Advocate

Budget Advocacy

Quality program infrastructure is in place in Massachusetts!

With the Governor’s budget being released, it’s critical that we collectively advocate for continued investment in State dollars with members of the Massachusetts House and Senate to maintain level funding in the FY25 budget for the Mentoring Matching Grants line item (7061-9634). Your advocacy and engagement with your officials can help to maintain funding for youth across the Commonwealth. Please contact your State Officials to request $1,800,000 in funding for the Mentoring Matching Grants Line Item in the FY25 budget!

Initially created in FY99, the Mentoring Matching Grant is the only mentoring-specific line item in the state budget. It is a critical support for young people, prioritizing evidence-based research and practice to support the field in providing mentoring programs with free training and technical assistance. This money is awarded in collaboration with DESE through a competitive RFP process and community review administered by the Mass Mentoring Partnership.

So, why Mentoring?

• Almost 70% of today’s young people could remember a time when they wanted a mentor for support but didn’t have one. This is the mentoring gap in the United States. The mission of the mentoring movement is to expand investment in programs to ensure every young person has at least one trusting relationship with an adult in their life.
• Mentoring is one of the few prevention and intervention strategies that can effectively address multiple risk and protective factors simultaneously. The average American gives the mentors they had growing up more than 50% of the credit for their success in life. That goes up considerably for those who grew up in poverty or faced serious trauma.
• There is strong public support for government investment in youth mentoring. A public survey in 2019 found that 83% of all Americans expressed some agreement that government funds should be used for youth mentoring.

In FY24, the Mentoring Matching Grants line item (7061-9634) was increased by the Governor and State Legislature to $1,800,000 allowing MMP to support 48 programs with 7,214 youth currently matched across the Commonwealth. But the need continues to grow. We respectfully request that the House and the Senate continue to level fund the line item to $1,800,000 in the FY25 budget!

Learn More:

• FY25 Budget Request Fact Sheet
• Read our Mentor Matching Grants FY22 Report 

Legislative Advocacy

MMP works not only to advance legislation that directly impacts mentoring programs, but we also actively advocate for bills that promote positive youth outcomes. MMP drafts testimony and marshals support in our network for legislation that advances developmental relationships to support youth, including legislation to expand mentoring programs to increase a sense of belonging and connection to school while supporting healthy identity development, expand access to After and Out of School (ASOST) Programs, promote juvenile justice reform efforts that focus on positive youth development, and offer community on-the-job training for young people.

MMP’s Legislative priorities fall into 3 categories

• MMP’s Priority Bills and Budget Items/Mentoring related Legislation – MMP’s signature policy priorities from the previous session and new legislation that has been identified to expand on mentoring services statewide Mentoring Matching Grants Line item 7061-9634
• MMP Endorsed Bills/Legislation including field-mobilizing – Bills tied to our work on pandemic recovery that MMP has been asked to support by legislators. Will garner support from school-based mentoring programs in our network. 
• MMP Supported Bills- Bills that support mentoring and positive youth outcomes. Will include supporting testimony and MMP’s endorsement. Includes support through coalition involvement

Advocacy Advisory Committee

MMP is exploring an Advocacy Advisory Committee to support in planning for Legislative and Public Policy priorities for FY24. With a new legislature comes new opportunities to file bills and support others that can bring resources to the field and expand on programs that best support positive youth outcomes.

The primary goal of the MMP Advocacy Advisory Committee is supporting the mission, vision, and strategic planning goals of MMP as it relates to government relations and embedding mentoring relationships in public policy in Massachusetts.  

As we fill positions for the committee, we are beginning with a core group of leaders from youth serving organizations and formal structured mentoring programs from different parts of the state and who serve different populations of youth. If you are interested in joining this group, please email Nathan Simms at nsimms@massmentors.org.

2023-2024 Legislative Priorities

Accelerate and influence public and political will to drive policy change and public investment that delivers the relationships necessary for young people.

• Support: Funds mentoring, creates mentoring opportunities, advances mentoring field, updates the law re: best practices, aligns w/our vision/mission, etc.
• Watch: Not a direct tie to above, redundant, unlikely to pass, little political will among leadership, further research needed, etc.
• Oppose: Is counter to our efforts and would cause harm to the field and the youth we serve
• Drop: Falls outside our purview, we do not want to dedicate time or resources to it

What:

• Relationships as a tool for positive youth development
• Relationships as a tool to combat structural racism
• Embedding relationships within state systems; Education, Criminal Justice, Workforce Development

How:

• High Level-Bring organizations to coalitions, activate membership/coalitions via Action Alerts, recruit for in-person testimony, heavy lawmaker contact, write op-eds, request committee meetings, legislative tracking
• Mid Level-Actively encourage field to share views w/lawmakers, in-person or written testimony, attend hearings, lawmaker contact
• Low Level-Take a position, sign on to letters of support, list on our agenda

General Resources

• Advocacy Overview
• Government Overview
• Advocating for the Mentoring Field 

Advocacy Resources

• Nonprofits and Lobbying-Alliance for Justice- https://www.afj.org/
• Massachusetts General Court-http://www.malegislature.gov/ (Legislator Profiles, Contact Info, Leadership, Educational Resources for Teachers and Youth)
• Who are My Elected Officials (Individuals)-http://www.wheredoivotema.com/bal/myelectioninfo.php

Get Involved

As MMP thinks about policy solutions to address these issues for the new legislative session, I hope you will continue to engage with us and share your own stories and findings. Here are a few ways to get involved:​

1. Advocate: Advocate for MMG in One Click!
2. Find your Legislators