Kentucky State University Tackles Problems of Minority Youth

Kentucky State University, the historically black educational institution in Frankfort, is using a $900,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to establish the Promising Youth Center for Excellence. The center will mentor a group of 125 black and Hispanic youngsters between the ages of 8 and 15 in an effort to improve their social behavior and academic performance. In addition to academic tutoring, the students will be counseled on issues such as obesity, teenage pregnancy, truancy, and disease prevention.

Students involved in the program will meet at the youth center after school. In addition, they will attend a three-week summer institute on the Kentucky State campus. Parents of the 125 students will meet in workshops one Saturday each month.

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