To promote growth in the community through comprehensive marketing and educational programs. To enhance the abilities of youths through mentoring, tutoring, money management are just a few avenues we will incorporate to accomplish these goals.

The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA) vigorously promotes positive changes in programs and policies that affect large numbers of children. With particular concern for very vulnerable children, OICA is committed to improving conditions for all children.
Our mission is to provide leadership throughout the state to stimulate change for children and youth to affirm the value and vulnerability of children and youth by raising awareness of their needs, and by promoting public policies, programs and preventive strategies to ensure that they reach their full potential.

The National Assembly's Family Strengthening Policy Center has released "Mentoring as a Family Strengthening Strategy." Findings suggest youth mentoring that involves parents or caregivers hold significant promise for strengthening disadvantaged families with children. Lessons learned and policy recommendations as well as useful resources are included in the brief.

STATEMENTS REGARDING CENSUS BUREAU REPORT ON POVERTY

If you want to add a mentoring component to your after-school program, the After-School Program Clearinghouse from MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership can give you guidance and tools to get started.

By developing programs for youth grounded in American Indian tribal cultures, the National Indian Youth Leadership project is helping cultivate a new generation of strong leaders. Rob Capriccioso takes a look at the New Mexico-based organization.

January is National Mentoring Month. To celebrate, the National Mentoring Center has designed a mentor recruitment postcard that local programs can give to their existing mentors to pass on to people they feel would make good mentors. The site also has tips for making your mentor
recruitment campaign a success.

Mentoring has become a popular strategy for helping youth stay on track, but setting up and sustaining a successful program takes some thought and know-how, according to this new guidebook. The manual includes checklists to gauge the strength of your efforts, and a timeline for setting up new programs.

A steady paycheck and a career track are great; but some low-income school children dream of something different, like starting their own businesses and being their own bosses. Connect for Kids intern Kate Ashford looks at a national program designed to give these kids the tools they need to succeed.

Created by the vision and leadership of the Benton Foundation, Connect for Kids now takes a major step?to independence.