...James Spencer HUS345 THE EFFECTS OF MENTORING AT-RISK YOUTH Abstract: Mentoring has arguments both for and against its effectiveness in relation to at-risk youth. These programs have been known to help in areas of self-esteem, attitudes toward drugs and alcohol, grades, attendance and disciplinary problems in school. Although, the scope of at-risk youth can be quite narrow, if administered correctly it can be inclusive of all teens with emotional and behavioral problems. These programs should not be considered a quick fix to such a large problem, but it can be used as a means to an end. Mentoring programs for youth and teens considered to be at-risk have begun to grow throughout the country. Not all programs agree on a generalized approach, but it is fair to say the concept is the same when dealing with this group of youth. The term mentor is basically described as a trusted counselor or teacher. The term at-risk, for purposes of this study, relates to youth from single parent households, who exhibit emotional and behavioral problems. The overall consensus is to pair a responsible and caring adult with a troubled adolescent youth. The ultimate goal is for a relationship to form and to build a bond of trust with an adult who can in turn, help them deal with the troubles...
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...point out lesbian and gay youth can experience victimization across their entire social ecology potentially leaving them with no supportive relationships to rely on (Mishna et al year). This lack of supportive relationships and role models for LGBT youth “likely increase heath and behavioural risks”, and that establishing supportive relationships with “peers, family members or other caring adults” could potentially reduce the “impact of stigma and shield LGBT youth from negative health risks (Bird, Kuhns Garofalo). Of particular significance for LGBT youth may be the “other caring adults’ that may serve as role models for LGBT youth who may lack supportive relationships with peer and family due to the stigmatization of LGBT identities. Bird, Kuhns and Garofalo suggest that role modelling is “an important factor for adolescent development and a critical factor in reducing risk and increasing protective factors for healthy development” (BKG year). They also identified that the effectiveness of these relationships depend on role models who have concern for the youth’s wellbeing and LGBT identity, and one “who is...
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...lifestyle choices. In the five articles reviewed, the findings put into perspective the importance of mentoring programs. The articles that were looked at specifically focused on middle age students, as this is an age where things can rapidly change physically, intellectually and socially. The most common findings of the five articles reviewed found that one-to-one relationships between...
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...School-Based Mentoring on Youths With Different Relational Profiles Sarah E. O. Schwartz, Jean E. Rhodes, and Christian S. Chan University of Massachusetts Boston Carla Herrera Public/Private Ventures, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Associations between youths’ relationship profiles and mentoring outcomes were explored in the context of a national, randomized study of 1,139 youths (54% female) in geographically diverse Big Brothers Big Sisters school-based mentoring programs. The sample included youths in Grades 4 –9 from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, the majority of whom were receiving free or reduced-price lunch. Latent profile analysis, a person-oriented approach, was used to identify 3 distinct relational profiles. Mentoring was found to have differential effects depending on youths’ preintervention approach to relationships. In particular, youths who, at baseline, had satisfactory, but not particularly strong, relationships benefited more from mentoring than did youths with profiles characterized by either strongly positive or negative relationships. Implications for research and practice are discussed. Keywords: youth mentoring, parent relationships, teacher relationships, latent profile analysis Youth mentoring programs such as Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) pair youths with volunteers who are trained to provide support and guidance. Such programs have experienced tremendous growth in the past 2 decades. Millions of volunteer mentors are involved in youths’ lives...
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...adults attend, however, the juvenile programs are helpful in a sense that they bring knowledge to young adults and teens about their criminal activities and the future it could bring. One of the programs is called Shining Star Youth Program located in Richmond, Virginia and the second program is located in Virginia Beach, Virginia called the Youth ChalleNGe Program. The Youth ChalleNGe Program founded in 1993 gives a second opportunity to juveniles 16 - 18 year olds who have dropped out of school in success to providing the teenager counseling, structure, job skills, and service of the community and many more skills to succeed in the future (Virginia National Guard Commonwealth ChalleNGe Youth Academy, n.d.). This is the opportunity for a juvenile to make a decision on their future success and decreases them from street crime and negative social environment. As this is a voluntary program, ultimately, the decision is up to the juvenile to succeed in the future. The Shining Star Youth Program located in Richmond, VA creates relationships and alliances with other social service organizations and law enforcement agencies work together to achieve a mutual goal. The program services for the community decreases the number of juvenile curfew and youth violations and promotes education within Richmond’s school...
