Mentoring Enhancement Demonstration Program

This demonstration program will support collaborations of qualified, established mentoring program sites to incorporate advocacy or teaching functions into mentors' roles through (1) matching youth and mentors based on needs, skills, experiences, and interests; (2) initial and ongoing training for mentors; and (3) ongoing mentor support.

The Mentoring Enhancement Demonstration Project involves four Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) sites: BBBS of Central Indiana (BBBS-CI), BBBS of Greater Lafayette (BBBS-GL), BBBS of Northeast Indiana (BBBS-NEI) and BBBS of South Central Indiana (BBBS-SCI). Each site has more than 40 years of youth mentoring experience and operates according to a standard program design. These sites represent 26 counties (28%) in Indiana. Each site will match at least 75 at-risk youth (ages 11-15) with a volunteer mentor; half of these matches will receive OJJDP-defined enhancements that incorporate mentor advocacy and teaching functions throughout the youth mentoring process: (1) Mentor-Mentee Matching: To ensure that the best matches are made, the four partners have agreed to collect mentor and mentee assessment information that allows for matching based on personality compatibility and shared interests; youth strengths and needs; and skills and experiences of mentors for all potential MEDP matches. (2) Initial and Ongoing Mentor Training: Enhanced mentor training curriculum involving group education strategies will be based on initial and ongoing assessments, surveys, barriers, and achieved outcomes. (3) Ongoing Mentor Support: A Match Support Outcomes-based plan for each enhancement match will consolidate assessment and matching data into a format that will uniformly assist Match Support staff in the ongoing support phase. Professional staff development, training and coaching will be provided to enable staff to effectively support mentors to become successful advocate/teachers. Affinity-based group match activities will be provided to enhanced outcomes.

As a result of this enhancement program, BBBS mentors will demonstrate advocacy and teaching functions that contribute to improved youth outcomes, match longevity, and relationship strength.

CA/NCF

This demonstration program will support collaborations of qualified, established mentoring program sites to incorporate advocacy or teaching functions into mentors' roles through (1) matching youth and mentors based on needs, skills, experiences, and interests; (2) initial and ongoing training for mentors; and (3) ongoing mentor support.

The Mentoring Enhancement Demonstration Project involves four Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) sites: BBBS of Central Indiana, BBBS of Greater Lafayette, BBBS of Northeast Indiana and BBBS of South Central Indiana. Each site has more than 40 years of youth mentoring experience and operates according to a standard program design. These sites represent 26 counties (28%) in Indiana. Each site will match at least 75 at-risk youth (ages 11-15) with a volunteer mentor; half of these matches will receive OJJDP-defined enhancements that incorporate mentor advocacy and teaching functions throughout the youth mentoring process. To ensure that the best matches are made, the four partners have agreed to collect mentor and mentee assessment information that allows for matching based on personality compatibility and shared interests; youth strengths and needs; and skills and experiences of mentors for all potential MEDP matches. Enhanced mentor training curriculum involving group education strategies will be based on initial and ongoing assessments, surveys, barriers, and achieved outcomes. A Match Support Outcomes-based plan for each enhancement match will consolidate assessment and matching data into a format that will uniformly assist Match Support staff in the ongoing support phase. Professional staff development, training and coaching will be provided to enable staff to effectively support mentors to become successful advocate/teachers. Affinity-based group match activities will be provided to enhanced outcomes. As a result of this enhancement program, BBBS mentors will demonstrate advocacy and teaching functions that contribute to improved youth outcomes, match longevity, and relationship strength.

NCA/NCF