Thank you for your interest in the pending H.R. 1401, known as the Foster Care Mentoring Act of 2006. This bill will, among other things, forgive or cancel a student's federal loan if he/she has served as an academic mentor (tutor), as defined by the Act, for at least 200 hours in a calendar year (Sec. 440 (e)). The proposed amount of loan forgiveness is $2,000 for every 200 hours of mentoring, up to a maximum of $12,000 per mentor.

The loan forgiveness is just one small part of an Act that the potential to provide real help for young people in foster care through funding and grant programs for mentoring across the nation. Academic mentoring has been shown to have an enormously positive impact- building academic and social skills, and supporting young adults as they transition out of foster care into independent living. The bill was introduced by Children Uniting Nations and has been taken to the forefront by Senator Mary Landrieu with support from Senator Ted Kenney, Senator John Kerry, Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator Tom Daschle, Senator Barbara Boxer and others.

However, this has only been presented to Congress and the Senate. Please contact your Congressman and Senator to express your support of the "Foster Care Mentoring Act of 2006," and explain why it is personally important to you. You may get information on how to contact your representatives at www.senate.gov and www.house.gov. You may also track the bill at http://thomas.loc.gov. Your correspondence will stress the importance and need to make this a reality.