Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
EFFECTIVE MENTORING FOR YOUTH FACING BARRIERS TO SUCCESS Ontario Mentoring Coalition March 21, 2016 Presented by: Dr. Melanie Bania & Vanessa Chase, MCA With funding provided by: Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services (MCYS)
Welcome & Introduc?ons
• Welcome by the Ontario Mentoring Coalition (Co-‐Chairs Beth Malcolm & Cathy Denyer) • Housekeeping: How to use the platform • Webinar Objectives
• Webinar Outline
Webinar Objec?ves
① Share information on best practices for mentoring youth who face barriers to success
② Coming soon: Toolkit to help you plan, tailor, implement and evaluate an effective mentoring program for youth who face barriers to success
Webinar Outline Topic Time
What do we mean by “mentoring for youth facing barriers to success”?
1:10 – 1:15
How effective is mentoring for youth who face barriers to success?
1:15 – 1:20
How can we make our program the most effective and safe as possible?
1:20 – 1:35
What do we need to consider when providing mentoring opportunities for youth who face barriers to success?
1:35 – 1:55
What are best practices in program management and sustainability planning?
1:55 – 2:00
How can we build our capacity for program evaluation?
2:00 – 2:10
Questions & Discussion
2:10 – 2:30
What do we mean by “mentoring for youth
facing barriers to success”?
Defini?on of Mentoring
• The term ‘mentor’ can be broadly de\ined as: “an experienced and trusted advisor” (Oxford Dictionaries, n.d.)
• “Mentoring takes place between young persons (i.e., mentees) and older or more experienced persons (i.e., mentors) who are acting in a non-‐professional helping capacity to provide relationship-‐based support that bene@its one or more areas of the mentee’s development” (MENTOR, 2015, p. 9)
Defini?on of Youth Facing Barriers to Success
• Youth who experience obstacles to full participation in their communities and may bene=it from targeted support and opportunities (Ministry of Children & Youth Services).
• Youth with academic challenges • Indigenous youth • Racialized youth • Newcomer youth • Youth with developmental / other disabilities • Youth with mental health needs • LGBTTQQIP2SA youth • Youth in or leaving care • Homeless youth • Youth involved with the criminal justice system • Girls
Types of Mentoring
Types of Mentoring
Formal Mentoring
• Occurs in a formalized mentoring program where mentees are intentionally matched to mentors
² various models: 1-‐1, group, team, peer, online
² various settings: community, school, faith-‐based, agency, workplace
Informal Mentoring
• Occurs outside of a formalized mentoring program ² Natural mentors (ex: school bus driver, community leader)
² Content mentors (ex: guest speaker, job shadowing)
² Program mentors (ex: homework club or summer camp)
Quick Poll! Question 1: Are you currently involved in providing formal mentoring for youth facing barriers to success?
Question 2: Are you currently involved in planning a formal mentoring program for youth facing barriers to success? Question 3: Are you interested in starting a formal mentoring program for youth facing barriers to success in the future?
How effec?ve is mentoring for youth who face barriers to success?
Research tell us…
• For young people in general, formal mentoring can have positive effects for mentees (small/modest + outcomes) • re: academic, emotional, behavioural and social development
• Impacts are comparable to other similar formal interventions (can be powerful, but not a silver bullet)
• Evidence is less common, conclusive or de\initive for the overall effectiveness of mentoring for youth deemed at higher-‐risk of negative life outcomes
Research tell us…
• Mentoring can bene\it youth with various ‘risk pro\iles’ (mentoring relationships that are similar in strength, duration, and bene\its)
• Somewhat stronger and more consistent bene\its for youth who score relatively high on individual risk factors (challenging attitudes and behaviours, academic struggles, signi@icant health needs, involvement in the justice system)
but not on environmental risk factors (e.g., poverty, unsafe housing, low parental support)
Research tell us…
• Challenges reported by mentors and reasons matches end early differ in relation to the youth’s risk pro\ile and life circumstances (e.g., fear attachment vs. transiency vs. parental interference) • Mentoring may be more effective for youth facing barriers to success when it is combined with other services and supports
• Important factor: the young person must be open to making a long-‐term commitment to form a relationship with a mentor
Effec?veness of Mentoring: Gaps
• Youth with mental health needs • Indigenous youth • LGBTTQQIP2SA
• Homeless youth
How can we make our mentoring program the most effec4ve and safe
as possible?
