Whereas the National Guard Youth Challenge Program (referred to in this preamble as the Youth Challenge Program ) is celebrating 25 years of providing successful and free alternative education and structured discipline to at-risk youth between the ages of 16 and 18; Whereas the Youth Challenge Program was born from the visionary concept of using a whole person intervention model to combat the effects of gangs, violence, high rates of school dropout, and drug abuse on a generation of youth; Whereas the Youth Challenge Program is a federally and State-funded program that offers a unique opportunity for at-risk youth to change course at a critical time in life; Whereas the multiphased Youth Challenge Program uses quasi-military discipline and training, coupled with educational instruction, learning, and mentorship, to promote the character development and resilience of at-risk youth; Whereas one phase of the Youth Challenge Program is a 5-month residential program that focuses on the following 8 core components: life-coping skills, leadership and followership, service to community, job skills, academic excellence, responsible citizenship, health and hygiene, and physical fitness; Whereas another phase of the Youth Challenge Program is a 12-month mentoring phase that builds on the 8 core components to help shape youth into productive citizens ready for societal success; Whereas the Youth Challenge Program offers more than 10,000 cadets annually an opportunity to succeed outside of a traditional high school environment; Whereas there are currently 40 Youth Challenge programs operating in 28 States, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia; Whereas more than 160,000 cadets have graduated from the Youth Challenge Program; Whereas more than 110,000 academic credentials have been awarded under the Youth Challenge Program