Developing a matching process for your mentoring and befriending project

Transcription

1 Developing a matching process for your mentoring and befriending project July 2010

2 This information sheet is for mentoring and befriending projects looking to develop consistent matching procedures. It highlights some of the key areas to consider when developing a matching process for your scheme. The importance of matching The importance of developing an appropriate matching process for your service user and mentor/befriender relationships cannot be underestimated. Matching is about placing each service user with a mentor/befriender based on a pre-determined set of criteria and is an important first step in relationship building. Taking the time to develop a consistent matching process will increase the likelihood of successful relationships developing and your project achieving maximum beneficial outcomes for your service users. Developing a procedure to fit your service The procedure for matching service users to mentors/befrienders will depend on a number of variables relating to the model of delivery and location of your service. Some providers will want to pay more attention to matching that is designed to meet specific service user needs than others. E.g., goal orientated interventions, usually mentoring, may seek to match volunteers with similar interests or backgrounds to the service user. More informal relationships may not consider similarities to be of such importance. Providers will want to develop matching procedures that are most suited to the needs of the service user group and the skills, experience and qualities of the volunteers. In doing so, we recommend considering the following: Service user preferences and needs: a way of identifying the service user s needs should be incorporated into the matching process and providers will want to consider whether it is appropriate for service users to express preferences in relation to their potential matched volunteer in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, interests etc. Where service users are given the opportunity to highlight preferences, providers will want to ensure that those expressed are appropriate and not coming from an ulterior motive or personal prejudice. Where it is felt that this may be the case, this will need to be addressed e.g., where a young man may only want to be matched with a young female volunteer. Providers will also need to be realistic with service users about the likelihood of their requests being met, particularly where there is a limited pool of mentors/befrienders available.

3 Mentor/befriender preference and risk analysis: providers should also consider whether it is appropriate for the mentors/befrienders to be able to express preferences too. This could be important where the scheme works with service users with complex needs e.g., ex-offenders some volunteers may find certain offences too challenging. Consider adding a question to the interview process as to whether there is any service user that the mentor/befriender would not be prepared to work with. As with service user preferences, providers will want to ensure that any preferences expressed are in keeping with the philosophy of the service and not as a result of personal prejudice. Accessibility issues: providers will want to ensure that their service is accessible and full information about any special needs that service users and volunteers may have needs to be gathered. Providers should consider how these needs can be met and any implications that there may be for the mentoring/befriending relationship e.g., service users with high mobility needs may have difficulties in travelling and will need to be matched with a volunteer who can travel to them and who will also feel sufficiently competent and confident in working with the service user s needs. Similarly, providers will want to ensure that adaptations are made for service users and volunteers with particular needs that will allow the service to be inclusive for them and so that demands from matches do not make the mentoring/befriending overly difficult for the individual. The most effective way of ensuring this is to ask the service user and/or volunteer as to what would assist them do not try and second guess what their needs might be. Location: where providers are working across a broad geographical area or rural locations, matching is likely to be restricted by proximity. This should be considered at the point of recruitment and volunteers asked how far they are willing to travel without too much burden being placed on them. The cost element of extensive travel will also need to be considered and costed in to project budgets where access is an issue. Matching events: some providers use group events to facilitate matching. This may involve holding social or residential events where mentors/befrienders and

4 service users have the opportunity to meet. Feedback from both parties on any preferences that may arise from this face-to-face contact can then be considered by the co-ordinator as part of the overall matching process. It is worth bearing in mind with this approach that if several service users gravitate towards the same volunteer, then they may feel disappointed if matched with someone else. Parents, carers and external stakeholders: sometimes it can be useful to ask other people in the service user s life whether there are any support needs, specific experiences or skills that they feel a volunteer could bring which would benefit the service user. E.g., providers working with young people may want to refer to parents/carers. This can also be good practice in terms of facilitating the parents/carers in fully understanding and accepting the mentoring/befriending support. Referral criteria and procedures: where providers are reliant on external agencies for referrals it is necessary to develop clear criteria and procedures. This will help to ensure that those who are appropriate for the service provision are referred. This can be assisted by implementing referrals forms. When developing forms, providers should consider how much information is necessary. It is worth noting that lengthy forms may act as a deterrent to referrals and forms should request only the information that is absolutely necessary. For some services, this may need to include an assessment of risk that identifies issues that the service and mentor/befriender may need to be aware of. The criteria developed needs to be clearly communicated to external agencies so that a lot of time is not spent assessing those who are not suitable for the service provision. Projects will also want to meet with potential service users to discuss and assess their needs in order to decide whether the mentoring/befriending project support is appropriate for them. Personal information: providers will also need to consider how much information about the service user is necessary to tell the mentor/befriender. There may be personal issues that the service user may not want disclosed and that the mentor/befriender may not need to be made aware of. The privacy of both the service user and volunteer needs to be respected in the matching process.

