Press Releases

2024-06-28

Oklahoma Mentoring Programs Implement Mentoring Central’s Mentor Trainings

iRT is excited to announce that it is collaborating with the Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA) and the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth (OCCY) to implement and evaluate Mentoring Central’s training programs and mentoring resources in mentoring programs across Oklahoma.

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2024-04-23

Mentoring Central Recognized on the 2024 National Corporate Mentoring Honor Roll

Mentoring Central, a division of innovation Research & Training (iRT), is pleased to announce that it has joined MENTOR’s 2024 National Corporate Mentoring Honor Roll.

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2024-03-25

Latest Funding Opportunities for Mentoring Programs

The U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) recently announced 2024 funding opportunities for youth-serving organizations and programs, including youth mentoring programs. The OJJDP’s Youth Mentoring Program Grants program is the only mentoring-specific grant program funded by U.S. Congress. The OJJDP’s latest announced solicitations that are relevant to mentoring programs include the 2024 National Mentoring Programs grant, the 2024 Opioid Affected Youth Initiative grant, and the 2024 Second Chance Act Youth Reentry Program grant. These grants provide support to mentoring programs, so you can offer evidence-based training to your mentors, provide high-quality resources and activities to matches, employ a team of professional mentoring program staff, evaluate your program, and more.

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2024-03-25

Recent Research Supporting STEM Mentoring for Traditionally Underrepresented Youth

Recent research indicates that opportunities for students to explore their interests in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are growing. The Afterschool Alliance’s 2021 America After 3PM Special Report states that among approximately 31,000 randomly selected parents of school-aged children in the United States, 39% reported that their child’s school offered a technology- or engineering-related afterschool program in 2020. This was a significant increase compared to findings from 2014 surveys which indicated that only 30% of schools offered engineering and technology learning opportunities in afterschool programs. Science-related afterschool programs increased from 46% in 2014 to 49% in 2020, and math-related programs increased from 60% to 62%.

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2024-02-27

Mentoring Central Shares STEM Mentoring Research at 2024 National Mentoring Summit

Mentoring Central Researchers Dr. Katie Stump, Dr. Rebecca Stelter, and Yontii Wheeler co-led an interactive workshop at the 2024 National Mentoring Summit in Washington, DC, last month. Each year, mentoring professionals and advocates from across the nation gather for the annual National Mentoring Summit, convened by MENTOR, to share best practices, reflect on recent research and developments, and discuss future directions related to mentoring. The 14th annual Mentoring Summit was held January 24-26, 2024 and provided opportunities for attendees to form new connections and learn new strategies for strengthening and expanding the youth mentoring movement.

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Events

Webinar: Applying the EEPM 4 to Diverse Models and Youth Populations [free]

Applying the EEPM 4 to Diverse Models and Youth Populations [free]

2/25/16 1-2:30pm EST

~ 75 minutes

Applying the EEPM 4 to Diverse Models and Youth Populations will provide attendees with an interactive discussion on how the Elements of Effective Practice applies to mentoring programs given the diverse array of mentee and mentor populations and program models. In addition, we will solicit questions and feedback from attendees regarding how the EEPM applies to their programs.

Take the free training at: Free Mentoring Central

[Webinar] Risk Management Part 2 – 1pm (EST) Feb. 16, 2016

Risky Business (Part 2): Developing your mentoring program’s risk management policies [free]

Take the Free Training at Free Mentoring Central

A mentoring relationship cannot be considered effective unless it is safe. Training on ethics and safety in mentoring is critical to ensuring the health and well-being of mentees and mentors. The recently released Fourth Edition of the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring (EEPM) identified a set of risk management topics that programs should address in their policies and include in their training of mentors, mentees, and parent or guardians. This three-part webinar series will focus on how mentoring programs can decrease the potential for harm to anyone involved in a mentoring relationship.

Join our expert researchers (Drs. Janis Kupersmidt and Rebecca Stelter) and practitioner (Ms. Sharon Daura) who will provide a thorough exploration of the 19 risk management topics outlined in the EEPM, with the goal of helping you to fine-tune your existing program policies or develop new ones.  After you attend these webinars, you will understand the importance and relevance of each topic for mentoring as well as key issues to address in your policies.  Future training will focus on how to conduct mentor, mentee, and parent or guardian training on these policies.

