In 1972 the federal government created the Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Act that procured funding for various governmental programs to combat the sudden increase in juvenile crime. A provision of this Act set out the creation of mentoring programs to help decrease the juvenile crime rate and dropout rates in secondary schools. This article introduces mentoring programs and explains goals and problems encountered by juvenile justice practitioners. If administered effectively, juvenile mentoring programs can offer a positive influence on a child's life for many years after completion of the program.