Match Support Check-In Questions

Match Support Check-in Questions

This document features sample check-in questions that mentoring program staff can use during regular communication with mentors, parents and youth participants. These questions are designed to supplement the resource Examining Mentoring Relationship Health rubric, in which program staff are empowered to assess the overall health of individual mentoring relationships. For information on documentation, see the full Examining the Health of Youth Mentoring Relationships rubric. Mentor Check-in Questions Below are examples of match support questions that program staff can ask of mentors during regular check-ins.

Category Examples of questions What are you looking for? Meeting Consistency & Frequency  How often did you and your mentee meet this  Appropriate frequency past month? and means of interacting  What did you do together?  Signs of mentor missing  If either you or your mentee had to make any meetings or rescheduling changes to a proposed meeting day or time, how  Red flags relating to safety was this navigated? of the child.  When you meet with your mentee, has anyone else ever joined you?  Has your mentee been to your home?

Communication Between the  How often do you speak to your mentee’s P/GU?  Appropriate frequency mentor and  How do you communicate and plan with your and means of P/GU mentee’s P/GU communication.  Signs of match not communicating. Between the  How often did you speak to your mentee over the mentor and past month? youth  How did you communicate (phone, text, email, Facebook, etc.)?  How often do you communicate and plan activities with your mentee?

Between the  How satisfied are you with the level of mentor and communication you receive from our agency or the agency me?  Do you feel like you can get ahold of me if you need to?

Resource developed by Meghan Perry for the National Mentoring Resource Center, a project of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Youth Centered  How do you decide what activities you and your  Developmentally mentee do together? appropriate, pro-social  How do you determine if an activity is appropriate activities that were and engaging for your mentee? selected primarily with the  What do you both like? youth’s input, feedback, or  What activities did one of you like more than the leadership. other person?  Mentor aware of youth’s  What are you planning to do together next preferences. month?  Appropriate activities.  What activities has your mentee expressed interest in that you don’t know how to access or support?  How do you support your mentee to engage in growth promoting activities?

Youth Emotional Engagement  How does your mentee seem when the two of you  Any sign the mentee is are together? uncomfortable or  How much do you think your mentee enjoys your disengaged during time together? activities.  What if anything do you think might support your mentee to feel more comfortable or engage more in activities with you?

Developmental Interactions  What are your thoughts about how your mentee is  Appropriate time doing? dedicated to o How do you know how your mentee is developmental activities doing?  Appropriate guidance.  What supportive communication skills are easiest  Mentor feeling okay about for you to use? pace, etc. o How do you know when you’re using them?  Where do you need more practice as it relates to supportive communication skills (asking open- ended questions, practicing active listening, using encouragement instead of praise)?  How do you provide support or guidance to your mentee?

Mentor Emotional Engagement/Commitment  How do you think your relationship with your  Relationship development. mentee is progressing?  Mentor’s level of  How do you feel about this experience overall? commitment  How do you feel about your mentee? What do you  Any shifting motivations or think about your relationship with your mentee? expectations for  How do you feel about the mentee’s caregivers? engagement in the  Have you noticed any changes in your mentee mentoring relationship. since we last spoke?  What are you feeling positive about?  What are you struggling with?

Comfort Level of P/GU  How supportive does your mentee’s P/GU seem of  Parent seems supportive your relationship? of the match, hasn’t  Does your mentee’s parent know what you are interfered with outings or doing before each outing? relationship development  Are you experiencing any challenges or concerns process. related to your mentee’s parent and your mentoring relationship?  What if any feedback have you received from your mentee’s parent?

Program Satisfaction  How confident do you feel in your role as a  Opportunities to better mentor? support the match.  What do you need in the way of support from our agency or me?  How else can I support you?  Do you have my contact information handy?  Are you receiving x? Do you know about x future training?

Cultural Responsivity  What if any challenges have you experienced  Mentor’s awareness of related to cultural conflicts between you and your and responsivity to mentee or between you and your mentee’s cultural differences. family?  Mentor’s willingness to  How are you building your awareness of your own seek to understand the personal and cultural identity and that of your perspective of others mentee?  Mentor’s continued  What do you think you can do to support the growth related to self- positive identity development of your mentee? awareness and cross-  What support do you need related to navigating cultural communication. across cultures and conflict within your mentoring relationship?

