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Exploring the Link between Mentoring Program Structure & Success Rates: Results from a National Survey

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American Journal of Criminal Justice Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Though mentoring has emerged as a promising and low-cost intervention for at-risk youth in recent years, the scientific knowledge base on the topic remains under-developed. The current study augments the knowledge base on youth mentoring by analyzing programmatic elements of mentoring programs situated in or adjacent to the juvenile justice system that are predictive of participant success. Poisson regression was utilized to analyze data collected through a national mentoring community saturation survey. Findings indicated that mentoring programs that require more frequent interaction and sustain relationships for longer timeframes realize higher success rates. Similarly, the use of formal mentor training was also observed as indicative of the use of evidence based practices and higher success rates, though likely beyond the logistical and fiscal reach of some local mentoring initiatives. The implications for further research and the mentoring community are discussed.

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Notes

  1. It is worth noting that a similar pattern of findings emerged when the sample was restricted to mentoring programs that serve juvenile-justice-involved youth. Specifically, mentoring respondents were asked whether at least 10 % of the youth served by their program are referred from the juvenile justice system. When the sample was restricted to respondents who said “yes” to this question, the pattern of findings for models 1, 2, and 3 were substantively identical. Findings from model 4 changed slightly: the effect of meeting frequency was .13 (p < .05), the effect of meeting length was .07 (p > .05), and the effect of mentor training was .16 (p < .05).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Texas, San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA

    J. Mitchell Miller, J. C. Barnes, Holly Ventura Miller & Layla McKinnon

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  1. J. Mitchell Miller
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  2. J. C. Barnes
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  3. Holly Ventura Miller
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  4. Layla McKinnon
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Correspondence to J. Mitchell Miller.

Additional information

This project was supported by Grant #2010-JU-FX-0118 awarded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice. The authors wish to thank the grant partners (MENTOR, The National Mentoring Partnership; Global Youth Justice; and the National Partnership for Juvenile Services) for input and assistance on the development of data collection instruments. We would also like to thank Barbara Tatem Kelley of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention for project guidance and direction.

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Miller, J.M., Barnes, J.C., Miller, H.V. et al. Exploring the Link between Mentoring Program Structure & Success Rates: Results from a National Survey. Am J Crim Just 38, 439–456 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-012-9188-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-012-9188-9

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