Make assistance available to promote mentoring program for
children with greatest need to assist such children in receiving support
and guidance from a mentor; improve the academic achievement of such
children; improve interpersonal relationships between such children and
their peers, teachers, other adults, and family members; reduce the
dropout rate of such children; and reduce juvenile delinquency and
involvement in gangs by such children.

Program goals 	Provide general guidance; promote personal and social
responsibility; increase participation in, and enhance the ability to
benefit from elementary and secondary education; discourage illegal use of
drugs and alcohol, violence, the use of dangerous weapons, promiscuous
behavior, and other criminal, harmful, or potentially harmful activities;
encourage participation in community service and activities; encourage
goal setting and planning for the future, including encouragement of
graduation from secondary school and planning for postsecondary education
or training; and discourage involvement in gangs.

Entities eligible to serve as grantees	Local educational agencies;
nonprofit, community-based organizations; and partnerships between local
educational agencies and nonprofit, community-based organizations.

Target population 	School age children who are at risk of educational
failure, dropping out of school, or involved in criminal or delinquent
behavior, or who lack strong positive role models. Priority for funding
given to programs that serve children living in rural areas, high-crime
areas, troubled home environments, and children experiencing educational
failure.

Application and selection criteria Applicants are required to provide the
following:

o  Description of the mentoring program.

o  Information on the children to be served.

o  Description of the mechanism that will be used to match children with
mentors.

o  Information on how mentors and children will be recruited to the
program.

o  Information on how prospective mentors will be screened.

o  Information on the training that will be provided to mentors.

o  	Information on the capability of the applicant to effectively
implement a mentoring program.

Source: GAO analysis of NCLBA requirements.

Note: We did not provide an exhaustive list of the target population or
application and selection criteria, which can be found in NCLBA.

A number of types of organizations are eligible to receive funding under
the program, including local educational agencies, nonprofit,
communitybased organizations, and partnerships between a local educational
agency and a nonprofit, community-based organization. NCLBA requires that
applicants demonstrate that they meet a number of criteria, which
Education in turn required be detailed in their grant applications.

Specifically, Education required applicants to demonstrate that mentors
would receive training and support and would be screened using appropriate
references and background checks. The agency also required applicants to
meet criteria that are not specifically outlined in NCLBA. For example,
the agency required that applicants outline how they intended to achieve
performance goals, such as improved academic achievement among
participating children, or reduced incidences of involvement in gangs,
illegal drugs, and alcohol. Grant recipients can use the funding for
activities to establish or implement a mentoring program. For example,
grants may use funds to hire mentor coordinators and support staff;
recruit, screen and train mentors; and disseminate recruiting materials.

In fiscal year 2002, Education awarded competitive grants to 1224 grantees
from a pool of nearly 1,300 applicants. Education funded at least one
grantee in every state, with grant amounts ranging from about $39,000 to
nearly $500,000 in both fiscal years 2002 and 2003.5 (See app. II for a
list of grantees by state.) Funding for these grantees ends in fiscal year
2004; funding for the mentoring program over the 3 years will total about
$50 million. Congress has increased funding for fiscal year 2004.
According to Education, these funds will be used to fund an additional 200
grantees and the last year of the current wave of mentoring grantees.

Education has a number of responsibilities regarding administration and
oversight of the mentoring program. The agency oversees program
implementation, provides technical assistance, and disseminates
information on best practices. With respect to monitoring, Education, like
other federal agencies, is required as part of its monitoring
responsibilities to review grantees' single audit reports if they contain
findings.6 The Single Audit Act requires state and local governments and
nonprofit organizations that expend $300,000 or more in federal awards in
a fiscal year to have either a single audit or program-specific audit
conducted for

4Education initially funded 122 grantees, but one voluntarily relinquished
its grant after Education discovered that the grantee had spent funds,
even though it had not yet begun operations.

5Fiscal year 2004 grant awards will be made in July or August of 2004
totaling about $17 million.

6Office of Management and Budget Circular A-133 requires federal agencies
to issue written management decisions on the audit findings contained in
single audit reports within 6 months of receiving the recipient's single
audit report.

  Key Elements of Successful Mentoring Programs Are Planning, Management,
  Sustainability, and Evaluation

that year.7 Audit findings from such reports can include problems such as
internal control weaknesses; material noncompliance with the provisions of
laws, regulations, or grant agreements; and fraud affecting a federal
award. Education receives a copy of the audit report if it contains
findings relevant to an Education program.8

According to the literature we reviewed,9 prior to implementation,
successful mentoring programs make key decisions about which youth they
will serve and expected outcomes, how they will recruit mentors, and how
the program will be funded; put in place management structures, such as
screening, training, and recruitment policies and procedures to ensure
that the program is well-managed on a daily basis; market their programs
and pursue strategies to ensure long-term program viability; and evaluate
program outcomes and disseminate outcome information to key stakeholders
to further garner and sustain support for their programs. (See fig. 1.)

7This amount was increased to $500,000 for fiscal years ending after
December 31, 2003.

8The federal clearinghouse receives copies of the single audit reporting
package from the audited grantee and forwards it to Education.

9See appendix I for a list of the studies that discuss the elements of
successful mentoring.

Figure 1: Elements, Policies, and Procedures of Successful Mentoring
Programs

Source: Graphic rendition of Elements of Effective Practices, 2nd Edition,
MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership (2003).

Note: We are defining successful mentoring to mean those efforts that have
the basic elements needed to establish, manage and operate, and sustain
mentoring.

Successful Student According to the literature that we reviewed,
successful student mentoring Mentoring Programs programs engage in
considerable planning prior to launching their efforts. Develop Initial
Plans for Such planning enables them to assess the need for the services
they plan

to offer and to determine whether their organizations have the assets
theyHow Their Programs Will need to be successful. Pre-implementation
planning can also helpBe Designed and Operated programs determine the
extent to which individuals or corporations may

be willing to invest in the programs.

Successful mentoring programs make many decisions pertaining to program
design and operations as part of their early planning processes. For
example, decisions regarding program design may include how many youth a
program will serve, what kinds of services it will offer, where and when
mentoring will take place, the types of individuals to be recruited as
mentors, and expected outcomes. In addition, successful programs often
decide whether mentors will meet with youth individually or in groups.
Successful programs also determine what function mentors will serve, such
as whether they will offer academic support or help to socialize youth.

Successful Student Research suggests that having policies and procedures
in place to sustain Mentoring Programs and support mentors and youth are
critical elements of successful Ensure Policies and mentoring programs.
According to the literature, three elements are Procedures Are in Place to
particularly critical to the success of a mentor program: (1) mentor
Sustain Daily Operations screening, (2) orientation and training, and (3)
support and supervision.

First, screening procedures provide programs a basis for selecting those
adults who are most likely to be successful as mentors. Screening enables
programs to better predict how a potential mentor may interact with a
mentored youth, such as whether the potential mentor understands the
importance of being a caring adult. In addition, screening can help
determine whether the volunteer can commit enough time to the youth to
build a meaningful relationship. Screening can also help ensure the safety
of participating youth and can protect the program's reputation. When
screening mentors, many programs interview the potential mentors, review
personal references, and check police records.

Second, research indicates that mentor orientation and training
experiences are critical to program success, although research has not
identified how much training is ideal or what topics such training should
cover. Mentor orientation and training experiences can help student
mentoring programs succeed in several ways. For example, orientation and
training experiences can prepare volunteers to successfully become

mentors and can help ensure that both youth and mentors understand what
their roles entail. In addition, orientation and training experiences can
help mentors understand what they can reasonably expect to accomplish.
Moreover, given that mentors often have very different backgrounds from
the youth they mentor, training can help mentors better understand the
youth and more effectively work toward building relationships.

Third, while training can prepare mentors for potential challenges,
successful programs also provide mentors with ongoing support, either from
professional staff or through mentor support groups. Such ongoing support
can help mentors continue to invest in their relationships with youth so
these relationships can survive and thrive. By supervising and supporting
mentor and youth matches, program staff can help ensure that pairs meet
regularly over a substantial period of time; such regular interaction is
critical to developing positive relationships between mentors and youth.
Research suggests that programs in which professional staff provide
regular support to volunteers are more likely to have mentor
youth matches that meet regularly. In addition, participants of such
programs are more likely to report being satisfied with their mentoring
relationships. In contrast, programs in which staff do not regularly
contact mentors report more "failed matches"-those that do not meet
consistently and, thus, do not develop into relationships.

    Successful Student Mentoring Programs Market Their Programs and Develop
    Strategies to Ensure Long-term Operation

Successful mentoring programs market themselves and establish strategies
to ensure long-term program viability, according to the literature.
Marketing and sustainability strategies can take several forms. For
example, programs may design resource development plans. Such plans may
help programs diversify their fundraising by establishing how the programs
will seek in-kind gifts, solicit funding from individuals and corporate
donors, and apply for government funding. In addition, programs may try to
garner private-sector support for mentoring by encouraging leaders in the
private sector to make it easier for their employees to mentor youth. For
example, program staff may encourage company leaders to allow employees to
take time off from work to mentor youth.

Marketing and program sustainability also includes public relations
efforts. For example, mentoring programs may develop partnerships and
collaborations with other organizations that support similar efforts to
improve youth outcomes. Public relations also include recognition of

mentors by providing tangible tokens of appreciations such as plaques or
letters to mentors' employers.

Successful Student Successful mentoring programs develop plans to measure
expected Mentoring Programs outcomes and systematically examine and
disseminate evaluation findings. Establish Processes to For example,
successful mentoring programs develop plans to measure Measure and
Disseminate program outcomes, determine how to measure such outcomes

appropriately, and use their planned evaluation designs to assess their

Program Outcomes 	successes and areas needing improvement. Successful
mentoring programs also disseminate their evaluation findings to
volunteers, participants, funders, and the media to garner further support
for their programs. Moreover, having information on program outcomes
enables these programs to refine program design and operations based on
evaluation findings.

Mentoring Grantees Most of the mentoring grantees Education funded were
similar in many

respects-most grantees had considerable experience operatingShared Many
mentoring programs, had similar goals for youth, and matched one mentor
Characteristics and with one youth. Mentoring programs differed in the
number and

characteristics of youth served and the services offered them. In
addition,Had Some Elements all of the mentoring programs Education funded
listed some key elements of Successful of successful programs in their
applications. However, the well-established

grantees we visited experienced fewer implementation challenges than
didPrograms, but Ease of grantees new to mentoring.

Implementation

Differed among New

and Established

  Grantees

Most Mentoring Grantees Our analyses of grant applications showed that
most of the mentoring Shared Many grantees Education funded were
well-established, with considerable Characteristics Such as mentoring
experience. Specifically, 81 percent of the grantees were well

established-with 5 years or more experience operating
mentoringConsiderable Mentoring programs. For example, one grantee in
Florida had mentored youth forExperience and Similar over 40 years.
Conversely, 19 percent (23) of the grantees Education Goals for Youth
funded were relatively new, with less than 5 years of experience. (See

fig. 2.)

Figure 2: Percent of Mentoring Grantees by Years of Experience with
Mentoring

New: 1-2 years

New: 3-4 years

Established: 5 years or more

In addition, most of the grantees Education funded cited similar goals for
youth, reflecting the criteria identified in the application guidance,
according to our review of grant applications. Nearly all grantees had
goals related to improving academic achievement of participating youth (96
percent) and reducing their involvement in harmful behaviors, such as drug
use and violence (87 percent). These goals were consistent with those
identified in NCBLA as goals of the mentoring program. (See table 2.)

Table 2: Percentage of Grantees Citing Various Goals

                       Goals Percentage citing this goal

Improved academic achievement.

Discourage illegal use of drugs and alcohol; violence; the use of
dangerous weapons; promiscuous behavior; and other criminal, harmful, or
potentially harmful activities.

