"BEING BLACK IS NOT A RISK FACTOR" - STRENGTHS-BASED SOLUTIONS IN ILLINOIS (PDF)
click here
This introduction provided via mentoring email list serve: "In 2013, the National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI) released its national report, "Being Black Is Not a Risk Factor: A Strengths-Based Look at the State of the Black Child." This report challenged the prevailing discourse about Black children, which overemphasizes limitations and deficits and does not celebrate the considerable strengths, assets and resilience demonstrated by our children, families and communities. Since then, partners at the state level have began developing reports that assess and address the strengths and needs of young Black children and their families where they live. Like the national report, "Being Black Is Not a Risk Factor: Statistics and Strengths-Based Solutions in the State of Illinois," and the materials to follow, will serve as resources for policymakers, practitioners, advocates and parents."

2019 ILLINOIS KIDS COUNT REPORT - VOICES4ILLINOIS KIDS
https://www.voices4kids.org/2019-illinois-kids-count-report/
The annual KIDS COUNT report shows continued "significant racial and ethnic disparities in economic status, education, health, and housing for Illinois children."  Visit this link and download the full report. Find annual Kids Count Reports at https://www.voices4kids.org/publications-multimedia/kids-count-reports/

A MATTER OF TIME: RISK AND OPPORTUNITY IN THE NONSCHOOL HOURS
https://www.carnegie.org/publications/a-matter-of-time-risk-and-opportunity-in-the-nonschool-hours/
From the web site: "This 1992 report stresses the importance of creating networks of community support for young adolescents during nonschool hours. It pays special attention to the needs and interests of youth from low-income families and of diverse backgrounds."  The report can be downloaded from this link. 

AMERICAN YOUTH POLICY FORUM
https://www.aypf.org/topic-areas/
The American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF), a nonprofit, nonpartisan professional development organization based in Washington, DC, provides learning opportunities for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers working on youth and education issues at the national, state, and local levels. 

ANNIE E. CASEY FOUNDATION (AECF)
https://www.aecf.org/
Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) works to build better futures for disadvantaged children and their families in the United States. The primary mission of the Foundation is to foster public policies, human service reforms, and community supports that more effectively meet the needs of today's vulnerable children and families. The web site has extensive resources, such as the  Kids Count Data Book. 

ANNIE E. CASEY FOUNDATION’S KIDS COUNT DATA BOOK - 2021
https://www.aecf.org/resources/2021-kids-count-data-book
This annual report provides data about the well-being of kids in the US. The web site describes this year's book. The Data Book also looks at trends in child well-being during a period that saw continued improvement in economic well-being but mixed results in the areas of health, education and family and community factors. The report includes the Foundation's signature rankings in key areas of child well-being. This year, New Hampshire is at the top of the rankings." 

BUILD INITIATIVE - RESOURCE LIBRARY - FOCUS ON YOUNGEST CHILDREN
https://buildinitiative.org/Resources/ResourceCenter.aspx
From the web site: "BUILD’s QRIS National Learning Network brings together state implementers, technical assistance providers and national research organizations to advance quality rating and improvement systems in ways that truly meet the needs of our most at-risk child and family populations. Through the learning community BUILD is able to work with states to articulate cutting edge issues and questions, support pilots that experiment with new strategies, and create practical tools to support sate efforts. By playing a coordinating and leveraging role, BUILD capitalizes on the unique strengths each of the national and state players brings to the work." Browse the Resource Center section to learn what's available. 

CENTER FOR CITIES & SCHOOLS,UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-BERKLEY
https://citiesandschools.berkeley.edu/
From the web site:   "The Center for Cities + Schools at UC Berkeley conducts high-quality, non-partisan policy research, engages youth in urban planning, and cultivates collaboration between city and school leaders to strengthen all communities.  CC+S works to advance policies and practices that create opportunity-rich places where young people can be successful in and out of school."

CENTER FOR STUDY OF SOCIAL POLICY AT UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
https://cssp.org/
From the web site:  "The Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) works to secure equal opportunities and better futures for all children and families, especially those most often left behind.   Underlying all of the work is a vision of child, family and community well-being. It’s a unifying framework for the many policy, systems reform and community change activities in which CSSP engages."

CHILD TRENDS - RESEARCH RESOURCE
https://www.childtrends.org/publications
From the web site: "Child Trends improves the lives and prospects of children and youth by conducting high-quality research and sharing the resulting knowledge with practitioners and policymakers."

CHILDREN'S DEFENSE FUND
https://www.childrensdefense.org/
From the web site: "The Children’s Defense Fund Leave No Child Behind® mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. 

COMMUNITY SCHOOLS AS COLLABORATIVES - PDF
http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/communitycollab.pdf
This 2011 Center for Mental Health in Schools at UCLA, paper "reviews different agenda for establishing school-community connections in general and community schools specifically. A Comprehensive Community School is discussed as an entity that emerges from system building by school-family-community collaboratives. Establishing effective collaboratives requires policy that supports shared governance, a well-designed operational infrastructure, and the weaving together of overlapping institutional missions and resources. Policy implications for facilitating the types of systemic changes involved are underscored."

COMMUNITY SERVICE SOCIETY NYC
https://www.cssny.org/
From the web site: "The Community Service Society of New York (CSS) is a 168 year-old institution that has been on the cutting edge of public policy innovations to support poor New Yorkers in their quest to be full participants in the civic life of the nation’s largest city. CSS employs a variety of tools – advocacy, direct service, research and policy analysis, and strategic partnerships – to forge consensus on appropriate policy interventions to facilitate the economic mobility of low-income New Yorkers."

COMPASSPOINT NONPROFIT RESEARCH AND TRAINING
https://www.compasspoint.org/
From the web site: "CompassPoint intensifies the impact of fellow nonprofit leaders, organizations, and networks as we achieve social equity together.  We are a national nonprofit leadership and strategy practice based in Oakland, CA. For over 40 years, we have strengthened nonprofit leadership and supported organizations and movement networks to adapt and operate strategically. We also collaborate with fellow capacity builders and regularly share research and tools with the field at large."

CONSORTIUM FOR POLICY RESEARCH IN EDUCATION (CPRE)
https://www.cpre.org/
From the web site:  "The Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) brings together education experts from renowned research institutions to contribute new knowledge that informs PK-20 education policy and practice. Our work is peer-reviewed and open-access."

CONSORTIUM ON CHICAGO SCHOOL RESEARCH
https://consortium.uchicago.edu/
From the web site: "The University of Chicago Consortium on School Research builds the capacity for school reform by conducting research that identifies what matters for student success and school improvement."

DC ACTION FOR CHILDREN - EDUCATION POLICY
https://www.wearedcaction.org/our-priorities/early-childhood
This site shows how data from the annual Kids Count is used in on-going effort to influence public policy regarding the well-being of kids

EDUCATIOIN CANNOT WAIT (ECW) - UNITED NATIONS GLOBAL FUND FOR EDUCATION IN EMERGENCIES AND PROTRACTED CRISES
https://www.educationcannotwait.org/
From the website: "ECW works to generate greater shared political, operational and financial commitment to meet the educational needs of millions of children an adolescents affected by crises, with a focus on more agile, connected and faster response that spans the humanitarian-development continuum to lay the ground for sustainable education systems."  View the map on the home page to see countries where ECW is working. 

EDUCATION WEEK RESEARCH CENTER
https://www.edweek.org/research-center/
From the web site: "The Research Center conducts annual policy surveys, collects data, and performs analyses that appear in the Quality Counts and Diplomas Count annual issues of Education Week. The Center also manages the Education Counts database of state policy indicators, releases periodic special reports on a variety of topics, and contributes data and analysis to coverage in Education Week."

ELDIS - AN INTERNATIONAL POLICY RESEARCH PORTAL
https://www.eldis.org/about
From the web site: "Eldis provides free access to relevant, up-to-date and diverse research on international development issues. Our database includes over 40,000 summaries and provides free links to full-text research and policy documents from over 8,000 publishers. Each document is selected by members of our editorial team.  To help you get the information you need we organise documents into collections according to key development themes and the country or region they relate to. You can browse these on the website or find out about our subscribe options to get updates in a format that suits you."

EMERSON COLLECTIVE - REMOVING BARRIERS TO OPPORTUNITY
https://www.emersoncollective.com/
From the web site: "We are an organization dedicated to removing barriers to opportunity so people can live to their full potential. Established by Laurene Powell Jobs, we center our work on education, immigration reform, the environment and other social justice initiatives. We use a wide range of tools and strategies—partnering with entrepreneurs and experts, parents and policymakers, advocates and administrators—to spur change and promote equality."

ENRICHING EDUCATION THROUGHOUT CHILDHOOD PAYS BIG DIVIDENDS FOR DISADVANTAGED - PDF
https://web.archive.org/web/20181008131746/http://www-news.uchicago.edu:80/releases/06/061115.education.pdf
From the web site: "While studies have shown that disadvantaged children benefit from high-quality preschool programs, they would benefit even more if they had additional tutoring and mentoring during their elementary and high school years, according to a 2006 study by James Heckman, a Nobel-Prize winning economist at the University of Chicago."  T/MC Note: You can also find the press release at: http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/06/061115.heckman.shtml

EVERY CHILD, EVERY PROMISE, 2006 REPORT - PDF
https://www.americaspromise.org/resource/every-child-every-promise-turning-failure-action
This report presents the first national research that comprehensively measures the presence of the essential resources -- the Five Promises -- that correlate with success in both youth and adulthood. The report clearly shows that we have much work to do as a nation. But it also shows how we can turn failure into action and improve the lives of young people at risk.

EXTENSIVE SCHOOL DATA SETS- NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS
https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d15/tables/dt15_103.10.asp
National Center for Education Statistics has extensive education datasets, dating back to the 1970s. This data table  shows "Percentage of the population 3 to 34 years old enrolled in school, by sex, race/ethnicity, and age group: Selected years, 1980 through 2014". Browse the site and look at other data sets. 

FORUM FOR YOUTH INVESTMENT - 'READY BY 21' COMMUNITY BUILDING
http://www.readyby21.org/
Ready by 21 is a Forum for Youth Investment project, helping state and community leaders improve the family, school and community supports available to young people, in order to help all children and youth get fully ready for college, work and life.

GLOBAL FAMILY RESEARCH PROJECT (FORMERLY HARVARD FAMILY RESEARCH PROJECT)
https://globalfrp.org/Archive
From the web site: "The Global Family Research Project is an independent, entrepreneurial nonprofit organization that supports all families and communities in helping children find success in and out of school. We connect research, policy, and practice to support a community of people dedicated to advancing children’s learning and development. We foster collaboration among child- and family-serving organizations so they can create equitable learning pathways across time and place. We strengthen knowledge and skills through technical assistance, professional development, and evaluation.

