MENTOR Rolls out State-of-the-Art Tracking and Analysis Tool – MentorPRO®

December 4, 2007: MentorPRO® is the first of its kind: an online data tracking and analysis tool that allows organizations to access and track data to better manage Programs, monitor Relationships and evaluate Outcomes. Designed to enhance the effectiveness of youth mentoring activities, this groundbreaking tool provides standardized measures and a common system for collecting, tracking and analyzing mentoring data.

"We are delighted to be launching MentorPRO® and thank the many scholars and practitioners who so generously lent their expertise to this important enterprise," reported Gail Manza, executive director. “As a result of their leadership, practitioners will have timely access to the data they need to fine tune program practices and strengthen program performance. And, ultimately, policy makers will have access to standardized information that will make both cross-program and cross-practice comparisons possible."

MENTOR engaged the field's leading expert, Jean Rhodes, Ph.D. of the University of Massachusetts Boston, to identify and recommend outcomes to be measured. These indicators have also been vetted by the nation's leading researchers and practitioners who serve on MENTOR's Research and Policy Council, and tested in nine communities selected to work with the beta version of MentorPRO® last year. The entire development of this tool has been guided by feedback and support of stakeholders in the mentoring community. "As a result of these collaborative efforts, MentorPRO® is a comprehensive online tool that tracks academic performance, behaviors, and psychological/social functioning.

MentorPRO® provides:

A framework to support adherence to the Elements of Effective Practice™, research- and experience-based guidelines for running effective mentoring programs;
An intuitive approach to enter and track application, training and screening processes, thereby streamlining functions and improving program efficiency;
Customized reminders generated daily on key tasks such as mentor referrals, applications and match follow-up;
A scientifically validated set of measures and instruments to track the impact of mentoring relationships;
Detailed reports on the status and activities of matches and program processes;
On demand, downloadable reports that can be generated with aggregated or detailed data; and
Report Cards on both program performance and youth outcomes.

The roll out of MentorPRO® began earlier this fall and is currently only available to MENTOR's network of Mentoring Partnerships who will identify eligible programs in their state or community. This process will continue through summer 2008, at which point MentorPRO® will be made available to mentoring programs that do not have a state or local Mentoring Partnership.

For more information about MentorPRO®, e-mail MentorPRO@mentoring.org.

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