The U.S. House cut the delinquency prevention mentoring programs by 45 percent and eliminated the Mentoring Children of Prisoners program in HR 1. Approximately 28,000 children in Washington have one or both parents in prison. Children of prisoners are six times more likely than other children to be incarcerated at some point.
The Big Brothers Big Sisters program in the Vancouver-Portland metropolitan area receives $1.15 million in federal funds for five offices with 27 workers who recruit and train 1,000 volunteers to mentor 1,000 children. These cuts would end hundreds of relationships between mentors and Little Brothers and Sisters; many waiting children would never be matched with mentors.
A study by Public Private Ventures showed that, when compared with peers, children matched with Big Brothers or Sisters were less likely to use drugs or alcohol, skip school, or become violent. Sixty-five percent of grown Little Brothers and Sisters agreed that their Big Brother or Sister helped them reach higher levels of education than they thought possible.
We at Big Brothers Big Sisters Columbia Northwest ask Congress to consider the long-term savings these programs deliver. Over a lifetime, the value of saving one high-risk youth is estimated at $1.15-$1.3 million for a drug abuser, and $675,000-$1 million for a high school dropout.