HOW TO MAKE A CITY GREAT - MCKINSEY & COMPANY 2013 REPORT
https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/urbanization/how-to-make-a-city-great
Since the Tutor/Mentor Connection focuses on helping youth living in big cities, reports like this should be included in the learning library of anyone who shares the same concerns.

INSTITUTE FOR POLICY RESEARCH AT NORTHWESTERN U.
https://www.ipr.northwestern.edu/who-we-are/index.html
Extensive policy resources hosted at Northwestern University

ISSUE LAB - AN EXTENSIVE ON-LINE RESOURCE LIBRARY
https://www.issuelab.org/special-collections
From the web site: "First started in 2006 as a searchable, browseable website set up to collect and share the social sector’s knowledge, IssueLab became a service of Foundation Center in 2012. Since then, IssueLab’s mission has grown beyond the “simple” collection and distribution of knowledge products, to include the support of social sector organizations in adopting the practical and necessary steps to openly publishing what they fund and produce." In many ways the Issue Lab site is a more comprehensive and powerful version of the Tutor/Mentor web library. We hope you'll find both useful. 

JUVENILE JUSTICE INITIATIVE OF ILLINOIS
https://jjustice.org/
From the web site: "The Juvenile Justice Initiative is a statewide advocacy coalition to transform the juvenile justice system.  The JJI advocates to reduce reliance on detention, to enhance fairness for all youth and to develop adequate community based resources throughout the state. The Juvenile Justice Initiative works to inform and educate policy makers, the media, and the general public about the alarming increase in number of juveniles held in custody, about the disparate number of minority youth in custody, and about the lack of adequate community based alternatives to detention.

LATINO POLICY FORUM
https://www.latinopolicyforum.org/
From the web site: "The Latino Policy Forum is the only organization in the Chicago area that facilitates the involvement of Latinos at all levels of public decision-making. The Latino Policy Forum conducts analysis to inform, influence, and lead. Its goals are to improve education outcomes, advocate for affordable housing, promote just immigration policies, and engage diverse sectors of the community, with an understanding that advancing Latinos advances a shared future."

MATHEMATICA POLICY RESEARCH, INC.
https://www.mathematica.org/
Mathematica conducts high-quality, objective research to support decisions about our nation's most pressing social policy problems. The web site hosts much of this research, with topics on welfare, health, education, nutrition, etc

MDRC - BUILDING KNOWLEDGE TO IMPROVE SOCIAL POLICY
https://www.mdrc.org/about/about-mdrc-overview-0
From the web site: "MDRC is committed to finding solutions to some of the most difficult problems facing the nation — from reducing poverty and bolstering economic self-sufficiency to improving public education and college graduation rates. We design promising new interventions, evaluate existing programs using the highest research standards, and provide technical assistance to build better programs and deliver effective interventions at scale. We work as an intermediary, bringing together public and private funders to test new policy-relevant ideas, and communicate what we learn to policymakers and practitioners — all with the goal of improving the lives of low-income individuals, families, and children."

NATIONAL GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION CENTER FOR BEST PRACTICES
https://www.nga.org/bestpractices/
From the web site: "The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) develops innovative solutions to today's most pressing public policy challenges and is the only research and development firm that directly serves the nation's governors."

NATIONAL INDICATORS OF CHILDREN'S WELL-BEING
https://www.childstats.gov/americaschildren/index.asp
From the web site: "The Federal Inter-agency Forum on Child and Family Statistics (Forum) is a collection of 22 Federal government agencies involved in research and activities related to children and families. The Forum was founded in 1994 and formally established in April 1997 under Executive Order No. 13045. The mission of the Forum is to foster coordination and collaboration and to enhance and improve consistency in the collection and reporting of Federal data on children and families. The Forum also aims to improve the reporting and dissemination of information on the status of children and families.

OPPORTUNITY YOUTH AND SEX-BASED HARRASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE: A SCAN OF RESEARCH AND RESOURCES
https://activatecenter.org/resource/opportunity-youth-and-sex-based-harassment-in-the-workplace-a-scan-of-research-and-resources/
This is an extensive review of research about Opportunity Youth, or young people ages 16 to 24 who are not currently connected to school or work.  This is a resource on the ACTIVATE website, which "curates, adapts, and creates evidence-informed, user-friendly resources using research-based methods for translating research to practice."

REDEFINING CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES: DIRECTIONS FOR THE FUTURE
https://web.archive.org/web/20170106111556/http://www.chapinhall.org/sites/default/files/old_reports/436.pdf
This report published by The Center for Children at Chapin Hall in 1994 was originally issued as a white paper in December 1992.  The Tutor/Mentor Connection used the recommendations in this report as some of the fundamental reasons to launch the T/MC strategy in 1993.  In 2011 the strategy was moved into the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC. 

REGIONAL INDICATORS PROJECT AND CHICAGO METROPULSE - PLANNING RESOURCE
https://www.cmap.illinois.gov/data/metropulse
From the web site:  "The Regional Indicators Project and its MetroPulse website are a joint project of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) and The Chicago Community Trust (the Trust). Together, CMAP and the Trust have developed a comprehensive system of key indicators for measuring and tracking regional quality of life over time in the seven counties of metropolitan Chicago. The project is designed as a tool that can be used by policy makers, community leaders, media and the general public to gather objective data that can inform their work. ? An indicator is a quantitative measure that describes an economic, environmental, social or cultural condition over time. Examples include the unemployment rate, infant mortality rates, number of new business start-ups, or air quality indices."

SAVING FUTURES, SAVING DOLLARS - ISSUE BRIEF
https://all4ed.org/reports-factsheets/saving-futures-saving-dollars-the-impact-of-education-on-crime-reduction-and-earnings-2/
Here's some facts you can put into your funding proposals as you make a case for investment in volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs.  This is a link to an Issue Brief from the  Alliance for Excellent Education  that shows the Impact of Education on Crime Reduction and Earnings. It says, "Increasing high school graduation rate and college matriculation of male students by only 5 percent could lead to combined savings and revenue of almost $8 billion each year." Download and read the full report. 

SIX KEY POLICY AREAS TO SYSTEMICALLY ADDRESS THE CHALLENGES BLACK BOYS AND MEN FACE
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/how-we-rise/2020/12/15/six-policies-to-address-social-problems-affecting-black-boys-and-men/
This December 2020 Brookings Edu article shows six policy recommendations that would improve the social and economic outcomes and opportunities for Black men and boys, addressing the unique challenges they face, from the earliest days of life through adulthood.

STATE OF ECONOMIC EQUITY IN DETROIT - 2021 REPORT
https://detroitfuturecity.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/May_14_Annual-Report-Detroit_Future-City.pdf
This report, produced by Detroit Future City’s new Center for Equity, Engagement, and Research, is a comprehensive and sophisticated compilation of data to track economic equity — which is to say, economic inequity — across the city of Detroit.  The State of Economic Equity in Detroit is a resource for those in the private and public sectors, foundations, nonprofits, community organizations, and residents to inform their actions to advance economic equity. These actions can include agenda setting, advocacy, policy, subject area research, and goal-setting.

STRENGTHENING OUT-OF-SCHOOL TIME NON PROFITS
https://www.wallacefoundation.org/knowledge-center/pages/strengthening-out-of-school-time-organizations.aspx
This is The Wallace Foundation Knowledge Center. "Find hundreds of free reports, videos, tools, infographics and other useful material about school leadership, the arts, learning and enrichment, and other issues."

TEACH FOR ALL - HELPING BUILD EDUCATION, SUPPORT, AND OPPORTUNITY ALL KIDS NEED TO THRIVE.
https://teachforall.org/
From the website: "Teach for All envisions a world where educators, policymakers, parents, and students are working together to ensure that their communities' children have the foundation they need to shape a better future for themselves and all of  us. Teach for All was created by Wendy Kopp,  the founder of Teach for America, and is a growing network (as of 2020) of 53 independent partner organizations and a global organization that works to accelerate the network's progress. Through the global network, partners and their teachers and alumni can share ideas and innovations across borders and adapt promising ideas in their own countries."

THE ASPEN INSTITUTE POLICY RESEARCH
https://www.aspeninstitute.org/programs/
From the web site:  "The Aspen Institute mission is twofold: to foster values-based leadership, encouraging individuals to reflect on the ideals and ideas that define a good society, and to provide a neutral and balanced venue for discussing and acting on critical issues."  Browse the site to see the wide range of resources.

THE BROAD CENTER AT YALE
https://som.yale.edu/faculty-research-centers/centers-initiatives/the-broad-center-at-yale-som/the-network
From the web site: "The mission-driven Broad Center network includes nearly 900 talented leaders. Alumni of The Broad Academy and The Broad Residency programs are committed to the tough but critical work to ensure every child, every day, gets what they need to be successful. That’s why the network remains connected as a community and grows together long after graduation."

THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION RESEARCH TOPICS
https://www.brookings.edu/center/brown-center-on-education-policy/
From the web site: "The mission of the Brown Center on Education Policy, housed in the Governance Studies program at Brookings, is to produce quality, independent research that impacts the efficiency of schools and the lives of all students. Brown Center experts use the best tools available from the quantitative social sciences to bring data-based evidence to bear on education policy discussions in a timely manner. Thus, the Brown Center occupies a unique niche by bringing scientific sensibilities and methods to the issues of the day in education policy."

THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF REDUCING VIOLENT CRIME - CASE STUDY OF 8 CITIES
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/reports/2012/06/19/11755/the-economic-benefits-of-reducing-violent-crime/
From the web site:  "This report presents the findings and conclusions of a yearlong project to examine and analyze the costs of violent crimes in a sample of eight major American cities and estimate the savings and other benefits that would accompany significant reductions in those crimes. This analysis draws on data pinpointing the incidence and location of murders, rapes, assaults, and robberies."

THE GLOBAL ACHIEVEMENT GAP
https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/08/08/global-achievement-gap
This article talks about a book by Tony Wagner, titled The Global Achievement Gap. It challenges our best schools to re-examine the skills they teach.&  I encourage you to use this to challenge schools in poverty, and non-school tutor/mentor programs, to apply this same thinking to what they are doing to help disadvantaged kids compete.

THE JAMES IRVINE FOUNDATION - WHAT WE'RE LEARNING
https://www.irvine.org/our-approach/impact-assessment-learning/
From the web site: "Grantees, employers, thought leaders, and other stakeholders across California identified areas with the most (and least) potential for impact to increase economic opportunity for Californians who are working yet struggling to make ends meet. We share syntheses of their input from these 2017 convenings in an effort to further our collective understanding of ways to help all Californians create a better life for themselves and their families."

