Introduction

Providing ongoing monitoring and support to youth and adults is often the most critical—yet overlooked—aspect of managing a high-quality youth mentoring program.  

Ongoing support involves monthly communication with all parties (mentors, mentees, and mentees’ families) to support the relationship-development process.

To effectively support matches, staff members must be trained to develop cultural competency and supportive communication skills so they can navigate across cultures and contexts.

Curriculum

  • Why it Matters

    Ongoing support can help mitigate many common issues and challenges that arise in the context of youth mentoring. Routinely checking in with participants allows you to:

    • Monitor the quality of the mentoring relationship to ensure the mentee benefits from the experience
    • Assess the mentee’s safety
    • Provide support for the mentor
    • Engage the parents/guardians
    • Manage your organization’s liability
    • Help participants meet program expectations regarding the frequency of interactions and the duration of the relationship
  • How to Check in Effectively

    How to Check In Effectively

    • Use telephone or in-person communication to check in with mentees, mentors, and families every month
    • Ask open-ended questions
    • Use positive communication, affirm the contributions of all parties, and use a conflict-resolution approach when necessary
    • Document your match support
    • Provide ongoing training and support related to participants’ needs and interests
    • Train your staff members on cultural competency and supportive communication skills to help them navigate across cultures and contexts that may arise in mentoring relationships
  • Questions to Ask

    Questions to Ask

    • How is your match going?
    • How and how often did you communicate with your mentee last month?
    • What kinds of activities do you do together?
    • How do you decide what activities to do together?
    • How’s your mentee doing?
    • What are you doing to build your relationship with your mentee? How’s it going?
    • Have you noticed any changes in your mentee since we last spoke?
    • What, if any, interactions have you had with your mentee’s family? How did they go?
    • How can I be of support?
    These are some sample questions staff members can use when talking with mentors. These kinds of questions can be adapted for conversations with mentees and families.
  • More
  • Next Steps
    • Learn more by reviewing “Standard 5: Monitoring and Support” in Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring (4th edition).
    • Use your note-taking guide to list topics or questions about monitoring and supporting matches to discuss with your technical assistance provider. Remember to save your note-taking guide changes after each chapter.

     

Relevant Documents


Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring (4th edition)

Research in Action: Why Youth Mentoring Relationships End

Review

Learn more by reviewing the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring (4th edition)

Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring

Continue

Continue onto the next chapter: Closure

Closure

  • Download Now
    Please select all that apply
  • MENTOR National and Affiliates will use the information you provide to better inform future publications and keep you up to date with advancements in the mentoring field. For more information, check out our privacy policy.

  • Download Now
    Please select all that apply
  • MENTOR National and Affiliates will use the information you provide to better inform future publications and keep you up to date with advancements in the mentoring field. For more information, check out our privacy policy.