Provides guidance on improving the quality and safety of mentoring programs, with the goal of increasing positive outcomes for youth. The National Mentoring Center (NMC), a project of Portland, Oregon’s Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, seeks to promote best practices and standards across mentoring programs and to assist agencies in building the capacity to sustain quality programs over time. NMC’s services include training conferences and workshops, in-depth coaching and program consulting, print materials and related resources, data collection and evaluation, and projects that support state and national mentoring initiatives. The Web site gives mentors and mentoring programs access to: (1) information on training events around the country, from regional conferences to specific grant-related programs; (2) on-line learning tutorials on a range of topics including using e-mentoring as a strategy to serve youth and building an effective Web site as a tool for both volunteer recruitment and fundraising; (3) downloadable NMC publications; (4) related Web-based resources, including research and reports, program development guides, and materials on faith-based, peer, and vocational mentoring; and (5) a listserv for mentoring program coordinators, staff, and volunteers for sharing ideas, innovations, and successful practices.
