MENTORING PROGRAM GETS GRANT

Businesses and individuals who participate in two Southeast Missouri programs have a chance to earn tax credits.

Missouri Mentoring Partnership in Cape Girardeau and Scott counties received $125,000 in tax credits. The Bootheel Counseling Services Inc. in Sikeston got $125,853 in tax credits. These are two of 16 projects in 11 Missouri communities approved through the state Department of Economic Development's Youth Opportunities Program for 1999.

The credits allow donors to redirect their tax dollars to local projects and serve as a fund-raising tool for local projects. Donors receive a credit equivalent to 50 percent of their donation. The credits can be applied directly to the donor's Missouri tax bill.

"We are absolutely thrilled about having the grant awarded," said Marge Sullivan, coordinator of the Missouri Mentoring Partnership. "We feel like it's a way we can assist our employers in another way when they open the door to one of our youth."

The Mentoring Partnership helps young people between 16 and 22 find their way to employment.

"To assist them in doing that, we enlist the support of employers to identity a work-site mentor who works with us to support the young adult," Sullivan explained.

"It's kind of like the kindergarten buddy system," she said. "The mentor is someone to go to with questions or concerns about the job. They also have us behind them to turn to for resources and support."

Young people employed through the program are regular employees, and salaries aren't subsidized. The partnership program offers job readiness training and other support.

The new tax credit awards will add up to $10,000 in tax credits to employers for each youth employed.

Typically, about 60 young people are moving through the program, and about 35 employers participate in Cape Girardeau and Scott counties. "The numbers in both sets are growing," said Sullivan.

Employers are sought in a variety of fields. Participants are working in restaurants, retail businesses, construction, tourism, and at a police station.

"Kids don't fit into the same categories," Sullivan said. "We try to find a job that matches the youth's capabilities and interests."

The partnership works under the Southeast Missouri Private Industry Council and has a three person supervisory board. Sullivan and Scott Porter coordinate the program.

In Sikeston, Bootheel Counseling Services is starting a new program for people who experience a drastic, negative change in behavior, explained Ron Steinmetz, executive director.

The mentoring project will match participants who have aggressive, violent or criminal behavior. These young people will be matched with a responsible role model from the community, Steinmetz.

"It could be young people or older people who take an interest in youth," he said. Mentors will offer information on topics ranging from job opportunities and work skills to recreational activities.

For example, a mentor might take a youth bowling or swimming. The mentor might take the youth to work for a day to see what people do on the job.

The agency will do fund-raising to offer a budget for activities with the participants. Anyone who donated to the project will be eligible for the tax credit.

"Donors will have their contribution work better for them," Steinmetz explained.

The Youth Opportunities Program looked for programs with one of three main goals: increasing the percentage of 25-year-olds with a high school diploma, increasing the percent of students annually that complete high school, and decreasing the number of violent crimes per 100,000 Missourians.