Aligned Expectations  To what degree does your current mentoring  Looking to see if the experience reflect what was communicated to you mentor’s originally in terms of commitment and program motivation for

Resource developed by Meghan Perry for the National Mentoring Resource Center, a project of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention expectations? engagement is changing.  What misunderstandings regarding program or  To what degree the relationship expectations have you experienced experience of mentoring with your mentee? aligns with the mentor’s  What misunderstandings regarding program or initial and on-going relationship expectations have you experienced expectations for with your mentee’s parent? engagement.  What misunderstandings regarding program or relationship expectations have you experienced with our agency?  What if anything else is important to share regarding your experience in this mentoring relationship?

Parent Check-in Questions Below are examples of match support questions that program staff can ask parents or guardians during regular check-ins. Category Examples of questions What are you looking for? Meeting Consistency & Frequency  How often did your child and their mentor meet  Appropriate frequency last month? and means of interacting  As far as you know what did they do together?  Signs of mentor missing  If either you or your child’s mentor had to make meetings or rescheduling changes to a proposed meeting day or time, how  Red flags relating to safety was this navigated? of the child.  When your child meets with their mentor has anyone else ever joined them?  Have you noticed any changes in your child’s behavior since we last spoke?  How do you feel about the kinds of activities your child and his/her mentor engage in together?

Communication Between the  How often do you speak to your child’s mentor?  Appropriate frequency mentor and  How do you communicate and plan with your and means of P/GU child’s mentor? communication.  Signs of match not communicating. Between the  How often did your child speak with their mentor mentor and over the past month? youth  How do they communicate (phone, text, email, Facebook, etc.)? Between the  How satisfied are you with the level of mentor and communication you receive from our agency or the agency me?  Do you feel like you can get ahold of me if you need to?

Youth Centered  Do you know how your child and their mentor  Developmentally decide on activities to do together? appropriate, pro-social  How appropriate and engaging do you think the activities that ware activities they do together are for your child? selected primarily with the  What kinds of activities has your child particularly youth’s input, feedback, or enjoyed with their mentor? leadership.  What activities has your child expressed interest in  Mentor is aware of youth’s engaging in with their mentor? preferences.  How well does your child’s mentor support your  Appropriate activities. child to engage in growth promoting activities?

Youth Emotional Engagement  How does your child seem when they are with  Any sign the mentee is

Resource developed by Meghan Perry for the National Mentoring Resource Center, a project of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention their mentor? uncomfortable or  How much do you think your child enjoys spending disengaged during time with their mentor? activities.  What if anything might support your child to feel more comfortable during activities/ outings with their mentor? Developmental Interactions  What are your thoughts about how your child is  Appropriate time doing? dedicated to  What does your child’s mentor do that you feel developmental activities supports the healthy growth of your child?  Appropriate guidance.  Where do think your child’s mentor needs more  Mentor feeling okay about practice as it relates to supporting your child’s pace, etc. growth?  How does your child’s mentor provide support or guidance to your child?

Mentor Emotional Engagement/Commitment  How do you think your child’s relationship with  Relationship development. their mentor is progressing?  Mentor’s level of  Have you noticed any changes in your child’s commitment mentor since we last spoke?  Any shifting motivations or  How invested do you think your child’s mentor is? expectations for  What if any feedback have you received from your engagement in the child’s mentor? mentoring relationship.

Comfort Level of P/GU  How do you feel about your child’s mentor?  Parent seems supportive  How do you feel about this experience overall? of the match, hasn’t  How supportive do you feel of the relationship? interfered with outings or  What are you feeling positive about? relationship development  What are you struggling with? process.  Do you know what your child is doing with their mentor before each outing?  Are you experiencing any challenges or concerns related to your child’s mentoring relationship?

Program Satisfaction  How satisfied are you with the level of support you  Opportunities to better receive from our agency? support the match.  What do you need in the way of support from our agency or me?  How else can I support you?  Do you have my contact information handy?  Are you receiving x? Do you know about x future group activities, etc. Cultural Responsivity  What if any challenges have you experienced  Parent’s awareness of the related to cultural conflicts between you and your mentor’s responsivity to child’s mentor? cultural differences.  What if any challenges has your child experienced  Mentor’s willingness to related to cultural conflicts between them and seek to understand the their mentor? perspective of others  How well do you feel like your child’s mentor is  Mentor’s continued developing an awareness of your child’s cultural growth related to self- background? awareness and cross-  What if anything do you think your child’s mentor cultural communication. can do to support the positive identity development of your child?  What support do you need related to navigating across cultures and conflict with your child’s mentor? Aligned Expectations  To what degree does your current mentoring  Looking to see if the experience reflect what was communicated to you parent’s original in terms of commitment and program motivation for expectations? engagement is changing.  What misunderstandings regarding program or  To what degree the relationship expectations have you experienced mentoring experience with your child’s mentor? aligns with the parent’s  What misunderstandings regarding program or initial and on-going relationship expectations have you experienced expectations. with your child?  What misunderstandings regarding program or relationship expectations have you experienced with our agency?  What if anything else is important to share regarding your experience in this mentoring program?

