Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Chair of the Congressional Youth Mentoring Caucus and co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, last week joined Rep. Don Bacon, co-chair of the Foster Youth Caucus, in introducing the Foster Youth Mentoring Act. The bill aims to address the critical need for mentoring programs that support our  most vulnerable young people.

“For decades, I have volunteered as a child advocate and youth mentor, seeing firsthand the difference a trusted, caring adult can make in the life of vulnerable young people,” said Rep. Scanlon. “At-risk youth with consistent, long-term volunteer and peer mentor relationships are much more likely to enroll in college, hold leadership positions, attend their classes, and obtain stable housing – but one in three of our young people grow up without a mentor. I’m proud to lead federal efforts to fund local evidence-based foster youth mentoring programs that can result in a meaningful improvement in young people’s lives and substantial cost savings for the child welfare system when implemented at scale, and I’m grateful for the partnership of Rep. Bacon, MENTOR, and NFYI.” 

Mentoring programs that serve children with adverse childhood experiences, such as youth in foster care, require about double the resources per youth than general community-based mentorship programs. Studies prove that mentoring services for foster youth are effective interventions that positively impact mental health, educational functioning and attainment, peer relationships, placement outcomes, and life satisfaction. The Foster Youth Mentoring Act would create a comprehensive federal grant program to provide foster youth with healthy volunteer and peer mentor relationships and expand and enhance mentoring programs that serve foster youth and former foster youth.

“Connecting foster youth with mentoring programs and counseling services provides vital relationships needed to navigate life and transition into adulthood,” said Rep. Bacon. “Foster youth often lack personal relationships with caring adults, which can lead to disruptions in education, and permanent and stable family connections, as well as little to no professional and emotional support. This legislation will help mentoring programs or organizations to fill those needs.”

“Now more than ever, our nation’s young people need a social connection to combat the isolation and loneliness that are all too present in their lives,” said Jermaine Myrie, CEO of MENTOR. “We know that helping young people develop strong, safe, and stable relationships with supportive adults has positive outcomes, yet access to these relationships is not always equally distributed. Young people in the foster care system know this better than anyone else. The Foster Youth Mentoring Act will invest critical resources into mentoring programs leading the vital work of building and expanding support systems for these young people. I thank Representatives Scanlon and Bacon for their leadership in this bipartisan effort on Capitol Hill. I look forward to working with additional Members of Congress to get this critical legislation across the finish line.”

“Young people transitioning out of foster care often face adulthood without the safety net of consistent guidance and support,” said Rebecca Louve Yao, Chief Executive Officer of National Foster Youth Institute. “The Foster Youth Mentoring Act recognizes what we hear time and again from the young people who participate in our programs: having a trusted mentor can be life-changing and opens up new pathways to opportunity. We commend Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon on her continued commitment to hearing foster youth voices and considering them in critical legislation. At NFYI, we see how mentorship intersects with every issue current and former foster youth care about — from economic mobility to workforce readiness to breaking cycles of incarceration — because at its core, mentorship is about building connection, trust, and opportunity.”

Find the full text of the bill here. 

Find a one-pager on the bill here. 

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