National youth mentoring benchmarks 2007: Fostering the growth and development of high quality youth mentoring

摘要

Mentoring is many things but at its heart lies an affi rmation of human relationships and the capacity to enable those involved (the young people and their mentors) to learn and to grow. At the same time mentoring is no soft option.udud Quality mentoring programs require hard work and tough decisions. They require fi rm undertakings from all involved. They operate with purpose and deliver real outcomes from raising self-esteem, healthier behaviours, and improved school attendance through to better informed career choices and a more secure place in education or the workforce.udud Like any relationship, the development of a mentoring relationship takes time and commitment. The strong, personal relationships that are of most value should not be left to chance. It is essential that structured mentoring programs are developed and implemented using consistent standards. ududThe first set of Australian Benchmarks for Effective and Responsible Mentoring Programs were developed in June 2000 when mentoring was a reasonably new strategy in Australia. This new set of benchmarks is based on the earlier benchmarks but takes account of experience and research in Australia over the last seven years. They have been collaboratively refi ned and elaborated by a representative group of Australian practitioners and researchers. ududThese benchmarks are a set of minimum standards that all mentoring programs are encouraged to follow. The Youth Mentoring Network, through the sharing of resources, professional development and collegial networking, encourages all mentoring programs to achieve these standards. ududThe benchmarks will continue to evolve with our collective knowledge and experience. They are offered by the Youth Mentoring Network as a further contribution to the development of a collaborative youth mentoring community in Australia.