Writing a policies and procedures manual for a youth mentoring program

Abstract

Administering a youth mentoring program is complex, and written policies and procedures can contribute to the long-term stability and safety of the program. Mark Fulop submitted this effective practice that shares a recommended set of policies and procedures from the National Mentoring Center. See the Generic Mentoring Program Policy and Procedure Manual for more information.

Issue

In the absence of clearly written policies and procedures, a youth mentoring program is more likely to face challenges relating to consistency of services, duplication of efforts and potential crisis during a time of staff turnover. In the worse case scenario, the absence of a policy and procedure manual could contribute significantly to the failure of a mentoring program.

Action

Written policies and procedures are central to any effective mentoring program. According to the National Mentoring Center, when writing a policy and procedure manual, programs should include the following topics:

Program Policies

Recruitment Policy
Inquiry Policy
Eligibility Policy
Screening Policy
Training Policy
Matching Policy
Match Support and Supervision Policy
Recognition Policy
Record-Keeping Policy
Confidentiality Policy
Transportation Policy
Overnight Visits and Out-of-Town Travel Policy
Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect Policy
Use of Alcohol, Drugs, Tobacco, and Firearms Policy
Unacceptable Behavior Policy
Closure Policy
Evaluation Policy

Program Procedures

Recruitment Procedure
Inquiry Procedure
Mentor Screening Procedure
Mentee Screening Procedure
Training Procedure
Matching Procedure
Match Support and Supervision Procedure
Recognition Procedure
Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect Procedure
Closure Procedure
Evaluation Procedure

Context

Most nonprofits today recognize the value of having an agency policy and procedure manual that governs the general operations, human resources, and fiscal practices of the organization. Many nonprofit agencies that manage youth mentoring programs also have a written policy and procedure manual that goes beyond agency governance and systematically addresses all aspects of their mentoring program operations.

In providing support to hundreds of youth mentoring programs nationwide, the National Mentoring Center developed a recommended set of policies and procedures, and has developed a guidebook and Microsoft Word formatted template, that programs can use to customize a policy and procedures manual for their program.

The National Mentoring Center is a project of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. Created and funded primarily by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), the National Mentoring Center provides a range of services including:

Large-scale training conference and workshop design and implementation
In-depth coaching and program consulting
Electronic information resources development and management
Print material development and dissemination
Data collection and evaluation
Projects that support state and national initiatives

Citation

Generic Mentoring Program Policy and Procedure Manual. National Mentoring Center: a cooperative agreement between the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. Posted online: 7 July 2003. Downloaded: 5 March 2006. <http://www.nwrel.org/mentoring/policy_manual.html>

The following text was included as an introduction on the National Mentoring Center website:

The NMC is pleased to announce the release of this new resource that should help any program streamline operations, address risk management issues, and ensure quality and consistency of services. The Generic Mentoring Program Policy & Procedure Manual has been designed to be applicable to just about any mentoring program. The guide covers the importance of establishing strong policies and the benefits of having effective procedures in place to guide your operations. For each policy and procedure we have provided:

a discussion of its importance in your agency
a set of questions that can assist you in designing ones that work for your specific program
a text sample from a fictional agency that you can draw ideas from
any supporting forms that are referenced in the policy (for example, a volunteer application that is mentioned in the Volunteer Recruitment Procedure, mentor/mentee profile sheets in the Matching Procedure section, and so forth....)

This guide offers everything your program will need to create a sustainable set of program rules, guidelines, and procedures that acts as guiding document for your program and mitigates many of the problems associated with staff turnover and uncoordinated services.

Option 1: Generic Mentoring Program Policy and Procedure Manual
The PDF Version of the document gives you the entire manual that includes "how-to" instruction and planning content that guides you through the entire process of developing a program policy and procedure manual. This version also includes completed examples and copies of the sample forms. However, as a PDF document, the sample forms cannot be easily edited.

Option 2: Generic Mentoring Program Policy and Procedure Manual: Template Version
The "template" version of the manual is a Microsoft Word document. This version does not have any of the instruction and planning content found in the full version. This version only includes a complete example of a manual that you can customize and tailor for your own agency needs. By providing this version as a Microsoft Word Document you can edit the text, add your own logos, and generally customize the materials to meet your needs. There is no "cookie cutter" model in mentoring; every program has its own circumstances and ways of doing things that will work for them. This version allows for that flexibility and should be very beneficial to those of you just starting. Ideally, using this template will result in your agency creating a policy and procedure manual that works for you at the local level.

Option 3: Template Version in Three Parts
Because of the large size of the template version, that file is available in smaller sections for those of you with slow or unreliable internet connections. Note that this version is the exact same content as Option 2.

Outcome

Administering a youth mentoring program is complex, and written policies and procedures contribute to the long-term stability and safety of the program by:

Providing documentation of your organization's vision and operating principles
Providing staff with clear guidelines on how to administer a program
Addressing risk management issues
Ensuring consistent operations despite possible turnover in key staff
Serving as a blueprint for program replication and expansion

Evidence

Since 1999, the National Mentoring Center (NMC) has provided in depth technical assistance to 299 mentoring programs funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's (OJJDP) Juvenile Mentoring Program (JUMP). In this capacity of providing support to agencies experience has taught the NMC that programs that struggle the most are programs that have not taken the time to write policies and procedures to govern their programs.

Posted On

June 2, 2004

For More Information

Mark Fulop

National Mentoring Center, Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory

101 S.W. Main Street, Suite 500

Portland, OR 97204

Phone: (503) 275-0135

Website: http://www.nwrel.org/mentoring/

Email: fulopm@nwrel.org

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