Supporting the Goals and Ideals of National Mentoring Month

Floor Speech

SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF NATIONAL MENTORING MONTH -- (House of Representatives - January 23, 2008)

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Mr. KELLER of Florida. I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 908 which recognizes National Mentoring Month. National Mentoring Month celebrates mentors who are positively impacting the lives of young people and highlights the need for additional mentors to make themselves available to America's youth. I applaud Representative McCollum for sponsoring this resolution, and as a cosponsor I look forward to further bipartisan efforts to draw attention to support this very important issue.

Mentors give their time and energy to improve the lives of American young people who are increasingly spending less time with concerned adult role models. Young people with mentors are less likely to drop out of school, use illegal drugs, or engage in criminal behavior. The positive effects of mentoring include higher self-esteem, higher graduation rates, and higher academic achievement. I have personally seen the positive impacts of mentoring firsthand. As a young boy, I benefited from having a mentor from the Big Brother Big Sisters program. As I became an adult, I then became a mentor to two high school students at my alma mater, Boone High School, who were at risk of dropping out of high school, but fortunately stayed in school and graduated.

I then became chairman of the board of the COMPACT mentoring program, which is the largest mentoring program in central Florida and it is targeted at at-risk students in high schools and middle schools who possibly may drop out of school. I am pleased to report that we were able to recruit 700 new mentors and the COMPACT program has a 95 percent success rate of kids staying in school and going on to graduate. In fact, one of the mentors for the COMPACT program itself is none other than Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who has spent a great deal of time with the leaders of the COMPACT program and the children themselves every year.

When I was elected to Congress in 2000, one of the first things I did was join together with then-Congressman Tom Osborne, the famous coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, to author the Mentoring for Success Act which Coach Osborne and I were able to successfully include in No Child Left Behind to provide substantial funding for mentoring programs. As we move forward with the No Child Left Behind reauthorization, we will work again to make sure that this language is included and stays in existing law.

One of the big benefits of a mentoring program is in the area of crime prevention. Roughly eight out of 10 inmates in Florida's jails and prisons are high school dropouts. We see mentoring programs like the COMPACT program in Orlando having a 95 percent success rate of keeping kids in school. That's making a difference in these children's lives and also helping us as taxpayers because we pay $20,000 a year for people in State prisons and $25,000 a year for folks in Federal prison.

President Bush himself has praised the importance of mentoring programs. On December 19, 2007, President Bush proclaimed January 2008 as National Mentoring Month, giving public recognition to mentors who serve as role models. Specifically the President stated, ``By sharing their knowledge and experiences, mentors serve as examples for young people and help teach them the skills they need to succeed in life.''

By honoring mentors and mentoring programs, we recognize the importance of mentoring programs implemented in our local schools and communities. We also draw attention to the components of a quality program, including appropriate screening of potential mentors and careful matching of youth with adults who have a genuine interest in providing guidance and being exemplary role models.

Mentoring programs are varied and unique. They can be school-based or faith-based. They may be established through community organizations or corporate initiatives. I encourage people across the country to take time to discover what mentoring programs exist in their communities and see what they can do to help. Many volunteers are needed to meet the growing demand for mentors.

Again, I am pleased to cosponsor House Resolution 908, recognizing the important work of mentors and quality mentoring programs, and I urge Members to support this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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