Mentoring Forum Addressing Needs of Court-Involved Juveniles with Quality Mentoring April 28, 2015

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Millicent Bradley
6 years ago
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1 Mentoring Forum Addressing Needs of Court-Involved Juveniles with Quality Mentoring April 28, 2015

2 Initiative: One of the first of its kind in the nation, filling a gap in services for the low-moderate risk juvenile offenders in Connecticut by offering community-based mentoring services Network Goals: Strengthen capacity to deliver high quality mentoring programs and, ultimately, reduce recidivism

3 Network and Collaboration Diversity of programs at various capacity levels programs to mentoring Advanced programs in serving systeminvolved youth-clinical and wrap-around services

4 Obtaining Referrals Establishing relationships with Probation Officers Exceeded first year goal by 12%

5 Mentoring Relationships Mentoring Relationship Goal of 225 statewide 57% of goal in Year One 46% of Year One matches lasted 12 months or more Youth Served 67% Male Most youth years old 44% African American Program Performance Average Days to Intake 27 Average Days to Match 40 % Boys Matched 49% % Girls Matched 67%

6 First Year Challenges Developing relationships with POs Recruitment of male mentors Takes longer to connect and match Latino mentees Disengagement when probation ends

7 Network Strengths Covered districts statewide High level of active participation Think tank for best practices, resource sharing and collective strategy Focus on training and technical assistance with quality mentoring standards Commitment to this specific work

8 Youth Success Stories Doing a 180 Home and academic improvements Lasting relationships with mentors Additional highlights in Executive Summary of evaluation report

9 Keynote Speaker G. Roger Jarjoura, Ph.D. Principal Researcher, Health and Social Development Programs American Institute For Research

10 Keep In Mind Mentoring is about Investing in relationship Choices Modeling behavior Mentoring is about giving, but we can t take it personally

11 Mentoring From the research we know that mentoring is an effective intervention for: Predelinquents Delinquents Juvenile offenders returning from incarceration When it is done correctly, it is a Best Practice.

12 Mentoring Can be Transformative If mentors are properly prepared, they can influence the youth in meaningful and significant ways We may not see immediate shortterm changes, but long-term personal growth has a lot to do with the adults in their lives

13 Start with a big vision for the ultimate outcome Productively engaged adult citizens

14 Don t aim too low Imagine the son of your favorite sister has landed in either the juvenile justice system or the foster care system what would you like to see for him in terms of the kinds of support that could be available? Should the kids we serve be different in terms of our expectations?

15 Employers Would Like Communication skills verbal and written Honesty/integrity Teamwork skills Interpersonal skills Strong work ethic How can you have influence here?

16 If you believe that it takes a village At the end of the time that the youth are involved in your program, what do you want to be able to have in place for the youth?

17 How does the Mentor Fit In? Do you equip your mentors? Can you set the structure of the program so that the mentors know to seek out resources? A Key Skill for the Youth: Accessing Resources Another Key Skill: Asking for Help

18 About Those Needs Education Employment Family Relationships Financial Management/Literacy Health/Mental Health Housing Transportation Prosocial Use of Leisure Time Peer Relationships

19 Transforming An Identity Voices of Mentored Youth The role of youth-led service projects

20 Model for Youth Mentoring (Rhodes, 2002) Youth Engagement Mentoring Socio-Emotional Development Positive Outcomes Identity Development

21 Teaching and Advocacy Teaching or guidance activities into the mentoring role: helping to strengthen, expand, or improve youth s skills, behaviors, interests, or character Advocacy activities into the mentoring role: enhancing the youth s access to key resources and supports outside the mentoring relationship

22 Understand adolescent development and how your program fits in to the process

23 This Means Focusing on Each: Competency Life skills Positive development Strengthsbased Interpersonal skills (emotional intelligence) Accountability Decision making and problem solving

24 Normal Adolescent Development Impulsivity declines with age Sensation-seeking declines with age Future orientation increases with age As people age, they spend more time thinking before they act Resistance to peer pressure increases with age

25 When Kids Experience Trauma during Childhood They experience delays in developmental milestones Have higher rates of learning disabilities Experience difficulties with problem solving Are more impulsive and engage in problem behaviors at higher rates Struggle with interpersonal relationships and emotional intelligence

26 Make Sure You are preparing your mentors to understand Give mentors the tools to meet kids where they are at Is your program developmentally appropriate?

27 It is all about Relationships and Contexts (and Time)

28 Choices about spending leisure time Dysfunctional Family Problems in School Low selfesteem Low academic achievement Consider the risk factors That contribute to the Likelihood that the youths Are going to be delinquent Challenges around work Negative Peers Disadvantaged neighborhoods Drugs and Alcohol

29 The relationship they have with their free time The relationship they have with themselves The relationship they have with learning The relationship they have with money The relationship the kids have with their families These can all be reframed in terms of dysfunctional relationships The relationship they have with the community The relationship they have with drugs and alcohol The relationship they have with their teachers The relationship they have with work The relationship they have with their peers

30 Relationships are Critical At all levels: Between the program and the juvenile justice system Between the program and the greater community Between the program and the mentors Between the program and the youth Between the mentors and the youth

31 Most program Challenges can be attributed (and thus, fixed) to under-nurtured or nonexistent relationships

32 Context is Typically Underestimated NJDA s vision statement reads: The most efficient way to return a juvenile to a healthy, law abiding lifestyle is through healthy relationships with healthy adults in healthy environments.

33 Time: A Numbers Game Think about the number of hours there are in a week How much of that time will a youth spend in the company of a mentor? How is the remaining time being spent?

34 Find the right mentors (or at least get them right)

35 35

36 Can Youth Pick Their Mentors? Youth-initiated mentoring Who do they nominate: Coaches, teachers, staff from previous programs, relatives Structure, training and ongoing support still critical

37 Mentoring Can Be Challenging Youth doesn t return phone calls Youth doesn t show up for meetings Youth is rude and hostile towards the mentor Youth doesn t talk to mentor Youth is sexually promiscuous Youth breaks the law Youth shows up high or intoxicated Mentor doesn t know what to do with youth Mentor feels overwhelmed by the youth s problems Mentor doesn t agree with the youth s values Mentor is frustrated by lack of impact on youth

38 Effective Programs Focus their efforts on tapping into the internal motivation of mentors by Helping them become more competent Assessing the relevance of their work Building their sense of belonging to a worthwhile effort

40 Another Critical Element

41 Inoculation of Your Mentors

42 Things like: System-involved youth have been let down by adults many times. They are likely to keep the mentors at arms length for some period of time until the mentor passes the test. This is a transient population and the youths may change residences, have their phone numbers disconnected or changed, or may spend very little time at home making it difficult to catch them.

43 And Many adults have a hard time with the progress that these youth demonstrate it is often very slow and can involve several missteps and relapses along the way. The strongest mentor-mentee relationships grow out of crises and conflicts yet mentors will be inclined to avoid the youth while they are dealing with conflict and crises. There are many potentially upsetting elements to working with this population. Mentors need to learn to look for support and not look for the way out of the program.

45 Expectations In any crisis big or small mentors need to know not only who to call and their phone number, but also that they are expected to call Without accountability, time together can easily slip into simply hanging out Key issues: Maintaining contact with mentees What happens when kids get into trouble or are moved without notice? Make sure mentors have comprehensive contact information and plans to be in touch!

46 To obtain the full first year evaluation report for the Juvenile Justice Mentoring Network CLICK HERE Jordan Lane Wethersfield CT 06109

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