	Volunteer Mentoring Services

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

VM 8: Supervising and Monitoring Relationships

Matches are routinely monitored to support the development of positive mentoring relationships.

VM 8.01

A case file is maintained for each mentor and each service recipient and contains:

a summary of information learned about the mentor and service recipient during screening and matching;
a record of all meetings between program personnel, the mentor, the service recipient, and involved parents or legal guardians; and
a record of the date, duration, and activities completed at each mentoring meeting.

VM 8.02

Program personnel regularly contact the mentor and service recipient to provide support and monitor the appropriateness and effectiveness of the match.

Interpretation: Contact can occur weekly, monthly, or quarterly, depending on the stage and nature of the mentoring relationship. More frequent contact and monitoring may be necessary during the early stages of a match or if a match is considered to be in jeopardy of premature closing. When evaluating the match, reviews of case files are required.

Note: See Research Note to VM 6.03.

VM 8.03

Parents or legal guardians of children, youth, or dependent adults are involved in providing information about the progress of the service recipient, and are contacted by program personnel:

biweekly, during the first month of service;
monthly, for the remainder of the first year; and
quarterly, after the first year of service.

Interpretation: Contacts with parents or legal guardians can occur in person or by phone. As referenced in VM 8.02, it may be appropriate to contact parents or legal guardians more frequently if a match is considered to be in jeopardy of premature closure. If interest is lacking or the organization has trouble obtaining input, it may also be appropriate to seek input from other involved adults. For example, school-based programs can involve teachers or other school personnel who interact with the service recipient. If another organization (such as a juvenile justice agency) retains temporary custody of the service recipient, it is sufficient to contact and obtain information from that organization.

NA The organization does not serve children, youth, or dependent adults.

VM 8.04

When it is necessary to close a match, program personnel are responsible for helping involved parties end the relationship in a planned, constructive manner.

Interpretation: It may be necessary to close a match for a variety of reasons, including, for example: if the mentor or service recipient relocates, if the match is determined to be unsuitable or inappropriate, or if the match was designed to end at a specific time, such as school-based matches designed to end when the school-year ends.

VM 8.05

If a service recipient is asked to leave the program the organization makes every effort to link the service recipient with appropriate services.

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	PURPOSE: Individuals participating in Volunteer Mentoring Services develop supportive, positive relationships that contribute to the achievement of personal, social, and educational growth.

RELATED FILES


	VOLUNTEER An individual who performs services for an organization for civic, charitable, or humanitarian reasons, without promise, expectation, or receipt of compensation for services rendered. Such service must be offered freely and without pressure or coercion, direct or implied, from an employer. If the individual is otherwise employed by the same employer for which s/he volunteers, the individual cannot volunteer to perform the same type of services that s/he is paid to perform as an employee.


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	CASE A general term used to designate clients (including individuals, families, and groups) served by an organization for purposes of monitoring the provision of services. A foster care case is generally based on the placement of an individual child, although casework for the child may include services to the child's family. A child protective services case is based on an entire family household if a family assessment model is used; otherwise a case is defined as a child.


	SERVICE RECIPIENT The individuals, groups, organizations, or communities that use, receive, or benefit from programs and services. Service recipients can include consumers, patients, family members, legal guardians, advocates, public/private organizations, employers, and purchasers. All are regarded as significant stakeholders served in a variety of agencies and practice settings.


	PROGRAM PERSONNEL All direct service and administrators or supervisors of direct services that are involved in the operation of the organization's social service programs. "Program personnel" does not include MIS, accounting, facilities, clerical, or other staff that are not involved in the provision or oversight of direct services.


	PARENTS Parents can include: birth, foster, kinship, and adoptive parents. Please see service standards for more specific information about use of this term.


	LEGAL GUARDIAN A person who has legal responsibility for the care and management of a person incapable of administering his/her own affairs. In the case of a minor child, the guardian is charged with the legal responsibility for the care and management of the child and of the minor child's estate.


	APPROPRIATENESS The degree to which a particular service, placement, treatment, intervention, or activity is: best suited to an individual's needs; not excessive, unduly intrusive, or restrictive; anticipated to be effective in achieving the desired and specified outcomes; and adequate or sufficient in quantity to address the problem.


	MONITORING An evaluation involving a periodic review of consumer services, organizational activities, or conduct. Specifically, monitoring is an activity of case coordination, whereas more broadly, monitoring is an evaluation technique used in overall quality assurance.


	RESEARCH For purposes of COA accreditation, all forms of internal or external research involving persons served except internal program evaluation and outcomes research, or educational projects performed by students and interns that are part of their professional training.


	PROGRAM A system of services offered by an organization. For example, an organization providing a mental health service may offer several mental health programs to different populations, e.g., a mental health program for adolescent teens. The word "program" can be used interchangeably with the word "service" or to describe specific programs.


	CUSTODY The care, control, and maintenance of a child. The court legally can award custody to an agency in abuse and neglect cases or to parents in divorce, separation, or adoption proceedings. Child welfare departments retain legal custody and control of major decisions for a child in foster care; foster parents do not have legal custody of the children for which they provide care.


	PERSONNEL The body of employees and/or volunteers that carries out the organization's tasks under the organization's administration and/or supervision. This definition does not include foster parents who are specifically referenced in relevant standards