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California's youth are facing serious problems that threaten the health and well being of our community. Four social epidemics have been identified:
- Teen pregnancy
- Drug and alcohol abuse
- Staggering school dropout rate
- Gang participation
Creating and retaining successful mentoring relationships in California has been proven effective for several years. The California model is leading the way for the entire nation on how to mobilize a state initiative to improve the quality of life for youth.
Mentoring is proven to be a simple approach for a range of complex issues.
A recent study conducted by CMF documents the following:
- 98% of youth matched with mentors stayed in school
- 98% of youth matched with mentors did not become a teen parent
- 98% of youth matched with mentors avoided gang participation
- 85% of youth matched with mentors did not use drugs
Mentoring has also proven to be economically efficient as the most potent, cost-effective, preventative youth development strategy available today. CMF research shows the cost benefit of supporting a child through mentoring far outweighs the benefits of costly social programs. Below are the facts.
Annual costs to support a youth in social programs:
- $30,000 for drug treatment
- $40,000 to confine youth at the California Youth Authority
- and ONLY $400 for youth to be matched with a Mentor Program
Bottom line, the federal government spends over 10 billion a year on fighting the four social epidemics, making mentoring a highly leveraged investment, not a cost.
