Publication date: June 2016

Overview

This review examines research findings related to mentoring youth and young adults who are reentering their communities after confinement by the justice system.

Four areas are addressed for this population:

• mentoring effectiveness;
• the moderation of mentoring effectiveness, or the extent to which effectiveness is related to other variables, such as the characteristics of mentors, mentees, or program practices;
• the mediation of mentoring effectiveness, or the extent to which intervening processes link mentoring to youth outcomes; and
• the reach, implementation, adoption, and sustainability of programs and other supports for mentoring of reentering youth and young adults.

Unfortunately, few studies have examined any of these questions. While meta-analyses of the findings from evaluations of mentoring programs suggest that mentoring youth at risk for problems such as involvement in the justice system is a promising practice, few comparison group studies were found on outcomes related to mentoring at reentry. Specifically, only one published study and four unpublished studies were found of programs providing mentoring to youth during reentry, and only one published study and no unpublished studies were found on programs providing mentoring to young adults. Mentoring was typically one component in a more comprehensive treatment array that usually included case management and tailored access to needed services. Most mentors were paid, and most had other roles besides mentoring. Significant differences were found between comparison groups in two of the six studies and trends toward significant group differences were found in two additional studies; the differences observed in these four studies were consistent with positive effects of mentoring or the larger intervention of which mentoring was one component. Research addressing the remaining questions was extremely limited and thus did not provide a sufficient basis for conclusions. Insights and recommendations for practice are made based on the available information.

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