The need for mentoring programs is indisputable. Over 30 percent of children live in households headed by a single parent (or no parent), a rate that has doubled over the past forty-five years. Six in ten African American children live in households of this type, which actually reflects a slight decline in recent years; this rate has been as high as two-thirds. Estimates indicate that upwards of 9 million children have no caring adults in their lives. This policy memo reviews the evidence of success from past and current mentoring programs and proposes ways to move forward that could truly make a difference in the lives of young people by providing them with opportunities that could propel them forward in life.

Before we propose expanding mentoring programs to more youth, it is critical that we identify existing programs and the components of those programs that work best. This paper will do that, and then, based on the best available evidence, will argue that community-based mentoring programs in the vein of the traditional Big Brothers Big Sisters model are most effective. I contend that community-based programs should receive additional support of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) — including nonprofits, foundations, and charitable organizations — as well as private-sector entities.

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Youth employment rates have decreased dramatically over the past decade as the economy has faltered and the youth population has grown. This policy memo offers a proposal to strengthen and expand work-related summer activities with the goal of fostering the skill development, education, and economical success of low-income youth.

Summer jobs should be part of a broader strategy for poverty alleviation, with the potential to benefit disadvantaged youth in multiple ways. In addition to providing work experience and an immediate income transfer to low-income youth, an emerging body of research also suggests that summer youth employment programs (SYEPs) can improve educational outcomes and social and emotional development, and decrease negative behaviors (including criminal behaviors), at least in the short term.

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There are many barriers to college access and success. One major barrier is affordability, as college prices and student debt levels have risen to alarming heights. For many students, however, academic preparation may be an equally formidable barrier to postsecondary education. This is not due to college selectivity — about 80 percent of four-year colleges and nearly all two-year colleges have little to no admissions requirements. Instead, students are required to pass academic placement tests and demonstrate sufficient readiness for postsecondary study. Those who do not pass are placed into remedial or developmental courses.

Estimates suggest that more than one-third of all first-year students take some form of remedial coursework in either English or mathematics, but this figure can be as high as 60 or 70 percent of students at some institutions. Students placed into remedial or developmental programs are most often held back from taking college-level courses, and as a result, remediation has effectively become the gateway (or barricade) to postsecondary-level training.

Unfortunately, research suggests that remediation programs do not do a good job of improving students' outcomes.

This policy memo offers three key recommendations for better addressing the academic preparation problem with the hope of improving rates of college success.

1. Improved placement in college remediation classes.
2. Provide better college remediation services.
3. Adopt measures to prevent the need for remediation.

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