Promise #1 - Caring Adults

All children need support and guidance from caring adults in their families, at schools and in their communities. These include ongoing, secure relationships with parents as well as formal and informal relationships with teachers, mentors, coaches, youth volunteers and neighbors. Caring adults are the cornerstone of a child’s development — and for the other four Promises that build success both in childhood and adulthood. Parents come first. But children also need to experience the support from caring adults in all areas of their lives.

According to a State Farm funded America's Promise Alliance research report "Every Child, Every Promise: Turning Failure Into Action":

• One-third of teens and 20% of younger children lack quality relationships with their parents
• Only 8% of young people ages 6 to 17 have a formal mentor
• More than 40% of young people ages 8-21 say they want more adults in their lives to whom they can turn for help

Promise #2 - Safe Places

All children need to be physically and emotionally safe wherever they are — from the actual places of families, schools, neighborhoods and communities to the virtual places of media. They also need a healthy balance between structured, supervised activities and unstructured time. It’s important for children to be safe. But safe places alone are not enough. It is equally important for children’s development that these places engage them actively and constructively.

According to a State Farm funded America's Promise Alliance research report "Every Child, Every Promise: Turning Failure Into Action":

• Only 37% of children and youth experience this Promise
• Between one-fourth and one-third of all young people “never” or only “sometimes” feel safe at school and in their communities
• Only four in 10 young people participate in high-quality activities that teach them needed skills, how to form lasting relationships with others, and how to make big decisions
• Less than half of parents of children under 18 say that affordable, high-quality after-school activities are available in their communities

Promise #3 - A Healthy Start

All children need and deserve healthy bodies, healthy minds and healthful habits. These result from regular health check-ups and needed treatment, good nutrition and exercise, healthy skills and knowledge, and good role models of physical and psychological health. With increased attention on such issues as upsurges in childhood obesity and juvenile diabetes, Americans have a raised awareness of the importance of a healthy start as a critical developmental resource in a child’s life. Nevertheless, we are falling far short of keeping this Promise. Nine million young people today remain without health insurance. Babies born in the U.S. are less likely to survive until their first birthday than those in 27 other industrialized nations. One in 11 high school students reports attempting suicide.

According to a State Farm funded America's Promise Alliance research report "Every Child, Every Promise: Turning Failure Into Action":

• Only 43% of our young people are experiencing this Promise
• More than one-third of teens lack the critical combination of components that make for good health care: health insurance coverage and annual visits to a doctor and a dentist
• 65% of young people say they wish they knew of more stores and restaurants that sold more healthy foods and drinks
• Almost 80% of children report feeling stressed each month. One in four say they feel stressed at least once each day

Promise #4 - Effective Education

All children need the intellectual development, motivation and skills that equip them for successful work and lifelong learning. These result from having quality learning environments, challenging expectations and consistent guidance and mentoring. The number-one predictor of whether you will be successful in life is whether you graduate from high school. In today’s competitive global economy, effective education is more important than ever before. Yet more than 25% of our students do not finish high school. The figure is nearly twice as high for African American and Latino students.

According to a State Farm funded America's Promise Alliance research report "Every Child, Every Promise: Turning Failure Into Action":

• Only 39% of our teens are receiving this Promise
• More than 40% of parents of younger children and two-thirds of adolescents say their children’s schools do not emphasize academic achievement
• 60% of 10- to 21-year-olds say their schools should give them more preparation for the real world

Promise #5 - An opportunity to help others

All children need the chance to make a difference in their families, at schools and in their communities. Knowing how to make a difference comes from having models of caring behavior, awareness of the needs of others, a sense of personal responsibility to contribute to the larger society, and opportunities for volunteering, leadership and service. Providing young people with opportunities to make a difference through service instills not only a sense of responsibility but of possibility. Young people want to be involved in making the world a better place; however, far too many lack meaningful opportunities to contribute.

According to a State Farm funded America's Promise Alliance research report "Every Child, Every Promise: Turning Failure Into Action":

• Nearly half of our children are not experiencing this Promise.
• Half of parents of young people say they rarely discuss current events with their children
• One-third of young people say they lack adult role models who volunteer and help others
• 94 percent of young people want to help make the world a better place

Everything the Alliance does is built around the framework of ensuring more young people experience more of the Promises.

The Five Promises Change Lives

	Children who receive at least four of the Five Promises are much more likely than those who experience only one or zero Promises to succeed academically, socially and civically. They are more likely to avoid violence, contribute to their communities, and achieve high grades in school.
	Receiving at least four of the Five Promises also appears to mitigate gaps across racial and economic boundaries.
	To experience the full power of the Promises, young people must experience these critical supports throughout their lives — in their families, at schools, and out in their communities.
	Improving the lives of 15 million disadvantaged youth over the next five years is the goal of the America’s Promise Alliance.