Reduce incidence of school dropout.

Improve interpersonal relationships between such children and their peers,
teachers, other adults, and family members.

Increase participation in and enhance the ability to benefit from post
secondary education or training.

Increase participation in community service activities.

Improved school attendance/reduced truancy.

Source: GAO analysis of 121 Education-funded mentoring grant applications.

About three-quarters of all grantees paired each youth to his or her own
mentor, while 3 percent of all grantees (3) mentored children exclusively
in groups, with 3 or 4 youth meeting at one time with a mentor. (See fig.
3.) Around one-fifth of all grantees provided both individual and group
mentoring.

Figure 3: Proportion of Grantees by Type of Mentoring 3%

Group mentoring

Both one-to-one and group mentoring

One-to-one mentoring

      Source: GAO analysis of 121 Education-funded mentoring applications.

About 70 percent of grantees listed in their grant applications that they
asked prospective mentors to commit to spending at least 1 hour per week
with their youth, and over 60 percent required a commitment of at least

1 school year. Other programs asked prospective mentors for a longer
commitment. For example, a Nebraska grantee we visited asked prospective
mentors to continue the mentoring relationships until the youth had
graduated from high school. A few grantees asked mentors to commit less
time than 1 hour a week. For example, one grantee we visited in Illinois
asked mentors to meet with their youth for 1 hour a month. However, the
mentors told us that they wanted to increase the frequency of the
meetings.

Although there were many similarities among grantees, they did differ in
some respects, such as the number of youth they planned to serve, how much
funding was available to them, and which specific at-risk youth they
planned to serve. The number of youth grantees planned to serve in total
over the 3-year grant period ranged from 18 in Nebraska to a high of 3,200
youth in New Mexico, according to grantee applications. Grantee award
amounts varied from about $39,000 to nearly $500,000, with the average
grant amount about $140,000. Although all grantees served at-risk youth,
some targeted a specific group of at-risk youth. For example, one grantee
in Virginia targeted children of Vietnamese refugees, another grantee in
California targeted youth in foster care and residential group homes, and
a New York grantee targeted court-involved youth.

Grantees also differed on the types of activities mentors and youth
participated in. During our visits, we observed a range of activities,
some focused on academics, such as tutoring or playing a game that
promoted literacy or math skills-while other activities focused on
building relationships. Such activities included playing chess, playing
basketball, or just simply talking. In addition, some mentors told us that
they engage youth in cultural activities, such as attending a concert.
Mentors also reported participating in activities with their youths that
supported the youths' communities, such as planting bulbs at a local
retirement home or decorating a Christmas tree to be auctioned off at a
local charity event. (See fig. 4.)

Figure 4: Types of Mentoring Activities at Selected Grantees

All Grantees Had Some According to grantee applications, all grantees had
some of the key Elements of Successful elements of successful programs:
initial plans for the program design and Programs, though in operations,
including for example the number and characteristics of youth General More
Established served; policies and procedures for program management such as
mentor

screening and training; and program evaluation activities that include
anGrantees Reported Fewer assessment of program outcomes. However, during
our site visits, we Implementation found that established grantees already
had fairly well-defined programs, Challenges than Newer having generally
completed most aspects of the first two elements- Grantees planning and
program management. Thus, these more established grantees

Source: GAO analysis of site visit information from 11 Education-funded
mentoring grantees.

Many of these mentoring activities were carried out inside of the school,
such as in classrooms, the library, the gym, or in resource centers. Less
frequently, mentors met with youth in their community settings, such as in
a neighborhood church, community center, or public library.

encountered fewer implementation challenges, such as problems recruiting
mentors, than did newer grantees. However, these established grantees
noted the challenges they had faced in starting up their programs
initially and the benefits they derived from talking with other more
experienced program staff to help them along.

Many of the established grantees we visited often required little
additional planning for their mentoring grants. These grantees often used
plans and strategies already in place, such as what youth to serve, the
types of

services to provide, and how to conduct mentor recruitment and training
activities. For example, staff from a well-established Florida grantee
that we visited told us they used the Education grant to continue serving
the same youth they had served through a mentoring program whose funding
had expired. Staff from a California grantee told us they used the
Education grant to expand their existing school-based mentoring program
into additional schools.

In contrast, some of the newer grantees we visited did not have an
existing base upon which to build their mentoring efforts, particularly
those that were using grant funds to start a new program. As a necessary
step toward implementing successful mentoring programs, these grantees had
to take time during the initial part of their grant period to engage in
planning activities. This planning involved determining key program design
features, such as establishing program outcomes and resolving operational
issues such as how to recruit mentors. Sometimes newer grantees had to
revise their original plans when they experienced unexpected
implementation difficulties. For example, a Delaware grantee new to
mentoring had planned to provide one-to-one mentoring at local churches,
but encountered difficulties transporting the children to the various
locations. Subsequently, the grantee switched to a small-group mentoring
approach where mentors met the children at school. Another new grantee
that we visited in Nebraska had difficulty recruiting enough mentors and
retaining enough youth for their mentoring effort. Moreover, during our
visit to a new grantee in Idaho, we observed that some youth did not have
mentors and were being randomly assigned to an available mentor on the
spot for a group activity.10

Our review of grantee applications showed that all grantees had some
policies and procedures in place to manage their ongoing operations, such
as policies pertaining to mentor recruitment, screening, and training, but
during our site visits we found that established and new grantees differed
in the extent to which they had been able to implement such policies and
procedures. Established grantees we visited already had in-place many of
the policies and procedures necessary to operate a mentoring program. For
example, these grantees generally had long-standing agreements with
organizations in their communities that helped them attract, screen, and

10Education tracks grantee implementation and requires grantees to notify
them if they deviate from their original plans. When the Delaware program
switched to group mentoring, it notified Education of the change, although
Education does not consider this to be a major change requiring prior
approval.

retain mentors. In addition, established grantees had a structure that
helped them to begin operations immediately after the grant award. For
example, two well-established grantees-one in Florida and the other in
Ohio had either staff dedicated to recruiting or had advisory boards made
up of community leaders to help them recruit and promote their efforts. In
addition, more established grantees were able to retain their mentors by
providing appreciation gifts and having mentor appreciation dinners and
ceremonies. Some established grantees also gave mentors small gifts such
as pins and note pads with the program logo on it. (See fig. 5.)

Figure 5: Examples of Ways Established Programs Showed Appreciation to
Mentors

Source: GAO photo.

Note: Photo of mentor gifts and appreciation ceremony announcements
provided by grantees.

In contrast, as expected for organizations in the start-up phase of their
programs, the newer grantees we visited generally did not have as well
developed policies and procedures, such as those related to mentor
training, recruitment, and support, as the established grantees we
visited.

For example, a grantee we visited in Illinois had to borrow materials from
other programs to develop its training manual. Furthermore, some of the
newer grantees we visited had not completed making all of their matches or
the mentors and youth had only met a few times.

Established grantees we visited were generally better positioned than
newer grantees to market and sustain their mentoring efforts at the end of
the Education grant. In particular, because many of the established
grantees we visited had secured funding from multiple sources or were part
of larger organizations, they were better positioned to sustain their
mentoring efforts when the grants ended. For example, an established
Florida grantee received funding from multiple sources, including its
national affiliate, private foundations, and the United Way. In contrast,
the Education mentoring grant was the only source of funding for a new
grantee in Georgia. Some established grantees also developed a wide
variety of materials to promote their program, including portable
presentation packages, colorful, professionally printed brochures and
pamphlets, magnets, and promotional videotapes. (See fig. 6.)

Figure 6: Examples of Promotional Materials Used by Mentoring Grantees

Source: GAO photo.

Finally, established grantees often had more experience collecting youth
and program outcomes, our site visits showed. For example, some of the
established grantees that were affiliated with a national organization,
such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, already had a set evaluation
strategy, including standardized data collection forms and analysis tools.
Although new grantees' overall evaluation plans were outlined in their
grant applications, some of the newer grantees we visited did not have
established data collection processes or evaluation plans. Thus, unlike
some of the established grantees we visited, they had to develop such
processes and plans.

    Grantees Reported Benefits from Learning about Other Mentoring
    Implementation Strategies

During our site visits, some of the established grantees reported on both
the challenges of starting a new program and the benefits of learning
about the strategies that other mentoring programs had used to address
such challenges. These grantees reported that the start-up process
required many different types of activities to establish a structure and
operational framework. To facilitate their implementation, they found that
discussions with staff from other established mentoring organizations
helped them by providing information on program design, such as strategies
for recruiting and supporting mentors and program evaluation. For example,
staff from an established New York grantee we visited told us they
contacted other mentoring organizations for advice on mentor screening,
support, and recruitment. These established grantees noted the time and
effort it took to get a program operational and that key to their
successful efforts was assistance they received from other more
experienced programs.

During our site visits, new grantees reported facing start-up
difficulties, such as recruiting and retaining potential mentors. Some of
the newer grantees reported seeking assistance from more experienced
mentoring programs on establishing operational procedures. For example,
staff from a new grantee we visited in Georgia noted they were better able
to make a realistic estimate of the number of youth they could serve after
consulting with an experienced mentoring program.

After the grantee awards were made, Education did not establish a formal
process to facilitate information sharing among grantees, although the
department acknowledged the importance of information sharing among
grantees and is considering such an effort. Many of the grantees we
visited acknowledged the need for information sharing on grantees'
activities that could provide valuable lessons. Three of the established
grantees we visited put processes in place to facilitate information
sharing or presented information about their organization at conferences.
For example, one grantee in Ohio that we visited developed a regional
mentoring institute to share its mentoring experiences and expertise to
assist interested school districts and nonprofits throughout a tristate
area. To facilitate information sharing among grantees, Education is
considering designating some of its fiscal year 2004 funding to develop a
technical assistance center.

Education Used Education officials within the OSDFS monitored grantees
using multiple

methods, including calling grantees regularly, examining annualMultiple
Methods to performance reports, and reviewing grantee expenditure rates.
However, Monitor Program officials did not review findings from grantees'
single audit reports. Single

audit reports provide information on weaknesses related to
granteeImplementation, but financial management, internal control, and
compliance issues.

Monitoring May Not

Be Sufficient to

Identify Possible

Fiscal and

Programmatic

  Weaknesses

Education Used Multiple OSDFS's monitoring process included: postaward
performance calls toMethods to Monitor establish progress measures;
semiannual calls to grantees to determine Grantees, Including
implementation progress and issues; reviews of annual grantee Review of
Performance performance reports to assess implementation; monitoring of
expenditure

rates; and visits to a limited number of sites. Based upon grantees'
annualReports and Expenditure performance reports and other data, OSDFS
officials determined whether Tracking it would continue funding. With one
exception, OSDFS determined that

mentoring grantees were making adequate progress and warranted continued
funding. Table 3 outlines elements of OSDFS's monitoring process,
including the purpose of each monitoring tool and how OSDFS provides
grantees with feedback after assessing their performance using that
particular tool.

Table 3: Elements of OSDFS's Monitoring Process Monitoring tool Purpose Feedback
                                 to the grantee

Postaward Ensures mutual understanding of Grantees receive a

performance call	specific outcomes expected and performance agreement
establishes measures for assessing that outlines the issues projects'
implementation progress discussed during the call. and results.

                  Semiannual     Ensures implementation is   Grantees receive 
                                                                      written 
            performance call proceeding and allows the      summary of issues 
                             agency                        
                             to provide technical               discussed, if 
                             assistance as                         necessary. 
                                                   needed. 

Annual performance Ensures grantee is making progress Grantees receive
written

report 	towards meeting its goals and confirmation that report was
objectives and expenditures are received and feedback, if reconciled with
budget. necessary.

           Grant Accounts Monitor grantee expenditure  Grantees are contacted 
                          rates.                       if                     
           Payment System                                 grant drawdowns are 
                                                       excessive or funds are 
                                                                          not 
                                                            expended within a 
                                                       reasonable time frame. 

