Short takes

Mentoring benefits kids and community

Tucked away in Calaveras County, fabled home of Mark Twain’s “celebrated jumping frog” in the heart of the Gold Country, are numerous small towns with colorful names like Copperopolis, Angels Camp and Railroad Flat. The county is also home to the 2006 Golden Bell Award-winning Calaveras Youth Mentoring Program, whose goal is to pair children from first through 12th grades with a safe, caring adult who will offer support, guidance and friendship for at least a one-year period. The Calaveras County Office of Education program works closely with schools and teen centers to identify at-risk youths who desire and could benefit from a mentoring relationship.

There are many reasons why children might need to connect with adults outside their family circle. An increasing number of children are being raised in one-parent homes; many live with parents who are both working, leaving the adults less time than they might like to spend with their children. Often, grandparents, aunts and uncles live in other cities or states, so opportunities to connect with those family members occur infrequently. Children can find themselves alone too much of the time, which can lead to a number of problem scenarios.

It is in these situations where a trained youth mentor can make a big difference in a child’s life. CYM mentors commit to spending at least one or two hours per week with a child and receive continuous support and guidance from the CYM staff. Prospective mentors go through an intensive five-step process to be considered for placement in the program. They attend an orientation, take part in an interview and submit to a comprehensive application process that includes fingerprinting and DMV clearance, Megan’s Law research and a home safety check, and they must provide three character references. Then they wait for a decision by a selection committee that has thoroughly reviewed their qualifications. Once approved, they may wait several months to be matched with an appropriate child.

Mentors report favorable changes in their charges, and parents note improved relationships with their children and other benefits. Students find that mentors help them with problems in school and at home, and they appreciate having an adult to talk to and trust.

“[The process] bridges the gulf between adults and youth,” says Program Director Kathryn Eustis. “It weaves the community together in a way that no other program can, because it involves friendship. It involves the mentee’s teacher, parents and friends.

“Adults in the community take responsibility for kids who are not their own,” she adds. “They want to build a better community and a better tomorrow. Kids get to see adults really care for them, and that branches out among young people. Every friendship has a huge ripple effect.”

Eustis is especially enthusiastic about the fact that the CYM program is managed through the county office of education. She has seen how other programs can stumble for lack of resources without that bedrock of support.

“It’s a good program for COEs,” Eustis says. “The program can be expensive to try to run because they’re all about time. It’s really hard to financially sustain a program like this. With the backing of a COE, you get the [built-in] reputation of being part of the county; you have liability insurance, access to schools and experts as resources that make running a program like this affordable. You have to have that support.”