Screening Mentors for Effectiveness

We would all agree that the safety of children and youth is one of our top priorities as youth serving organizations. At the same time, it seems that there is a new story in the news every day disclosing a young person who was a victim of sexual abuse. As mentoring professionals, it is our responsibility to create a thoughtful and thorough screening process to keep the kids we work safe from this type of harm.

How can we best screen volunteers to ensure this? Are background checks really enough to keep kids safe or is there more we should be doing? What do we need in place to make sure that people who might harm kids don’t get through our process while not excluding caring volunteers?

This half-day workshop will focus on red flags that will cue you take a closer look at a mentor and ensure they are the right fit for your program as well as screening methods and how to decide which are appropriate for YOUR program. Participants will come away with tools and approaches for the screening process that range from first contact with a potential mentor until long after the match is made.

It is helpful to come to this workshop with a basic understanding of the screening tools and processes used in mentoring and other youth programs. However, this content is adaptable to both those new to the field and those who are more experienced. Come join us and learn how to use both subjective and objective observations during the screening process to make the best decisions you can and make sure that all the youth you serve stay SAFE!

Factiliated by Dwayne Bennett, VMP Coordinator of Training & Mentor Support (also a Stewards of the Children faciliator).