| Mentoring works best when measures are taken to ensure quality and effectiveness. Advanced research affirms the importance of accountability and responsibility in meeting our young people's needs. Based on the latest mentoring policies, practices, experiences, and research, the Elements of Effective Practice for MentoringTM (EEP) serves as the gold standard for mentoring, outlining program design, management, operations and evaluation best practices. The guidelines were developed and published by the Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota's (MPM) national organization, MENTOR, with the support of leading experts and researchers in the field, state mentoring partnerships, practitioners and federal funders. Based on the EEP, MPM developed the Quality Mentoring Assessment Path (QMAP) to raise the quality of Minnesota mentoring programs through a structured, systematic process. It allows programs to pinpoint areas for improvement while also validating existing quality practices. Programs that complete the QMAP and work with MPM to create an Improvement & Innovation Plan illustrate their commitment to quality practices, and they make up MPM's Quality Partners. The QMAP will help create benchmarks of current quality practices, which will in turn allow the field to improve future practices. Consequently, the QMAP will: - Support mentoring programs through expanded MPM trainings around quality standards;
- Lend credibility to individual programs and attract resources and support for the mentoring field;
- Establish consistent high standards among mentoring programs across the state;
- Help families and volunteers feel confident about participating in a mentoring program that meets quality standards;
- And most importantly, help protect youth participating in mentoring programs.
MPM conducted two QMAP pilot projects in 2010, supporting and guiding 35 mentoring programs through the QMAP process. 100% of pilot participants polled said that the QMAP was valuable for their program, and many have already used their results to improve program practices. The QMAP launched publicly for all Minnesota youth mentoring programs at the 11th Annual Minnesota Mentoring Conference in October 2010.
Hear from mentoring programs that piloted the QMAP and watch a demo of the tool here.
Just tell MPM that you would like to complete the QMAP - all Minnesota youth mentoring programs are eligible. You can also use the rest of the Quality Mentoring section of this website to learn more about the QMAP, including what steps to expect in the process. | Stone Pier Foundation
Otto Bremer Foundation
Smikis Foundation
 
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