What are the Elements of Effective Practice?
The Elements of Effective Practice (EEP) are a set of standards for the development and operation of a safe and effective mentoring program. The EEP were developed by MENTOR and are grounded in research and field-tested practices. The standards are grouped into four sections:
- Program Design and Planning
- Program Management
- Program Operations
- Program Evaluation
Below is an abbreviated version of these standards. To read the complete document click here.
Program Design and Planning
Structure the parameters of the program:
- What population of youth will your program serve?
- Who will you recruit as mentors?
- What type of mentoring will your program offer (group, one-to-one, peer, or e-mentoring)?
- What will be the focus of the mentoring sessions (career involvement, academic support, socialization)?
- What are the outcomes you hope will be achieved for mentors, youth, and sponsoring organizations?
- Where, when, how often, and for how long will your matches meet?
Plan how the program will be managed:
- Establish policies and procedures
- Develop a financial plan
Implement the program
- Recruit, screen, and train mentors
- Bring mentors and mentees together, and offer continual support throughout the program
Plan how to evaluate the program:
- Decide on an evaluation design and determine the types of data that will be collected.
Program Management
Ensure the program is well managed:
- Form an advisory group
- Develop a system for managing program information
- Create a development plan that allows for diverse fundraising
- Design a system to monitor the matches
- Establish a public relations/communications effort
Program Operations
Ensure strong, everyday operations:
- Have clear eligibility requirements for mentors, mentees, and other volunteers.
- Screen potential mentors and mentees
- Orient and train mentors, mentees, and parents or caregivers
- Use established criteria to create matches
- Provide ongoing support, supervision and monitoring of the mentoring relationship
- Recognize the contribution of all program participants
- Help mentors and mentees reach closure
Program Evaluation
Ensure program quality and effectiveness:
- Develop a plan to measure program success
- Develop a plan to measure expected outcomes
- Create a process to reflect on and disseminate evaluation findings.
Elements of Effective Practice Toolkit
MENTOR and Mass Mentoring Partnership are pleased to make available a comprehensive tool kit entitled: How to Build a Successful Mentoring Program Using the Elements of Effective Practice™. The recently designed tool kit offers step-by-step instructions that new and established programs can follow to implement the Elements of Effective Practice.
In addition, the tool kit offers nearly 100 references to additional resources and includes a “Checklist of Program Progress” for each of the four main components. A CD with more than 160 customizable tools and templates is also available.
MENTOR developed the tool kit through a generous grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. Visit MENTOR to download the complete toolkit.
