Laura Bush announces Mentoring Voucher Program

Last week Laura Bush announced a voucher-based mentoring program that will be tested over the next three years. Mentoring.org will run the program. They'll spend the next six months getting the details together, so watch their site for updates.

From their site:

"Why use vouchers? Isn't the grant program enough? In a voucher system, many more mentoring programs, particularly smaller organizations without the infrastructure to manage a large federal grant, will be able to participate. Vouchers also extend the reach of the Mentoring Children of Prisoners (MCP) program beyond the locations of grantees to reach children of prisoners across the country.

The voucher approach also allows approved programs to increase their ability to provide high-quality mentoring services through the application of standards and training materials. It empowers caregivers by offering choice and flexibility while maintaining high quality. Caregivers will be presented with a list of mentoring options that meet their preferences in terms of location, mentoring model, and organization type and select the mentoring program that best meets their needs. Establishing caregivers as the decision-makers ensures they are an integral part of the mentoring process from the beginning, contributing to the all-important strength and length of the mentoring relationship."MENTOR :: Program Staff :: MCP Voucher

What can you do to help? Become a Mentor!

Successful mentoring programs are all about children and their mentors doing things together that they both like –having a good time as they build a relationship. We provide individualized match support that increases the probability that the matches will strengthen over time and last more than a year – sometimes for a lifetime.

The purpose of New York State’s ‘Children of Promise’ program is to create quality, lasting, one-on-one relationships that provide young people with caring role models for future success. In collaboration with networks of public and private entities, Big Brothers Big Sisters will match children, ages four to eighteen, who have an incarcerated parent with a screened and trained adult volunteer for a one-on-one (one adult matched with one youth) mentoring relationship.

What does a mentor do?

Caring adult mentors interact with mentees on a regular and consistent basis to provide support, encouragement, and advice. They provide opportunities for mentees to gain new skills and interests and expand their experiences beyond their families, schools, and neighborhoods. Successful mentors do not try to take the role of parent or teacher, but act as a trusted friend, guide, and role model for mentees.

Across the State, BBBS staff will recruit, screen, and train volunteer mentors; identify and recruit eligible children of prisoners; and match each mentor with a mentee based on the interests and preferences of the mentor, mentee, and caregiver(s).

What does Big Brothers Big Sisters do to support the mentor and mentee?

The benefit of a mentoring relationship accrues when that relationship lasts longer than one year, so staff will monitor and support these relationships to ensure that the needs and expectations of the mentor, the mentee, and the mentee's caregiver(s) are met and matches continue successfully. Staff will provide orientation, make suggestions and share tips, and help make sense out of issues that might arise.

If you or your organization would like to learn more about what it takes to be a mentor, call 1-888-230-7701.

What can you do to help? Contribute!

The terms of the HHS grants require that NYS Big Brothers Big Sisters raise about $2 million in matching funds over next three years.

We look to the media, the business community, individual volunteers and donors, and state and local government to help us make that match.

To make a donation of time, money, or expertise, call 888-230-7701.

And, thank you for helping.

Photo by Tracy Olsen

NY Children of Promise Partners

Big Brothers Big Sisters depends on many individuals and organizations to work with us in making NY's Children of Promise a success.

We have commitments from several key organizations to serve on a statewide advisory committee.

Advisory Committee Membership -Committed

• The NYS Department of Correctional Services, Alicia Smith Roberts
• Amachi Institute, Rev. W. Wilson Goode, Sr., President
• Prison Fellowship Ministry, Mayra Alemar, NYS Angel Tree Coordinator
• Prison Families Alison Coleman,
• Clear Channel, Marissa Perez Rogers, Marketing Department
• BBBS of America, Mark Scott, Director of Partnerships
• Osborne Association, Carol Burton, Assoc. Executive Director
• Horizon Center (Federal Prisoner Reentry Program), Gus Ramirez, Executive Director

Others we want to add to the committee:

• Governor’s Office
• A current mentor
• Child of an incarcerated (or formerly incarcerated) parent

NY's Children of Promise wants to publicly thank our partners for their support and advice during the application process. We look forward to developing rich relationships that yield great outcomes for our young mentees.

Great News for Mentoring!

With the announcement of this year’s Health & Human Services Mentoring Children of Prisoners grant recipients, HHS will support four Big Brothers Big Sisters initiatives in NYS that will serve, in total, 3800 children in 43 counties over the next three years.

• Children of Promise now includes twelve BBBS agencies covering at least thirty-two (32) New York counties spread across the State. We will serve 2300 children of prisoners over a three year period. BBBS of Ulster serves as the lead agency.
• BBBS of Albany is in the second year of its three-year grant serving 300 children of prisoners in four counties.
• BBBS of Erie County has received its second round of funding to serve 600 children over three years.
• BBBS of NYC will receive funding for Today’s Youth, Tomorrow’s Promise, which includes the five boroughs and Westchester County. BBBS of Westchester is partnering with them. Together they will serve 600 children over the next three years.

Across the State, BBBS staff will recruit, screen, and train volunteer mentors; identify and recruit eligible children of prisoners; and match each mentor with a mentee based on the interests and preferences of the mentor, mentee, and caregiver(s).

New York’s Children of Promise

Thanks to four grants from US Health and Human Services, Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies in NY State will provide mentoring services to an estimated 3800 children of prisoners over the next three years.

What do we know about children of prisoners?

Nearly two million children in the United States experience the detrimental economic, social, and emotional effects of having an incarcerated parent. There is no reliable count of the children of prisoners in New York State, but estimates range between 40,000 and 60,000 children.

These children may experience the trauma of multiple changes in caregivers and living arrangements. They often succumb to depression and drug usage, and statistics indicate that, without intervention, as many as 70% of these children will follow the footsteps of their parent(s) into the criminal justice system.

How can a mentor help?

A quality, enduring mentoring relationship with a caring adult can be a promising intervention for children of prisoners. Research indicates that mentoring can reduce mentee risk behaviors and the likelihood of the mentee's future involvement in the criminal justice system. That’s why, across the nation, children of prisoners are now known as ‘Children of Promise’.

The purpose of New York State’s ‘Children of Promise’ program is to create quality, lasting, one-on-one relationships that provide young people with caring role models for future success. In collaboration with networks of public and private entities, Big Brothers Big Sisters will match children, ages four to eighteen, with a screened and trained adult volunteer for a one-on-one (one adult matched with one youth) mentoring relationship.

Caring adult mentors interact with mentees on a regular and consistent basis to provide support, encouragement, and advice. They provide opportunities for mentees to gain new skills and interests and expand their experiences beyond their families, schools, and neighborhoods. Successful mentors do not try to take the role of parent or teacher, but act as a trusted friend, guide, and role model for mentees.

For more information about what you can do to help call 888-230-7701