Starting a Youth Mentoring Program

So you want to start a youth mentoring program? You have come to the right place.

Completing this learning experience is the first step to accessing technical assistance through the National Mentoring Resource Center. You will learn a lot, but it is only a brief overview of what you will need to know and do. Help is available, though—you can request additional support.

In this session, you will:

  • Learn the skills and infrastructure necessary to support positive youth outcomes through mentoring.
  • Review best practices for designing, launching, operating, and sustaining a quality youth-mentoring program based on the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring (4th edition).
  • Begin defining the opportunity for mentoring in your community.
  • Generate a list of questions to guide program development

What to Expect

  • Plan to spend five to 10 minutes for reading each chapter
  • Set aside additional time to review the companion section of Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring (4th edition)
  • At the end of each chapter, you will be prompted to use the note-taking guide to list topics or questions and reflect on future technical assistance needs
  • Once you have completed all 10 chapters, the summary page will provide instructions for next steps
  • First, download and save the note-taking guide. After that, access Intro & Setting the Stage to get started!

Proudly Funded by OJJDP

This website is funded through a grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse, this website including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided.

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  • 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.