Universal factors for greater impacts
• Closeness • Consistency • Youth-‐centredness • Structure
• Duration (at least 1 year)
Mentoring Rela?onship Styles ① Developmental – focus on relational activities \irst ② Instrumental – focus on goal directed and skill-‐building
activities \irst
“Research suggests that the provision of structure in the relationship should not be at the expense of a primary focus on having fun and developing the relationship” (MENTOR, 2015, p. 42)
① Assistance Mentoring • For youth who HAVE NOT been deeply affected by individual, family, community, and/or societal risk factors
• Provide support in academics, job counseling, leadership skills, con\lict resolution skills, social recreation, minor self-‐esteem dvt
② Transformational Mentoring • For youth who HAVE been deeply affected by individual, family, community, and/or societal risk factors
• Provide non-‐punitive support to affect change in negative self-‐esteem / self-‐concept, attitudes, behaviours, lack of hope
• Must offer an expression of profound empathy, sensitivity, compassion, and care
Mentoring Rela?onship Styles
Mentoring Standards
Evidence-‐based and practitioner-‐informed standards and benchmarks for planning and implementing an effective mentoring program Elements of Effective Practice for MentoringTM http://www.mentoring.org/program-‐resources/elements-‐of-‐effective-‐practice-‐for-‐mentoring/
Mentoring Standards Recruiting Participants • Realistically describe and portray the program and opportunity • Get potential participants to complete an application (written/verbal) • Get their commitment in writing
Screening & Assessing Participants • Establish criteria and stick to them • Interview each participant individually and in-‐depth
• Screen prospective mentors: time, commitment, personal qualities, background check
Mentoring Standards Training Participants • Minimum = two hours of pre-‐match, in-‐person training • Supplement with post-‐match training as much as possible • Use culturally appropriate language and tools • Focus on knowledge, attitudes, behaviours and skills for developing
positive and safe relationship • Boundaries, policies: social media, transportation, gifts, tag-‐alongs, etc.
Matching Participants • Based on interests; proximity; availability; age; gender; race; ethnicity;
personality; expressed preferences; goals; strengths; experiences • Arrange a staff supervised initial meeting • Sign a commitment agreement
Mentoring Standards
Supporting & Supervising the Match • Contact each person at least 2x in \irst month, 1x each month thereafter • Monitor relationship milestones and youth safety • Provide ongoing advice, problem solving, training, and access to resources for the duration of each relationship
Involving Parents / Caregivers • Establish a congenial and collaborative working relationship with the mentee’s parent or guardian, or other signi\icant adult in their life
Mentoring Standards
Celebrating Efforts & Successes • Recognize efforts and successes of mentees to keep them engaged • Recognize mentors on an annual basis (at minimum) to increase their perceptions of self-‐ef\icacy and encourage them to continue volunteering
Closing a Match & Re-‐matching • Facilitate closure in a way that af\irms contributions of both • Offer the opportunity to prepare for the closure • Offer the opportunity to assess the experience and share thoughts • Consider their preference and readiness for re-‐matching
Best Prac?ces for Mentoring Youth Facing Barriers to Success
Best Prac?ces Program Planning • Partner with relevant agencies • Hire staff from the community • Provide staff training on special considerations • Use accommodations
Program Implementation • Explore & celebrate the diversity of mentees • E-‐Mentoring may be a promising practice
Best Prac?ces
Mentee Referral, Screening & Selection • Ensure recruitment materials are in multiple formats and languages • Where possible accept mentees before major transitions
Mentor Recruitment, Screening & Selection • Consider mentors who have had “troubled pasts” • Mentors may need to be more experienced
Best Prac?ces Mentor Training • Training should include:
• Cultural competency • Inclusive language • The roles of mentors • Disclosures/ con\identiality • Higher risk of early match termination
Matching Process • Allow mentees to share preferences for matching • Support cross-‐race/gender/experience matching through:
• Ongoing mentor training (unpacking biases, providing positive feedback)
• Activities to learn about and celebrate ethnic identities
Best Prac?ces Relationship Development • Foster reciprocal relationships (mentee choice, opportunities for matches to learn from one another) • More vulnerable youth may require greater commitment and consistency
Match Supervision & Support • Consistent and comprehensive staff check ins are more important • Compensation may increase mentor commitment
Best Prac?ces Parent/ Caregiver/ Family Involvement • Be aware of family challenges in communicating (language, different abilities, literacy)
Match Closure & Re-‐Matching • Closures must be handled delicately due to dif\icult pasts • Ensure mentors have the skills to end the relationship in a healthy way
Youth Perspec?ves
What else do we need to consider when providing mentoring
opportuni4es for youth who face barriers to success?
