James M. Jeffords: “Today I join with Senators Stevens, Kennedy, Cleland, and Dodd to introduce the Younger American's Act. We launched this…”

“Today I join with Senators Stevens, Kennedy, Cleland, and Dodd to introduce the Younger American's Act. We launched this effort at the end of the last Congress, with the help of General Colin Powell. This legislation embraces the belief that youth are our Nation's most important responsibility and that their needs must be moved to a higher priority on our Nation's agenda. It is not enough that government responds to youth when they get into trouble with drugs, teen pregnancy, and violence. We need to strengthen the positive rather than simply respond to the negative. Positive youth development, the framework for the Younger American's Act, is not just about preventing bad things from happening, but giving a nudge to help good things happen. And we know that it works. Evaluations of Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Boys and Girls Clubs, mentoring, and other youth development programs have consistently demonstrated how well these programs work. These programs lead to significant increases in parental involvement, youth participation in constructive education, social and recreation activities, enrollment in post-secondary education, and community involvement.”