Friday, November 6, 2009
3:46 PM
Moore looks to maintain funding for youth mentors
U.S. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, is the lead author of a letter sent yesterday to congressional leaders urging a conference committee to maintain $100 million in federal funding for Youth Mentor Grants.
The money -- originally included in the Senate version of the 2010 Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations Bill -- is, according to Moore, "critical to providing support to proven national, regional and local mentoring programs." Moore and 48 other House members are hopeful that the House will sign onto the provision for the final bill.
"In the U.S. today, 17.6 million young people -- nearly half the youth population -- want or need mentors to help them reach their full potential, and nearly 44 million adults say they are willing to become mentors," Moore writes. "Yet, due to funding limitations, only a fraction of these children are actually provided the caring adult relationships that could change their lives for the better."