5 Initial match meetings Once providers have developed a matching procedure, it can be put into action when a suitable referral is received. We recommend that providers contact the service user and/or referrer and the mentor/befriender to discuss the potential match and to arrange an initial meeting between the service user and the volunteer, facilitated by the coordinator of the mentoring/befriending project. Aiding communication: it is possible that both parties may feel shy or nervous about the initial match meeting and providers will want to consider ways of facilitating communication between the mentor/befriender and service user and helping both parties to feel at ease. A method used by some providers is for the first part of the meeting to include the project co-ordinator and then for the mentor/befriender and service user to be left together for the latter part of the meeting. Information briefing: at this first meeting, full information about the scheme and what service users can expect should be provided and agreement obtained from both parties as to whether they are happy for the match to go ahead. Where providers are working with certain service users, such as young people, it may be appropriate to invite parents or carers to attend initial match meetings. This will allow them to feel comfortable and confident about the volunteer that the service user is going to be spending time with but may not be necessary in all cases. Key messages for the match meeting: depending on the service provision, there will be some key messages that co-ordinators will want to communicate as part of the match meeting. These may include: - The purpose of the relationship - The frequency and duration of meetings - The length of the relationship - Boundaries - Confidentiality - Goal setting - Activities (what they can do together) - Expenses (what, if any, budget is available for activities) - Raising concerns (who to contact in case of concerns about the relationship) - Contact (how will they get in touch with each other) - Ongoing support and monitoring - Review dates

6 It is important for the co-ordinator to take the lead in highlighting key points so that it is heard in the presence of both parties. It also means that the mentor/befriender doesn t have to take an overly formal approach at the first meeting. Covering key points in the match meeting will provide all those involved with an important reference point should any issues arise later in the relationship. Some providers have produced contracts for the relationship that they ask both parties to sign at the match meeting to say that they have understood how they will work together. When matches break down Providers will also want to consider how they will respond to issues where a mentor/befriender or service user subsequently decides that they are not happy with the match or where the relationship breaks down for other reasons e.g., if the mentor/befriender leaves the service. The following areas are key to consider: Prompt action: when issues or problems arise in a relationship, it is important that they are addressed early on so that both parties feel valued and know that their concerns are being taken seriously. Monitoring of relationships: providers need to ensure that there is careful monitoring of relationships so that issues are flagged up early on and before it is too late to remedy concerns. Addressing issues: depending on the nature of the issue, there are a number of ways that these can be addressed: - Where the mentor/befriender or service user is unhappy with the relationship, the issues arising need to be addressed in order to find out what has specifically gone on in the relationship. Once the issues are identified, establish whether some form of mediation can take place in order to rekindle the relationship or whether a re-match for the service user is the most appropriate action to take. This should include discussion with both parties and where possible a joint meeting to review and agree next steps. When issues arise, they need to be sensitively handled as the volunteer or service user may feel rejected by this process and so care needs to be taken in dealing with this kind of scenario. - Where the mentor/befriender can no longer commit to the service, the reasons for this will need to be carefully communicated to the service user who may feel let down by this outcome. Ideally, the mentor/befriender will

7 communicate this directly to the service user and explain their reasons as to why. The service user should be asked whether they are willing to be rematched and ideally this should be addressed as quickly as possible so that the service user feels valued by the mentoring/befriending service provision. The service user may feel rejected by their previous mentor/befriender despite sound reasons for their departure, so it is important to reassure them that their needs can still be met by the service. Unable to match There may be a number of reasons why a provider may be unable to match a service user and volunteer and where providers are unable to match a service user who is referred due to a lack of available resources, it is important to communicate this to both the referrer and the service user. Providers may be operating with waiting lists (see also our information sheet How to manage a service user/volunteer waiting list ). Where this is the case, the provider should try to respond to the referral and undertake an assessment of the service user but then provide them with as much information as possible regarding waiting times. It will also be important to communicate with the service user and/or referrer to keep them informed on a regular basis as to how long they may have to wait for a match. By the time a match is ready to be made, the provider may need to re-assess whether the service is still suitable for the needs of the service user whose needs may have changed during the waiting period. It may also be worth offering a re-brief regarding the matching process to the volunteer to help quell any concerns that they may have. Regular monitoring and support of all matched relationships should continue to be a key part of the co-ordinator role. Further information Sign up to one of our training courses e.g., our courses Setting up and managing a mentoring or befriending programme: Part B and Setting up a peer mentoring/buddy programme for children and young people cover matching. Buy our training toolkits linked to the above courses (these are free if you attend one of the above courses).

8 Look at our full range of Information sheets and search our Knowledge centre for more good practice around matching. Find out more about our quality standard the Approved Provider Standard.