Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota

New Research Reveals ‘Significant Economic Value’ In Minnesota’s Youth Mentoring, Intervention Programs

Wilder, U of Minnesota Joint Studies Establish New Benchmarks

St. Paul – (April 17, 2007) The Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota (MPM) and Minnesota Youth Intervention Programs Association (YIPA) present a first-ever formal economic estimate of the cost and benefit of youth mentoring and youth intervention programs in Minnesota.

Minnesota’s youth mentoring and youth intervention programs merit greater public consideration as tools for improving the outlook for young people throughout the state, according to two new studies published jointly by Wilder Research and the University of Minnesota.  The two studies demonstrate the significant economic value that quality youth mentoring and youth intervention programs can deliver to the state as a whole.

Minnesota can expect a $2.72 return for every dollar spent on effective mentoring programs in the state, and an average return of $4.89 for every dollar invested in youth intervention programs, according to conservative estimates outlined in the two studies. The economic returns measure both the achieved reduction in costs of youth treatment programs on an annual basis and the projected increases in lifetime earnings to be attained by helping put at-risk youth on a path toward becoming productive adult citizens.

Reduced juvenile delinquency and crime, improved school attendance, higher grades and high school graduation rates, and lowered risk of youth involvement in such risky behaviors as drugs, alcohol and tobacco use were also seen as major societal benefits delivered by the mentoring and intervention programs.

“The results of these two studies strongly support the case for more investment in youth mentoring and youth intervention as programs that are critical for the future success of our children today,” said Joellen Gonder-Spacek, executive director of the Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota and J. Scott Beaty, executive director of the Minnesota Youth Intervention Programs Association.

“This is the first time that we in Minnesota have had a way to estimate the economic value of youth mentoring and youth intervention programs on a statewide basis,” said Paul Anton, chief economist for Wilder Research, and Judy Temple, an associate professor with a joint appointment in the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute and the Department of Applied Economics at the University of Minnesota.

 “The results clearly show that both youth mentoring and youth intervention can play significant roles in reducing the economic and social costs of juvenile delinquency and helping prepare youth to become Minnesota’s productive, tax-paying adults in the future,” said Temple and Anton.

MPM and YIPA combined serve more than 190,000 Minnesota youth annually through more than 500 community-based organizations operating throughout the state. The statewide organizations partnered to sponsor the social return on investment studies because mentoring and youth intervention programs serve as a comprehensive support system for Minnesota’s youth.  “There are still many areas of the state that are under-served by mentoring and intervention programs, and we believe that Minnesotans have both a social and moral obligation to invest more in these vital programs for young people,” say Gonder-Spacek and Beaty.

The Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota is a statewide mentoring organization that connects youth with quality mentoring experiences and advocates for the expansion of youth mentoring. For more information on MPM, call 612-370-9180 or visit online at www.mentoringworks.org.

The Minnesota Youth Intervention Programs Association is a statewide early intervention program that works with youth at the precise time when they are first beginning to show signs of troublesome or illegal behaviors. For more information on YIPA call 651-452-6589 or visit online at www.mnyipa.org.

The Curtis L. Carlson Family Foundation, Center for 4-H & Community Youth Development of the University of Minnesota Extension and IWCO Direct of Chanhassen provided funding support for the youth mentoring social return on investment study.