Helping America's Youth

As First Lady of the United States, Laura Bush is leading the Helping America's Youth initiative of the federal government. She articulates the goal of enlisting public and volunteer resources to foster healthy growth by early intervention and mentoring of youngsters at risk. Helping America's Youth will benefit children and teenagers by emphasizing action in three key areas: family, school, and community. The initiative highlights the importance in every child's life of a loving, caring adult, whether that is a parent, a grandparent, a teacher, a coach, a pastor, or a mentor. This fall, they will convene a White House Summit on Helping America's Youth. Researchers, policy experts, educators, parents, and community leaders will discuss the best ways to help our children avoid risky behaviors so they can build successful lives. Researchers will identify the causes of problems and suggest the best practices to overcome them. The conference will introduce a new assessment tool that will allow communities across the country to identify the challenges that they face and the services that they already have that help young people, and then where there are gaps. Local leaders can then build off existing government programs, as well as volunteer faith-based or community programs, to create seamless efforts to help their local children.