April 19, 2007

Investing in children pays big returns today and tomorrow.

Connect kids with caring, involved adults and the children will be much better off. One doesn't have to look far for examples: The gangbanger wannabe whose life is turned around by a tough-love coach. The withdrawn girl who blossoms when a teacher encourages her artistic side. The teen from a chaotic family who finds support and stability with a Big Brother or Sister.

Those relationships work wonders for young people, especially those who are at risk for trouble. They also benefit society and the economy. That's why effective mentoring and other youth programs merit more support.

According to a pair of studies released this week, Minnesota gets an excellent return on investment from such programs. In the first study of its kind, the Wilder Foundation and University of Minnesota researchers found that Minnesota can expect a $2.72 return for every dollar spent on effective mentoring programs in the state. The state economy also gets back an average return of $4.89 for every dollar invested in programs that intervene when kids skip school or get into trouble with the law.

Those returns measure both the dollars saved by keeping kids out of the system and the projected lifetime earnings for youth who grow into productive adults.

In addition to the bottom-line savings, the community gets better behaved children, a more civil society and reduced juvenile delinquency and crime. When kids do better in school, families and neighborhoods get fewer young people involved with drugs, alcohol and early pregnancy.

With the help of several foundations, the research was commissioned by the Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota (MPM) and the Minnesota Youth Intervention Programs Association (MYIPA). They currently serve more than 190,000 children each year through community-based organizations across the state.

MPM is a statewide group that includes a variety of mentoring programs. And MYIPA includes about 54 community-based member programs that step in when a youth begins to show signs of troublesome or illegal behaviors.

The youth programs receive about $1.6 million each year from the state, but are seeking an additional $2 million annually from the Legislature to expand in areas that have no programs and in places with more demand than supply. Lawmakers should listen; this a relatively small investment to help produce successful future workers and taxpayers.

When it comes to children, the choices are very clear: Pay now, or pay much more later.

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