THE PERSPECTIVE OF INNER-CITY YOUTH (ARTICLE)
https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/109/6/1136
The study Enhancing Their Likelihood for a Positive Future: The Perspective of Inner-City Youth,  is based on multiple, detailed surveys of 1,700 urban Philadelphia middle and high school students. The survey questions were created by small focus groups of students who were asked to generate, prioritize and explain their own solutions for achieving a positive future. The survey results revealed that though adults considered violence and teen pregnancy to be the biggest problems affecting youth, all the students surveyed gave highest importance to solutions that promoted education or increased job opportunities. The survey results also showed that inner-city youth believe supportive solutions, such as job training, better books for school, and positive connection and interaction with adults, would do more to enhance their chances for a positive future than would attempts to reduce "negative" behaviors or disruptive surroundings.

STRENGTHENING FIELD OF BLACK MALE ACHIEVEMENT 2014 – PDF
https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/uploads/facf3d61-1e38-425d-8750-b7516250a1c5/Building-Community-Black-Male-Achievement-20140512.pdf
This PDF report offers a comprehensive view of what's in place now and what needs to change for the nation to provide needed supports that help more Black Males move through school and into careers.  Take some time to download and read it.

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU – EXPLORE DATA
https://data.census.gov/cedsci/
The US Census Bureau conducts nearly one hundred surveys and censuses every year and shares this information via the American Fact Finder and many other reports that can be found on this site.

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION - CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
https://extension.umn.edu/customized-education#leadership
From the web site: "Drawn from best practices and research, Extension's model of civic engagement guides leaders and community members in addressing public issues and solving public problems. By bringing together experience, information and diverse perspectives in a respectful process allows communities to reach decisions that are more thoughtful, broadly supported and ultimately sustainable. To help leaders succeed, Extension offers workshops as well as long-term cohort programs that help groups plan for successful community engagement." This is one of several focus areas.

URBAN INSTITUTE - ECONOMIC/SOCIAL POLICY RESEARCH
https://www.urban.org/research
From the web site: "Founded in 1968 to understand the problems facing America’s cities and assess the programs of the War on Poverty, the Urban Institute brings decades of objective analysis and expertise to policy debates—in city halls and state houses, Congress and the White House, and emerging democracies around the world. Today, our research portfolio ranges from the social safety net to health and tax policies; the well-being of families and neighborhoods; and trends in work, earnings, and wealth building. Our scholars have a distinguished track record of turning evidence into solutions."

URBAN STRATEGIES COUNCIL - DATA AND REPORTS
https://urbanstrategies.org/resources/
From the web site: "The mission of Urban Strategies Council is to eliminate persistent poverty in the Bay Area by working with partners to transform low-income neighborhoods into vibrant, healthy communities. We leverage research, policy, innovation, collaboration, and advocacy to achieve equity and social justice." This link points to a page with reports produced by the Institute.

US CITIES - RANKING ON UN GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY GOALS - 2018
https://assets.ctfassets.net/5on2ovymmpym/1gLk2LTbPKmaIecSgWq8W6/16b4cf6a9f3290724a3cf84a2feb5682/US-Cities-Index-Report.pdf
This report shows how well (or poorly) the largest 100 US metro areas are performing on achieving the United Nation's 2030 Global Sustainability Goals.  Includes maps and charts. Should be a resource for every city. 

USING DATA TO INFLUENCE POLICY - WHAT WE KNOW AND DON'T KNOW
https://oxfamapps.org/fp2p/what-do-we-know-about-when-data-doesdoesnt-influence-policy/
With so much emphasis on providing evidence and data to support your work, so donors provide the dollars to do it, this article is an important read, showing challenges, shortcomings and opportunities.

VOICES FOR ILLINOIS KIDS - KIDS COUNT REPORT
https://www.voices4kids.org/our-priorities/kids-count/
From the website: "Voices for Illinois Children leads the Illinois Kids Count project as part of a national and state-by-state effort funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation to track the status of children and families in the United States. Since 1992, we have worked to provide policymakers and citizens with benchmarks for child well-being in Illinois. Guided by the data, we seek to strengthen public action and investments to secure a brighter future for all our children"  Voices merged with the YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago in late 2019."

WILEY ONLINE LIBRARY
https://olabout.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-390001.html
From the web site "Wiley Online Library hosts the world's broadest and deepest multidisciplinary collection of online resources covering life, health and physical sciences, social science, and the humanities. It delivers seamless integrated access to over 4 million articles from 1500 journals, almost 10,000 online books, and hundreds of reference works, laboratory protocols and databases."

US DEPT OF LABOR LIBRARY
https://www.dol.gov/
The Dept of Labor web site has extensive workforce data, with histories reaching back many decades.

WOODLAWN CHILDREN'S PROMISE ZONE. POLICY REPORT - 2011 PDF
https://uchicago.app.box.com/s/6hdbae1xx9cn4b0mdwkwqvqir40e5s4u
This is report by Chicago Policy Research Team (CPRT), the undergraduate Public Policy Studies Program at the University of Chicago, which has worked in partnership with the Woodlawn Children’s Promise Community (WCPC) to conduct an early-stage exploration and evaluation of WCPC programs.

"THE VALUE OF RELATIONSHIPS: IMPROVING HUMAN SERVICES PARTICIPANT OUTCOMES THROUGH SOCIAL CAPITAL"
https://aspe.hhs.gov/reports/value-relationships-improving-human-services-participant-outcomes-through-social-capital
From the website: "This handbook is a go-to resource for human services providers looking for practical ways to implement social capital building practices to improve participant outcomes. Building on findings from over a year of research on ways human services can build and leverage participant social capital, or the value that arises from connections, networks, and relationships, this handbook details five principles undergirding social capital practices and eight emerging social capital practices. Included in the description of each emerging practice are real world examples of how they have been implemented across the country and a worksheet to help human services providers think about how they can implement these practices in their own work."

‘OUR KIDS,’ BY ROBERT D. PUTNAM - NY TIMES BOOK REVIEW
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/08/books/review/our-kids-by-robert-d-putnam.html?_r=1
This is a review of a 2015 book by Robert Putnam, titled “Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis”  which focuses on the advantages of growing up in affluent families and disadvantages of growing up in poor families, and how these impact lives and social/economic opportunity. 

5 STEPS FOR BUILDING & STRENGTHENING STUDENTS’ NETWORKS
https://whoyouknow.org/playbook/
From the website: "This playbook was developed by the Clayton Christensen Institute to help K–12 and postsecondary leadership and nonprofits that work with those institutions implement and adapt strategies, tools, and metrics that build and strengthen their students’ networks in support of their well-being and with the aim of expanding their postsecondary and career options. Although we offer tools and tactics that could be implemented in standalone programming or courses, we urge users to treat network-building as a system-wide goal, rather than a one-off effort reserved for only a few students."  

A SOCIAL CAPITAL THEORY OF CAREER SUCCESS
https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/3069452
From the web site: "ABSTRACT:  A SOCIAL CAPITAL THEORY OF CAREER SUCCESS: A theoretical model that integrates previously competing theories of social capital with the literature on career success was developed and tested with a sample of 448 employees in a range of occupations and organizations. Social capital was conceptualized in terms of network structure (weak ties and structural holes) and social resources (contacts in other functions and contacts at other organizational levels). Results of a SEM showed that network structure was related to social resources and that the effects of social resources on career success were fully mediated by three network benefits: access to information, access to resources, and career sponsorship." Tutor/Mentor Connection Comment: If this is true for people in the workforce, can a case be made for mentoring as a strategy to expand social networks for disadvantaged youth, or to expand the networks for workplace volunteers?

ADDRESSING FUNDING ISSUES.  ARTICLE:  WHY PHILANTHROPY NEEDS TO INVEST IN SOCIAL CAPITAL
https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2024/7/16/should-we-pay-for-relationships-why-philanthropy-needs-to-invest-in-social-capital
This article in InsidePhilanthropy by Julia Freeland Fisher of the Christensen, is titled "Should we pay for relationships?  Why philanthropy needs to invest in social capital."  In a concluding paragraph Freeland writes, "a lack of unrestricted funding to support staff capacity actively hinders programs from supporting social capital development between mentors and mentees."  

ADDRESSING SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL NEEDS (PPT)
https://www.powershow.com/view/9562a-ZWMzY/Addressing_Student_Social_and_Emotional_Needs_powerpoint_ppt_presentation#
This link points to a ppt titled "Addressing Student Social and Emotional Needs', created by Michael E. Woolley, Ph.D., University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration.  The following points are made in this ppt,  * Research consistently shows that a student’s attitudes and beliefs about school predict better behavior and academic performance " * When student report more supportive adults—at home, in their neighborhood , and at school—they have higher levels of positive attitudes and behaviors about school *The presence of supportive adults reduces the impact of environmental risk factors. * When student reported levels of risk factors and supportive adults are taken into account, race/ethnicity differences disappear, and family SES differences reduce. How can leaders of volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs use this information to build funding support for volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs operating in non-school hours and at schools or community based organizations? 

AMERICA MOVING TOWARD CASTE SOCIETY - PUTNAM 2014
https://www.macleans.ca/society/america-is-moving-toward-a-caste-society/
In this interview Harvard academic Robert Putnam talks about "the death of the American Dream and why being poor in America is no longer a matter of race."  Supporters of volunteer-based tutoring/mentoring should use this as further evidence of where and why mentor-rich programs are needed.

ANYONE MAPPING YOUTH NETWORK CHANGES?
http://tutormentorconnection.ning.com/group/technologyinternswithtutormentorconnection/forum/topics/mapping-change-in-youth
The articles in this section of the Tutor/Mentor Connection NING forum web site are about social capital and how high amounts of "bonding" social capital and/or "bridging" social capital can have an influence on youth aspirations, habits and development. The Tutor/Mentor Connection still is looking for university and funding partners to develop a long-term study of tutor/mentor programs, to show changes in a youth and volunteer's network resulting from on-going participation in a mentor-rich program. Visit the link and read more.

APPLYING SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS TO STUDY PUBLIC AUTHORITY AND GOVERNANCE
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/africaatlse/2018/03/01/beyond-mixed-metaphors-of-networks-applying-social-network-analysis-to-study-publicauthority-and-governance/
In this blog article "Patrycja Stys explores how using Social Network Analysis (SNA) (in Africa) can improve our understanding of public authority.  This article is part of the PublicAuthority blog series, part of the ESRC-funded Centre for Public Authority and International Development.

ASSIST SOCIAL CAPITAL - BUILDING UNDERSTANDING OF SOCIAL CAPITAL
http://social-capital.net/
From the web site: "Assist Social Capital's aim is to increase understanding of the influence social capital has in communities, as a means to achieving positive social change and sustainable economic prosperity."

