Mentoring Afterschool Program for Success (MAPS)

The Mentoring for Youth with Disabilities Initiative builds upon the foundation of evidence-based practices for effective mentoring and encourages communities to implement and enhance mentoring programs for youth with disabilities. These mentoring efforts will integrate best practices and proven principles into mentoring service models, including efforts to systematically recruit, train, and support mentors in their efforts to encourage individual youth to maximize personal strengths and to develop compensatory skills in specific areas of disability. This program authorized by the Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011, Pub. L. 112-110.

Goodwill Industries of the Inland Northwest will implement the Mentoring Afterschool Program for Success (MAPS). The purpose of MAPS is to assist youth with disabilities at high risk of delinquency and enrolled in grades three to six to receive mentoring and other supports needed to become healthy, successful adults. MAPS is a site based, one-to-one mentoring program to be delivered at two elementary schools. The program structure is modeled after the evidence-based Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring, Third Edition (2009). Program strategies are guided by evidence-based practices including Positive Youth Development, Strengthening Families Program, and Early Risers Skills for Success. MAPS builds on lessons learned from Goodwill's current mentoring programs. The programs four objectives are as follows: to identify, recruit, enroll and serve 100 high risk youth; to identify, recruit, train, and support 100 mentors; to assist mentees to achieve at least one goal annually; and to assist each mentee's family to achieve at least one goal annually. MAPS participants may receive services for up to two years. Progress will be measured through evaluation utilizing multiple methodologies to facilitate program improvements and determination of program outcomes.
CA/NCF