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...committed a serious crime, prison may be a revelation, but for our youth that commit such crimes, the results could be daunting, even detrimental to the development of the youth. In most instances, the youth does not even realize the consequences to their actions. The juvenile justice system began with the concept parens patriae, meaning when a parent is no longer fit to provide for the welfare of a child, the state must step in and embody that role and provide protection for the wayward or troubled child” (St. Mary’s Law Journal, 2013). The juvenile justice system’s core concept is rehabilitation or change of our youth to the right path. The goal of punishment is not one of revenge, but prevention that the crime will not happen again. Putting our youth in adult prisons, making them face the penalties of such crimes, but if we do this, are we just giving up on our youth, believing that they cannot be rehabilitated? We, the people, need protection for the child that does not know better than to join a gang, the troubled child that comes from a broken home, where both parents are absent or abusive. The people of this community need to make a change for these children so that they will have an opportunity to live a morally healthy life instead of a life of crime. Many questions come up with regard to prosecuting those juveniles that have committed a serious crime and how to rehabilitate or punish our youth, juvenile gangs and different rehabilitation programs are the best...
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...Practice for Mentoring™ Newly revised edition, which includes evidenced-based operational standards Sponsored by Introduction As a strategy for helping young people succeed in school, work and life, mentoring works. It helps give young people the confidence, resources and support they need to achieve their potential. But, the fact is this: these positive outcomes are only possible when young people are engaged in high-quality mentoring relationships. The Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring holds the key to success in producing high-quality relationships. The new edition of the Elements provides six evidence-based standards for practice that incorporate the latest research and best-available practice wisdom. It also reprises advice that appeared in earlier editions on program design and planning; program management; program operations; and program evaluation. We believe adherence to the Elements will ensure that mentoring relationships thrive and endure. They include measures that any mentoring program in any setting can implement, as well as measures that any agency can incorporate within the mentoring element of broad-based, positive youth development programming. This means that community-based, corporate-based, school-based, faith-based and Internet-based mentoring programs can use the Elements to meet the specific needs of the young people they serve and the milieu in which they operate. And, it means that afterschool and other positive youth development programs...
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...17 V. CONCLUSION Introduction………………………………………………………………………….30 Summary and Conclusion……………………………………………………………31 Recommendations……………………………………………………………………32 REFERENCES References………………………………………………………………………...33 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Context of the problem Every year the statistics reveal that more high school students are dropping out of school at an alarming rate. There are many factors that contribute to the high school dropout rate such as: teen pregnancy, substance abuse and socio-economic standards, peer pressure and familial factors. Three-quarters of state prison inmates are high school drop outs, 90% of the 11,000 youth in adult detention facilities have no more than a ninth grade education. In 2010 only 55% of young adult dropouts were employed, compared with 74% of high school graduates and 87% of four-year college graduates. Dropouts cost our nation more than $260 billion dollars in lost wages, lost taxes, and lost productivity over their lifetimes. As the percentages of...
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...creativity and effectiveness, and collectively you are focused on providing the highest quality standards. The Mentor Network Charitable Foundation and their ‘Change Agents” have addressed many physical, mental and emotional health needs across the country. Similarly, PCHAS’ mission is to provide Christ-centered care and support for children and families in need. The agency’s vision is for families to have access to quality, professional mental health and social services that are provided in accordance with their identified needs. For 114 years, we have been resolve in our commitment to helping children and their families heal and be empowered, and remain together as a healthy unit. Our organizations have a mutual interest of caring for youth and their families who are facing emotional, behavioral and other challenges. A grant from the Mentor Network Charitable Foundation would help us continue providing services that make a positive difference in the lives of...
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...EN COU CIL OF THE EUROPEA U IO Conclusions on promoting youth entrepreneurship to foster social inclusion of young people EDUCATIO , YOUTH, CULTURE and SPORT Council meeting Brussels, 20 May 2014 The Council adopted the following conclusions: "The Council: ACK OWLEDGI G THAT 1. The economic crisis that started in the second half of the last decade has created a particularly fragile situation for today's young generation. Youth unemployment rates remain historically high, at 23.2% in the EU-28 and 23,8% in the Euro area (December 2013). 2. As a result of such high youth unemployment, young people are experiencing increased levels of poverty and social exclusion and increasing numbers feel compelled to leave their home countries, and sometimes Europe entirely, to look for better opportunities. This is generating a brain drain effect in some Member States which could be difficult to reverse. 3. The European Union, via the Europe 2020 and its flagship initiatives on “New skills and jobs”, “Digital Agenda for Europe”, “Innovation Union”, “Youth on the move” promotes entrepreneurship, by fostering entrepreneurial mindsets and related knowledge, skills and competences that can boost competitiveness and growth that will be smart, sustainable and inclusive. PRESS Rue de la Loi 175 B – 1048 BRUSSELS Tel.: +32 (0)2 281 6319 Fax: +32 (0)2 281 8026 press.office@consilium.europa.eu http://www.consilium.europa.eu/Newsroom 1 E 4. Entrepreneurship is an important driver of economic...
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...Targeted Outreach Strategic Approaches primary approach to gang prevention is to identify and recruit at-risk youth and place them into ongoing Club programs and activities (Boys & Girls Clubs of America, 2008). The Boys & Girls Clubs of America offer health and life skills, sports fitness and recreation and tutoring (Boys & Girls Clubs of America, 2008). The programs and activities of the Club help to develop at-risk youth’s character, creativity, and health and mental skills. In addition, the Targeted Outreach program’s receives referrals from schools, courts, law enforcement, and community youth agencies (Boys & Girls Clubs of America, 2008). These referrals immediately identify at-risk youth for joining gangs. A comprehensive strategy to today’s gang problems incorporates both prevention programs and treatment strategies. Guiding principles are the objectives that the builder of a treatment strategy seeks to achieve (Hess & Drowns, 2004). The guiding principles of a treatment strategy for gang members will develop the framework for structuring the foundation of the core values and philosophies necessary for correcting gang member delinquency. Four guiding principles to be used during the development of an effective treatment strategy for gang members are: 1) encourage compliance with the conditions of probation and drug and alcohol programs; 2) identify and address risk factors for delinquent behaviors and actions in individual, group, and family therapy sessions; 3) provide...
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...the school, home and the community. Preventing and treating aggressive behaviors in children and youth encompasses a combination of cognitive, behavioral interventions, and parental training and increased school involvement and is targeted to the reduction of dysfunctional cognitive, behavioral, and problem-solving patterns of aggressive youths. Keywords: aggression, antisocial behavior, children, adolescence, conduct disorders, behavioral problems, development and intervention. Introduction The display of aggressive behaviors by children and youths in Trinidad and Tobago is one of the most pressing concerns facing parents and teachers today. As a result, students with significant behavioral concerns or educational disabilities are clustered together into alternative educational programs. As a result, increased inclusion of disturbed and socially maladjusted students, including those with histories of aggression and violence, is related to an overall increase in school aggression and violence. Aggressive antisocial behavior appears to be a developmental trait that begins early in life and often continues into adolescence and adulthood. For many youths, stable manifestations of antisocial behavior begin as early as pre-elementary school (Emond, Ormel, Veenstra, & Oldehinkel, 2007). Research into the nature of aggressive behavior in youths has shown that many aggressive youths are also often the victims of abuse, exhibit aggressive behavior in early childhood, and remain...
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...Ottawa, they conducted a project focused on high-risk children aged 6-12 living in a social housing neighbourhood in Ottawa that provided sports and recreational opportunities and was successful for many years. In Scarborough, a program known as YELL provides employment and leadership training over the course of 40 weeks to older youth and young adults who did not earn a high school diploma. Boys and Girls Clubs of Niagara operate an emergency shelter for homeless and at risk youth, and nearly 70% were able to transition to stable housing over the course of a 22 month period. Finally, the Peace Builders program was offered at 23 Boys and Girls Clubs in Alberta with the goal of teaching youth peaceful, non-violent conflict resolution. Nearly 90% of...
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...Preparing At-Risk Youth for the Future A large fraction of American youth perform poorly in high school, and many of these youth fail to obtain a high school degree. The costs of failure in high school are growing, both for the individual student and for society overall. Mathematica researchers have conducted many of the most important studies of at-risk youth and interventions designed to address their educational needs. Synthesizing Lessons from Dropout Prevention Programs We have studied a diverse array of dropout prevention approaches, ranging from small programs in a single school to those designed to address the dropout problem in clusters of schools or entire school districts. Mathematica's staff are also principal investigators for the What Works Clearinghouse comprehensive review of evaluations of dropout prevention programs. Our staff are assessing the strength of the evidence on the effectiveness of dropout prevention initiatives and synthesizing the lessons from these studies for policymakers and educators. Re-Engaging Out-of-School Youth Youth who drop out of high school represent a loss of human potential. For the Office of Vocational and Adult Education within the U.S. Department of Education, Mathematica conducted case studies of six dropout recovery programs that help youth ages 16 to 21 return to school, earn a high school credential (either a diploma or GED), and prepare for further education and jobs. Drawing on site visit interviews and an analysis of...
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...supervisor, Patricia [Pat] Michalak, who is the program coordinator for the Mansfield Youth Services Bureau. Mansfield Youth Services is a non-profit organization that seeks to provide children, youth and their families with a wide range of prevention, education and therapeutic services including mentoring programs, homework help, substance abuse prevention and psychiatric consultation and treatment. The bureau’s clientele are from at-risk populations including, but not limited to, children who have experienced a recent loss or trauma, youth who are genetically predisposed to mental illness or who have a diagnosed psychiatric condition, those who are...
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