          Site visit  Examine selected number of   Grantees receive a report  
                            grantee operations and     documenting site visit 
                                       activities. 
                                                   findings, recommendations, 
                                                        and required actions. 

Source: GAO's analysis of Education data.

First, OSDFS' staff made postaward performance telephone calls soon after
awarding the mentoring grants to ensure understanding of established
outcomes and to offer technical assistance. During these initial telephone
contacts, OSDFS staff communicated the specific outcomes the agency
expected grantees to achieve and answered grantees' questions. They also
discussed measures to assess the grantee's implementation progress.

Second, OSDFS's monitoring process has involved semiannual telephone calls
to grantees to ensure that grantees are on track and to provide technical
assistance as needed. During these telephone calls, OSDFS monitoring staff
asked a set of questions to determine the extent to which grantees are
implementing their programs as planned. Agency officials also asked
grantees questions to assess the extent to which grantees have hired staff
and how much staff turnover they have encountered.

Third, OSDFS examined grantees' annual performance reports. Education
requires grantees to provide information in these reports that helps the
agency monitor grantees. Such information includes specific examples of

grantee accomplishments as well as any objectives the grantee did not
meet. For example, a Florida grantee provided information in the report on
the extent to which youth were meeting the program's outcome goals, noted
where desired outcomes had not been reached, and explained why. In
addition, if grantees have not implemented scheduled activities, OSDFS
asks that grantees explain why. OSDFS also asks grantees to describe any
corrective actions they have taken or plan to take in response to previous
problems OSDFS staff may have identified. Agency officials also used
performance reports to ensure that grantees reconciled their expenditures
with their budgets and described significant changes to their current or
future budgets.

Fourth, OSDFS monitored expenditure rates on a continuous basis through
the Grants Accounts Payments System, according to agency staff. Agency
staff used such information to identify potential problems, such as if a
grantee was not expending funds at an appropriate rate. For example, while
monitoring expenditure rates, OSDFS found that one grantee had spent
funds, even though it had not yet begun operations. That grantee later
voluntarily relinquished its grant.

Fifth, as part of its monitoring process, OSDFS staff has visited a small
number of grantees each year to observe how they are implementing their
programs. However, because of the limited number of grantees OSDFS visited
and the method by which grantees were selected, on-site monitoring is of
limited value as a monitoring tool. For example, in fiscal year 2003,
OSDFS officials visited three grantees. Two of them were selected because
of their proximity to another grantee funded by Education under a
different grant. The third program was chosen because it had ties to the
program director of the grantee that voluntarily relinquished its grant.
During an OSDFS visit with this grantee, agency staff also reviewed the
grantee's budget to ensure that proposed costs were allowable. Staff also
verified that the grantee was serving the target population described in
its application. For all three visits, OSDFS prepared a brief description
of the program and the status of program implementation.

  The Office Responsible for Monitoring Mentoring Grantees Did Not Review
  Grantees' Single Audit Act Reports, Creating the Potential for It to Miss
  Fiscal and Programmatic Weaknesses

Education officials in OSDFS who were directly responsible for monitoring
the mentoring grants told us that they did not review grantees' single
audit reports, even though the office's own monitoring guidance requires
them to do so. Specifically, OSDFS monitoring guidance states that to
decrease the likelihood of a grantee from being labeled as high risk,
OSDFS should review annual performance reports, evaluation reports, and
information from single audit reports, and other information readily
available to them. Education officials told us that the Office of the
Chief Financial Officer (CFO) within Education receives and reviews single
audit reports. According to Education officials, this office did not
forward information to the OSDFS officials responsible for monitoring
mentoring grants because none of the information in the single audit
reports pertained to the mentoring grants. Moreover, Education officials
said that CFO does not receive single audit reports in instances where
Education does not directly fund the program. For example, CFO would not
receive a single audit report for state-administered programs, such as
Title I.11

Using information readily and easily accessible through the online Single
Audit Act database, we reviewed the mentoring grantees' single audit
summary reports. In reviewing these summary audit reports, we did not
expect to find information pertaining to grantees' handling of mentoring
grants, as these were relatively new. Rather, we wanted to determine if
there were issues in these same grantees' handling of other Education
grant funds they received before or around the time Education awarded them
mentoring grants. How well these grantees handled other funds they
received from Education could suggest how well they would manage their
mentoring grant funds. We found that 8 percent of the mentoring grantees
had problems with respect to other Education grants they received that
were substantial enough to be reported as audit findings.12 For example,
we found that grantees' audit findings covered problems with cash
management, procurement and reporting on Education programs. By using the
online Single Audit Act database, we were also able to access information
about subgrantees' handling of Education funds.

11Title I is the largest source of federal funding for primary and
secondary education.

12For this analysis, we examined fiscal years 2001 and 2002 Single Audit
Act Summary Reports.

Education Education is currently considering whether or not it will
undertake a study

of its mentoring program. Although Education's plans for an evaluation
areConsidering not defined, it has required grantees to provide an
evaluation of their Conducting National programs at the end of the 3-year
grant period. Most grantees plan to do a

descriptive evaluation by reporting information on youth outcomes,Study of
Mentoring particularly those related to academic achievement, incidences
of harmful Programs to Augment behavior, attendance, and drop out rates.
However, the grantees varied

considerably with respect to how they plan to measure these outcomes.the
Evaluations It Has This limits the extent to which Education can use
information from the Required Grantees to grantees to provide a national
perspective on grantee outcomes.

  Submit

While Education Plans for Currently, Education does not have plans to
conduct a descriptive study to Mentoring Study Are Not report on mentoring
program outcomes or an effectiveness study to Defined, It Has Required
establish any linkages between outcomes and youth participation in Each
Grantee to Provide mentoring programs. Many researchers consider
effectiveness studies to

be the best method for isolating the program's effect on participants,
froman Evaluation other factors, such as schooling, that could also
influence participant outcomes. Such studies, which must be carefully
planned and executed, are often multiyear, complex, and costly. Education
officials said that although discussions are underway on whether the
department will conduct a study evaluating the mentoring program, no final
decision has been made.

Education has required that all grantees evaluate their programs at the
end of their 3-year grants and to describe their evaluation plans in the
grant applications. Our review of grantee evaluation plans showed that
most grantees plan to compare outcomes of participating youth at the
beginning of the programs to their outcomes at the end of the 3-year grant
period. In particular, grantees report plans to examine outcomes related
to academic achievement, attendance, and criminal and harmful behaviors.

During our site visits, we found that established and new grantees'
evaluation plans varied both in what they measured as well as measurement
strategies. Newer grantees more often planned to measure program
processes, such as the duration of the mentoring relationship, the number
of students matched, or the number of mentors recruited. In contrast,
established grantees more often had plans to report on student outcomes,
such as academic achievement. Moreover, established grantees more often
reported plans to use data, such as actual school grades and attendance
records to measure outcomes. Newer grantees, however, more often reported
plans to survey parents or teachers to gauge the extent to

which outcomes improved. For example, an established grantee in New Mexico
reported plans to use data from school records as well as surveys of
mentors, youth, and teachers to assess whether attendance, homework
completion, relationships with adults and peers, and attitudes toward
school had improved. In addition, this program established targets for
improvement, such as plans to decrease discipline referrals by 20 percent.
In contrast, an Illinois grantee that recently began operating a mentoring
program, planned mainly to report how well it complied with its process,
rather than how well youth performed on outcome measures. This grantee
planned to measure the extent to which its recruitment process generated
participants each year and the number of children matched with mentors.
Moreover, a new grantee operating in Delaware that we visited said it
would report youth outcomes through self-reported information from
teachers and youth. Such self-reported information may not be as accurate
as that reflected in official school records. Moreover, while these
individual grantee evaluations will provide some information about youth
enrolled in mentoring, because of the different measures used, Education
cannot combine results to provide an overall national picture.

Conclusions 	Over the past 3 years, the Congress has invested funds in a
mentoring program aimed at helping children who face a significant risk of
failing at school or becoming involved in illegal drugs, gangs, or alcohol
have a better chance of succeeding. In funding the mentoring program in
fiscal year 2004, the Congress significantly expanded the mentoring
program, providing $50 million to support the last year of the existing
grants as well as about 200 additional grantees. Given the recent program
expansion, it will be especially important to address issues that arose
during the first 2 years of the mentoring program, for example, challenges
new grantees face in starting programs; limited use of monitoring tools,
and the absence of a cohesive national picture of program outcomes.

New mentoring grantees are faced with making many decisions about program
design and operation, whereas established grantees generally have policies
and procedures in place that facilitate implementation. Established
mentoring grantees have benefited from consultation with other programs
and from lessons learned through years of experience; both helped them
operate successful programs. Without a mechanism for new grantees to
access program design and implementation information, they are more likely
than established grantees to struggle with program start-up and
operational issues, such as recruiting and training mentors.

Through its monitoring of grantees, Education has attempted to ensure that
programs are managed well. However, Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools
staff responsible for monitoring the mentoring grant have not used all of
the means available to help it more effectively oversee programs. Findings
from audit reports represent an additional monitoring tool that could
provide useful information about a grantee's stability and fiscal capacity
and that may influence ongoing funding decisions. By not using single
audit reports, the office responsible for monitoring the mentoring grant
may be lacking information that could help it effectively assess whether
programmatic and fiscal problems could weaken a grantee's ability to
successfully implement its mentoring program.

Finally, Education will have some information about outcomes of youth
participating in mentoring because it has required grantees to provide
evaluations of their efforts. However, because these evaluations measure
different outcomes and use different methodologies, their results cannot
be meaningfully combined to provide a cohesive picture of program outcomes
nationally. Lacking such information, Education cannot gauge the extent to
which the youth outcomes NCLBA sought to affect through the mentoring
grants did indeed improve during the grant period. Furthermore, because
Education does not have plans for an effectiveness study, it will not be
positioned to determine whether participation in the mentoring program
contributes to improved youth outcomes.

We recommend that the Secretary of Education (1) explore ways to
facilitate the sharing of successful practices and lessons learned to help
new grantees more quickly and effectively implement their programs; (2)
ensure that the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools uses grantees' single
audit reports as part of its monitoring process to take advantage of all
monitoring tools that could improve the identification of fiscal and
programmatic weaknesses; and (3) undertake a national study of mentoring
program outcomes and in doing so, explore the feasibility of examining the
effectiveness of the mentoring program in improving youth outcomes and
consider collecting limited, uniform data on the next wave of mentoring
grantees that could be used as the basis for such study.

We provided a draft of this report to the Department of Education for
review and comment. Education's Executive Secretariat confirmed that
department officials had reviewed the draft and had technical comments. In
these comments, Education officials said that there is a mechanism within
Education for reviewing and resolving single audit findings.

  Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Comments

Specifically, CFO within Education receives and reviews single audit
reports on those entities for which the agency makes direct grants. Thus,
according to Education, CFO would not receive audit reports for programs
for which it does not make direct grants. We have adjusted the report to
reflect Education's technical comments.

We are sending copies of this report to the Secretary of Education,
relevant congressional committees, and other interested parties. Please
contact me on (202) 512-7215 if you or your staffs have any questions
about this report. In addition, the report will be made available at no
charge on GAO's Web site at http://www.gao.gov. Other GAO contacts and
staff acknowledgments are listed in appendix III.

Marnie S. Shaul, Director Education, Workforce,

and Income Security Issues

Appendix I: Selected Studies on the Elements of Successful Mentoring

Mentor/National Mentoring Partnership, Elements of Effective Practice, 2nd
Edition, Alexandria, VA: 2003.

Michael Garringer, with Mark Fulop and Vikki Rennick, Foundations of
Successful Youth Mentoring: A Guidebook for Program Development, March
2003: Portland, OR. National Mentoring Center, Northwest Regional
Laboratory and the Office of Juvenile and Delinquency Prevention.