Youth Check-in Questions Below are examples of match support questions that program staff can ask youth during regular check-ins.

Resource developed by Meghan Perry for the National Mentoring Resource Center, a project of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Category Examples of questions What are you looking for? Meeting Consistency & Frequency  How often did you and your mentor meet this past  Appropriate frequency month? and means of interacting  What did you do together?  Signs of mentor missing  When you meet with your mentor has anyone else meetings or rescheduling ever joined you?  Red flags relating to safety  Have you been to your mentor’s home? of the child.

Communication Between the  How often did you speak to your mentor over the  Appropriate frequency mentor and past month? and means of youth  How did you communicate (phone, text, email, communication. Facebook, etc.)?  Signs of match not  How often do you communicate and plan activities communicating. with your mentor? Between the  How often do you speak with your P/GU about P/GU and the your mentoring relationship? youth Between the  Do you feel like you can get ahold of me if you mentor and need to? the agency  Is there anything else I can do to support your positive experience in this program?

Youth Centered  How do you think your relationship is going with  Developmentally your mentor? appropriate, pro-social  How do you feel about this experience overall? activities that were  How do you decide what activities you and your selected primarily with the mentor do together? youth’s input, feedback, or  What do you both like? leadership.  What activities did one of you like more than the  Mentor aware of youth’s other person? preferences.  What are you planning to do together next  Appropriate activities. month?  What activities have you expressed interest in that you haven’t done?  How often do you feel like you get to engage in activities with your mentor that helps you build new skills?

Youth Emotional Engagement  How are you enjoying your time with your  Any sign the mentee is mentor? uncomfortable or  What if anything would make you more excited disengaged during about your time with your mentor? activities.  What if anything would make you feel more comfortable with your mentor?  How connected do you feel to your mentor? Developmental Interactions  How well does your mentor listen to you?  Appropriate time  Do you feel like your mentor understands you? dedicated to  How often does your mentor pay attention to developmental activities things you’ve shared in the past?  Appropriate guidance.  How comfortable do you feel talking to your  Youth feeling okay about mentor? pace, etc.  Has your mentor ever asked you about something that you didn’t want to talk to them about?  What kind of guidance or support do you get from your mentor?

Mentor Emotional Engagement/Commitment  How much do you think your mentor enjoys  Relationship development. spending time with you?  Mentor’s level of  How comfortable do you feel with your mentor? commitment  Any shifting motivations or expectations for engagement in the mentoring relationship.

Comfort Level of P/GU  Does your parent know what you and your mentor  Parent seems supportive are going to do before each outing? of the match, hasn’t  Are you experiencing any challenges or concerns interfered with outings or related to your parent and your mentoring relationship development relationship? process.  What if any feedback have you received from your parent regarding your mentoring relationship?

Program Satisfaction  How well are you enjoying your experience in this  Opportunities to better program? support the match.  What do you need in the way of support from our agency or me?  How else can I support you?  Do you have my contact information handy?  Do you know about x future activities? Cultural Responsivity

Resource developed by Meghan Perry for the National Mentoring Resource Center, a project of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention  How well do you feel like your mentor knows you?  Mentor’s awareness of  How has spending time with your mentor helped and responsivity to you get to know yourself better? cultural differences.  What if any challenges have you experienced  Mentor’s willingness to related to cultural conflicts between you and your seek to understand the mentor? perspective of others  Mentor’s continued growth related to self- awareness and cross- cultural communication. Aligned Expectations  How satisfied are you with your mentoring  Looking to see if the relationship? youth’s original motivation  How satisfied are you with your experience in this for engagement is program? changing.  What if anything else is important to share  To what degree the regarding your experience in this mentoring experience of mentoring relationship? aligns with the youth’s initial and on-going expectations for engagement.