Numerous national studies have noted the positive benefits of mentoring relationships for at-risk and juvenile justice-involved youth. TJJD has utilized mentors with its youth since the 1990s with strong evidence of the benefits of these relationships.
Mentoring can take place in a TJJD facility, halfway house, or on parole. Mentoring involves a responsible adult volunteer visiting a youth one-on-one, ideally for 4-8 hours per month for a minimum of six months. Mentors are expected to focus on establishing a positive relationship, helping with goal setting, obtaining resources, and increasing a youth’s social skills. The mentoring program aims to develop a youth’s self-confidence and help a youth discover his/her strengths through a trusting, supportive relationship. Faith mentoring has an additional component emphasizing personal spiritual growth. Religious principals provide the foundation for faith mentoring sessions.
Mentors are primarily recruited by Community Relations Coordinators or by other mentors through word-of-mouth referrals. Mentors are carefully screened with a volunteer application, criminal and driving record check, character references, and a face-to-face interview with a TJJD representative. After a mentor is selected, he or she signs an agreement of confidentiality and participates in a three-hour training and orientation. Mentors are provided with information on TJJD’s policies, population, and rehabilitative strategy. Mentors are also given an overview of communication skills, learning styles of adolescents, and suggestions for structured activities.
After the initial training, mentors are expected to attend at least two mentor mixers each calendar year. These events help mentors get to know each other better, provide support for one another, and receive training from subject-matter experts on a variety of topics relevant to mentoring relationships. Mentor mixers also provide opportunities for Community Relations Coordinators and other TJJD staff to get to know mentors and to communicate policy or procedural updates. Mentors may attend these events via telephone or videoconference if they are unable to travel to them.
Thoughtful mentor/mentee matching is critical to a mentoring program’s success. TJJD youth can request a mentor or can be referred to the mentoring program by a caseworker, Community Relations Coordinator, or other TJJD staff person. Factors considered in matching decisions include gender, age, primary language, needs and strengths, life experiences, and mentor/mentee preferences. Though Community Relations Coordinators follow the same basic guidelines in mentor/mentee matching, there is some variation across locations. TJJD is in the process of developing a matching protocol to ensure consistency statewide. Participation in the mentoring program is completely voluntary - youth must sign consent and are free to terminate the mentoring relationship at any time.
A total of 409 youth were served by TJJD’s mentoring program in FY 2015. Several youth were served in more than one location type, beginning mentoring relationships in institutions and continuing the relationships in halfway houses or on parole. Overall in FY 2015, 226 youth were mentored in TJJD’s secure facilities, 163 in TJJD’s halfway houses, and 41 while on parole. Mentored youth comprised approximately 11 percent of TJJD’s institutional population, 29 percent of halfway house population, and 4 percent of parole population.
TJJD’s Research Department completed an analysis of the impact of mentoring on TJJD youth. Some of the key findings are listed below.
Mentoring can take place in a TJJD facility, halfway house, or on parole. Mentoring involves a responsible adult volunteer visiting a youth one-on-one, ideally for 4-8 hours per month for a minimum of six months. Mentors are expected to focus on establishing a positive relationship, helping with goal setting, obtaining resources, and increasing a youth’s social skills. The mentoring program aims to develop a youth’s self-confidence and help a youth discover his/her strengths through a trusting, supportive relationship. Faith mentoring has an additional component emphasizing personal spiritual growth. Religious principals provide the foundation for faith mentoring sessions.
Mentors are primarily recruited by Community Relations Coordinators or by other mentors through word-of-mouth referrals. Mentors are carefully screened with a volunteer application, criminal and driving record check, character references, and a face-to-face interview with a TJJD representative. After a mentor is selected, he or she signs an agreement of confidentiality and participates in a three-hour training and orientation. Mentors are provided with information on TJJD’s policies, population, and rehabilitative strategy. Mentors are also given an overview of communication skills, learning styles of adolescents, and suggestions for structured activities.
After the initial training, mentors are expected to attend at least two mentor mixers each calendar year. These events help mentors get to know each other better, provide support for one another, and receive training from subject-matter experts on a variety of topics relevant to mentoring relationships. Mentor mixers also provide opportunities for Community Relations Coordinators and other TJJD staff to get to know mentors and to communicate policy or procedural updates. Mentors may attend these events via telephone or videoconference if they are unable to travel to them.
Thoughtful mentor/mentee matching is critical to a mentoring program’s success. TJJD youth can request a mentor or can be referred to the mentoring program by a caseworker, Community Relations Coordinator, or other TJJD staff person. Factors considered in matching decisions include gender, age, primary language, needs and strengths, life experiences, and mentor/mentee preferences. Though Community Relations Coordinators follow the same basic guidelines in mentor/mentee matching, there is some variation across locations. TJJD is in the process of developing a matching protocol to ensure consistency statewide. Participation in the mentoring program is completely voluntary - youth must sign consent and are free to terminate the mentoring relationship at any time.
A total of 409 youth were served by TJJD’s mentoring program in FY 2015. Several youth were served in more than one location type, beginning mentoring relationships in institutions and continuing the relationships in halfway houses or on parole. Overall in FY 2015, 226 youth were mentored in TJJD’s secure facilities, 163 in TJJD’s halfway houses, and 41 while on parole. Mentored youth comprised approximately 11 percent of TJJD’s institutional population, 29 percent of halfway house population, and 4 percent of parole population.
TJJD’s Research Department completed an analysis of the impact of mentoring on TJJD youth. Some of the key findings are listed below.
- TJJD’s mentoring program is successful in serving its target population (i.e. youth with longer sentences/minimum lengths of stay). Youth with long-term mentor matches are most likely to have high severity committing offenses and determinate sentences.
- The number of new mentor matches increased this year. Overall in FY 2015, 287 new mentor matches were initiated. This is a substantial increase over FY 2014, when 186 new matches were initiated.
- The average duration of a standard mentoring match was 5 months in FY 2015, whereas faith mentoring matches averaged 7.4 months. Both types of matches were considerably shorter in FY 2015 than in FY 2014.
- Among youth released from TJJD in FY 2014, 29 percent of those with more than 180 days of mentoring were rearrested within one year of release, whereas 44 percent of those with less than 180 days of mentoring, and 47 percent of those without mentoring, were rearrested within a year.
- 26 percent of mentored youth in the FY 2012 release cohort had been re-incarcerated at the three-year mark. Among non-mentored youth released in FY 2012, 37 percent had been re-incarcerated at the three-year mark.
- Fifty-six percent of mentored youth released in FY 2014 earned a GED or high school diploma within 90 days of release, compared to 45 percent of non-mentored youth.
- In FY 2014, 21 percent of youth with more than 180 days of mentoring were reading at grade level upon release, compared to 17 percent of youth with less than 180 days of mentoring and 14 percent of youth with no mentoring at all.