BRIDGING AND BONDING SOCIAL CAPITAL - WHAT IS DIFFERENCE?
https://www.socialcapitalresearch.com/difference-bonding-bridging-social-capital/
This is one of many articles where the difference between "bridging" and "bonding" social capital is discussed.

BUILDING BRIDGING SOCIAL CAPITAL IN A DIVIDED SOCIETY - RESEARCH
https://gfbertini.wordpress.com/2014/05/12/building-bridging-social-capital-in-a-divided-society-the-role-of-participatory-citizenship-education/
The full title of this research is "Building bridging Social Capital in a Divided Society: the role of Participatory Citizenship Education"  It examines the challenges and potential of using a participatory citizenship program in Northern Ireland to build bridging social capital connecting people in the region.  Ideas can be applied to other places. 

CASE STUDIES OF ORGS WHO INCREASE STUDENTS' ACCESS TO SOCIAL CAPITAL
https://whoyouknow.org/research/
This page is from the "Who you Know" section of the Christensen Institute website. The page says "Want to build your students' networks?  Here, we feature emerging research and case studies from the frontlines, and explore cutting-edge designs and measurement practices to increase students' access to social capital."

CHICAGO'S POOR NEIGHBORHOODS. EVERYTHING DESERTS (ARTICLE)
https://www.chicagomag.com/city-life/may-2013/why-is-chicago-a-commercial-desert/
This Chicago Magazine article points to research done by Mario Luis Small, of University of Chicago, showing how poor neighborhoods of Chicago have less density of "places that employ people and provide things: restaurants, grocery stores, churches, banks, a whole list of stuff."    See links to Small's research in the article. Note: This is one of several articles under the heading of “Poor Neighborhoods” which you can find at https://www.chicagomag.com/page/2/?s=chicago%27s+poor+neighborhoods

CONCEPTUALIZING SOCIAL CAPITAL AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE (2004)
https://web.archive.org/web/20161229174134/http://www.colorado.edu:80/journals/cye/14_1/articles/article6full.htm
From the web site: "The concept of social capital has gained more recognition in the past few decades but has created conceptual confusion due to varying uses of the term by different writers. Definitional and methodological flaws plague the few studies that have explored social capital among young people. This paper offers a critical synthesis of the construct and also introduces a new theoretical framework of social capital among young people to encourage future research." 

DATA AND SOCIETY - RESEARCH INSTITUTE
https://datasociety.net/about/
From the web site "Data & Society is a research institute in New York City that is focused on the social and cultural issues arising from data-centric technological development."

DEFINING AND MEASURING SOCIAL CAPITAL FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
https://www.search-institute.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/SOCAP-Lit-Review.pdf
This is an extensive report discussing social capital for young people, done by the Search Institute.  Released in 2020.  

DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMATOLOGY - SOCIAL CAPITAL ARTICLE
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15839763/
The full name of this article is:  Depressive Symptomatology, Exposure to Violence, and the Role of Social Capital Among African American Adolescents  The findings suggest the importance of interrelationships among violence exposure, capital, and well-being for adolescents.

DOES SOCIAL CAPITAL MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
https://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/55
From the abstract:  "This article argues that social capital plays a central role in the ability of young people to "navigate" risk decisions and considers the types of social capital  that provide the resources for young people to cope, manage and make informed choices about risk, and to act upon them, literally what it takes to be a risk navigator." 

ECONOMIC INEQUALITY AND POVERTY GAP - PUTNAM
https://www.bendbulletin.com/lifestyle/harvard-professor-and-best-selling-author-to-speak-in-bend/article_4157e524-2eb6-5a71-8233-8622ed57ea11.html
This is article from central Oregon newspaper about Robert Putnam's 2015 book titled "Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis”.  Any community with divisions between rich and poor should include this article, and the book, as part of their community reading.

EXPLANATION OF TYPES OF SOCIAL CAPITAL - 2013 BLOG
https://www.socialcapitalresearch.com/explanation-types-social-capital/
This article provides a framework for understanding, and classifying the difference between bridging and bonding social capital.

FAMILY AS EMOTIONAL UNIT - BOWEN THEORY
https://www.thebowencenter.org/core-concepts-diagrams
This information is found on the web site of The Bowen Center for the Study of the Family and the Georgetown Family Center. "Bowen family systems theory is a theory of human behavior that views the family as an emotional unit and uses systems thinking to describe the complex interactions in the unit." This link points to Eight Concepts of this theory.

HOW ARE PROGRAMS BUILDING STUDENTS’ SOCIAL CAPITAL? 10 KEY TRENDS
https://www.christenseninstitute.org/blog/how-are-programs-building-students-social-capital-10-key-trends/
This report is "a look at a subset of innovative organizations that are specifically designed to broker deep and diverse relationships in young people’s lives to expand access networks of support and opportunity.

HOW OUR NARROWING SOCIAL CIRCLES CREATES UNEQUAL WORLD - ARTICLE
https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/jun/27/people-like-us-why-narrowing-social-circles-create-more-unequal-world
This article focuses on how people from different classes are disconnecting from others and what impact this as on society as a whole.

INCOME INEQUALITY - SOCIAL MOBILITY RESEARCH FROM THE EQUALITY TRUST (UK) - PDF
https://equalitytrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/research-digest-trends-measures-final.pdf
This report deals with "the relationship between high income inequality and low levels of social mobility."  See more like this at https://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/taxonomy/term/92 

INFED.ORG - ARTICLES ABOUT SOCIAL CAPITAL AND INFORMAL LEARNING
https://infed.org/social-capital/
This site offers an extensive library of articles about social capital.  The site is sort of a wikipedia-type collection of articles related to "Association, democracy and civil society, Community learning and development, Education, Ideas, Index, Social action, social change and social reform". 

INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL CAPITAL ASSOCIATION VIDEOS 
https://www.youtube.com/@intsocialcapital
In this YouTube channel you can learn more about Social Capital.  This is a resource of the International Social Capital Association. https://www.intsocialcapital.org

LINKING MENTORING AND SOCIAL CAPITAL
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1523422307304102
This article explores the connections between social capital and mentoring. You can read the abstract for free, but you need to pay to view the entire PDF.

MEASUREMENT OF SOCIAL CAPITAL - NETWORK ANALYSIS
https://web.archive.org/web/20170718165802/https://www.hks.harvard.edu/programs/saguaro/measurement
The Saguaro Seminar at Harvard University web site has an extensive list of resources and ideas for evaluation and measurement of changes in social capital that could result from intentional strategies like volunteer based tutoring/mentoring. 2020 note: The Saguaro Seminar is now closed. This page is an archive.

MEASUREMENT OF SOCIAL CAPITAL - PDF
https://gaag.home.xs4all.nl/work/propmeasSC.pdf
This 2003 article offers ideas on ways that social capital gains and benefits could be measured.  If mentoring is a way to expand social capital for inner city youth we would need to find ways to measure these gains to demonstrate value to potential funders.

MEASURING SOCIAL CAPITAL. 2020 CHRISTENSEN INSTITUTE PDF
https://staging.whoyouknow.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/THE-MISSING-METRICS.pdf
The title of this 2020 report is "The Missing Metrics: Emerging practices for measuring students’ relationships and networks.  It shows the importance of social capital and the need to treat it as an outcome of school and non-school program design, not just as an input to learning.  It also shows that very few are actually measuring changes in social capital but points to some emerging programs who are beginning to try to do this. 

Tutor/Mentor Comment: This should be recommended reading for school leaders, philanthropists, and leaders of non-school, volunteer based youth serving programs.

NEIGHBORHOOD SOCIAL CAPITAL, PDF
http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/images/PDF/neighborhood_social_capital.pdf
"Neighborhood Social Capital as Differential Social Organization: Resident and Leadership Dimensions" by Robert J. Sampson\Corina Graif, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.  This article treats social capital as a multidimensional phenomenon along which neighborhoods are deferentially organized.

T/MC Note: as we understand how volunteers in a tutor/mentor program are a form of "bridging social capital" that connect youth and families with assets and opportunities beyond the high poverty area, we can gain more support for the growth of these programs. This article helps build that understanding.

ON SOCIAL POVERTY: HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF SOCIAL CAPITAL
https://www.josephlewandowski.com/images/Social_Poverty.pdf
Article by Joseph D. Lewandowski. He writes “Among social scientists, development theorists, and policy makers there is today an emergent consensus about the multidimensional and contextual character of poverty. Working within the framework of such a consensus in this article, I attempt to identify the social dimension of human poverty. Most generally, I try to sketch an account of social poverty as a shared normative (or soft) constraint on human action and interaction.” In this paper he argues that “social poverty is an absence or scarcity of vertical social capital.“ Read the full paper.

RELATIONSHIP MAPPING - CERES INSTITUTE FOR CHILDREN & YOUTH
https://ceresinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Using-the-WoS-Framework.pdf
This PDF talks about the importance of helping students have a "web of support" and describes some strategies for mapping student networks.  

ROLE OF SOCIAL CAPITAL IN HIGH POVERTY PLACES
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11314847/
The full title of this report is :  Poor people, poor places, and poor health: the mediating role of social networks and social capital.   This paper explores the dynamics between poverty and exclusion; neighborhood, and health and well being by considering the role of social networks and social capital in the social processes involved.

SAGUARO SEMINAR: CIVIC ENGAGEMENT IN AMERICA - FOCUS ON SOCIAL CAPITAL
https://web.archive.org/web/20170718165752/https://www.hks.harvard.edu/programs/saguaro/our-research/diversity,-equality-and-social-capital
From the archive of the web site: "The Saguaro Seminar, under the leadership of Robert D. Putnam, has been conducting research on the inter-relation of diversity (mainly examining race and ethnicity), immigration and social capital since 2001.  We have also been examining the relationship between inequality and both diversity and social capital."

SCI SOCIAL CAPITAL INC - WHAT IS "SOCIAL CAPITAL?" 
https://socialcapitalinc.org/what-is-social-capital/
From the website: "SCI's mission is to strengthen communities by connecting diverse individuals and organizations through civic engagement initiatives."  Read about SCI youth leadership programs and SCI AmeriCorps programs. 

SOCIAL CAPITAL - AS PART OF CAREER DEVELOPMENT
http://career.iresearchnet.com/career-development/social-capital/
This article can help you expand your understanding of social capital, although it is focused on personal development within a business career, and not on network development for young people living in high poverty areas.

SOCIAL CAPITAL - HOWARD RHEINGOLD'S LIBRARY
https://www.diigo.com/profile/hrheingold/social_capital
Find additional articles about social capital in this collection of links curated by Howard Rheingold.

