Mentoring
Research has demonstrated that mentoring programs can positively affect social, behavioral, and academic outcomes for at-risk young people. This successful approach has been modified by numerous programs to provide similar services for individuals returning from prisons and jails to our communities. The concept of a caring individual in the community helping with the preparation of release and transition back into the community is seen in thousands of reentry programs nationwide.
Key Resources
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Webinar: Identifying and Engaging Reentry Mentors for Justice-Involved Youth, National Reentry Resource Center (2010)
On November, 1, 2010, the National Reentry Resource Center and The Center for Advancement of Mentoring hosted a webinar on engaging family members in reentry efforts and identifying pro-social support for youth involved in the juvenile justice system. This webinar focused on incorporating juvenile justice-involved youth's family and social network into reentry mentoring programs. Speakers discussed identifying, recruiting, and training “natural mentors,” such as extended family members, teachers, or neighbors, to work alongside other reentry program-assigned mentors to help youth better transition back into the community and in many instances into adulthood.
To watch the webinar, please click here. To download the PowerPoint slides used in this webinar, please click here.
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Building Offenders' Community Assets through Mentoring, Center for Effective Public Policy (2009)
One in a series of Coaching Packets designed to assist jurisdictions in the implementation of effective practices that will support successful offender outcomes. -
Mentoring Formerly Incarcerated Adults: Insights from the Ready4Work Reentry Initiative, Public/Private Ventures (2009)
This report explores mentoring as a tool for supporting the successful reintegration of formerly incarcerated individuals within the context of a larger reentry strategy—in this case, the Ready4Work model. -
Mentoring Ex-Prisoners: A Guide for Prisoner Reentry Programs, U.S. Department of Labor (2007)
This manual provides guidelines and recommendations intended to address the challenges and to increase the benefits of mentoring adult ex-prisoners as part of their involvement in reentry programs. -
The Mentoring Toolkit: Resources for Developing Programs for Incarcerated Youth, The National Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center for Education of Children and Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk (2006)
This guide provides information, program descriptions, and links to important resources that can assist juvenile detention facilities and other organizations to design effective mentoring programs for neglected and delinquent youth, particularly those who are incarcerated. -
How to Build A Successful Mentoring Program Using the Elements of Effective Practice, MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership (2005)
This comprehensive toolkit includes tools, templates and advice for implementing and adhering to the second edition of the Elements of Effective Practice — rigorous guidelines that, when followed, will help to ensure quality mentoring. -
Mentoring—A Proven Delinquency Prevention Strategy, Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (1997)
This report reviews both an 18-month evaluation of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program conducted by Public/Private Ventures and an evaluation of OJJDP's Juvenile Mentoring Program.