By Melissa English, Project Manager, National Mentoring Resource Center

Since it was established in 2015, the OJJDP National Mentoring Resource Center (NMRC) has emerged as a leading provider of technical assistance and best-practice information for mentoring programs across the country.

Our no-cost technical assistance provides a broad range of services, including enhancing recruitment practices, establishing quality protocols for screening potential mentors, and developing mentor trainings. Our consultations with mentoring organizations are provided through phone calls, resource referrals, virtual meetings and communications, and, when possible, in-person trainings. In fiscal year (FY) 2019 alone, we delivered more than 10,000 hours of technical assistance to mentoring organizations nationwide.

Our website provides a wealth of mentoring resources, including rigorous reviews by the center’s Research Board regarding evidence on the effectiveness of programs and practices. The Research Board is composed of more than 30 prominent researchers with expertise in areas encompassing diverse program models, settings for implementation, populations, and outcomes of interest.

In addition, the website offers access to archived webinars and podcasts, e-learning modules, and a range of practice tools that include NMRC’s Measurement Guidance Toolkit, which helps mentoring programs measure youth outcomes and program effectiveness. Another suite of tools is designed to strengthen support for mentoring relationships and ensure a positive closure to the mentor-mentee relationship. During FY 2019, more than 153,600 mentoring professionals used the NMRC website.

Through training and technical assistance, comprehensive online resources, and the active engagement of NMRC researchers in everything we do, NMRC is improving the quality and effectiveness of youth mentoring nationwide. We are grateful for OJJDP’s ongoing support of this vital work.

Resources:

To receive updates on NMRC offerings and activities, sign up for the monthly e-newsletter.

Learn more about OJJDP’s mentoring programs.

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Points of view or opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.