SOCIAL CAPITAL AND DEVELOPMENT OF AT-RISK YOUTH
https://www.jstor.org/stable/353914
The full title of this report is  Social Capital and Successful Development Among At-Risk Youth , by Frank F. Furstenberg Jr. and Mary Elizabeth; Hughes of The University of Pennsylvania. The article applies Coleman's concept of social capital to understand differences in development among youth at risk of lifelong disadvantage.

SOCIAL CAPITAL ARTICLES ON TUTOR/MENTOR INSTITUTE, LLC BLOG
http://tutormentor.blogspot.com/search/label/social%20capital
Read articles posted since 2005 about social capital and building networks on the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC blog.  In many articles new links have been added at the bottom as "updates".  Some of these are also in the social capital research section of this web library, but others may not be.  See how GIS maps are used in the articles to show where poverty is concentrated, which are were there are weaker bridging social capital ties and read how organized, mentor-rich youth programs can help expand "who you know" for youth living in poverty who are able to participate in these programs. 

SOCIAL CAPITAL GATEWAY
https://www.socialcapitalgateway.org/about-us/website
From the web site: "Social Capital Gateway (SCG) is a web site publishing materials for the study of social capital and related topics in a multidisciplinary perspective.

SOCIAL CAPITAL GLOSSARY - FROM SAGUARO SEMINAR AT HAVARD
https://web.archive.org/web/20170417204747/https://www.hks.harvard.edu/saguaro/glossary
This page offers definitions of "bridging" and "bonding" social capital.  NOTE: The Saguaro Seminar is no longer found on the Harvard Business School web site. This link points to a web archive of the site 

SOCIAL CAPITAL RESEARCH - DEFINITIONS OF SOCIAL CAPITAL
https://www.socialcapitalresearch.com/literature/definition/
This is one section of an extensive library of Social Capital Research. 

SOCIAL CAPITAL RESEARCH BY DANIEL P. ADRICH
http://daldrich.weebly.com/
Daniel P. Aldrich is full professor of political science and Director of the Security and Resilience Studies Program at Northeastern University.  Is research on bridging, bonding and linking social capital is of value to many.

SOCIAL CAPITAL ROLE IN EMPOWERING LOW-STATUS YOUTH
https://www.scribd.com/document/63078471/A-Social-Capital-Framework-for-the-Empowerment-of-Low-status-Youth
The full title of this paper is "A Social Capital Framework for the Study of Institutional Agents & Their Role in the Empowerment of Low-status Students & Youth", Written by Ricardo D. Stanton-Salazar, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Education Rossier School of Education University of Southern California.   This paper provide rich thinking about the role "that non-family adults agents play in the social development, socialization, formal and informal education, and social mobility of adolescents" and provides many reasons to support mentor-rich non-school tutor/mentor programs operating in high poverty neighborhoods.

SOCIAL CAPITAL: GLUE FOR SUSTAINABILITY
https://www.slideshare.net/vaxelrod/social-capital-glue-for-sustainability-542466
This 2008 Slideshare presentation shows value of social and networked organizations. The author says "Networks are social capital; where business value is created in relationships. Network analysis reveals the networks. CORE process identifies new market opportunities or innovation, improvises effectiveness, extends firms reach through stakeholder networks."   Our aim in mentoring is to expand this network to include youth, families and non profit organizations in high poverty areas.

SOCIAL CHANGE ONE-ON-ONE. CASE FOR MENTORING
https://prospect.org/civil-rights/social-change-one-one-new-mentoring-movement/
This is a 1996 article written by Gary  Walker, of Public/Private Ventures and Marc  Freedman. The case for mentoring is still strong. 

SOCIAL MOBILITY IN AMERICA - 2016 ARTICLE
https://www.milkenreview.org/articles/social-mobility-a-promise-that-could-still-be-kept
This article illustrates that where you are born and who your parents are has huge impact on life-well-being. Includes quote saying "No single program does very much to close the gap between children from lower- and higher-income families. But the combined effects of multiple programs – that is, from intervening early and often in a child's life – has a surprisingly big impact."  Public/Private sector strategies that fill high poverty neighborhoods with a variety of youth supports should be one response to this article. 

SOCIAL MOBILITY-SOCIAL CAPITAL - BEST PLACES TO BE BORN IN US
https://socialcapital.wordpress.com/2013/08/15/good-places-for-kids-social-mobility/
This article uses maps to illustrate how different levels of social capital in the place where youth were born affects their upward social mobility. This was posted on the Social Capital Blog. 

SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS ARTICLES
https://tutormentorexchange.wordpress.com/2016/09/09/social-network-analysis-articles/
This link points to a Tutor/Mentor Connection blog on Wordpress where we are posting some additional articles to read.  These were originally collected in a Social Network Analysis group hosted on the T/MC's Ning site. 

SOCIAL NETWORKS - NEW RESOURCE FOR STUDENTS
http://www.bobpearlman.org/Articles/Student_Success.htm
Networking, or acquiring a social network, is a key skill of the 21st Century. It’s how you learn, and how you connect. Read this 2002 article by Bob Pearlman, titled  New Ingredient for Student Success: Social Networks, and learn more how your organization can help students expand their social networks.  This web site  has many more resources related to the same ideas.

NOTE: this article points to a 2002 Workforce Study. You can find the PDF version of that study at jointventure.org/images/stories/pdf/2002workforcestudy.pdf

SOCIAL NETWORKS AND SOCIAL CAPITAL: RETHINKING THEORY IN COMMUNITY INFORMATICS
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/220536667_Social_Networks_and_Social_Capital_Rethinking_Theory_in_Community_Informatics
This article provides an in-depth discussion of social capital as it relates to community informatics. If you're building your understanding of social capital, and the difference between bridging and bonding, strong and weak ties, this would be a good read.

STUDY ASSESSING THE SOCIAL NTWORKS OF YOUTH IN FOSTER CARE - PDF
click here
This paper, titled "Exploring Support Network Structure, Content, and Stability as Youth Transition from Foster Care" by Jennifer Elizabeth Blakeslee, uses social network analysis to study networks of support for youth transitioning from foster care. This provides quite a bit of thinking for others who might apply social network analysis to demonstrate the benefit of volunteer-based programs serving k-12 youth in high poverty areas.

THE RESILIENCE RESEARCH CENTRE
https://resilienceresearch.org/
From the web site: "Resilience research involving children, youth and families looks at the health-enhancing capacities, individual, family and community resources, and developmental pathways of vulnerable children and youth, who against all odds, manage not only to survive unhealthy environments, but thrive. The Resilience Research Centre supports both quantitative and qualitative research, with an emphasis on mixed methods designs that favor understanding resilience as a culturally and contextually embedded construct."

UNDERSTANDING "CULTURE OF POVERTY" - ARTICLE
https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/18/us/18poverty.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1
This 2010 New York Times article does not specifically mention the term "social capital" but statements like "growing up in areas where violence limits socializing outside the family  and where parents haven’t attended college stunts verbal ability,  lowering I.Q. scores by as much as six points, the equivalent of missing  more than a year in school.' are examples of communities with limited "bridging" social capital.

VIOLENCE IN AMERICA AND SOCIAL CAPITAL - 2012 ARTICLE
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/primate-diaries/the-jokers-wild/
This article reaches a conclusion that "The clear implication is that social capital followed by income inequality are the primary factors that influence the rate of homicidal aggression."

WHO YOU KNOW.ORG FOCUSES ON SOCIAL CAPITAL
https://whoyouknow.org/
This website was established in 2020 by The Christensen Institute to share strategies educators are using to build and expand students' social capital.

WHO YOU KNOW: RELATIONSHIPS,NETWORKS AND SOCIAL CAPITAL IN BOOSTING EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUNG AMERICANS
https://www.brookings.edu/research/who-you-know-relationships-networks-and-social-capital-in-boosting-educational-opportunity-for-young-americans/
2022 BrookingsEdu article and report discusses role of bridging and bonding social capital in helping young people move through school and into jobs and careers. 

WHY SOCIAL CAPITAL COULD BE THE KEY TO SOLVING AMERICA’S OVERDOSE EPIDEMIC
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/16/social-capital-us-opioid-epidemic-drugs-overdose
Many of the arguments made in this article can be applied to mentoring and helping youth living in poverty, or who are isolated because of a number of different issues.  Expanding the network of support is essential for the well-being of many. 

“THE ROLE OF RISK” A 2013 STUDY FROM WASHINGTON STATE MENTORS
https://www.mdrc.org/publication/role-risk
From MENTOR newsletter: "This report presents results from the first large-scale evaluation to examine how the levels and types of risk youth face may influence their mentoring relationships and the benefits they derive from mentoring programs. The study looked closely at the backgrounds of participating youth and their mentors, the mentoring relationships that formed, the program supports that were offered, and the benefits youth received — and assessed how these varied for youth with differing “profiles” of risk.

BENCHMARKS: STARTING, OPERATING A MENTOR PROGRAM
https://aymn.org.au/benchmarks/
From the web site: "The Australian Youth Mentoring Benchmarks were created in 2000 to provide a standard for all mentoring programs in order to have a strong, successful and sustainable program. The Australian Youth Mentoring Network encourages all mentoring programs to achieve these standards through the sharing of resources, professional development and collegial networking. The Benchmarks were reviewed in 2007 and again in 2012."  Visit the web site and incorporate these into your own organizational development.

CENTER FOR EVIDENCE BASED MENTORING
https://www.mentoring.org/resource-library/
From the web site: "he Center is dedicated to creating the open and efficient exchange of research and ideas. In doing so, we seek to advance the production, dissemination, and uptake of evidence-based practice in ways that improve the effectiveness of practice and, ultimately, create stronger, more enduring mentor-mentee relationships."

CENTER FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY MENTORING RESEARCH - PORTLAND STATE U.
https://www.pdx.edu/youth-mentoring/
From the web site: "The PSU Center for Interdisciplinary Mentoring Research (CIMR) was created in 2010 to advance the field of mentoring, nationally and internationally, through innovative and rigorous research, education and knowledge sharing, and partnerships with organizations providing services."  Among its programs is a Summer Institute on Youth Mentoring http://www.pdx.edu/youth-mentoring/ 

CITIZEN SCHOOLS MENTORING PROGRAM - ARTICLE
https://www.edutopia.org/citizen-schools-after-school-program
This link points to an article about the Citizen Schools after school mentoring program. This is an excellent example of the involvement of business volunteers and effective support by program staff. Watch the video, too. http://www.edutopia.org/citizen-schools-after-school-program-video 

CHALLENGES OF BRINGING BIG NEW TUTORING PROGRAMS TO AMERICA'S CLASSROOMS - 2022 ARTICLE
https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/3/25/22995221/tutoring-pandemic-academic-recovery-recruiting-training-challenges#Echobox=1648208087
In the early 2000s the "No Child Left Behind" movement saw tutoring as one strategy, but had a difficult time making it work.  In 2022 tutoring once again is seen as a strategy, and once again, it is difficult making it work.  Read this article from Chalkbeat, titled "Hiccups and hard lessons: What it takes to bring big new tutoring programs to America's classrooms."