Susan Jekielek, Kristin Moore, et al, Mentoring Programs and Youth
Development: A Synthesis. Child Trends January 2002: Washington, D.C.

Jean Baldwin Grossman, editor. Contemporary Issues in Mentoring, June
1999: Philadelphia, PA, Public/Private Ventures.

David DuBois, Bruce E. Holloway, et al, Effectiveness of Mentoring
Programs for Youth: A Meta-Analytic Review (April, 2002, American Journal
of Community Psychology. Vol. 30. No. 2, pp. 157 -197).

Cynthia L. Sipe, Mentoring: A Synthesis of P/PV Research: 1988-1995. Fall
1996, Philadelphia, PA. Public/Private Ventures.

Carla Herrera, C. Sipe, and et al, Mentoring School-Age Children:
Relationship Development in Community-based and School Based Programs,
April 2000: Philadelphia, PA, Public/Private Ventures (Prepared for the
National Mentoring Partnership and funded by the U.S. Department of
Education).

Tierney and Grossman, Making A Difference, An Impact Study of Big Brothers
Big Sister, 1995, Philadelphia, PA.

Appendix II: Characteristics of Education Mentoring Grantees by State

                             Name City State Amount

Experience levela

Type and freqency of mentoring Type of activitiesb

                      Targeted group(s)c Types of mentorsd

Big Brothers

Fairbanks Alaska $191,540 Established One-to-one Academic Youth in grades

School-aged Adults

Big Sisters of Greater Fairbanks pairs meeting at school 1-2 hours a week
for at least 1 school year. 1-8 experiencing troubled home environments
and attending Title I schools. Character development

Recreational Centers for Little Rock Ark. $96,859 Established One-to-one
Youth and pairs and Families groups

                               $182,485                        Youth           
 Tuscaloosa Tuscaloosa Ala. Established One-to-one  Academic   in      College
                                                               grades 
                                        pairs                                  
County                               meeting at Character          students 
  Board of                              school 6   development  4-9.    Adults
 Education                              hours a                       
                                        week                          
                                        and groups                    
                                        meeting 3                     
                                        hours a                       
                                        week                          
                                          for at                      
                                         least 4                      
                                         months.                      

meeting at school for at

                                       e

                                  least 1 year

Yavapai Big Prescott Ariz. $145,477 Established One-to-one Brothers Big
pairs meeting Sisters at school and

in the community; communitybased pairs meet 3-5 hours, 2-4 times a month;
school-based pairs meet 1

                                       f

                                  hour a week.

Family Placerville Calif. $164,341 Established One-to-one Connections El
pairs meeting Dorado, Inc. at school 1 Academic

Character development

Recreational

Academic

Character development

Recreational

Academic

Character development

Recreational

Enrichment Youth in grades 4-12.

Youth in grades 4-12 from Spanish-speaking families.

Youth in grades 4-8 who are Hispanic.

Adults

School-aged Adults

School-aged Adults

week for at least 6 months.

     Appendix II: Characteristics of Education Mentoring Grantees by State

Type and Experience freqency of Type of Targeted Types of Name City State
Amount levela mentoring activitiesb group(s)c mentorsd

  GLIDE       San    Calif. $149,885    One-to-one  Academic    Youth in    Adults 
                            Established                          grades     
                                          pairs                 4-12 from   
Foundation Francisco                    meeting in Enrichment immigrant and 
                                           the                              
                                        community                   refugee 
                                        for                       families, 
                                         at least              youth with   
                                            11                              
                                         months.e             disabilities, 
                                                                   or       
                                                                youth in    
                                                                 foster     
                                                                  care.     

           YMCA of San      San    Calif. $182,250         One-to-one  
                                          Established      
            Francisco:   Francisco                               pairs 
                                                               meeting 
          Urban Services                                       at      
                                                           school.e,f  
               YMCA                                        

Recreational 	Youth living in housing projects, many whose families
recently immigrated families from South America or youth from families
with drug or alcohol addictions or violence.

                                     Adults

Home Start,   San   Calif. $168,530      Groups     Academic   Girls in       College   
             Diego         Established                         grades 4-    
                                       meeting in               8 who are               
                                       the         Character   involved in  
Inc.                                community  development  the juvenile  students
                                       for at     Recreational   justice    
                                       least 6                   system.    
                                       months.e                             
                                                   Enrichment               
  Oakland   Oakland Calif. $171,185    One-to-one   Academic     Youth in               
Asian                   Established                            grades      College
 Students                                pairs     Character   3-12 who are  students   
                                        meeting                             
Educational                            at school  development     Asian and             
 Services                              3-6 fhours Recreational      Pacific   Adults
                                       a week.                     Islander 
                                                   Enrichment   immigrants  
                                                                   with     
                                                                 limited    
                                                                 English    
                                                               proficiency. 
Norwalk-La  Norwalk Calif. $191,540    One-to-one   Academic     Youth in               
                           Established                            grades    School-aged
  Mirada                                                       4-9 who are              
  Unified                              pairs and   Enrichment  deaf or hard   Adults
  School                                 groups                of           
 District                                                                   
                                       meeting at              hearing, in  
                                                               foster       
                                       school for                 care,     
                                           at                    English    
                                        least 1                  language   
                                         hour a                             
                                       week, for               learners, or 
                                           at                  have         
                                        least 1                   mental    
                                         year.                    health    
                                                                problems.   
    Big     Grass   Calif. $117,448    One-to-one   Academic     Youth in               
 Brothers   Valley         Established                            grades    School-aged
                                       pairs,                                           
Big Sisters                            meeting     Character                
 of Nevada                             weekly at  development      3-8.       Adults
  County                               school for                           
                                       at                                   
                                        eleast 1   Enrichment               
                                         year.                              

Appendix II: Characteristics of Education Mentoring Grantees by State

                                  Type and                           
                                Experience                                    
                               freqency of    Type of     Targeted   Types of
     Name     City    State Amount levela  activities b   group(s)c  mentorsd 
                              mentoring                              
                               $184,986                                       
      Los    Gardena Calif.  Established     Academic     Youth in    Adults
    Angeles                   One-to-one                   grades    
    Unified                  pairs meeting   Character   4-8 who are 
    School                  2 hours a week  development  non-English 
District                      at school                 speaking. 
                                and in the Recreational              
                             community for  Enrichment               
                                at least 1                           
                                     year.                           

Comprehensive Fresno Calif. $187,562    One-to-one  Character   Youth in   School-aged 
                            Established                          grades    
    Youth                               pairs                   4-12 who               
  Services                              meeting at development     are       Adults
                                        school.e,f             involved in 
                                                               criminal or 
                                                               delinquent  
                                                               activities, 
                                                                   many of 
                                                                whom are   
                                                               Mexican or  
                                                               non-        
                                                               English     
                                                               speaking    
                                                               immigrants. 

Students  Freemont Calif. $95,749 Established One-to-one   Academic    Youth in  Adults 
in                                                                   grades   
                                                                        4-12 who 
                                              pairs and               are highly 
                                              groups      Character     at-risk, 
Business,                                     meeting in development      are in 
  Inc.                                        the        Recreational     foster 
                                              community                    care, 
                                              4-6                      reside in 
                                                                         a group 
                                              hours a                  home, or  
                                              month       Enrichment     have    
                                                for at                emotional  
                                               least a                   and     
                                                year.                 behavioral 
                                                                      problems   
                                                                      due to     
                                                                         past    
                                                                        abuse.   

Big    Fort  Calif. $178,358    One-to-one   Academic   Youth who School-aged 
Brothers  Bragg        Established                            are    
Big                               pairs                  Spanish              
 Sisters                           meeting at Recreational speaking, 
of                              school 1-2  Enrichment   girls,     Adults
Mendocino                            hours                 disabled, 
 County                             twice a                   or     
                                   week and                   Native 
                                   one-                    American. 
                                     to-one                          
                                     pairs                           
                                   meeting in                        
                                   the                               
                                   community                         
                                   4-6                               
                                    hours a                          
                                      week                           
                                     for at                          
                                    least a                          
                                     year.                           

  Berkeley   Berkeley Calif. $122,888    One-to-one   Academic   Primarily College  
Youth                     Established                          African- 
                                         pairs                                      
Alternatives                             meeting at Recreational American  students 
                                         school and  Enrichment  youth.      Adults
                                         in the                            
                                         community                         
                                             4                             
                                         hours a                           
                                         week                              
                                           for at                          
                                          least a                          
                                           school                          
                                           year.                           

Appendix II: Characteristics of Education Mentoring Grantees by State

Type and Experience freqency of Type of Targeted Types of Name City State
Amount levela mentoring activitiesb group(s)c mentorsd

Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara

Santa Paula Calif. $90,598 Established	One-to-one pairs with adult mentors
making weekly contact and meeting at least twice a month and one-to-one
pairs with a high school mentor meeting

e,f,g

biweekly.

Academic Youth in grades School-aged

Character 4-12 who are Adults

development 	most affected by violence.

Enrichment

San Diego  San  Calif. $149,018    One-to-one   Academic   Youth in     School-aged 
          Diego        Established                         grades       
                                   pairs                   4-12, many               
 Youth &                           meeting in              with limited             
Community                          the        Recreational English      
Services,                          community   Enrichment  proficiency, 
  Inc.                             for 2                   including      College
                                   hours a                               students
                                    week for               Hispanic,                
                                       at                  Asian,         Adults
                                   least 1                 and refugee  
                                   school                               
                                     year.                 populations. 

 Redwood  Eureka Calif. $180,466    One-to-one   Academic    Youth in   School-aged 
                        Established                           grades    
                                    pairs                   4-8, middle             
Community                           meeting in  Character    and high   
 Action                             the        development    school      Adults
 Agency                             community  Recreational students in 
                                    for 6                   alternative 
                                    hours a                             
                                    month for                  programs 
                                        at      Enrichment      such as 
                                     least 1                 court and  
                                      year.                             
                                                             community  
                                                             schools,   
                                                                and     
                                                             homeless   
                                                                and     
                                                              runaway   
                                                              youth.    

      San    Del Calif. $183,633    One-to-one   Academic     Youth in grades 
Dieguito  Mar        Established                               School-aged 
                                    pairs                      4-8 who are    
for Drug                         meeting at Recreational  Hispanic, lack   
     Free                           school for  Enrichment     adult role     
     Youth                          1 hour a                     models,      
                                    week                    
                                      for at                       are        
                                     least 8                
                                     weeks (1               socioeconomically 
                                      school                disadvantaged, or 
                                    semester).              have significant  
                                                               physical or    
                                                                emotional     
                                                              disabilities.   

     Appendix II: Characteristics of Education Mentoring Grantees by State

Type and Experience freqency of Type of Targeted Types of Name City State
Amount levela mentoring activitiesb group(s)c mentorsd

Fresno Unified Fresno Calif. $187,506 Established One-to-one Academic
School District pairs meeting Character

at school. e,f development

Enrichment Youth in grades 4-12 whose families are homeless, who live in
poverty (subsidized housing), who have behavior problems, or who are
victims of child abuse or domestic violence.

