Evaluating Mentoring Programs

This methodological brief is designed to provide both program operators and researchers with practical advice about how to assess a program's implementation and impact. Adapted from an article that first appeared in The Handbook of Youth Mentoring (DuBois and Karcher, ed. 2005), the brief focuses on the evaluation of mentoring programs, but the lessons and insights provided are broadly applicable to various kinds of social programs

Making the Most of Volunteers

No one doubts the potential value of volunteers; the tougher issue is getting the most out of them. Unfortunately, volunteers are both scarce and much-needed in the human service field. This report summarizes P/PV's work over the years with organizations that use volunteers. The analysis discovered that three functions -- screening, training and ongoing management -- are key to maximizing volunteer value and minimizing damage. The report also links those functions quantitatively to the impact that programs achieved, and estimates their cost

Philanthropy and Outcomes: Dilemmas in the Quest for Accountability

Grantees report that never before have grant negotiations with foundation staffs been so focused on specifying outcomes. Some foundations have employed consultants to work with their staffs so that inputs, operational processes, and intended intermediate and long-term outcomes and impacts are specified and differentiated. A number have added evaluation departments to their organizational structure. Small and medium sized foundations, which have previously given exclusively to direct services, are now asking for and funding evaluations, so that they may know with objectivity and rigor if the projected outcomes are achieved. We do not recommend a moratorium on all outcome and impact assessments. In some settings, formal impact evaluation is what is called for. What we are arguing for is a strategic rethinking of when to utilize the tools of formal outcome and impact research

Making the Most of Volunteers

Grossman and Furano discuss the elements that experience has shown need to be in place to allow volunteers to be most effective. Drawing from research on mentoring and youth service over the past twenty years, they explore effective volunteer practices, illustrating them with evaluation data and practical examples

Paving the Way for Success in High School and Beyond: The Importance of Preparing Middle School Students for the Transition to Ninth Grade

P/PV's GroundWork series summarizes available evidence on a variety of social policy topics, providing a firm foundation for future work.This second brief in the series presents an overview of issues surrounding the ninth grade transition: why it is so important; why many middle school students find it so difficult; traits related to a successful transition; and what schools can do to ease difficulties in the transition. Research indicates that students unprepared to handle the transition are more likely to disengage from school, which in turn may lead to dropping out -- and a host of related problems, thus perpetuating a cycle of poverty for disadvantaged, low-income youth

The Case for School-Based Integration of Services: Changing the Ways Students, Families and Communities Engage with their Schools

P/PV's GroundWork series summarizes available evidence on a variety of social policy topics, providing a solid foundation for future work.This first issue reviews the current literature about the potential benefits of simultaneously providing three services in school -- healthcare, out-of-school-time learning and family supports -- to boost students' educational outcomes. For disadvantaged, low-income youth, research indicates that access to these supports can play a key role in helping them surmount common obstacles to educational attainment. In addition to highlighting how each affects key outcomes such as learning, school connectedness (i.e., positive feelings about school) and access to needed services, this brief summarizes the potential benefits of offering these resources through a highly integrated, school-based model

Working Dads: Final Report on the Fathers at Work Initiative

Noncustodial fathers have an essential role to play -- both financially and emotionally -- in the lives of their children. However, of the 11 million noncustodial fathers in the US, two thirds do not pay any formal child support. Many of these fathers are poor themselves and face multiple barriers, including low education levels, limited work experience, and criminal records, which impede their success in the labor market as well as their ability to provide for their children.Working Dads: Final Report on the Fathers at Work Initiative presents findings from P/PV's evaluation of Fathers at Work, a national demonstration funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, designed to help low-income noncustodial fathers increase their employment and earnings, become more involved in their children's lives, and provide them with more consistent financial support. The Fathers at Work programs offered a unique combination of job training and placement, child support and fatherhood services at six well-established community-based organizations in Chicago, IL; New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; Richmond, CA; and Roanoke, VA. Our findings suggest that the programs produced important benefits for participants, including increased earnings and child support payment. The report details the specific strategies Fathers at Work programs used and explores the policy implications of this research

Challenges and Opportunities in After-School Programs: Lessons for Policymakers and Funders

School-based after-school programs are increasingly becoming the solution policymakers suggest for many youth problems: unsupervised time, poor academic achievement, gang participation, violence and drug use. As federal spending increases, policymakers, funders and the public must balance their optimism about the programs' potential with the realities of what they might ultimately achieve. As this report describes, locating these programs in schools brings many benefits, but as the experience of at least one broad-based initiative is demonstrating, it also brings challenges that should be taken into consideration as programs are planned and funded

Contemporary Issues in Mentoring

Mentoring is now commonly accepted as a valuable activity for youth; but good press, good intentions and earnest desire alone will not enable mentoring to reach its full potential. There are still operational questions to answer and real-life barriers to overcome:What are the essential elements of an effective mentoring program?How do you measure and document the quality of a mentoring program?What does mentoring cost?Where do we find volunteers?Without answers to such key questions, mentoring's potential will never be realized. This volume, sponsored by The Commonwealth Fund, reviews what the field has learned to date

The Role of Risk: Mentoring Experiences and Outcomes for Youth with Varying Risk Profiles

This report presents results from the nation's first large-scale study to examine how youth's levels and sources of risk may influence their mentoring relationships and the benefits they derive from participating in mentoring programs. More and more, mentoring programs are being asked to serve young people who are considered "higher risk." And while mentoring has a strong research base generally, until now relatively little has been known about programs' capacities to serve and produce benefits for these youth.Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the study involved more than 1,300 youth, drawn from seven programs serving young people in Washington State. Oversight and support for the project were provided by Washington State Mentors. The study looked closely at the backgrounds of participating youth and their mentors, the mentoring relationships that formed, the program supports that were offered, and the benefits youth received -- and examined how these varied for youth with differing profiles (i.e., levels and types) of risk."The Role of Risk" describes the study's methods and findings and considers their implications for practitioners and funders. Overall, the study's results suggest that mentoring programs can benefit youth with a broad range of backgrounds and characteristics. The findings also highlight the importance of youth risk in shaping match experiences, and suggest that programs should do more to tailor training and support based on the specific risks youth face