Earl Blumenauer: “in 1993 a gentleman in my community, Duncan Campbell, provided three full-time friends for 24 at-risk children, children…”

“in 1993 a gentleman in my community, Duncan Campbell, provided three full-time friends for 24 at-risk children, children who were at the bottom of the barrel, children who were guaranteed to fail, not just poor but without family support. With the efforts of these full-time mentors and this innovative program, we have produced stunning results over the course of the last 12 years. Ninety-eight percent of these children are still in school. Ninety-seven percent have passing grades. Ninety-eight percent have never been incarcerated. Ninety-seven percent do not use drugs or alcohol on a regular basis. Today, this program has spread across the country. It is in 11 different communities with over 600 children. First Lady Laura Bush is expected to visit the Friends of Children program in Portland tomorrow. I commend her for taking the time to visit with the kids and learning more about this program. Tomorrow, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot), my colleague, and I are introducing legislation that would authorize $7.5 million for Friends of Children to support local programs at existing sites and disseminate this information to policy-makers around the country to make a commitment to improving the lives of at-risk children. ____________________”