Addressing Power Dynamics • Youth facing barriers to success may feel especially disempowered given their past life experiences
• Rather than gloss over or ignore issues of power and privilege, it is important for service providers, mentors, and youth themselves to acknowledge the role that power plays in their lives and the development of their relationships
• Crossing the Line Activity: http://ontariomentoringcoalition.ca/mentoringyouthfacingbarriers/key-‐resources-‐webinars/
Providing Trauma-‐Informed Services • Youth who face multiple barriers to success are more likely to have experienced trauma • It is important for program staff and mentors to work from a trauma-‐informed framework, so they can best serve the mentees
• Refer to Trauma-‐Informed Practices Guide: http://bccewh.bc.ca/wp-‐content/uploads/2012/05/2013_TIP-‐Guide.pdf
Tailoring Your Program
• It is equally important that your program is speci\ically designed for the individual needs of each youth • Toolkit table for each youth population
Tailoring Your Program
• Body Mapping Activity
Video: https://youtu.be/V58j-‐9ze3dg
How can we build our capacity for program evalua4on?
Program Evalua?on • De=inition:
“The systematic determination of the quality and/or value of something” (Michael Scriven,1991)
• Evaluation can help programs and organizations in: ² meeting funding requirements ² assessing how their programs are working ² developing best practices ² measuring their impact ² improving existing programs ² testing new ideas ² supporting decision-‐making ² engaging other partners
Performance Monitoring Criteria
Purpose Questions Indicators
Capturing: v Activities v Inputs v Outputs
Who? What? When? Where? How many? How often? How long?
-‐ # staff, partners, space -‐ costs and in-‐kind contributions -‐ # mentee / mentor applications -‐ # participants accepted -‐ # participants trained -‐ # matches -‐ # and type of activities -‐ attendance / retention -‐ duration of matches -‐ # match completions (rate)
Mentoring Program Evalua?on
Process Evaluation Criteria
Purpose Questions Indicators
Assessing: v Processes v Procedures v Implementation
Did we do what we said we would do? Why / why not? To what extent do our mentoring relationships meet the critical benchmarks of quality mentoring relationships? What is working well, what is not working well, what should be improved?
-‐ \idelity to policies and procedures
-‐ staff perspectives -‐ mentee’s view of the relationship
-‐ mentor’s view of the relationship
-‐ participant satisfaction with the program
-‐ parent satisfaction -‐ partner satisfaction -‐ evaluator observation -‐ strengths & challenges -‐ lessons learned
Mentoring Program Evalua?on
Impact Evaluation Criteria
Purpose Questions Indicators
Examining: v Outcomes
v Impacts / Effects -‐ short-‐term -‐ medium-‐term -‐ longer-‐term
To what extent did our efforts change participants’ knowledge / attitudes / behaviours? Have participants and others bene\itted from their experience in the program? How?
Increased: -‐ knowledge -‐ positive attitudes -‐ self-‐concept -‐ social & emotional wellbeing
-‐ skills for… -‐ school engagement -‐ community engagement
-‐ employment participation
-‐ decreased justice involvement
Mentoring Program Evalua?on
Mentoring Program Evalua?on
Engage Stakeholders & Par?cipants
Establish Objec?ves & Expected Outcomes
Determine Success Measures
& Key Indicators
Develop Data Collec?on Strategies
& Collect Data
Analyze Data & Reach Conclusions
Iden?fy Improvements &
implement Changes
Program Evalua?on Resources • Program Evaluation Toolkit by the Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child & Youth Mental Health • Project Evaluation Guide For Non-‐Pro\it Organizations: Fundamental Methods & Steps by Imagine Canada • Tools for Evaluating Your Mentoring Program by the Search Institute
• Tools to Establish Evaluation Criteria & Methods by MENTOR, 2015 • Data Collection Methods Toolkit by Northwest Center for Public Health Practice
What are the best prac4ces in program management and sustainability planning?
SUSTAINABILITY:
“the overall stability of an initiative; its ability to weather temporary challenges, provide quality services in the present, and maintain a solid foundation for its future”
Program Sustainability
6 Key Strategies for Sustainability
Sources
• A detailed list of References can be found in the Literature Review and within the Toolkit that will be posted online at: www.ontariomentoringcoalition.ca/mentoringyouthfacingbarriers
Ques?ons & Discussion
Contact Informa?on • Ontario Mentoring Coalition • Beth Malcolm, Canadian Women’s Foundation [email protected]
• Cathy Denyer,fFormerly of Big Brothers Big Sisters Toronto [email protected]
• Resource Developers / Webinar Facilitators • Dr. Melanie Bania [email protected]
with funding provided by: • Vanessa Chase, MCA [email protected]
