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Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring Webinar Series

Funded by a grant from

Throughout 2010, MENTOR will host a series of webinars designed to train mentoring programs on MENTOR's Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring™, third edition. The Elements webinar series will address each of the six evidence-based standards featured in the third edition to include the operational standards addressing: recruitment; screening; training; matching; monitoring and support; and closure.

In the second half of 2010, webinars will be held on the program design, management and evaluation of mentoring programs. Many of the webinars will feature a prominent researcher to discuss the impact that a particular research study has on an operational standard. Further, all webinars will include a Mentoring Partnership and mentoring program to discuss their success and experience with a particular standard.

MENTOR's 2010 Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring™ Webinar series is sponsored by the MetLife Foundation. The Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring, Third Edition, was funded by a generous grant from MetLife Foundation.

Web Series Schedule

Match Support and Closure
Date, TBA

Program Design, Planning, Management and Operations
Date, TBA

Program Evaluation
Date, TBA

Archived Webinars

MENTOR's Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring* Overview

March 8 & 10, 2010
Powerpoint only
Powerpoint/audio (WMV)

This webinar provided an overview of the third edition of the Elements, highlighting the research and studies that underpin the benchmarks. Featured speakers included Dr. Jean Rhodes, Chair, MENTOR's Research & Policy Council and Professor of Psychology, University of Massachusetts – Boston; and Dr. Janis Kupersmidt, President and Senior Research Associate of Innovation Research and Training. Dr. Kupersmidt managed the revision of MENTOR’s Elements.

Recruitment and Screening

March 29, 2010
Powerpoint only
Powerpoint/audio (WMV)

Geared toward mentoring programs, the webinar focused on recruitment and screening standards from the third edition of the Elements. Specifically, we addressed benchmarks and enhancements such as recruitment strategies that include managing realistic expectations, the importance of screening procedures, such as written applications, face-to-face interviews and criminal background checks.

Featured speakers included Dr. Renée Spencer, Associate Professor, Boston University School of Social Work, who discussed her research on why mentoring relationships fail. Additional speakers included Celeste Janssen, Program Manager, Oregon Mentors and Jenny Stern-Carusone, Program Director, Committed Partners for Youth/Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lane County, OR who provided information on best practices and resources on how to adhere to the recruitment and screening benchmarks and enhancements.

Men in Mentoring Toolkit

April 28, 2010
Powerpoint only
Powerpoint/audio (WMV)

Recruiting male mentors is one of the toughest challenges that mentoring programs face. MENTOR was pleased to feature Mentor Michigan in a webinar on recruiting male mentors. Designed to provide mentoring program staff with language and tips when recruiting male mentors, Mentor Michigan's Men in Mentoring Toolkit addresses the main components of a complete recruitment message. The webinar discussed the steps to take to recruit men in a variety of settings and highlighted different strategies to use when recruiting men from various settings.

Featured presenters included Ben Gulker, Special Initiatives Associate from Mentor Michigan and Frank Cox of Michigan State University Extension. Both discussed the importance of tailoring recruitment messages and shared personal experiences using strategies from the toolkit.

Screening and Background Checks

May 6, 2010
Powerpoint only (SafetyNET)
Powerpoint only (Going Beyond Background Check)
Powerpoint/audio (WMV)

MENTOR was pleased to join with Friends for Youth's Mentoring Institute to present a webinar on incorporating SafetyNET and SAFE Practices in Volunteer Programs. Sarah Kremer, Program Director for Friends for Youth's Mentoring Institute, discussed research on the characteristics and behaviors of child molesters and highlighted recommended tools, red flags, and monitoring processes. Participants were made aware of the prevalence of child predators and tactics employed in targeting victims in community youth-serving organizations; learned about latest research on child molester profiles and potential warning signs to be aware of during application and monitoring processes; obtained resources on screening tools and guidelines to apply in order to maximize the safety of children and youth served.

The webinar featured information on how to apply to and use SafetyNET to conduct background checks. Operated by MENTOR, SafetyNET allows mentoring programs to conduct FBI fingerprint-based background checks on prospective mentors.

Training

The webinars guided participants on the new standards and provided background on the research that was used as the basis for the benchmarks.

PART 1 - Standard 3: Mentor Training Benchmarks Webinar

July 15, 2010
Powerpoint only
Powerpoint/audio (WMV)

The webinar featured Allyson F. Roberts, Program Director of the Virginia Mentoring Partnership. Allyson shared best practices and resources on the 7 topics that must be included in a two-hour, pre-match in-person mentor training in order to meet the benchmark. Topics included: a) Program rules; b) Mentors' goals and expectations; c) Mentors' obligations and appropriate roles; d) Relationship development and maintenance; e) Ethical issues; f) Effective closure of the match; and h) Resources and assistance available to support mentors. Dr. Janis Kupersmidt, President and Senior Research Associate of innovation Research & Training discussed the research that was used to support the training benchmarks and provided a practical perspective on how you can incorporate the research findings into your training practices.

PART 2 - Standard 3: Mentor Training Enhancements Webinar

July 22, 2010
Powerpoint only (EEP Training Enhancements)
Powerpoint only (Training Enhancements - MPM)
Powerpoint/audio (WMV)

The webinar featured April Riordan, Director of Training and Community Partnerships at the Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota (MPM). The webinar covered optional mentor training topics that mentoring programs can use to supplement pre-match mentor trainings. The webinar shared training ideas from MPM's "Maximize Your Impact" and "Culturally Smart Relationships" workshops, which are both designed to equip new mentors with the knowledge, skills and awareness they need to build longer, stronger relationships with youth. Participants learned how MPM incorporates positive youth development concepts and cultural, gender and economic issues into mentor training, and helps other programs fulfill the EEPM benchmarks and enhancements for mentoring.

Join Mentoring Forums to Learn more about Mentoring Practices

Please join MENTOR and the National Mentoring Center for continued discussions about mentoring program management and standards in the Mentoring Forums website, which are free to join. Members can ask questions of other mentoring practitioners, share strategies for working with today’s young people, learn about new resources and funding opportunities, and engage in conversations that will help shape the future of the youth mentoring movement.

The Mentoring Forums are hosted by the National Mentoring Center at Education Northwest, a training and technical assistance provider working with school- and community-based mentoring programs across the country.

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Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring Webinar Series

Web Series Schedule

Archived Webinars

Join Mentoring Forums to Learn more about Mentoring Practices