Collaborative Mentoring
Webinar Series
I Choose You: A
Look at Youth
Initiated
Mentoring
April 25, 2013
2013 Collaborative Mentoring Webinar Series
Planning Team
Sarah Kremer,
Friends for Youth
Dana Gold, MP of
SWPA
Michael Garringer,
Education Northwest
Tammy Tai,
MENTOR
Polly Roach, MP of
Minnesota
Meghan Ferns,
Oregon Mentors
Molly Brenner,
MENTOR
Good to Know…
After the webinar, all attendees receive:
 Instructions for how to access PDF of
presentation slides and webinar
recording
 Link to the Chronicle of EvidenceBased Mentoring where we:
• Post resources
• Keep the conversation going
Please help us
out by
answering
survey
questions at the
end of the
webinar.
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Who is with us today?
Today’s Webinar
On the topic of Youth Initiated Mentoring
• Jean Rhodes, Ph.D.
• Sarah Schwartz (nearly) Ph.D.
Q & A throughout the presentation
(use the Q & A panel)
Jean Rhodes, PhD
Dr. Jean Rhodes is a Professor of Psychology at the
University of Massachusetts, Boston where she serves as
Director of the Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring. Rhodes
has devoted her career to understanding the role of
intergenerational relationships in the lives of disadvantaged
youth. She is currently involved in a range of research projects
that address the role of both formal and informal mentors in
vulnerable groups, including children of prisoners, community
college students, high school dropouts, adjudicated youth, and
low-income children in after-school settings.
Dr. Rhodes is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Society for
Research and Community Action, and was a Distinguished Fellow of the William T.
Grant Foundation. Rhodes is Chair of the Research and Policy Council of the
National Mentoring Partnership. She is author of Stand by me: The risks and rewards
of mentoring today's youth (Harvard University Press), and is currently working on a
book about moral and ethical decision making in adult-youth relationships (Harvard
University Press).
Sarah Schwartz
Sarah Schwartz is a doctoral candidate in
Clinical Psychology at University of
Massachusetts-Boston. She has published
studies investigating factors that influence
the impact of school-based mentoring,
including the relationship histories of
students and the duration of mentoring
relationships. She completed her
dissertation on the National Guard Youth
ChalleNGe Program, in which youth select
an adult they know to serve as a mentor
during and after participation in a
residential training program.
What is Youth Initiated Mentoring (YIM)?
An approach to mentoring
where a youth nominates a
nonparental adult from
their existing social
networks to be their
formal mentor.
Examples of potential mentors include; family friends,
extended family, neighbors, teachers, coaches,
afterschool providers, members of religious
organizations etc.
Theoretical Basis for YIM
 Builds on strengths of natural
mentoring while also providing
structure to support the
relationship development
process.
Incorporating youth voice and choice in the selection of mentors
may increase the young person’s internal motivation and
investment in the relationship.
Offsets some of the challenges associated with volunteer
recruitment and the shortage of volunteer mentors.
National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program
Intensive intervention
program targeting youth
ages 16-18 who dropped
out of high school
Embraced YIM model in
early 1990s
Currently operates in 29
states
 2nd largest mentoring
program in the United
States
National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program
Program: Residential Phase
 (5 months) Highly
structured programming
includes GED, life skills, job
skills, health, and
leadership classes and
Post-Residential Phase
activities
 Frequently takes place on a  (12 months) Transition
back into communities
military base; quasi-military
 Supported by a mentor
model (no military
(YIM model)
requirement)
National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program
Program Results
9 months following entry into study remarkable success:
• Large effects for educational, vocational, behavioral,
and health outcomes (Bloom, Gardenhire-Crooks, &
Mandsager, 2009)
38 months following entry into study:
• Significant effects remained for some outcomes, not
all: Significant educational and vocational effects; no
effects for behavioral and health outcomes (Millenky,
Schwartz, & Rhodes, in press).