                                College students

                                     Adults

    School    Denver  Colo. $91,847 New One-to-one   Academic   At-risk 6      
District                                                     grade Adults   
#1 City                                pairs                  students who  
  and County                            meeting at Recreational   are Latino   
  of Denver                             school and  Enrichment   immigrants,   
                                          in the                    first      
                                        community                generation,   
                                        for                          and       
                                        2 hours a                are involved  
                                                                     with      
                                         week for               human services 
                                            at                  
                                         least 1                 or juvenile   
                                          year.                    justice.    
Catholic   Denver  Colo.  $133,725   One-to-one   Academic   Youth in       
                                New                             grades Adults  
  Charities                             pairs                                  
      &                                 meeting at  Character    5-6 who are   
  Community                             school for development    Latino or    
Services                             1 hour a                  bilingual.
                                        week                    
                                          for at    Enrichment  
                                         least 1                
                                          school                
                                          year.                 
Colorado   Denver  Colo. $140,231    One-to-one   Academic         Youth in 
                            Established                         grades College 
                                          pairs                 4-8, including 
                                         meeting                    a students 
  Christian                               for at    Character     considerable 
     Home                                least 2   development          Adults 
                                         hours a   Recreational  population of 
                                         week for                    Hmong and 
                                        at least 1              
                                          year.g    Enrichment     Laotian     
                                                                  children.    
             Hartford Conn. $139,766    One-to-one   Academic   Court-involved 
  Community                 Established                         Adults         
                                                                 youth making  
                                          pairs     Character   the transition 
  Solutions,                            meeting at development  from juvenile  
     Inc.                               school.e,f Recreational    justice     
                                                                 program back  
                                                                      to       
                                                                    public     
                                                    Enrichment     schools.    

     Appendix II: Characteristics of Education Mentoring Grantees by State

Type and Experience freqency of Type of Targeted Types of Name City State
Amount levela mentoring activitiesb group(s)c mentorsd

  Hannah  Washington D.C. $182,538 One-to-one   Academic    Youth in  College  
                            New                              grades   
                                    pairs and               6-8 who            
                                       groups  Character     attend            
  Johnson                          meeting in development  SouthEast  students
    CDC                                   the Recreational Academy of   Adults
                                    community              Scholastic 
                                            4                         
                                   contacts a              Excellence 
                                               Enrichment     and     
                                   month for                  live in 
                                       at                         the 
                                                              Capitol 
                                   least 1.5                  Hill    
                                                           District.  
                                       hours,                         
                                      with at                         
                                   least one                          
                                       in                             
                                     person                           
                                     visit                            
                                   lasting at                         
                                        least                         
                                    1 hour,                           
                                     for at                           
                                    least 1                           
                                     year.                            

Linking   Washington D.C. $106,090 One-to-one  Academic   Youth in  College  
                               New                            grades   
 Communities                               pairs              6-9 most          
     for                              meeting at  Character    of whom students 
 Educational                            school 6 development       are   Adults
  Success,                               hours a               African 
    Inc.                                   month             American. 
                                         plus    Enrichment            
                                        weekly                         
                                           phone                       
                                       contact.f                       

 Greater   Washington D.C.    $173,520 One-to-one   Academic   Girls in   Adults 
                           Established                                    
Washington                                                    elementary, 
  Urban                                e,f,gpairs. Enrichment middle, or  
  League                                                         high     
                                                              school who  
                                                                  are     
                                                                  African 
                                                                 American 
                                                               or other   
                                                              minorities. 

College Washington D.C.     $178,565 One-to-one   Academic        Youth in 
Bound,                   Established                         grades Adults 
                                        pairs                     8-12 from   
                                        meeting in   Character    public &    
    Inc.                                the         development    charter    
                                        community   Enrichment  schools with  
                                        for 2 hours                average    
                                        a                         academic    
                                        week for at               records.    
                                          least 9               
                                          months.               

Professional Wilmington Del. $210,695 New One-to-one Counseling pairs and
Resources, Inc. groups

meeting at school and in the community at least twice a month.e,f

Jefferson Monticello Fla. $121,927 Established One-to-one County Bd of
pairs meeting Education & at school for 1 Communities In hour a week,
Schools of for at least 1 Jefferson Co. school year.

                                           Academic Youth in      School-aged 
                                                    grades       
                                          Character         4-8.      College 
                                        development                  students 
                                       Recreational                    Adults 
                                                    Youth in                  
                                           Academic grades        School-aged
                                                    4-8 who have              
                                          Character a history of      College 
                                        development involvement      students
                                                    with         
                                         Enrichment   juvenile         Adults 
                                                      justice    
                                                         system. 

     Appendix II: Characteristics of Education Mentoring Grantees by State

Type and Experience freqency of Type of Targeted Types of Name City State
Amount levela mentoring activitiesb group(s)c mentorsd

Human    Orlando Fla.    $138,415 One-to-one  Academic    Youth in   College  
                         Established                          grades    
 Services                            pairs                 4-8 who have          
Associates,                          meeting at Enrichment significant  students 
Inc.                              a juvenile            learning or    Adults
                                     assessment                         
                                     center for             emotional   
                                         at                             
                                      eleast 1              problems,   
                                       year.                  are in    
                                                           an alternate 
                                                              school    
                                                           environment, 
                                                                or      
                                                           have extreme 
                                                                 school 
                                                             phobias or 
                                                                related 
                                                             disorders. 

                                                                  Youth              
  Public   Ocala Fla. $65,645 Established One-to-one   Academic   in     School-aged
                                                                  grades 
Education                                 pairs                                      
Foundation                                meeting at  Character          
of Marion                                 school and development   4-8.    Adults
 County,                                  in the     Recreational        
Inc.                                   community                      
                                          30-                            
                                          45 minutes                     
                                              a       Enrichment         
                                           week for                      
                                          mentoring                      
                                          and                            
                                           twice a                       
                                             week                        
                                             ffor                        
                                          tutoring.                      

Little Haiti Housing Association, Inc.

Miami Fla. $185,985 Established	This is a "dropin" program where youth may
work with several mentors during the week on different technology
projects. Mentors commit to 2.5 hours a week for 6 months.e,f

Academic Girls and Haitian, College Character Central American, students

development and Puerto Rican Adults youth. Enrichment

 Urban     Ft.     Fla. $94,828 Established One-to-one  Academic   Youth in Adults 
League                                                              grades  
                                                                    6-8 who 
  of                                        pairs                       are 
Broward                                     meeting at Character    African 
County, Lauderdale                          school 4   development American 
 Inc.                                       hours a                     and 
                                            week                     reside 
                                                                     in the 
                                                       Enrichment   33311   
                                            and groups             zip code 
                                            meeting                 area.   
                                            once                            
                                            a week for                      
                                                at                          
                                             least 1                        
                                              year.                         

Appendix II: Characteristics of Education Mentoring Grantees by State

Type and Experience freqency of Type of Targeted Types of Name City State
Amount levela mentoring activitiesb group(s)c mentorsd

School Board of Largo Fla. $168,952 Established One-to-one

Pinellas County 	pairs meeting at school and in the community for a half
hour to an hour once week.f

Big Brothers Miami Fla. $189,625 Established One-to-one Big Sisters of
pairs meeting Greater Miami at school at Academic Youth in grades Adults

Character 4-8. development

Recreational

Enrichment

                      Academic Youth in grades School-aged

Character K-5 who are at College development risk of not studentsreaching

 Recreational graduation. Adults least 1 hour once a week for at least 1 school
                                     year.

 Greene  Greensboro Ga. $191,150  One-to-one   Academic   Youth in      College 
 County                   New                             grades       
                                                           4-12 with            
 School                           pairs and    Character  performance, students 
District                         groups.e,f,g development  behavior,     Adults
                                                              and      
                                              Enrichment   attendance  
                                                           problems.   

                        $150,893                               Youth          
    Georgia  Morrow Ga.   New       One-to-one      Academic   in      Adults
                                                               grades  
Community                     pairs meeting at Recreational  4-12.  
Services                            school and                      
Program,                           in the       Enrichment          
     Inc.                                                              
                                    community for                      
                                    at least 4                         
                                     hours a                           
                                     month.f                           

The Fledglings, Stone Ga. $76,902 Established One-to-one Academic Inc.
Mountain pairs meeting Character

at school 1

hour a week.f development

Enrichment Youth in grades 3-5 who consistently exhibit unruly behavior
and/or are at risk of academic failure, have special needs, including but
not limited to behavioral disorders, or are minority Caucasian and Asian
students.

                                     Adults

Appendix II: Characteristics of Education Mentoring Grantees by State

Type and Experience freqency of Type of Targeted Types of Name City State
Amount levela mentoring activitiesb group(s)c mentorsd

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Augusta, Inc.

Augusta Ga. $150,832 Established	One-to-one pairs meeting once a week and
groups meeting twice a month in the community for at least 1 Academic

Character development

Recreational

Enrichment Youth in grades 4-8.

                                College students

                                     Adults

                                       e

                                     year.

                               $104,367                              Youth in 
Chamblee- Doraville Ga.  Established One-to-one   Academic          grades 
                                                                      College 
                                        pairs                       4-8 whose 
Doraville                            meeting in                   students 
Ministry                             the          Character    parents are 
    Center,                             community   development   not at home 
     Inc.                               for 2 hours Enrichment    immediately 
                                        a                        Adults after 
                                                                    school to 
                                        week for at              assist with  
                                                                    home      
                                          least 1                work or for  
                                           year.                    whom      
                                                                 English is   
                                                                     not      
                                                                 their first  
                                                                  language.   

Ho'oulu Lahui Pahoa Hawaii $173,392 New	One-to-one Academic Youth in
grades School-aged pairs meeting Character 6-8 who are College at school
for 3 development Hawaiian. studentshours a

month.f Enrichment Adults

Youth and Ames Iowa $180,699 Established One-to-one Academic Youth 6-14
years Adults Shelter, Inc. pairs meeting Enrichment old in Story and

at school for at Boone Counties.

e

                                 least 1 year.

             Independence $138,238                            Youth              
Independence Iowa         Established One-to-one   Academic   in     School-aged
                                                              grades 
 Community                            pairs and  Character                       
School                               groups   development  K-12.    Adults
  District                            meeting at Recreational        
                                      school 30                      
                                      minutes                        
                                      once        Enrichment         
                                      f a week.                      

Dickenson Spirit Iowa $76,546 Established One-to-one   Academic     Youth in   Adults 
           Lake                                                      grades    
                                          pairs                       4-12 who 
                                          meeting in                      have 
 County                                   the         Character       learning 
Kinship,                                  community  development  disabilities 
  Inc.                                    for 1-5    Recreational           or 
                                          hours a                   behavioral 
                                                                       issues, 
                                           week for                a parent in 
                                              at      Enrichment       prison, 
                                           least 1                  a parent   
                                            year.                   with an    
                                                                  addiction,   
                                                                  or who       
                                                                  have been in 
                                                                  foster care. 

Appendix II: Characteristics of Education Mentoring Grantees by State

                                 Type and                         
                               Experience                                     
                              freqency of   Type of     Targeted   Types of
                                Amount                                        
      Name      City    State   levela    activities b group(s)c   mentorsd
                               mentoring                          
                               $113,651                                       
West Iowa   Denison  Iowa  Established   Academic    Youth in  
                              One-to-one                 grades   School-aged
Community                    pairs and                                     
     Mental                        groups  Character    6-12 who  
     Health                    meeting at development     are       Adults
     Center                    school and Recreational Hispanic.  
                                       in                         
                                      the                         
                                community  Enrichment             
                                   for at                         
                                least two                         
                                contacts.                         
                                      e,f                         
                               $150,957                                       
Blackfoot  Blackfoot Idaho     New       Academic     Youth in 
                              One-to-one                 grades 4 School-aged
                                                         and 8-12             
                                                          who are             
     School                         pairs  Character       Native   College   
    District                   meeting at development   Americans  students
                               school.e,f Recreational         or   Adults
                                                         Hispanic 
                                                        migrants. 
                                           Enrichment             
                               $137,086                                       
      Big       Boise   Idaho Established   Academic    Youth in  
    Brothers                  One-to-one                 grades   School-aged
                                                       4-8 who    
                                    pairs              teachers   
      Big                      meeting in  Character   believe    
Sisters of                  school for development  are most   
    SW Idaho                   at least 1 Recreational likely to  
                                   hour a              dropout,   
                                   week.f              especially 
                                                       girls.     
                                           Enrichment             

Board of Trustees -University of Illinois

Champaign Ill. $115,750 New	One-to-one pairs and groups meeting at school
and in the community for at least 3 Academic

Character development

Enrichment Youth in grades 4-8.

