	Volunteer Mentoring Services

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

PA-VM 6: Mentor Orientation, Training, and Support

Volunteers receive the orientation, training, support, and supervision they need to develop positive, lasting mentoring relationships.

Note: See Research Notes to PA-VM 7.01 and PA-VM 7.02.

PA-VM 6.01

Mentors receive an orientation that explains:

the program’s philosophy;
their responsibilities to the service recipient, including any health and safety responsibilities;
their responsibilities to the service recipient’s parent or legal guardian, as appropriate;
their responsibilities to the agency;
the responsibilities of the agency to the mentor; and
realistic expectations for the relationship.

PA-VM 6.02

Mentors receive training that addresses:

good mentoring practices;
communication and relationship-building;
diversity and cultural awareness;
establishing appropriate boundaries and setting limits with the service recipient and his/her family;
strengths and needs of the population served; and
topics relevant to working with the population served (for example, positive youth development).

Research Note: Because the tone of a relationship can be set quickly, literature emphasizes the importance of providing at least some training prior to the first match meeting. Some research suggests that mentors who receive at least six hours of pre-match training develop stronger, closer relationships with youth.

PA-VM 6.03

Mentors receive ongoing support that provides:

assistance with practical problems;
suggestions or directions regarding behavior or future activity; and
reassurance and recognition of the value of the mentor’s efforts.

Interpretation: Ongoing support can be provided through: (1) group training and support sessions, and/or (2) individual contacts with personnel, as described in PA-VM 8.02.

Research Note: Some research suggests that mentors and youth may spend more time together when mentors receive more post-match support and training from program personnel, and highlights the importance of providing support that promotes the development of positive relationships.

PA-VM 6.04

Mentors matched with older or high-risk youth receive assistance establishing friendly relationships that also address any immediate problems and challenges confronting the service recipient.

Interpretation: Mentors matched with older or high-risk youth may need more extensive training and support than mentors serving younger or lower-risk children and youth.

Note: “Older youth” include middle-school and high-school students. “High-risk youth” may include: youth at risk of poor school performance or attendance, youth at risk of becoming involved with the juvenile justice system, youth at risk of pregnancy or early parenting, youth at risk of substance use, youth at risk of welfare dependence, youth at risk of gang involvement, and youth who have sustained emotional, physical, or sexual abuse.

Research Note: Some research suggests that it may be particularly difficult to develop close relationships with older or high-risk youth, and that they tend to have shorter mentoring relationships than younger and lower-risk youth.

NA The agency does not serve older or high-risk youth.

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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.


	TRAINING Instruction so as to make fit, qualified, or proficient in a skill or body of knowledge.


	SUPERVISION Assumption of responsibility for directly overseeing and evaluating the work or work products of personnel within an organization. Also includes inspecting the act or process of accomplishing a function or activity.


	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.


	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.


	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.


	PRACTICE Established actions or ways of proceeding in the regular performance of organizational duties. Policies and procedures often guide practice.


	FAMILY Two or more people who consider themselves family and who assume obligations, functions, and responsibilities generally essential to healthy family life. Child care and child socialization, income support, long-term care, and other caregiving are among the functions of family life. The definition of "family" will rest with an individual's indication of who plays a family member role, including current or former foster family, adoptive family, extended family members, fictive kin, or significant others. Organizations that believe family is the central constellation in a child's life, and that family attachments are of primary importance for human development, will strive to work with professional staff to develop a common understanding of "family."


	PERFORMANCE A measure of how well an organizational system provides services to consumers. Performance is often based on key indicators, such as rates of service, cost per consumer, degree of satisfaction with services, and extent of consumer access to services.


	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


	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.


	HIGH-RISK YOUTH In the context of Volunteer Mentoring Services, youth who are at risk of poor school performance or attendance, involvement with the juvenile justice system, pregnancy or early parenting, substance abuse, welfare dependence, and/or gang involvement.


	OLDER YOUTH In the context of Volunteer Mentoring Services, middle school and high school students.