The second webinar in the series focuses on issues to consider in a mentoring program’s risk management policies and practices that are related to communications by mentors, mentees, parents or guardians, and the mentoring program with individuals, organizations, and media outlets that are outside of the mentoring relationship.

Celebrating 25 Years of the Youth Mentoring Movement

Monday, November 9, New York City—The National Mentoring Partnership (MENTOR) is proud to celebrate 25 years of building and unifying a youth mentoring movement in 2015! This yearlong celebration will include a special event at The Plaza Hotel on Monday, November 9 honoring MENTOR’s co-founders and commemorating a quarter of a century of milestones and achievements in the field. More on this celebration: bit.ly/1Hh0WIe.

Advanced Screening

November 17, Boston–Join Mass Mentoring Partnership for an advanced training that will build upon the basics of screening. Participants will have the opportunity to refine program eligibility requirements, receive feedback on program applications and interview forms, enhance awareness of red flags, and practice relevant steps in the screening process.  Participants will receive MMP’s Advanced Screening Workbook which contains useful tools and templates to support screening of volunteers and mentors. Register: bit.ly/1MP0gr1

National Mentoring Month: Amplifying Your Voice

November 19, 1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m., EDT–Planning to participate in National Mentoring Month this January? Join this webinar to learn best practices for amplifying your voice during this yearly recruitment campaign. We will feature panelists from Midlands Mentoring Partnership in Nebraska, TeamMates Mentoring in Iowa and Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mid-South in Tennessee. Each presenter will speak on a different way to engage throughout the month. Whether you represent a small, mid-size or large program, there will be plenty of useful information shared. Register now! Facilitated by MENTOR. For more information: bit.ly/1k5bGjb

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Blog

2024-06-28
Fun, Goal-Oriented, Summer Activity Suggestions for Matches

By eporter

Fun, Goal-Oriented, Summer Activity Suggestions for Matches

The types of activities that mentors and mentees do together during match meetings can have a significant impact on the mentoring relationship. In fact, research has shown that match activities that are goal-directed, collaborative, and relevant to the match’s needs can help mentees feel closer to their mentor, reduce obstacles to the mentoring relationship, and improve mentee outcomes.1,2,3

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2024-06-28
What Mentees Should Know Before Beginning a Mentoring Relationship

By eporter

What Mentees Should Know Before Beginning a Mentoring Relationship

Most mentors receive pre-match training and resources from their mentoring program’s staff to prepare for their mentoring relationships before meeting their mentee for the first time. However, many mentees do not receive pre-match training that teaches them strategies to contribute to their mentoring relationship, and mentees often report not knowing what to expect from mentoring.

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2024-05-28
Mentoring Central Publishes Cutting-Edge Research Findings and Strategies for Mentoring Programs

By eporter

Mentoring Central Publishes Cutting-Edge Research Findings and Strategies for Mentoring Programs

Mentoring Central is dedicated to developing and delivering products and services designed to produce effective mentoring relationships and positively impact the lives of youth. In addition to developing high-quality, research-based mentoring training programs, our team of research scientists and subject matter experts write publications to share cutting-edge strategies and research findings to help program staff elevate the quality of their mentoring programs.

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Jobs

2023-05-15
Business Development Associate

By eporter

POSITION TITLE: Business Development Associate
EMPLOYER: Innovation Research & Training
LOCATION (City, State): Durham, NC
WEBSITES: www.irtinc.us; www.mentoringcentral.net; www.preventioncentral.net
START DATE: Available immediately

Position Type: Full-time

Company Description: innovation Research & Training (iRT), a behavioral sciences research company, in Durham, North Carolina, seeks a full-time Business Development Associate who desires to join an outstanding team. iRT is a small, innovative company that specializes in research, development, evaluation, and dissemination of evidence-based prevention and intervention programs. Our mission is to create products and services with proven outcomes that improve the health and well-being of children, adolescents, young adults, families, and communities.

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