                                College students

                                     Adults

                                       e

                                     years.

Appendix II: Characteristics of Education Mentoring Grantees by State

                                  Type and                         
                                Experience                                     
                                  freqency                         
                                        of   Type of    Targeted    Types of
                                  Amount   activities                          
     Name        City     State   levela        b       group(s)c   mentorsd
                                mentoring                          
  Communities                    $153,874                                      
      in                  Ill.     New      Academic   Youth in    
              Springfield       One-to-one             grades      School-aged
                                     pairs                                     
                                meeting at             4-8 who are             
  Schools in                    school for  Character  involved in   College   
Sangamon                     at least 4 development criminal or  students
    County                         hours a Enrichment  delinquent    Adults
                                 month for                         
                                        at                         
                                   least 1             activities. 
                                     year.                         

Big Brothers Big Sisters Sangamon County

Springfield Ill. $94,498 Established	One-to-one pairs meeting at school
for 48 hours a month of mentoring, 12 hours a month of tutoring, 4-8 hours
a month of character development, and 30 hours a year of case management
services for at least 1 year.

Academic Youth between School-aged Character the ages of 5 and College

development 14. students

Recreational Adults

Enrichment

  Sinai   Chicago Ill. $92,837 Established One-to-one  Academic  Youth in  Adults 
                                                                  grades   
                                             pairs                 4-8 who 
Community                                  meeting at Enrichment       are 
Institute                                  school and              African 
                                                                 American. 
                                             in the                        
                                           community                       
                                           for                             
                                           1-2 hours                       
                                               a                           
                                            week for                       
                                               at                          
                                            least 1                        
                                             year.                         

Big      Danville   Ill. $82,855 Established One-to-one   Academic   Youth in      
 Brothers                                                               grades Adults 
                                                pairs                    4-5. In one  
Big                                          meeting at  Character    elementary   
Sisters of                                      school for development     school,    
Vermillion                                      1 hour a   Recreational  emphasis on  
  County                                        week for                serving youth 
                                                at least 1              
                                                                            from      
                                                  year.     Enrichment  single-parent 
                                                                         households.  
                                                                            Youth who 
                       Ind.         Established One-to-one   Academic         live in 
Middle Way Bloomington      $47,145                                           College 
                                                pairs                        domestic 
                                                meeting in                   violence 
  House,                                        the         Character        students 
Inc.                                         community  development      emergency 
                                                for 3      Recreational  shelters and 
                                                hours a                        Adults 
                                                                         transitional 
                                                 week for                             
                                                    at      Enrichment    housing.
                                                 least 1                
                                                   year                 

Appendix II: Characteristics of Education Mentoring Grantees by State

                                Type and                         
                              Experience                                      
                             freqency of    Type of    Targeted    Types of
     Name     City   State Amount levela activities b  group(s)c   mentorsd   
                             mentoring                           
                             $185,959                                         
    Kansas   Wichita Kans.  Established    Academic    Youth in  
      Big                   One-to-one                 grades     School-aged
Brothers                pairs meeting                                      
      Big                  at school and   Character     4-8.      College    
Sisters,                       in the  development              students
     Inc.                                                        
                              community. Recreational               Adults    
                                     e,f                         
                                          Enrichment             
                              $94,263                                         
      Big                   Established    Academic    Youth in  
Brothers  Bowling  Ky.   One-to-one                 grades     School-aged
      Big                  pairs meeting                                      
    Sisters                at school for   Character             
of South   Green         at least 1-2  development    K-8.       Adults
    Central                        hours                         
      KY                                                         
                           a week for at  Enrichment             
                           least 1 year.                         

Old South Baton Rouge Community Revitalization Corporation

Baton Rouge La. $111,078 Established	One-to-one pairs and groups meeting
at school and in the community for at least a year. Tutor Buddies meet for
1 hour a week. Big Buddies meet for 5-6 hours a month. Enrichment Buddies
meet for 1 hour a week.

            Academic Youth in grades College Character K-8. students

development Adults

Recreational

Enrichment

AFC      Boston   Mass. $85,981 New One-to-one   Academic    Youth in     College   
Mentoring                                                        grades    
                                       pairs and               2-8 who are             
                                       groups      Enrichment  adopted and  students   
                                       meeting                 out-of-home   Adults
                                       for at                       youth. 
                                       least 1                             
                                       year.e,g                            
Big               Mass. $126,000    One-to-one   Academic    Youth in               
Brothers  Framingham       Established                           grades    School-aged
Big                                 pairs                               
 Sisters                               meeting at Character                
of                                  school for development     3-5.     
Middlesex                              2.5 hours                           
                                       a                                   
                                        week for  Recreational             
                                           at                              
                                        least 36   Enrichment              
                                         weeks.                            

 Hispanic  Boston Mass. $143,666    One-to-one   Academic   Youth in School-aged 
  Office                Established                         grade 9- 
                                                              12 who             
                                    pairs and                    are             
    of                              groups      Character   Hispanic   College   
 Planning                           meeting at development   and who  students
and                              school and Recreational      are   Adults
Evaluation                          in                      talented 
                                                                 and 
                                                             gifted. 
                                       the      Enrichment           
                                       e,f                           
                                    community.                       

     Appendix II: Characteristics of Education Mentoring Grantees by State

Type and Experience freqency of Type of Targeted Types of Name City State
Amount levela mentoring activitiesb group(s)c mentorsd

Citizen  Boston Mass. $151,696     One-to-one  Academic   Youth in  Adults 
Schools               Established                           8th     
                                      pairs                 grade who  
                                      meeting at Enrichment are        
                                      law firms             Haitian,   
                                      for                   African-   
                                       2 hours              American,  
                                        every                          
                                      other week            Caribbean, 
                                      for                       or     
                                      at least 1               West    
                                      year.                  Indian.   

     Family                                                                   
    Learning  Md.     $160,894   One-to-one     Youth in grades   School-aged
     Silver        Established    Academic                       
     Spring                                                      
                                  pairs and                                   
                                  Character         4-12 who are              
Solutions,                  groups meeting   African-American   College    
      Inc.                         in the       or Hispanic, are   students
                                 development    immigrants, low-    Adults
                                community for                    
                                Recreational                     
                               2 hours twice a income, or have   
                                 Enrichment                      
                                 week for at   mental health or  
                                least 1 year.      behavior      
                                                   problems.     

Downeast Ellsworth Maine $150,510    One-to-one   Academic   Native   School-aged 
                         Established                         American 
                                     pairs                                        
 Health                              meeting at  Character   youth in   College   
Services                             school for development     2      students
                                     1 hour a                schools. 
                                     week                             
                                       for at   Recreational            Adults    
                                      least 1                         
                                       school                         
                                       year.     Enrichment           

                                                                    Youth              
 Newaygo  Freemont Mich. $81,731 Established One-to-one  Academic   in     School-aged
                                                                    grades 
 County                                        pairs                                   
Community                                    meeting at  Character   K-8.    Adults
Services                                     school and development        
                                               in the                      
                                             community                     
                                             for                           
                                             4 hours                       
                                             every                         
                                             f2 weeks.                     

Success     Alden    Minn. $39,232 New One-to-one   Academic   Youth in    Adults  
                                                               grades     
Through                                pairs                              
 Adults                                meeting at  Character      4-8,    
Reaching                               school for development  primarily  
Students                               1 hour a                  boys.    
                                       week                               
                                         for at   Recreational            
                                        least 1                           
                                         year.     Enrichment             
 Bolder              Minn. $162,407    One-to-one   Academic   Youth in            
Options, Minneapolis       Established                         grades     College
                                       pairs                                       
                                       meeting in  Character   4-9 who             
  Inc.                                 the        development  are        students
                                       community  Recreational frequently   Adults
                                       for 3                   truant.    
                                       hours a                            
                                        week for                          
                                           at      Enrichment             
                                        least 1                           
                                         year.                            

Appendix II: Characteristics of Education Mentoring Grantees by State

                                  Type and                          
                                Experience                                      
                               freqency of   Type of     Targeted    Types of
                                 Amount                                         
    Name        City     State   levela    activities b  group(s)c   mentorsd
                                mentoring                           
     The                         $90,925                                        
  Institute              Minn. Established   Academic    Youth in     Adults
     for     Minneapolis       One-to-one                 grades    
                                                         4-12 who   
     New                         pairs and  Enrichment      are     
  Americans                         groups              refugees or 
                                                            are     
                                meeting at              immigrants  
                                                           from     
                                school for              Somalia,    
                                       1-3              Mexico,     
                                   hours a               Ethiopia,  
                                      week                 West     
                                    for at              Africa, and 
                                   least 1              Latin       
                                     year.              and Central 
                                                         America.   
                                $111,525                                        
 CommonBond   St. Paul   Minn. Established   Academic    Immigrant  
                               One-to-one                  youth    School-aged
                                     pairs                of Hmong,             
                                meeting in              Vietnamese,   College   
 Communities                           the Recreational  Cambodian,  students   
                                 community  Enrichment    Northeast   Adults
                                for 1 hour                 African, 
                                    a week                          
                                    for at              and East    
                                   least 1              African     
                                    school                 (Somali) 
                                     year.                 descent. 

Lamar    Lamar Mo. $156,799 One-to-one   Academic   Youth who are   College 
                        New                                           
                                pairs and                 Hispanic             
 Community                         groups  Character   immigrants, in students 
 Betterment                       meeting development   out-of-home     Adults
                               for 1 hour Recreational placements or  
                                   a week                             
                                 for at                children of a  
                                least 1    Enrichment                 
                                 year.g                   teenage,    
                                                        incarcerated  
                                                             or       
                                                       court-involved 
                                                          parent.     

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri

St. Louis Mo. $191,540 Established	One-to-one pairs meeting at school 2-4
times a month for at least 1 Academic

Character development

Enrichment Youth in grades 4-8.

                                College students

                                     Adults

                                       e

                                     year.

                           $157,065                         Youth              
     Youth     Marks Miss.   New    One-to-one   Academic   in     School-aged
                                                            grades 
                                         pairs                                 
 Opportunities                      meeting at  Character   4-12.    College   
Unlimited                        school and development          students
                                        in the                     
                                     community Recreational          Adults    
                                           for                     
                                    4 times a   Enrichment         
                                     week.e,f                      

  Prevent Bozeman Mont. $133,476    One-to-one  Academic   Youth in   College  
Child                Established                         grades    
                                    pairs                    4-12 who          
                                    meeting at                    are          
  Abuse,                            school for Enrichment    learning students
Inc.                             1 fhour a               disabled,   Adults
                                    week.                         are 
                                                          emotionally 
                                                          disturbed,  
                                                             have     
                                                          health      
                                                          problems,   
                                                          or receive  
                                                          inadequate  
                                                              support 
                                                            services. 

Appendix II: Characteristics of Education Mentoring Grantees by State

                                       Type and                       
                                    Experience                                 
                                    freqency of   Type of   Targeted  Types of
     Name      City   State Amount    levela    activities  group(s)c mentorsd 
                                     mentoring       b                
  Volunteers Carrboro N.C.  $95,859 Established  Academic   Youth in           
     for                            One-to-one               grades   College
                                          pairs               4-8 who          
                                     meeting at  Character        are          
    Youth,                           school for development people of students
     Inc.                             4 hours a Enrichment   color or Adults
                                    week for at                   are 
                                        least 1             Hispanic. 
                                       year.                          

