Indicator: Youth Mentored

Priority or Priorities:  ACES/Resiliency
Initiative(s): Asset building schools and communities
Outcome(s): Children and youth respected, safe and nurtured in their communities

Why This is Important

MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership defines mentoring as a structured and trusting relationship that brings young people together with caring individuals who offer guidance, support and encouragement aimed at developing the competence and character of the mentee.

Research shows that young people who are involved in safe and effective mentoring programs are more likely to experience improved academic performance, school attendance, self-esteem, attitudes, communications skills, and peer and family relationships. They are also less likely to begin using illegal drugs or alcohol, or to engage in physical violence. This evidence demonstrates that a mentoring relationship is a significant protective factor for both the person mentoring and the person receiving the attention of the mentor.

In Maine the barriers to creating mentoring programs include lack of adequate funding, expensive mentor screening procedures, and the increasing need for volunteer mentors.

Where We Stand

Maine Mentoring Partnership (MMP), a 501(c)(3), established in 2001 as the successor to the Governor's Committee on Mentoring Youth is a statewide public/private partnership complementing the Governor's Children's Cabinet and linking mentoring program providers across Maine.  Stakeholders perceive access to a caring adult a top priority and mentoring a most effective but underutilized strategic focus.  MMP's vision is that a mentor will be available to every child and youth in Maine.  Its mission is to promote, advocate, foster and support child and youth mentoring programs throughout Maine.  The Providers Council, formed in 2002, advises the board of directors and works with staff to identify and meet mentoring needs.  Maine also has three regional mentoring partnerships, Greater Portland, York County and Merrymeeting Bay Area working to build capacity; a newly developing regional partnership in the Bangor area; and interest for regional partnership support Downeast and in central and northwest Maine.

Maine Mentoring Partnership brings together leaders across the state to leverage resources, eliminate duplication of effort and offer centralized services.  It assists mentoring programs in making the most of limited resources, resulting in better service, greater collaboration, smarter use of resources and more youth in quality mentoring relationships.  And MMP works to increase the number of formal mentoring relationships available to Maine's children and youth by focusing on 6 Key Result Areas as follows:

Public Awareness

• Manage a public awareness campaign including local, regional, state and national
  visibility for Maine's mentoring efforts.
• Maintain www.mainementoring.org; as a resource for mentoring.
• Create a high state profile for mentoring to educate Maine residents.

• Increase public/private investment for quality mentoring programs.
• Search out funding opportunities and build cooperative associations and collaborations
  for contracts and grants.
• Pass through program resource funds, scholarships to mentors/mentees pursuing further education and grants to rejuvenate/expand existing mentoring programs or initiate new programs (contingent on availability).

• Increase number of suitable mentors with a systematic mentor recruitment strategy.
• Link groups with one common goal: to select, screen, train, support, evaluate and
  celebrate a mentor for every young person who needs or wants one.

• Offer training and technical assistance for existing and developing mentoring programs, coordinators, mentors and mentees.
• Provide statewide referral services (individual mentoring programs screen potential
  mentors for suitability, using established measures and guidelines).

• Uphold nationally accepted standards for quality, safety and effectiveness of Maine's mentoring programs.
• Strengthen the Advocacy Network for mentoring in Maine.

• Compile and distribute MMP annual reports.
• Conduct a statewide biennials survey of mentoring programs to determine gaps and
  assets, and disseminate results.

Data Source and Context

Further information about mentoring in Maine is available at this website: http://www.mainementoring.org.