The Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring™ (MENTOR, 2015; the “Elements”) describes the definitive Standards of practice for the field of youth mentoring. By adhering to the Elements, mentoring programs can enhance their overall program quality and help build strong mentoring relationships.  The Elements were written by Drs. Janis Kupersmidt and Rebecca Stelter of Mentoring Central, Dr. Jean Rhodes of the Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring (CEBM) at UMASS-Boston, and Michael Garringer of MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership.