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Copyright © 2012
American Institutes
for Research.
All rights reserved.
Mentoring Youth in the
Juvenile Justice System
November 6, 2012
Friends for Youth Mentoring Institute
G. Roger Jarjoura, Principal Researcher
2
Consider the Following
Scenario
A mentor and mentee are hanging
out. The mentee says: “I didn’t feel
like going to work yesterday, so I
called in and said I was sick.”
3
The “Right” Mentor would Respond:
That reminds me of a time that I
called in sick so that I could go to
the beach with my college friends.
It was a nice day and we picked up
some beer along the way and had
a great time!
4
The “Right” Mentor would Respond:
I understand. If I was only making
$7.50 an hour, I would call in sick
too if I didn’t feel like working.
5
The “Right” Mentor would Respond:
You are kidding. That was very
irresponsible of you! You will not hold
onto that job for very long playing those
kinds of games.
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The “Right” Mentor would Respond:
What do you think that was like for your
boss and the rest of the staff? Have you
been at work when someone else called
in sick? What was that like? If your
boss gets used to not having you
around, how do you think this might
affect you? Is there some other way you
could have handled not wanting to go to
work?
7
8
Let’s Consider Mentoring in
Context
9
Keep in Mind…
• Mentoring is about
Investing in relationship
Choices
Modeling behavior
• Mentoring is about giving, but we can’t take it personally
10
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.”
11
Mentoring Programs
Can inspire and guide people to
pursue successful and productive
futures, reaching their potential
through positive relationships and
utilization of community resources
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 short-term
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
When the Supportive Adults are
Lacking…
Look for ways to introduce the supportive
adults in the new environments that youth are
entering (such as college or trade schools)
The goal is to increase the likelihood of
success for the youth in those new settings
Think about the kinds of support that are
available to middle-class youth and how
important those are
- Then try and substitute your own forms of
support and pay attention to how it is
working
18
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
19
About Those Needs…
• Education
• Employment
• Family Relationships
• Financial Management/Literacy
• Health/Mental Health
• Housing
• Transportation
• Prosocial Use of Leisure Time
• Peer Relationships
20
Mentoring
Youth
Engagement
Socio-Emotional
Development
Identity
Development
Positive Outcomes
Model for Youth Mentoring (Rhodes, 2002)
21
In Addition…
• Recent research has shown
When mentors incorporate an
advocacy and/or teaching function in
their role, we are more likely to see
positive youth outcomes
the common feature is active guidance
towards objectives, resources, or
relationships
22
Let’s Consider:
• What policies/practices related to your
program (or in the programs that you
support) interfere with OR limit OR (better
yet!) enhance the accomplishment of
preparing the youth for their long-term
success?
• What might you do about this?
23
Understand adolescent
development and how your
program fits in to the process
24
This Means Focusing on Each:
• Competency
• Life skills
• Positive development—Strengths-
based
• Interpersonal skills (emotional
intelligence)
• Accountability
• Decision making and problem solving
25
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 scholarship of Griffin (2010), Northwestern University Law School
26
Consider:
From: Gardner and Steinberg (2005) “Peer Influence on Risk Taking, Risk Preference, and Risky Decision Making in
Adolescence and Adulthood: An Experimental Study” Developmental Psychology
27
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
28
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?
29
The Mentor-Mentee Relationship is
So Critical…
Let’s consider what an effective relationship
might look like:
30
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
31
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”
32
Interpersonal Skills
• recognizes and accepts the diversity of others
• gives appropriate advice
• flexible and adaptable to new situations
• able to suggest but not dictate
33
Other Interpersonal Skills
• prepared for disappointments and
setbacks
AND
• uses disappointments and setbacks to
enhance relationship with youth
34
Other Interpersonal Skills
• aware of the youth’s ability to
manipulate
• a good sense of humor
• patient
35
Commitment
• Mentor should recognize and accept responsibility for time and personal obligations to the youth
• Accept the youth’s right to make suitable or unsuitable (not illegal) decisions
• Know the facts about situations before forming any conclusions
36
Be Positive
• Offer frequent expressions of direct
confidence
• Be encouraging even when talking
about potentially troublesome topics
• Offer concrete assistance
37
Train Your Mentors to Ask
Questions Effectively
• Asking specific questions can convince youth that a person is qualified to be a mentor If the youth wants help with their future, the
mentor should ask questions about their plans/desires related to work or school
• Open-ended questions are great—behavioral questions are better
38
An Example:
• Rate yourself as a student on a
scale of 1-10. (1 would mean you
were a total failure and 10 would
mean you were outstanding). Tell
me why you rated yourself this way.
• What would it take for you to
become a 10?
39
• How would you describe a good
worker? Be specific.
• Tell me about the ways you were a
good worker at your jobs. Be
specific.
• In what ways were you not a good
worker? Give examples.
40
• Tell me about the last three times
you had money in your pocket.
How much did you have? Where
did the money come from? How did
you spend the money?
41
• Rate your relationship with your
mother on a scale of 1-10. 1 means
there is no relationship and 10
means the relationship is perfect.
Tell me why you rated it like this.
Give me some examples.
• What would it take to make your
relationship with your mother a 10?
Be specific.
42
Consider:
• What policies/practices related to your
program (or in the programs that you
support) interfere with OR limit OR (better
yet!) enhance the accomplishment of
building mentor-mentee relationships?
• What might you do about this?
43
Find the right mentors
(or at least get them
right)
44
45
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
46
47
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
48
Inoculation of Your Mentors
49
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.
50
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.
51
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!
52
Monitor the Progress
53
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?
54
55
This is about things like…
• Are you “impeccable” and thoughtful with your words?
• Are you more likely to ask questions or to lecture?
• Do youth believe that you LISTEN to them? Are they correct?
• What do youth learn by watching your behavior?
• Would you say you are “Mentor-like”?
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