COALITION FOR COMMUNITY SCHOOLS
https://www.communityschools.org/
From the web site: "The Coalition for Community Schools, housed at the Institute for Educational Leadership, is an alliance of national, state and local organizations in education K-16, youth development, community planning and development, family support, health and human services, government and philanthropy as well as national, state and local community school networks. Community schools are both a place and a set of partnerships between the school and other community resources. There are a number of national models and local community school initiatives that share a common set of principles: fostering strong partnerships, sharing accountability for results, setting high expectations, building on the community’s strengths, and embracing diversity and innovative solutions."

COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, URBAN INITIATIVE, UCHICAGO
https://voices.uchicago.edu/coed/
From the web site: "The Committee sponsors an ongoing workshop on Education; administers training grants in educational research; and fosters connections among education-related programs in existing departments and schools, including SSA’s Community Schools Program, the Urban Teacher Education Program, and courses in educational psychology, educational sociology, economics of education, social work, and educational policy."

CONSUMER GUIDE TO MENTORING - 1993 PERSPECTIVE
https://www2.ed.gov/pubs/OR/ConsumerGuides/mentor.html
This web page was created in 1993 and is now an archive. However, reading it now can help leaders, volunteers and donors gain a perspective of how mentoring was viewed almost 20 years ago. Some of the same challenges that existed then are still with us today.

CREATING A NETWORK OF AFTERSCHOOL ED PROGRAMS
http://pase-about.s3.amazonaws.com/PASEConceptPaper.pdf
This paper makes a case for building a network of youth programs throughout large city and provides ideas for how this might happen.

DAVID DUBOIS, ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR RESEARCH, UIC SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH - FOCUSES ON MENTORING
https://publichealth.uic.edu/profiles/david-dubois/
Dr. DuBois is one of the leading researchers on mentoring in the USA. He is the lead co-editor of the Handbook of Youth Mentoring and co-author of After-School Centers and Youth Development: Case Studies of Success and Failure. He hosts a mentoring list-serve connecting researchers and practitioners. This link points to his bio. 

EMPLOYEE SKILL IMPROVEMENTS RESULTING FROM VOLUNTEERING EXPERIENCES - 2016 RESEARCH
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00495/full
This article is titled "Widely Assumed but Thinly Tested: Do Employee Volunteers' Self-Reported Skill Improvements Reflect the Nature of Their Volunteering Experiences?"  It investigates an important question to the volunteer tutoring and mentoring field. What skills and benefits do the volunteers take back to the workplace? Read the report. More research like this still needs to be done.

EVALUATION OF MOST (MAKING THE MOST OF OUT-OF-SCHOOL TIME) INITIATIVE
https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED451957
This Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago report summarizes the evaluation of the first phase (1995-1998) of the Making the Most of Out-of-School Time (MOST) Initiative of the Wallace-Reader's Digest Funds.

GUIDE TO EFFECTIVE YOUTH MENTORING - NEW ZEALAND – PDF
https://www.youthmentoring.org.nz/content/docs/GYM.1.pdf
This handbook has loads of useful information with helpful graphics to illustrate concepts. 

HELPING THE LESS-ADVANTAGED TO SUCCEED - MOBILITY
https://economicmobilitycorp.org/publications/
From the web site: "The Economic Mobility Corporation (Mobility) Mobility is guided by the belief that every individual deserves access to economic opportunity. We identify, develop and evaluate promising strategies that promote economic mobility by enabling less advantaged adults and youth to acquire the education, skills and networks needed to advance in the labor market.” The Publications section of this library includes an archive of Public/Private Ventures (P/PV) research.

ILLINOIS DCFS - PREVENTION AND CHILD ABUSE RESOURCES
https://www2.illinois.gov/dcfs/Pages/default.aspx
On this web site you will find timely information about Child Protection, Foster Care, Adoption, Day Care licensing and other services provided by the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services (DCFS). 

INNOVATIONS IN SCHOOL BASED MENTORING
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1754730X.2013.832009
This report by Samuel D. McQuillina, John D. Terry, Gerald G. Strait & Bradley H. Smith offers some ideas for making school based mentoring strategies more effective. You can download the full report, or just read the abstract

INVESTIGATING MENTOR COMMITMENT IN YOUTH MENTORING RELATIONSHIPS: THE ROLE OF PERCEIVED PROGRAM PRACTICES
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jcop.22409
This is one of several research articles in this issue of the Journal of Community Psychology.   The abstract describes the research process as "Using data from 537 mentors representing 55 mentoring programs, this study examined a theoretical path model in which mentor perceptions of program practices, specifically setting expectations, prematch mentor training, and matching based on mentor preferences, predict mentor satisfaction, investment, perceptions of available alternatives, and ultimately, relationship commitment."  PDF available. 

LEARNING AND AFTERSCHOOL-KAREN PITTMAN INTERVIEW
http://blog.learninginafterschool.org/2012/01/extended-learning-time-and-more.html
This article is an interview with Karen Pittman, President of the Forum for Youth Investment. It's one of a number of articles about "learning and after school" issues.

MENTOR CONSULTING GROUP - ASK DR. MENTOR
http://www.mentorconsultinggroup.com/ask.html
Each month Dr. Susan Weinberger, known to her many clients simply as "Dr. Mentor," takes time to answer some of the questions sent in by program staff and mentoring professionals around the world. Visit the web site and build your mentoring organization with Dr. Mentor's help.

MENTORING AND YOUNG PEOPLE - UK ARTICLE
https://infed.org/mentoring-and-young-people/
From the web site: "There has been a mushrooming of youth mentoring projects across the UK. Yet  relatively little is known in the UK about the background to the idea and the  principles underlying mentoring initiatives. Kate Philip investigates."

MENTORING FOR BLACK MALE YOUTH: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE RESEARCH (2017)
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40894-017-0074-z
This literature review was conducted to compile all available research evidence about mentoring for Black boys.  There are links to many publications. 

MENTORING AS PART OF LARGER STRATEGY - P/PV RESEARCH
https://www.issuelab.org/resource/mentoring-policy-and-politics.html
In December 2007 Public/Private Ventures issued a Policy Brief, titled "Mentoring, Policy and Politics", written by Gary Walker. The final sentence of this report, in a section titled “Future Directions”, states “Infiltration, not consolidation, is where mentoring's greatest usefulness lies in the years ahead.”  Note: Public/Private Ventures went out of business in 2012 but this message still has meaning. P/PV research is still available via IssueLab.

See Tutor/Mentor Connection comment on this article. https://tutormentor.blogspot.com/2020/05/ive-led-this-effort-since-1993-im.html

MENTORING DECREASES YOUTH VIOLENCE - NEW RESEARCH (2012)
https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/at-the-edge/2012/10/04/in-chicago-proof-positive-that-mentoring-decreases-youth-violence
This article refers to a "large social science research study by the University of Chicago Crime Lab, in partnership with Chicago Public Schools and local nonprofits, which found that counseling and mentoring actually work." Read more. Follow the links to the research.

MENTORING PROGRAMS AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
https://www.childtrends.org/?publications=mentoring-programs-and-youth-development-a-synthesis
This is a 2002 ChildTrends report by Susan Jekielek, M.A., Kristin A. Moore, Ph.D., and Elizabeth C. Hair, Ph.D., funded by the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation. It examines the role that mentoring plays in helping youth develop a broad array of strengths and capacities in the following three domains of child well-being: education and cognitive attainment; health and safety; and social and emotional well-being.

MENTORING RESOURCES ON UCLA CENTER WEB SITE
http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/qf/mentoring.htm
The UCLA Center for Mental Health in Schools seeks to create a system wide system of school and community supports to help young people succeed in school Their web site offers an extensive library of ideas that schools and community groups throughout the world can use.

MENTORSHIP ARTICLE ON WIKIPEDIA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mentorship
Wikipedia articles such as this provide an extensive range of information about topics such as mentoring. Add to your resource list. 

PERSPECTIVES OF PROFESSIONAL MENTORS
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10566-014-9261-2
This research talks about the role of Full-time “professional” mentors in highly structured programs that work with youth facing significant risks.  Staff who support volunteers in organized programs require some of the same skills.

PUBLIC/PRIVATE VENTURES RESEARCH ARCHIVE ON ISSUE LAB
click here
From the web site: "After almost 35 years Public/Private Ventures (P/PV) has ceased operations. The organization leaves behind an incredible legacy of knowledge, including hundreds of research reports, case studies and evaluations about how best to improve programs and outcomes for children, youth and families. We are fortunate that P/PV has decided to archive its publications collection with the Foundation Center's IssueLab so that practitioners can benefit from this knowledge for years to come."

REPORT ON THE STATE OF NY MENTORING - DEC 2020 (PDF)
click here
This report summarizes survey findings of Mentor NY, conducted during middle of 2020 Covid19 pandemic. 

RESILIENT LATINO YOUTH: IN THEIR OWN WORDS - 2015 RESEARCH
https://issuu.com/nclr/docs/resilientlatinoyouth_web
From the web site: "This report uses the concept of resilience to examine how a group of second-generation Latino youth have been able to cope with adversity and excel while growing up in extremely challenging circumstances."

RESILIENT LEADERS — IMPLICATIONS FOR LEADER DEVELOPMENT
https://gfbertini.wordpress.com/2014/10/27/resilient-leaders-implications-for-leader-development/
An understanding of resilience, and how it develops in some people can provide insight and ideas for how  youth tutoring/mentoring programs might try to build these characteristics in youth they mentor.

SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS - 2008 ARTICLE
https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/08/02/secrets-successful-afterschool-programs
From Harvard Graduate School of Education web site: "The United States is engaged in an ongoing, public discussion about how to best expand afterschool time and opportunities for children and youth, to support their learning and development across the day, throughout the year, and from kindergarten through high school. Debate continues about the range of academic, social, and other types of knowledge and skills that young people will need to succeed as workers, citizens, and family and community members in a global world. To build the knowledge base, and to support efforts to improve quality in this field, the Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP) has developed and maintains an accessible national database of evaluations of hundreds of afterschool programs. In 2008, HFRP issued a review of these studies to address two fundamental questions: Does participation in after school programs make a difference, and if so, what conditions appear to be necessary to achieve positive results?"  Visit site and learn more.

START TO FINISH COALITION - A FISCAL SCAN OF ILLINOIS PUBLIC INVESTMENTS IN CHILDREN AND YOUTH, AGES 8-25.
https://www.childrenshomeandaid.org/thecenter/youthbudget/
From the web site: " The fiscal scan  —  conducted as part of a collaborative effort including Children’s Home + Aid, the Federation for Community Schools, the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law and United Way of Illinois  —  allows us to see how Illinois’ funds are currently invested in youth ages 8–25."

THE EFFORT EFFECT - INFLUENCING STUDENT MOTIVATION
https://stanfordmag.org/contents/the-effort-effect
From the web site: "Through more than three decades of systematic research, Stanford University researcher Carol Dweck has been figuring out answers to why some people achieve their potential while equally talented others don’t—why some become Muhammad Ali and others Mike Tyson. The key, she found, isn’t ability; it’s whether you look at ability as something inherent that needs to be demonstrated or as something that can be developed."  Read the full article and consider how you can apply this thinking as a tutor/mentor, teacher, parent, etc.

THE FUTURE OF CHILDREN - POLICY BRIEFS
https://futureofchildren.princeton.edu/publications
From the web site: "The The Future of Children is a collaboration of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and the Brookings Institution. Our mission is to translate the best social science research about children and youth into information that is useful to policymakers, practitioners, grant-makers, advocates, the media, and students of public policy. We publish one journal and policy brief each year, in addition to other projects. The policy topics we cover range widely – from education to health to families – with children as the unifying element. Our diverse senior editorial team represents two institutions and multiple disciplines."

THE MENTORING EFFECT: YOUNG PEOPLE'S PERSPECTIVES ON OUTCOMES AND AVAILABILITY
https://www.mentoring.org/resource/the-mentoring-effect/
This report was commissioned by MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership with support from AT&T and written by Civic Enterprises with Hart Research. It is describe this way: "The Mentoring Effect: Young People's Perspectives on the Outcomes and Availability of Mentoring, the first-ever nationally representative survey of young people on the topic of mentoring, examines the mentoring effect on youth, their aspirations and achievements and the community around them. The report also highlights a substantial mentoring gap that exists in America, especially for at-risk youth: one in three young people will reach adulthood without having a mentor."

THE POWER OF RELATIONSHIPS: HOW AND WHY AMERICAN ADULTS STEP UP TO MENTOR THE NATION’S YOUTH
https://www.mentoring.org/resource/the-power-of-relationships/
From the web site: "The Power of Relationships: How and Why American Adults Step Up to Mentor the Nation’s Youth  is the most comprehensive picture of what adults think about mentoring kids who are not their own. This 2018 report is a follow-up to MENTOR’s 2014 report, The Mentoring Effect, which is the most comprehensive look at young people’s views on and engagement with mentoring.

THE RELATIONSHIP GAP - 2017 RESEARCH BY SEARCH INSTITUTE
https://blog.searchinstitute.org/relationship-gap-important
From the web site: "The Search Institute has identified five key elements that are vital in a developmental relationship for youth--expressing care, challenging growth, providing support, sharing power and expanding possibilities and shows that it is often the adult who takes the lead in these actions and expresses them most strongly, intentionally, and consistently." It's research shows that more than 30% have only one or two of these supports and 22% have none.

THEORY OF CHANGE WEB SITE
https://www.theoryofchange.org/
From the web site:  "This website is the definitive resource for everything related to Theory of Change. It is also a community forum, for discussion and posting, and we look forward to the robustness of the material increasing with contributions from members all over the world."

"TUTORING WORKS, IF DONE WELL" - ARTICLE ABOUT TENNESSEE SCHOOL-BASED TUTORING
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2022/0215/Students-need-help-catching-up.-Tennessee-tries-tutoring
This 2022 article about tutoring in the Christian Science Monitor describes a Tennessee tutoring strategy funded by the state and reaching nearly 150,000 students. It discusses challenges, costs, and sustainability. 

US DOE MENTORING RESOURCE CENTER
https://nationalmentoringresourcecenter.org/
From the Department of Education National Mentoring Resource Center web site: "Our goal is to improve the quality and effectiveness of youth mentoring across the country through increased use of evidence-based practices and sharing practitioner innovations."  If you are involved in youth mentoring this web site should be in your resource tool kit.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS FOR TEENS
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-moment-youth/201107/beyond-the-classroom
If you are launching a new school based, or non-school, tutor/mentor program for teens this article in Psychology Today describes some ideal features that a program should offer.  If you already have a program, ask "do we provide these types of support?" and if you're planning a new program ask "How do we build these supports into our logic model and program design?"    If you're a donor, ask how you can proactively fund programs with these elements. 

WHAT WORKS WISCONSIN – EFFECTIVE PROGRAMS AND RESOURCES FOR CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES
https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/whatworkswisconsin/research-to-pratice-briefs/
From the web site: "What Works, Wisconsin is a project of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Human Ecology and the University of Wisconsin-Extension’s Family Living Programs. Initiated in 2004, the What Works project focuses on distilling the latest scientific knowledge on effective policies, practices, and programs, including “evidence-based programs,” for youth and their families, schools, and communities. In addition to disseminating this information to practitioners and policymakers, the What Works staff provide technical assistance on program design, improvement and evaluation. Through publications, presentations, workshops and individualized technical assistance, the What Works team provides practitioners and policymakers with the tools to develop effective programs and evaluate and improve existing programming based on state-of-the-art knowledge of what makes programs effective."

YES, YOU CAN - GUIDE TO STARTING YOUTH MENTORING PROGRAM
https://web.archive.org/web/20170709043558/https://www2.ed.gov/pubs/YesYouCan/index.html
This resource, "Yes, You Can: A Guide for Establishing Mentoring Programs to Prepare Youth for College--October 1998"  is now an archive. However, the ideas for building and sustaining a volunteer-based youth mentoring program are as relevant today as they were in 1998. 

Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC comment:  Only the public commitment to fund and provide leadership on a continuous basis is missing.

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE - UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION
https://extension.umn.edu/working-youth/center-youth-development
From the site; "The backbone of positive youth development programs is research. The Extension Center for Youth Development conducts and shares out-of-school time research and evaluation with policy makers, stakeholders, program leaders, youth work practitioners, decision makers and researchers to address important issues related to the field of youth development."

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS - HISTORY
https://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2557/Youth-Development-Programs.html
From the web site: "Youth development programs seek to improve the lives of children and adolescents by meeting their basic physical, developmental, and social needs and by helping them to build the competencies needed to become successful adults. Examples of youth development programs include community service, mentoring programs, and neighborhood youth centers."  This web site provides historical perspectives, and references to other reading and research that would be valuable to leaders and funders. 

YOUTH MENTORING: BRIDGING SCIENCE WITH PRACTICE - 2006 PDF
http://www.rhodeslab.org/files/dubois.pdf
This link points to a  JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY article titled INTRODUCTION TO THE SPECIAL ISSUE: YOUTHMENTORING: BRIDGING SCIENCE WITH PRACTICE, written by David L. DuBois, University of Illinois at Chicago and Jean E. Rhodes, University of Massachusetts, Boston.

YOUTH PROGRAMS AND NON PROFIT SUPPORT RESOURCES HOSTED BY EDUCATION NORTHWEST
https://educationnorthwest.org/areas-of-work/youth-community
From the web site: "The Institute for Youth Success at Education Northwest is a full-service, innovative regional center to support best practices at youth serving organizations.  For nonprofits and community-based organizations serving youth, we provide professional development and a wide range of capacity-building support through the Institute for Youth Success at Education Northwest. Services include training and technical assistance, research, and consultation for mentoring, tutoring, and out-of-school time programs."

2007-08 ILLINOIS HIGH SCHOOL DROP OUT MAPS
http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/images/PDF/hsdropoutmaps.pdf
This set of maps shows how the high school drop out problem is spread throughout Illinois, but more severe in the urban areas like Chicago.  These maps were created by the Regional Education Laboratory at  Learning Point Associates. 

BUILDING A GRAD NATION REPORT
https://www.americaspromise.org/building-grad-nation-report
This report has been produced every year since 2015 and earlier. It shows "detailed progress toward the GradNation goal of a national on-time graduation rate of 90 percent by 2020."  Use in  your own community to support your own drop out  prevention and workforce development strategies. 

6 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD CARE ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT RATES
https://www.theedadvocate.org/6-reasons-why-you-should-care-about-high-school-dropout-rates/
This is article on The Edvocate site by Matthew Lynch.  Also read previous article titled, HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT RATES: A CRISIS?, found at http://www.theedadvocate.org/high-school-dropout-rates-a-crisis/

AMERICAN GRADUATE - LET'S MAKE IT HAPPEN
https://www.cpb.org/americangraduate/
From the web site: "American Graduate: Let’s Make it Happen is public media’s long-term commitment to supporting community-based solutions to help keep youth on the track to a high school diploma and beyond. Supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), more than 128 public radio and television stations have joined forces with more than 1,700 partners and at-risk schools across 48 states and one territory."

AMERICAN GRADUATE CHAMPIONS (WTTW CHICAGO)
http://americangraduate.wttw.com/main/
From the web site: "Through the American Graduate Champion series WTTW leverages the power and reach of public media to highlight organizations and individual champions that are working to improve educational outcomes for youth, keeping them on the path to high school graduation and future success." Browse the site to see stories and look for ways others can get involved.

CENTER FOR BEST PRACTICES EDUCATION - NATIONAL GOVERNOR'S ASSOCIATION
https://www.nga.org/Educateforopportunity/
From the web site: "The NGA Center for Best Practices Education Division provides information, research, policy analysis, technical assistance and resource development for governors and their staff in the areas of early childhood, K-12 and postsecondary education. The division focuses on helping governors develop effective policy and support its implementation in the areas of: early education, readiness and quality; the Common Core State Standards, Science Technology Engineering and Math and related assessments; teacher and leader effectiveness; competency-based learning; charter schools; data and accountability; and postsecondary (higher education and workforce training) access, success, productivity, accountability, and affordability. The division also works on policy issues related to bridging the system divides among the early childhood, K-12, postsecondary and workforce systems." 

COLLEGE COMPLETION RATES - STATE DATA
http://completecollege.org/data-dashboard/
From the web site: "Established in 2009, Complete College America is a national nonprofit with a single mission: to work with states to significantly increase the number of Americans with quality career certificates or college degrees and to close attainment gaps for traditionally underrepresented populations." This link points to a page where you can "Click your state to see a snapshot of its progress and student success data." 