YMCA of    Winston- N.C.    $140,712 One-to-one   Academic   Youth in College  
                            Established                          grades  
                                                                 4-8 who          
                                        pairs                        are          
                                        meeting at Character    Hispanic 
Greater     Salem                    school and development       and students
Winston-Salem                           in the     Recreational   attend   Adults
                                        community                English 
                                                                    as a 
                                                                  Second 
                                         twice a                Language 
                                           week     Enrichment           
                                        for a                   schools. 
                                        total of 3                       
                                         hours a                         
                                           week                          
                                          for at                         
                                         least 1                         
                                          year.                          

                                  $159,439                          Youth are 
    Columbus   Whiteville N.C. Established One-to-one    Academic    minority 
                                                                       Adults 
                                           pairs                    females,  
     County                                meeting at   Character    mostly   
    Services                               school and  development   African  
Management,                             in the      Recreational American  
      Inc.                                 community                   or     
                                           for                      Hispanic. 
                                            2 hours a   Enrichment  
                                            week or 8               
                                           hours a                  
                                           month                    
                                             for at                 
                                             least 1                
                                              year.                 

ReEntry, Inc. Raleigh N.C. $91,461 Established	One-to-one pairs meeting in
the community for 3 hours a week for at least 1 year.

Academic

Character development

Recreational

Enrichment Girls who are involved with the juvenile court, have multiple
school suspensions, have experienced school failure, child abuse, poverty,
and parental substance abuse, or have mental health problems.

                                     Adults

Mental Health Bismark N. $181,963 New One-to-one Character Youth in grades
School-aged Association in Dak. pairs meeting development 3-12 who are
CollegeNorth Dakota at school and Enrichment Native American students

in the from rural or community for reservation Adults at least 2 settings.

                                       e

                                     years.

Appendix II: Characteristics of Education Mentoring Grantees by State

                                       Type and                           
                                    Experience                                        
                                    freqency of   Type of      Targeted    Types of
Name       City    State Amount    levela    activities b  group(s)c    mentorsd   
                                     mentoring                            
  Western   Dickinson  N.   $97,169 Established   Academic     Youth in               
                                    One-to-one                  grades      College
                                          pairs                 1-12 with             
 Wellness                            meeting at Recreational   emotional,  students   
Foundation,           Dak.           school for  Enrichment       social,   Adults
Inc.                                1 hour a                   mental, 
                                           week                 learning, 
                                         for at              or physical  
                                        least 1                           
                                         school              disabilities 
                                          year.                   or      
                                                              those with  
                                                                 juvenile 
                                                                offenses. 
Crete      Crete   Nebr.             New       Academic   Hispanic                 
  Public                    $71,753 One-to-one               youth in     School-aged
                                          pairs                                       
                                     meeting at                                       
  Schools                            school for  Character   grades 4-12.   College   
                                     e at least development                students
                                        1 year.  Enrichment                 Adults

     Big    Nashua N.H.    $194,499 One-to-one   Academic     Youth in grades 
Brothers             Established                                   College 
     Big                            pairs                   4-12. One grantee 
Sisters                          meeting at  Character    students program 
      of                            school and development           serves a 
Greater                          in the     Recreational Adultsresidential 
Nashua,                          community                    facility for 
     Inc.                           for                              juvenile 
                                    f1 hour a                 offenders and   
                                    week.       Enrichment  
                                                            another serves a  
                                                               school for     
                                                                disabled      
                                                                children.     

Community Empowerment Organization, Inc.

Jersey City N.J. $182,250 New	One-to-one pairs meeting at school and in
the community with primary mentors 3 hours twice a week and twice a week
phone calls, and with secondary mentors 4 hours on weekends, 4 times a
month, for at least 1 year.

Academic Youth in grades College Character 4-12 from schools students
development with high minority Adults

populations. Enrichment

 San Juan   Farmington  N.  $482,393    One-to-one   Academic   Mostly    School-aged 
                            Established                         Hispanic  
                                        pairs                   and                   
                                        meeting in              recent                
  County                                the         Character   Mexican     College   
Partnership            Mex.             community  development  immigrant  students
                                        for at     Recreational youth in    Adults
                                        least 1                 grades    
                                        hour                    4-8.      
                                        a week for                        
                                            at      Enrichment            
                                        least 1                           
                                        school                            
                                          year.                           

     Appendix II: Characteristics of Education Mentoring Grantees by State

Type and Experience freqency of Type of Targeted Types of Name City State
Amount levela mentoring activitiesb group(s)c mentorsd

Churchill Fallon Nev. $54,732 Established One-to-one   Academic    Youth   College  
                                                                  involved 
                                          pairs                                     
                                          meeting                 with the          
Community                                 for 2      Character    juvenile students
Coalition                                 hours a    development  justice    Adults
                                          week for                system.  
                                          at                               
                                           least 1   Recreational          
                                            year.g                         
                                                      Enrichment           

Research Amherst  N.Y.  $145,229   One-to-one   Academic   Youth in         College   
                           New                             grades         
 Center                            pairs and                                          
on                                groups    Character                   students   
Children                           meeting at development       5-8.        Adults
& Youth                            school for Recreational                
of SUNY                                1                                  
                                     hour a                               
                                     week,     Enrichment                 
                                     for at                               
                                    least 1                               
                                     school                               
                                     year.                                
Phoenix           N.Y.  $186,208   One-to-one   Academic    Youth in the    Adults    
         Brooklyn          New                                            
                                   pairs                                  
Programs                           meeting at  Character   Bronx who are  
 of New                            school for development  bilingual and  
  York                             2 hours a               multicultural. 
                                   week                                   
                                     for at                               
                                    least 1                               
                                     year.                                
  Big             N.Y.    $138,049 One-to-one   Academic   Youth in                   
Brothers Kingston      Established                         grades         School-aged
  Big                              pairs                                              
Sisters                            meeting at                                         
of                              school for  Character        3-5.        College   
 Ulster                            e at least development                  students
 County                            1 year.     Enrichment                   Adults

                                 $182,648                            Youth in 
    Family and  Mineola N.Y.  Established One-to-one   Academic        grades 
                                                                       Adults 
                                                                  4-8 who are 
                                          pairs                    in foster  
    Children's                            meeting in Character    care, group 
Association                            the        development    homes,    
                                          community. Recreational residential 
                                          e,f                       mental    
                                                                    health    
                                                                   programs,  
                                                      Enrichment    or are    
                                                                   "at-risk"  
                                                                      of      
                                                                    removal   
                                                                  from their  
                                                                  home due to 
                                                                     child    
                                                                   abuse or   
                                                                   neglect.   

 Urban Youth   Bronx N.Y. $98,944 Established One-to-one   Academic   Court-involved  College 
                                              pairs and                                       
Alliance                                   groups      Character                           
International,                                meeting in development  youth from the students
     Inc.                                     the        Recreational     Bronx.       Adults
                                              community                              
                                              for                                    
                                              2-4 hours                              
                                                  a       Enrichment                 
                                              week, for                              
                                                  at                                 
                                               least 1                               
                                                year.                                

Appendix II: Characteristics of Education Mentoring Grantees by State

                                Type and                          
                              Experience                                      
                             freqency of   Type of     Targeted    Types of
                               Amount                                         
      Name      City  State    levela    activities b  group(s)c   mentorsd
                             mentoring                            
                              $168,742                                        
Children's  Dobbs  N.Y.  Established    Academic       Boys in 
               Ferry         One-to-one                 grades 4- School-aged
                                   pairs              8, who are              
    Village,                  meeting at Recreational in a          College   
      Inc.                    school for  Enrichment  residential  students
                              at least 2              treatment   
                                 hours a              center      
                               month and              and require   Adults    
                              meeting in                  special 
                                     the               education, 
                               community                   are in 
                                     for                   foster 
                                                            care, 
                             at least 10                or have   
                                                        serious   
                                 hours a                mental    
                                  month,                health    
                            for at least               problems.  
                                       1                          
                                   year.                          

Cayuga/Seneca N.Y. $52,857 Established One-to-one   Academic   Boys. School-aged 
Auburn                                                            
                                       pairs                                     
                                       meeting                       
  Community                            once a      Character         
Action                              month with development          Adults
Agency, Inc.                           weekly     Recreational       
                                       phone                         
                                       contact                       
                                       and groups  Enrichment        
                                       meeting 3                     
                                        times a                      
                                          week                       
                                         for at                      
                                        least 1                      
                                        year.e,g                     

                           $180,924                          Youth              
 Soujourners McArthur Ohio Established One-to-one  Academic    in   School-aged
                                                             grades 
                                       pairs                                    
    Care                               meeting at Enrichment 2-12.    Adults
Network                             school for                   
                                       a                            
                                       half hour                    
                                       and 1                        
                                         hour a                     
                                         month,                     
                                         for at                     
                                        least 1                     
                                         year.                      

The     Columbus Ohio $119,693    One-to-one   Academic    Youth in   School-aged 
Prevention               Established                           grades    
                                     pairs                   4-8 who                 
Council of                           meeting at  Character   live in a     College   
 Central                             school for development  home         students
Ohio                              1 hour a                environment 
                                     week                    with        
                                                Recreational  alcoholism   Adults    
                                     and groups                   and/or 
                                     meeting in                 drug     
                                     the         Enrichment  addiction.  
                                     community                           
                                      twice a                            
                                       month                             
                                       plus 2                            
                                       other                             
                                     contacts,                           
                                     for at                              
                                      least 1                            
                                       year.                             

Cincinnati Youth Collaborative

                       $193,695                                               
Cincinnati Ohio    Established     Academic   Youth in grades
                      One-to-one                 
                    pairs meeting at  Character  4-8 who are first and second 
                   school and in the development             generation Urban 
                       community for Enrichment              Appalachians, or 
                          at least 1                        are deaf and have 
                                                        special needs.        

                                     Adults

                                       e

                                     year.

Appendix II: Characteristics of Education Mentoring Grantees by State

Type and Experience freqency of Type of Targeted Types of Name City State
Amount levela mentoring activitiesb group(s)c mentorsd

                              $152,632                            Youth         
     Youth     Cleveland Ohio Established One-to-one   Academic   in     Adults
                                                                  grades 
                                          pairs and                      
 Opportunities                              groups    Character          
  Unlimited,                              meeting at development   4-6.  
     Inc.                                 school and Recreational        
                                              in                         
                                          the                            
                                          community   Enrichment         
                                          for 1 hour                     
                                              a                          
                                          week, for                      
                                              at                         
                                           least 1                       
                                            year.                        

    Tulsa    Tulsa Okla. $136,602    One-to-one  Academic      Very     Adults 
County                Established                         high-risk  
                                     pairs                     youth in 
 Independent                         meeting at  Character  grades 4-8, 
School                            school for development   including 
  District                           1 hour a                those from 
                                     week                   alternative 
                                       for at   Enrichment   schools.   
                                      least 1                           
                                       school                           
                                       year.                            

  Medford  Medford Ore.    $181,719 One-to-one   Academic   Youth are College  
School               Established                                   
                                                            Hispanic,          
                                      pairs                    Native 
  District                          meeting at  Character   American, students
#549-C                           school and development         or 
                                      in the                  African 
                                                            American. 
                                    community  Recreational           
                                    for                               
                                    4 hours a   Enrichment            
                                     week for                         
                                        at                            
                                     least 1                          
                                      year.                           

  Connect,                $108,332                         Youth              
    Inc.   Washington Pa.   New    One-to-one   Academic   in     School-aged
                                                           grades 
                                        pairs                                 
                                   meeting at  Character    3-8.    College   
                                   school and development          students
                                       in the                     
                                    community Recreational          Adults    
                                          for                     
                                   at least 4  Enrichment         
                                     fhours a                     
                                        week.                     

 French   Franklin Pa. $131,205 One-to-one   Academic   Youth in grades  School-aged 
  Creek                  New                                             
                                 pairs and                                           
                                    groups  Character        4-8 who are   College   
Christian                       meeting in development        high-risk,  students   
 Center                                the Recreational  nonadjudicated,   Adults
                                 community               are adjudicated 
                                       for                               
                                  1 hour a                  juvenile     
                                      week  Enrichment                   
                                  for at                delinquents, or  
                                 least 1                                 
                                  year.                 are adjudicated  
                                                        court-dependent. 

