NCJ Number
213701
Date Published
2005
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This report summarizes the methodology and findings of an evaluation of 80 community mentoring projects in England and Wales for the period 2001 and 2004.
Abstract
The projects, which were supported by the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales, paired older, mature volunteers with youth in need of instruction and guidance in learning basic literacy, math, and social/life skills. The evaluation found that the projects recruited over 3,000 community volunteers to serve in mentoring programs that targeted either Black minority ethnic (BME) youth and hard-to-reach youth or youth with literacy and math (LM) needs. Nearly 3,000 youth were recruited and matched with these mentors. As intended, the majority of the youth had a history of delinquency. About half of the program ended earlier than planned, but many reported progress. Overall, a third of the youth recruited entered or re-entered an education program or some type of job training. Programs that lasted over 10 months and with an average of 15 meetings were most successful. The projects themselves reported improvements in attendance and behavior at school, in literacy and math, and in housing and family relationships, particularly in BME projects; however, the independent evaluation failed to find evidence of significant improvements in behavior, literacy, and math among the youth. There were only a few examples of projects that were cost-effective. The evaluation does not recommend wider implementation of mentoring programs as a means of preventing juvenile crime. The evaluation collected data from project records on the delivery and outcome of each project. Interviews were conducted with a sample of the mentored youth and a matched nonmentored comparison group at baseline and at outcome points. The rates and severity of offending and reoffending were measured for both groups, and a cost study assessed whether the project provided significant benefits for cost.