Youth Collaboratory, Inc.

Program Overview and Background

Youth Collaboratory established its formal mentoring model, Mentoring+ (M+), in 2005 to strengthen mentoring services and provide comprehensive resources and evidence–based mentoring strategies for member organizations that serve youth and families at–risk and high risk. M+ is a one–on–one community–based mentoring program designed for youth ages 6–17, with a focus on older youth (ages 13–17), that is based on the principles of Positive Youth Development (PYD). Our model allows for virtual, group, and site based mentoring for a brief time, to be responsive to community and youth needs.

Program Services

The M+ model adheres to the rigorous practitioner standards detailed in the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring (EEPM) 4th Edition, with a special emphasis on enhanced services involving parents/caregivers, structured activities for matches, and on–going mentor training and support.

Target Population

Youth Collaboratory seeks to provide mentoring relationships for youth experiencing low self–esteem, difficulty with peer relationships, academic challenges, youth living in stressful environments and youth impacted by familial stress; these individual, social, and environmental factors are known to put youth at increased risk of engagement with the juvenile justice system, prolonged time away from school and increased proximity to violence.