This document summarizes a webinar on mentoring high-risk youth. The webinar covered several topics including preparing mentors, developing targeted mind growth activities, improving communication and interpersonal skills, focusing on positive relationships, and ensuring mentoring programs are developmentally appropriate. It emphasized the importance of relationships between programs and mentors, youth, and the community in achieving successful outcomes for at-risk youth.

1. Tips for Mentoring High
Risk Youth
Collaboration of Education Northwest/National
Mentoring Center, Friends for Youth, Mentoring
Partnership of Minnesota, and Oregon Mentors
February 2012

2. 2012 Collaborative Mentoring
Webinar Series
Michael Garringer
Resource Advisor & Forums
o Research Administrator
National Mentoring Center at
o Practice Education Northwest
o Innovation Celeste Janssen
Program Director
Date: Third Thursday of every month. Oregon Mentors
Time: 10-11:15am Pacific/11am-
Sarah Kremer
12:15pm Mountain/12-1:15 pm
Program Director
Central/1-2:15pm Easter Friends for Youth’s Mentoring
Institute
Cost: Free
April Riordan
Director of Training & Partnerships
Mentoring Partnership of
Minnesota
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3. Special Guest
Dr. Roger Jarjoura, Assistant Professor in the
School of Public and Environmental Affairs - IUPUI
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4. Aftercare for Indiana through
Mentoring (AIM)
A reentry program
targeting juveniles in
the correctional
system who will be
transitioning back to
their communities
within a year.
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5. Mentoring Can be Transformative
If mentors are properly “prepared”, they can
influence the youth in meaningful and significant
ways
We may not see immediate short-term changes,
but long-term personal growth has a lot to do with
the adults in their lives
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6. Targeted Mind Growth
Helping youths think about how they think
Use case histories to explore skills
•Decision making
•Problem solving
•Example: what can youths learn
from studying the life of Tookie
Williams?
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7. Targeted Mind Growth
Teaching a brain function by
explaining the function, teaching the
name for the function, offering
chance to practice and strengthen
the function
Functions include decision making, expressive
language, prioritization, brainstorming, problem
solving, etc.
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8. Communication Skills
•Expressing self clearly and
coherently, both verbally and
nonverbally
•Listen and learn how the
youth feels
•Not responding in a hostile, sarcastic, or anxious
manner
•Observe the youth’s subtle, nonverbal messages in
a very careful manner
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9. Listen
•“Just listening” gives youth a
chance to vent and lets them
know that they can disclose
personal matters to you without
worrying about being criticized
•When you listen, the youth can
see that you are more than just an
authority figure
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10. Listening
•On average, people retain only 25% of what
they hear. There are many reasons why:
– We perceive listening as a passive activity and find
the prolonged concentration required impossible to
maintain
– The average person speaks at 130 words per minute,
whereas our thinking speed is 500 words per minute.
Consequently, we are continually jumping ahead or
go on “mental walk-about” thinking of other things.
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11. Trust
•Be non-judgmental
•Allow youth to talk about his/her past in his/her
own time
•Respect the youth’s confidences as long as they
do not affect the health and welfare of the youth
and others
•Relating to the youth and understanding feeling
without condescension and emotional involvement
•Don’t obsess about the “truth”
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12. Interpersonal Skills
•Recognizes and
accepts the
diversity of others
•Gives appropriate
advice
•Flexible and
adaptable to new
situations
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13. Other Interpersonal Skills
•Able to suggest but not dictate
•Prepared for disappointments and setbacks
•Uses disappointments and setbacks to enhance
relationship with offender
•Aware of the youth’s ability to
manipulate
•A good sense of humor
•Patient
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14. Be Positive
•Offer frequent expressions
of direct confidence
•Be encouraging even when
talking about potentially
troublesome topics
•Offer concrete assistance
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15. Keep in Mind…
Mentoring is about
•Investing in relationship
•Choices
•Modeling behavior
Mentoring is about giving, but we can’t take
it personally
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16. Mentoring Programs
Can inspire and guide people
to pursue successful and productive futures,
reaching their potential through
positive relationships and
utilization of community resources
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17. Start with a big vision for the
ultimate outcome
Productively
engaged
adult citizens
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18. Don’t aim too low
Imagine the son of your favorite sister has
landed in the juvenile justice system or the
foster care system. What supports would
you like to see for him?
Should we expect any different for the kids
we serve?
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19. Preparing Youth for Adulthood
This book is aimed at
educators, but you will
find it relevant to your
work. There are great
examples throughout
the book that can be
implemented
immediately.
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20. Partnerships
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?
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21. How does the Mentor fit in?
•Do you equip your mentors?
•Can you set the structure of the program so
that mentors know to seek out the
resources?
•A Key Skill for the youth: Accessing
Resources
•Another Key Skill: Asking for Help
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22. 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
Based on Griffin (2010), Northwestern University Law School
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23. 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?
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24. Relationships are Critical
•Between the program and 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
Most programs challenges can be attributed to
under-nurtured or non-existent relationships
(and can be fixed!)
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25. 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?
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26. Questions are Useful
•Asking some specific questions can convince them that
you are qualified.
•Remember that they want help with their future- ask
questions about their plans/desires related to work or
school.
•Ask them about what makes them nervous about being
released and then inquire as to their plans to deal with
those concerns.
•Offer to gather information on potential careers or
community resources that target their specific needs, and
they will be convinced that you are planning to “work” for
them.
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27. 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
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28. The Secret to Recruiting Volunteer
Mentors…
•Mentor recruitment ambassadors
•First decide who the right mentors would be
and go get them
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29. Mentor Accountability
•How do you plan to hold mentors
accountable?
•What messages do they hear from you?
– Are those messages empowering or
discouraging?
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30. Evidence
•Is important on a number of different levels
•How can you build the case that what you
are doing is working? Compile “good stories”
•How can you determine IF what you are
doing is working?
•Is there evidence that the outcomes are
better for the youth? Is it the result of your
new strategy?
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31. Before we go…
Attendees will receive an email
after the webinar that will include:
 Link to presentation slides
 Resources
 Contact information
An online recording of the
webinar should be available in
the future.
Please help us by taking the time
to complete a short 5-question
survey as you exit the webinar.
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32. Next Webinar
March 16 – Innovative Matching Strategies
Future webinars in 2012 on the third
Thursdays of each month (send us your
suggestions on topics!)
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33. Thank you!
Collaboration of Education Northwest/National
Mentoring Center, Friends for Youth, Mentoring
Partnership of Minnesota, and Oregon Mentors
Michael Garringer, michael.garringer@educationnorthwest.org
Celeste Janssen, celeste@oregonmentors.org
Sarah Kremer, sarah@friendsforyouth.org
April Riordan, april@mpmn.org