YWCA of Pittsburgh Pa. $102,501 Established One-to-one Enrichment Girls in
grades 6-School-aged
Greater pairs meeting
Pittsburgh at school once 8. College

students a month and groups Adults meeting in the community bimonthly for
at least 1

                                       e

                                     year.

     Appendix II: Characteristics of Education Mentoring Grantees by State

Type and Experience freqency of Type of Targeted Types of Name City State
Amount levela mentoring activitiesb group(s)c mentorsd

                                                                      Boys in 
Mt. Ararat  Pittsburgh Pa.     $181,963    One-to-one Academic         6th 
                               Established                             grade. 
                                                                       Adults 
    Community                              pairs and Character groups 
    Activity                                  of three development    
     Center                                 mentors/youth meeting in  
                                                 the Enrichment       
                                                  community 2         
                                                days a week.e,f       

 Concerned   Philadelphia Pa.    $177,274 One-to-one   Academic     Minority   Adults 
                              Established                            youth     
                                          pairs and               (mostly      
 Black Men,                                 groups    Character   boys) in     
  Inc. of                                 meeting at development  grades 6-9   
Philadelphia                              school and Recreational who are at   
                                              in                  risk of      
                                                                  juvenile     
                                          the                     delinquency. 
                                          community   Enrichment               
                                            for 2                              
                                           hours a                             
                                           week for                            
                                              at                               
                                           least 1                             
                                            school                             
                                            year.                              

 Centre  State                                                   Youth          
 County  College Pa. $78,677 Established One-to-one   Academic   are   College
                                                                 grade 
                                         pairs                                  
  Youth                                  meeting                                
 Service                                 for 1-2     Character   4-8.  students
 Bureau                                  hours a    development          Adults
                                         week for                      
                                         at                            
                                          least 1   Recreational       
                                           year.g                      
                                                     Enrichment        

  Rhode    Providence R.I. $96,726     One-to-one   Academic       Youth are grades 
                           Established                                      College 
                                         pairs                                      
Islanders                               meeting                                     
Sponsoring                               for 6     Character      2-12 with parents 
Education                               hours a   development     students having a 
                                       month for                         history of
                                           at                  Adultsincarceration,
                                        least 1   Recreational                      
                                         school                   addiction, or
                                         year.g    Enrichment    involvement with   
                                                                  child welfare     
                                                                    agencies.       
 Anderson   Anderson  S.C. $140,303    One-to-one   Academic        Youth in grades 
                           Established                                      College 
                                       pairs                                        
                                       meeting at                  K-12. Also focus 
  School                               school for  Character        students on 9th 
 District                              at least 1 development   grade at-Adultsrisk 
Five                                hour a     Recreational     and English as a 
                                       week for                              Second
                                       at                      
                                        least 1                      Language       
                                         school    Enrichment  
                                         year.                      students.       
Big                 S.  $97,478     One-to-one   Academic        Youth in grades 
 Brothers  Rapid City      Established                                      College 
Big                                 pairs                                        
Sisters of                             meeting at Recreational       1-12. students 
the Black             Dak.             school for  Enrichment                Adults
  Hills                                1 hour a                
                                       week                    
                                         for at                
                                        least 1                
                                         school                
                                         year.                 

     Appendix II: Characteristics of Education Mentoring Grantees by State

Type and Experience freqency of Type of Targeted Types of Name City State
Amount levela mentoring activitiesb group(s)c mentorsd

Families of  Memphis Tenn. $180,214    One-to-one   Academic     Youth in   Adults 
                           Established                            grades    
                                       pairs                   4-8, many of 
Incarcerated                           meeting    Recreational whom are     
Individuals,                           for 2                   at-risk      
    Inc.                               hours a                              
                                        week.f,g   Enrichment  African      
                                                               American     
                                                                youth with  
                                                                    an      
                                                               incarcerated 
                                                                     family 
                                                                  member or 
                                                                       with 
                                                                 involvment 
                                                                         in 
                                                               the juvenile 
                                                                 justice    
                                                                 system.    

I Have  Houston Tex.    $123,923 One-to-one   Academic    Youth in grades  College  
a Dream              Established                                           
                                 pairs                                              
                                 meeting                      3-12 who are          
-                             for at     Character          Hispanic or students
Houston                          least 1    development  African-American.   Adults
                                 hour a                                    
                                 week                                      
                                 and groups Recreational                   
                                  meeting    Enrichment                    
                                 monthly at                                
                                  school.f                                 

  Families                     $191,540                         Youth           
    Under     Houston  Tex. Established One-to-one   Academic   in      Adults
                                                                grades 
                                        pairs                          
  Urban and                             meeting in  Character          
Social                               the        development   4-8.  
Attack,                              community  Recreational        
    Inc.                                for 4                          
                                        hours a                        
                                          week.f    Enrichment         
               Fort                                             Youth           
 Fort Worth    Worth   Tex.    $183,437 One-to-one   Academic   in     
                            Established                         grades  College
                                        pairs and                               
 Independent                            groups      Character          students 
School                               meeting at development   4-8.    Adults
  District                              school     Recreational        
                                        once a                         
                                         week.e,f   Enrichment         
                                                                Youth           
     Big               Tex.    $121,501 One-to-one   Academic   in     
  Brothers   Arlington      Established                         grades  College
                                        pairs                                   
 Big Sisters                            meeting at  Character          students 
     of                                 school for development   4-6.    Adults
  Arlington                             1 hour a                       
                                        week                           
                                          for at   Recreational        
                                         least 1                       
                                          school                       
                                          year.                        

Communities Dallas Tex. $59,171 Established One-to-one   Academic   Youth who   College  
    in                                                              live in     
                                            pairs                   high crime           
                                            meeting at  Character   areas                
  Schools                                   school for development  and/or have students
  -Dallas                                   1 hour a   Recreational experienced   Adults
                                            week for                violence at 
                                            at least 2              home        
                                                                      and are   
                                              years.    Enrichment    having    
                                                                       mild     
                                                                     behavior   
                                                                    problems in 
                                                                    school.     
                                                                    Over half   
                                                                         school 
                                                                     population 
                                                                        is      
                                                                     Hispanic.  

     Appendix II: Characteristics of Education Mentoring Grantees by State

Type and Experience freqency of Type of Targeted Types of Name City State
Amount levela mentoring activitiesb group(s)c mentorsd

Lincoln Center Brigham City Utah $142,105 Established One-to-one Academic
Hispanic youth in College
Boys & Girls pairs meeting Character grades 4-8. students
Club and in the
Association community for development Adults

2 hours a Recreational

week.f Enrichment Strategic Learning Center

    Boat   Falls  Va.    $143,245 One-to-one   Academic   Youth are   College 
People  Church     Established                                    
                                  pairs                                       
                                  meeting at  Character   Vietnamese          
     SOS                          school and development  immigrants students
                                  in the     Recreational and          Adults
                                  community               refugees.  
                                  for                                
                                  at least 4  Enrichment             
                                   hours a                           
                                     week                            
                                    for at                           
                                   least 1                           
                                    year.                            

 Alliance                    $102,579                        Youth              
for    Brattleboro Vt. Established One-to-one  Character  in     School-aged
                                                             grades 
                                        pairs                                   
 Lifelong                             meeting at development 4-8 or   College   
 Learning                             school and             9-12.   students
                                        in the                      
                                      community                       Adults    
                                      for                           
                                      at least 4                    
                                       hours a                      
                                       month.f                      

Seattle Wash. $190,121 Established	One-to-one pairs meeting at school and
in the community for at least 1

Academic Recreational Enrichment

Youth in grades 4-12 who are English as a Second Language students-mostly
Spanish speaking or Vietnamese, Somali, Cambodian, or Russian/Ukrainian
immigrants.

School-aged Adults

                                       e

                                     year.

Madison    Madison Wisc. $110,068 One-to-one   Academic   Youth in    Adults 
                              New                            grades      
                                                             4-8 from 3  
                                          pairs              local       
 Metropolitan                        meeting in Character    schools,    
    School                                  the development  with        
District                           community Recreational significant 
                                       at least              Latino and  
                                        twice a              English as  
                                                             a           
                                     month.e,f   Enrichment    Second    
                                                              Language   
                                                              students.  

Appendix II: Characteristics of Education Mentoring Grantees by State

Type and Experience freqency of Type of Targeted Types of Name City State
Amount levela mentoring activitiesb group(s)c mentorsd

                           $179,023                        Youth              
    Atwood   Madison Wisc.   New    One-to-one  Academic   in     School-aged
                                                           grades 
                                         pairs                                
Community                        meeting at  Character   4-8.    College   
    Center                          school and development         students
                                        in the                    
                                     community Enrichment         
                                           for                    
                                    at least 1                    
                                          hour                    
                                    f a week.                     

Wisconsin Westby Wisc. $117,797    One-to-one   Academic   Youth in      School-aged 
                       Established                         grades        
 Coulee                            pairs and                                         
 Region                            groups      Character   4-12 who are    College   
Community                          meeting in development   exhibiting    students   
 Action                            the        Recreational predelinquent   Adults
Program,                           community               behaviors and 
  Inc.                             for                                   
                                   2 hours a               who are       
                                               Enrichment  involved      
                                    week for                with child   
                                       at                                
                                    least 1                              
                                     year.                  protective   
                                                             services.   

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Tri-State

Huntington W. Va. $112,363 Established	One-to-one pairs meeting at school
for 1 hour a week for in school program and 90 minutes a week for the
after school Academic

Character development

Recreational

Enrichment Youth in grades 4-8.

                                     Adults

                                       f

                                    program.

Big Brothers Laramie Wyo. $191,540 Established One-to-one Academic Youth
in grades Adults

                                     e,f,g

Big Sisters of pairs. Recreational K-12.
Southeast
Wyoming Enrichment

Source: GAO analysis of grant applications for 121 Education-funded
mentoring grantees.

aFor this report, we considered programs that began mentoring in 2000 or
later as new programs and those starting in or before 1999 as established

bThe types of activities mentors and youth participated in may include
academic (such as tutoring and homework help), character development (such
as drug abuse prevention materials and job shadowing), recreational (such
as playing basketball and skating), and enrichment (such as attending
concerts and plays).

cEducation's mentoring grant program targeted children who are at risk of
educational failure, dropping out of school, or involved in criminal or
delinquent behavior, or who lack strong positive role models. Priority for
funding was given to programs that serve children living in rural areas,
high-crime areas, troubled home environments, and children experiencing
educational failure. Within this population, many grantees identified a
specific target group.

dThe types of mentors grantees used include school-aged mentors such as
middle and high school students, college students from local universities
and colleges, and adults from the community.

eAmount of time spent mentoring not specified in grant application.

fLength of mentoring commitment not specified in grant application.

gUnable to determine location in which mentoring occurs from grant
application.

Appendix III: GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments

GAO Contacts 	Harriet Ganson, (202) 512-7042, [email protected] Sherri K.
Doughty, (202) 512-7273, [email protected]

Acknowledgments 	In addition to those named above, Karen Brown, Luann Moy,
James Rebbe, Thomas Broderick, and Amy Buck made key contributions to the
report.

Related GAO Products

No Child Left Behind Act: More information Would Help States Determine
Which Teachers Are Highly Qualified. GAO-03-631. Washington, D.C.: July
17, 2003.

Flexibility Demonstration Programs: Education Needs to Better Target
Program Information. GAO-03-691. Washington, D.C.: June 9, 2003.

Title I: Characteristics of Tests Will Influence Expenses: Information
Sharing May Help States Realize Efficiencies. GAO-03-389. Washington,
D.C.: May 8, 2003.

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