NWREL: 1999 Annual Report: National Mentoring Center

NATIONAL MENTORING CENTER

The National Mentoring Center assists schools and communities in strengthening local mentoring programs to provide students avenues for exploring educational career paths, stronger incentives for staying in school, and increased confidence to succeed.

Mentoring has been shown to be an effective tool in helping youth develop educational and social skills, and reducing involvement in gangs, drugs, and other delinquent behavior.

NWREL’s Mentoring Center was established in 1998 through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). The center provides training and technical assistance to mentoring programs across the United States, particularly the nearly 200 Juvenile Mentoring Programs (JUMP) that OJJDP has funded since 1995.

Collaborating with NWREL in operating the center are Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA), a nationally recognized mentoring organization, and Public/Private Ventures (P/PV), a national leader in research on mentoring. Together, the three organizations are developing and disseminating training materials and curriculum related to mentoring.

Center Components

Training and Technical Assistance
JUMP and other mentoring programs nationwide have access to current, research-based expertise through regional training conferences, JUMP cross-site training, annual JUMP cluster meetings, and onsite technical assistance. Center staff provide technical assistance for mentoring programs online or via telephone.

Information Services
The center’s collection of books, videos, and other resources related to mentoring and delinquency prevention is loaned to mentoring programs on request. Center bulletins, briefs, and newsletters address specific mentoring topics and issues. A comprehensive mentoring Web site (www. nwrel.org/mentoring) provides links to other mentoring organizations and publications.

Curriculum Development
A 10-module mentoring curriculum is being developed for mentoring programs. The curriculum is based on the most current research in the field of mentoring, and has involved nationally recognized experts and organizations.

Major 1999 Accomplishments

A JUMP Cluster meeting was conducted for all JUMP grantees, with 300 participants.

Bulletins were distributed to more than 1,000 mentoring programs and organizations.

A nationally recognized cadre of experts was established to assist JUMP programs.

A mentoring Web site was established to provide access to mentoring resources.

Conference and event presentations were made on diversity issues in mentoring.

Collaborative relationships were established with other mentoring organizations, via the Justice Department’s Public Private Mentoring Alliance.

Professional Staff

Dr. Kay Davis
Center Director
Ph.D., Education
Oregon State University

Caridan Craig
Conference Coordinator
B.A., Communications
Eastern Washington University

Michael Garringer
Specialist
B.A., English
University of Oregon

Dorna Harjo
Specialist
M.A., Elementary School Administration
University of Oklahoma

Advisory Committee

Ako Abdul-Samad
CEO/Founder
Creative Visions
Des Moines (IA)

Craig Bowman
Executive Director
Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League
Washington (DC)

Travis Cain
Program Manager
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (DC)

Tom Curtis
Vice President
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
Philadelphia (PA)

Dr. Jean Grossman
Public/Private Ventures
Philadelphia (PA)

John Hamilton
Associate Director of Programs
Big Brothers Big Sisters Association of Columbus and Franklin Counties (OH)

Linda Jucovy
Public/Private Ventures
Philadelphia (PA)

Susan Mason
National Mentoring Partnership
Washington (DC)

Scott Peterson
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (DC)

Dr. Maureen Vanterpool
Training Director
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
Philadelphia (PA)

Dr. Susan Weinberger
President
Mentoring Consulting Group
Norwalk (CN)