The House of Representatives will vote soon on a FY11 budget proposal (H.R.1), cutting the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Mentoring Programs budget by 45% and eliminating funding for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Mentoring Children of Prisoners Program altogether.

What would these budget cuts mean for Mid Valley Mentors?

Mid Valley Mentors receives approximately 50 percent of their budget from Federal Government sources. These losses would have a detrimental impact on the numbers of children, volunteers and families we serve. The cuts would also negatively impact the staff who carefully match mentors and mentees and provide the ongoing support that keeps the matches together long-term, leading to successful outcomes.

Mid Valley Mentors estimates approximately 960 youth and their families and as many volunteers could lose their mentoring service and support if House budget passes, just in Marion County.  Nationally, considering other programs who would be similarly impacted such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, this number is closer to 40,000.  Additionally, five of seven Mid Valley Mentors jobs would be in jeopardy.

Independent studies find children served by Mid Valley Mentors, those facing adversity –living in poverty, dealing with parental incarceration or growing up with one parent – disproportionately represent youths in the juvenile justice system. Mid Valley Mentors’ mentoring is backed by independently proven youth outcomes – educational success; higher aspirations and improved confidence; and avoidance of risky, delinquent behaviors.

What would these budget cuts mean to America?

Short-term savings to the Department of Justice Youth Mentoring Grants would have a lasting and negative impact on our nation and our youth. We will only have to spend substantially more downstream – when some of the same young people who could have continued to be mentored in our respective programs – become both the perpetrators and victims of crime.

Mentoring is a cost-saving method for investing in our nation’s economic and social future. Taken from a purely fiscal point of view, a child facing adversity, as a result of mentoring, develops into a productive adult member of society many times offsets the cost of the initial mentoring match. Throughout history, the success and development of subsequent generations has been the metric and legacy of every society. Youth mentoring is an evidence-based, cost-effective and reliable pathway for our generation to ensure future fiscal and social responsibility.

Cuts to quality, long-term professionally supported mentoring programs would negatively impact society as a whole. For example, with Mid Valley Mentors ’ success in achieving positive academic outcomes, our work is recognized by experts in the field as an important part of the formula for reducing Marion County’s high school drop out rate. The Alliance for Excellent Education, a leader in Grad Nation, estimates the economic benefit of achieving 50 percent reduction of in student drop outs in the 50 largest metro areas to be more than $13 billion dollars.

Mid Valley Mentors is the optimal investment in mentoring for Marion County, Oregon.

Our Methods Save Taxpayer Dollars and Enhance Government Efficiency

Government grant support of Mid Valley Mentors is an investment in a “research-proven blue chip” prevention and early intervention program. A Washington State Institute for Public Policy study of government funded prevention and early intervention programs for youth found significant economic returns for a public investment in the mentoring program. Based on proven outcomes, the study estimated that for every dollar of public investment in mentoring, there is a $3.28 benefit. The economic benefits flow from improved educational outcomes and reduced violence and crime.

This study estimates that based on the costs of incarceration alone, if just one in 100 youths enrolled in Mid Valley Mentors programs is put on the right path, stays in school and stays out of incarceration, taxpayers break even on their investment.

An investment in Mid Valley Mentors generates an excellent return on investment (ROI)

Our program works. Proven educational and behavioral outcomes have been verified by the most rigorous independent evaluation. The children in our program become productive, educated citizens who create value instead of absorb social costs. The ROI on government investment in mentoring is even greater when leverage is taken into consideration. We leverage public funds approximately 8.3 to 1 with private funds and 11.3 to 1 when you include the economic value of our volunteer mentors’ time.

Our Impact Is Scalable and Engages Communities Facing Adversity All Across the Nation

Mid Valley Mentors’ mentoring programs targets children who face adversity — those at a higher risk for or who are already involved in gateway behaviors (e.g. truancy, drugs, armed robbery, shooting). The organizations matches them with carefully screened, trained volunteers in a professionally supported one-to-one mentoring relationship. By working with the mentor and the caregiver as well as the child, we collectively provide a level of consistency and support to the child which then helps them make better social and academic decisions.

What would cuts to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Mentoring Programs mean to Mid Valley Mentors?

Mid Valley Mentors believes cutting OJJDP funding for Mid Valley Mentors now would lead to untold costs for future generations in incarceration, educational remediation and other economic consequences. OJJDP and other funding for Mid Valley Mentors provides safe, professionally supported, enduring, successful mentoring relationships that help children thrive and prosper to become tax payers, rather than tax users.

Furthermore, Mid Valley Mentors believes if H.R. 1.passes:

• The children on our “waiting to be matched” lists and more being added every day would languish on these waiting lists without ever being matched with mentors.

• Fewer dollars will not only mean insufficient staff to serve children and volunteers currently enrolled in our programs; it would impact growth of staff required to carefully recruit and match additional children with adult volunteer mentors and to provide the consistent support that leads to enduring successful outcomes.

What could U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Mentoring Children of Prisoners budget cuts to Mid Valley Mentors mean for future generations?

Mid Valley Mentors serves hundreds of children of incarcerated parents. If the House of Representatives’ proposed budget (H.R.1) is passed, the mentoring network would lose $600,000 over three years or 100% percent of its Mentoring Children of Prisoners budget. This loss would put in jeopardy many, many children being served and many more who are waiting to be matched with mentors. Many more children who are not enrolled in our programs would never be served.

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