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Mentors for Foster Care Youth
Legislative Goal:
To encourage your Members of Congress to co-sponsor the Foster Care Mentoring Act (S. 986 and H.R. 4317).
Summary of Issue:
On any given day in America over 550,000 children and youth are in foster care. Between 18,000 and 20,000 youth aged 16 and older "age out" of the foster care system each year, meaning that they must now face life on their own. Studies have found that within 12-18 months after leaving foster care, the incidence of incarceration and public assistance was much higher for these youth than the general population. These young people desperately need a caring adult to stand by them through this difficult transition.
In response, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-NY) introduced legislation that would help match more foster care youth with mentors. The Foster Care Mentoring Act takes a three-pronged approach to engaging more mentoring programs in serving foster youth. The bill would:
- Create a new competitive grant program for state and local governments. Grant applicants would coordinate networks of mentoring programs to provide foster care youth with mentors.
- Forgive a portion of student loans for mentors in long-term, intensive relationships with foster youth.
- Establish a national hotline and website to help direct individuals interested in becoming foster care mentors to the appropriate mentoring programs.
Please click here to ask your Members of Congress to co-sponsor this legislation today!
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