CONSEQUENCES OF DROPPING OUT OF SCHOOL (PDF)
click here
This 2009 report provides additional evidence of the high cost to individuals and society of the high school drop out crisis. The report was prepared by Andrew Sum, Ishwar Khatiwada and Joseph McLaughlin With Sheila Palma, from the Center for Labor Market Studies,  Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts

COUNCIL OF THE GREAT CITY SCHOOLS - RESEARCH PAGE
https://www.cgcs.org/domain/9
From the web site: "The Council of the Great City Schools brings together the nation’s largest urban public school systems in a coalition dedicated to the improvement of education for children in the inner cities. The Council and its member school districts work to help our schoolchildren meet the highest standards and become successful and productive members of society.   This link points to the Council's research page.

CUTTING SCHOOL DROP-OUT RATE, 2008 OECD REPORT
click here
The high school drop out problem is not just a US problem. Read this report that shows how the problem is being addressed in Europe.

DISCONNECTED YOUTH - ISSUELAB BY CANDID RESOURCE CENTER
https://www.issuelab.org/resource/disconnected-youth-special-collection-archived.html
From the web site: "In a far-reaching effort to help disconnected youth, nonprofits, foundations, and government agencies across the U.S. are providing support in the form of shelters, job training, mentorship, college prep, job placement, and mental and reproductive health services. But in order to achieve success it is clear that these efforts require greater alignment and coordination. This special collection gathers the many lessons being learned in the field; lessons about the challenges in meeting the needs of disconnected youth and the promise of both new and more proven approaches."

DOLLAR VALUE OF SAVING A HIGH-RISK YOUTH
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1077214#PaperDownload
In 1995, Mark Cohen, Vanderbilt University Law Professor, calculated that the monetary value of "saving" one high-risk youth was between $1.7 million and $2.3 million, based on costs to crime victims and the criminal justice system, the costs to society of heavy drug abuse and the economic impact of dropping out of high school.  Using new data, Professor Cohen and City University of New York criminal justice professor Alex Piquero have updated this information.  The report can be downloaded as a PDF from the link above.

DROP OUT STATISTICS BY STATE
https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/coi
This National Center for Education Statistics site shows public high school drop out rates across the country.

EVERYONE GRADUATES CENTER AT JOHNS HOPKINS
http://www.every1graduates.org/
From the web site: "The mission of the Everyone Graduates Center is to develop and disseminate the know-how required to enable all students to graduate from high school prepared for college, career, and civic life. Through a systematic and comprehensive approach, EGC combines analysis of the causes, location, and consequences of the nation’s dropout crisis with the development of tools and models designed to keep all students on the path to high school graduation, and capacity building efforts to enable states, communities, school districts, and schools to provide all their students with the supports they need to succeed. The Everyone Graduate Center seeks to identify the barriers that stand in the way of all students graduating from high school prepared for adult success, to develop strategic solutions to overcome the barriers, and to build local capacity to implement and sustain them."

LISTENING TO LATINAS - BARRIERS TO HS GRADUATION
https://nwlc.org/resources/listening-latinas-barriers-high-school-graduation/
This report on the Women's National Law Center web site shows obstacles that Hispanic girls face that causes a high percent to drop out before finishing high school. Mentoring is proposed as one solution.

LOCATING THE DROPOUT CRISIS (PDF) 2004
https://web.archive.org/web/20160312092032/http://www.csos.jhu.edu/crespar/techReports/report70.pdf
This report's Executive Summary begins with "Imagine a nation in which all students, from Benton Harbor to Watts, from Akron to Baltimore, from Chicago’s South side to rural South Carolina, routinely graduate from high school ready and prepared to succeed in college or advanced post-secondary training. Imagine the social and economic implications of being able to say to any child, in any locale in the United States, “you will be provided with a high school that will educate you, challenge you, care for you, support you, and graduate you ready to compete and succeed in the world.”  Still a problem in 2020. 

NATIONAL DROP OUT PREVENTION CENTER
http://dropoutprevention.org/effective-strategies/
From the web site: "Since 1986, the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network (NDPC/N) has conducted and analyzed research; sponsored workshops and national conferences; and collaborated with researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to further the mission of reducing America’s dropout rate by meeting the needs of youth in at-risk situations, including students with disabilities." 

NATIONAL YOUTH EMPLOYMENT COALITION
https://nyec.org/aboutus/
From the web site: "he National Youth Employment Coalition improves the lives of the 5.5 million young people who are out of school and out of work. We do this by improving the effectiveness of the organizations, and the systems, that serve these "opportunity youth." We collect, study, and support the implementation of best practices, all with a strong equity focus."

PATHWAYS TO PROSPERITY – 2010 PDF
https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/10/02/pathways-prosperity-seeks-redefine-american-education-system
Pathways to Prosperity Seeks to Redefine American Education System: This article posted on the Harvard School of Education web site talks about a Pathways to Prosperity conference held at Cisco's headquarters in Silicon Valley. This "Pathways to Prosperity" report (pdf) was published in 2011. http://www.sawdc.com/media/5959/pathways_to_prosperity_feb2011.pdf  

PHILADELPHIA YOUTH NETWORK - A COLLECTIVE IMPACT MODEL
https://www.pyninc.org/our-initiatives/our-approach/
From the web site:  "The Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN) is an intermediary organization dedicated to connecting systems and leveraging resources to increase the number of opportunities for youth. PYN has been working for nearly two decades with communities to create coordinated systems which promote the attainment of academic achievement, economic opportunity and personal success. We manage and support large-scale cross-sector initiatives while developing targeted programs to expand access to services for underserved young people."

QUANTUM OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM - 2009 AND 2014
https://www.blueprintsprograms.org/eisenhower-quantum-opportunities-program/
From the web site: "Eisenhower Quantum was implemented between 2009 and 2014 across 5 sites in the U.S. and evaluated by Curtis et al. (2015, 2016). The randomized controlled trial followed 300 at-risk 9th grade students (N= 60 per site) over all 4 years of high school and focused on assessing the program’s impact on 5 measures of academic success (four at post test and one at 1-year post intervention): high school GPA, on-time high school graduation, college acceptance, college enrollment, and persistence in college for one academic year."

QUANTUM OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM: A BRIEF ON THE QOP PILOT PROGRAM (1995)
https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED385621
From the report: "The Quantum Opportunities Program (called "QOP") is an innovative four-year, year-round pilot program that provided learning opportunities, development opportunities, service opportunities and summer jobs to small groups of youth from families receiving public assistance.  A brief summary of the report can also be found at https://web.archive.org/web/20101228151550/http://www.aypf.org/publications/compendium/C1S37.pdf

Through this four-year pilot program and a rigorous evaluation, we learned that it is possible to make a quantum difference in the lives of these youths. We learned that it takes a critical mass of service, support, nurturing, incentives, creativity, caring, compassion, and especially patience. And, we learned that the impacts on young people gain strength over time. This is an important lesson for policymakers, who customarily seek immediate feedback about program success or failure. Premature examination would have labeled this program a failure."

This report has been part of the Tutor/Mentor Connection library since we received it in 1995. It demonstrates what's possible when a core group of people make a deep commitment to young people, and are well supported by donors who share that commitment.

READY BY 21 - A CALL TO ACTION
http://www.readyby21.org/what-ready-21
From the web site: "Ready by 21® is a set of innovative strategies developed by the Forum for Youth Investment that helps communities improve the odds that all children and youth will be ready for college, work and life."

RECONNECTING YOUTH PROJECT - EVIDENCE GAP MAP
https://reconnectingyouth.mdrc.org/
From the website: "The Reconnecting Youth Project aims to systematically understand what programs and practices are  operating in the United States to support these young people, often referred to as 'disconnected youth' or 'opportunity youth'.  The site hosts a "Compendium of Programs", which is a searchable database that provides summary information about 78 programs serving young people who are disconnected.  It also hosts an "Evidence Gap Map' which is a collection of 60 studies about programs serving young people who are disconnected."

REDUCING HIGH SCHOOL DROP OUT RATE THROUGH EMPLOYER STUDENT/MENTOR PROGRAM
https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED376406
This 1994 report still includes ideas that can be used to support youth tutoring and/or mentoring programs that engage business volunteers and aim to help keep youth in school and moving toward jobs and careers

ROCA - DISRUPTS CYCLE OF INCARCERATION AND POVERTY (BOSTON)
https://rocainc.org/how-we-do-it/our-intervention-model/
From the web site: "Roca's mission is to disrupt the cycle of incarceration and poverty by helping young people transform their lives.  Roca's Theory of Change is that young people, when re-engaged through positive and intensive relationships, can change their behaviors and develop life, education, and employment skills to disrupt the cycles of poverty and incarceration."

SCHOOL TO PRISON PIPELINE - ACLU WEB SITE
https://www.aclu.org/issues/juvenile-justice/school-prison-pipeline/school-prison-pipeline?redirect=feature/school-prison-pipeline
From the web site: "The ACLU is committed to challenging the "school to prison pipeline," a disturbing national trend wherein children are funneled out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. Many of these children have learning disabilities or histories of poverty, abuse or neglect, and would benefit from additional educational and counseling services. Instead, they are isolated, punished and pushed out."  This is one of many issue areas the ACLU focuses on. Visit the web site to learn more.

THE EISENHOWER FOUNDATION - REPLICATING, EVALUATING AND COMMUNICATING WHAT WORKS RESTORING AMERICA’S PROMISE
http://www.eisenhowerfoundation.org/replicating
From the web site: "The Milton S. Eisenhower Foundation is the international, nonprofit continuation of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (the Kerner Riot Commission, after the big city riots of the 1960s) and the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence (the National Violence Commission, after the assassinations of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. and Senator Robert Kennedy). The Foundation identifies, funds, evaluates, builds the capacities of and replicates multiple solution ventures for the inner city, the truly disadvantaged, children, youth and families. Through national policy reports, the Foundation communicates what works (and what doesn't) to citizens, media and decision makers. The Foundation also runs a strategic communications school for nonprofit organization staff and youth to help change political will and create action."

THE HIGH SCHOOL DROP-OUT EPIDEMIC VS BENEFITS OF COLLEGE EDUCATION
http://www.collegescholarships.org/blog/2013/03/24/solving-the-high-school-drop-out-epidemic/
This article provides a list of resources for learning more about the dropout crisis and for getting involved in actions that help youth move to college and careers.

THE MIDDLE SCHOOL ARCHIVE PROJECT - DALLAS, TX
https://schooltimecapsule.blogspot.com/
From the web site: "The best dropout prevention is for students to focus on their own story, their own future. The School Archive Project does that with a 10-year time-capsule and class-reunion plan designed to provide students one record of their story combined with a physical connection to their future. The goal is to help students visualize their story and better understand their natural ability to make the differences they want in their own lives through work.The best dropout prevention is for students to focus on their own story, their own future. The School Archive Project does that with a 10-year time-capsule and class-reunion plan designed to provide students one record of their story combined with a physical connection to their future. The goal is to help students visualize their story and better understand their natural ability to make the differences they want in their own lives through work.