Mentors in ChalleNGe
Mentor Demographics
Mentor Selection
• Average age: 46.7 years old •
• 83% same race or ethnicity
as their mentee
•
• 26% living in same zip code •
as mentee
• 93% working full time; 4% •
retired; 3% unemployed; 1%
working part time
55% youth chose “mostly
on their own”
37% parents helped choose
5% ChalleNGe staff helped
choose
4% were chosen “some
other way”(e.g. mentor
asked youth)
YIM Relationships in ChalleNGe
• At 9 month follow-up:
76% participants reported contact
with mentors
– 34% weekly in-person contact
– 47% weekly contact of any type
(e.g. in-person, phone, written)
• At 21 month follow up:
74% participants reported contact
with mentors
– 27% weekly contact of any type
• At 38 month follow up:
56% participants reported contact
with mentors
Outcomes & Benefits
In the context of the ChalleNGe • YIM relationships tend to be
enduring (relative to traditional
Program . . .
formal mentoring)
• Mentors chosen by youth and of
the same race or ethnicity as
mentees were most enduring
• Enduring relationships are
associated with improved
academic, vocational, and
behavioral outcomes
• Mentors provided socialemotional support, guidance, and
instrumental support
Outcomes & Benefits
YIM also may provide unique benefits:
•
•
•
•
Instrumental support
More prescriptive advice-giving
Greater cultural similarity
Acquisition of “help-recruiting”
competencies (Balcazar, 1991)
• Builds upon and develops internal social
capital in communities
Challenges of YIM






Screening (youth safety)
Training youth to make the ask
Youth can’t identify anyone
Rejection
Early termination
Managing Expectations
(consistent contact)
 Mentor Availability
 Limited training opportunities
for mentors
Elements of YIM
o National Guard Youth
ChalleNGe
o YouthBuild USA
o Alternatives to generic
programming: i.e.
recruitment, speed
matching, closure/
transition planning, etc.
Considerations & Suggestions
Allow adolescent youth greater
autonomy in selecting their
mentors (e.g. mixers)
 Teach youth “help recruiting”
skills (how to tell their story, and
how to ask for support)
 Use YIM to transition youth
from formal mentoring services.
Additional Resources
•
Ready For Mentoring: A Guide for YouthBuild Students – Tips for how to
approach potential mentors.
http://youthbuildmentoringalliance.org/webfm_send/129
•
National Guard Youth ChalleNGe http://www.ngycp.org/site/mentor.
•
Supporting the Transition to Adulthood among High School Dropouts: An
Impact Study of the National Guard Youth Challenge Program – Study
published by Sarah Schwartz, Jean Rhodes, and Megan Millenky
http://www.mentoring.org/images/NGYCPImpactStudy.pdf
•
Youth Initiated Mentoring: Natural Mentors + Youth Engagement =
Stronger Outcomes – White paper on YIM published by Dare Mighty Things
http://www.daremightythings.com/pdf/media_center/YIMWhitePaper.PDF
•
New mentoring research on the Chronicle for Evidence Based Mentoring
–Summaries of the latest youth mentoring research.
http://chronicle.umbmentoring.org/category/research-roundup/
Remember…
After the webinar:
 Everyone will get an email with
information on how to download the
slides/recording
 Continue the conversation at the
Chronicle of Evidence-Based
Mentoring:
http://chronicle.umbmentoring.org/
Please help us
out by
answering
survey
questions at the
end of the
webinar.
2013 Collaborative Mentoring Webinar Series
Thank you for participating today!
Next Webinar:
May 16th, 2013
Sarah Kremer,
Friends for Youth
Dana Gold, MP of
SWPA
Michael Garringer,
Education Northwest
Tammy Tai,
MENTOR
Polly Roach, MP of
Minnesota
Molly Brenner,
MENTOR
Meghan Ferns,
Oregon Mentors
(back to third
Thursday of the
month )
Topic: Mentoring at Risk Youth
(MARY) study with Drs. David DuBois
of University of Illinois-Chicago; Janet
Heubach of Washington State Mentors;
and Carla Herrera formerly of
Public/Private Ventures
Registration will open next week on the
MENTOR website.