Welcome to Friends for Youth

Our trainings are excellent resources for individuals and agencies that are designing and implementing effective youth mentoring programs. Friends for Youth’s experienced presenters draw on our 30 years of success to help YOU develop and improve your program!

Keeping Youth in Your Program SAFE by Effectively Screening Volunteers

For Program Staff, Program Directors

Topics: Volunteer Screening, Identifying Child Molesters

You know about risks involved in placing adult volunteers with youth, and you have a process, but do you know if you’re assessing information appropriately to screen out potential child molesters? Participants will become aware of the prevalence of child predators and tactics employed in targeting victims in community youth-serving organizations; learn about the latest research on child molester profiles and potential red flags to watch for during application and monitoring processes; and obtain resources on screening tools and guidelines that will maximize the safety of children and youth in their programs. Based on current research from psychologists and law enforcement, the mentoring field’s Recommended Best Practices, and 30 years of experience, this workshop offers practical, tested tools to prevent child predators from infiltrating organizations and abusing children.

Mentoring 101

For Program Staff, Program Directors

Topics: Infrastructure Development, Mentee Intake, Mentor Intake, & Relationship Support

Starting a new mentoring program? Trying to improve your program’s structure to make it even better? Managers and staff of new and existing mentoring programs will receive an introduction or refresher to mentoring and program development in Mentoring 101. This will include: program start-up/enhancement, best practices, implementation, evaluation, program sustainability, and resources. The training is experiential--participants actually apply these concepts to their individual programs.

Mentor Training

For New Volunteers, Ongoing Volunteers

Topics for New Mentors: Strategies for Successful Mentoring Relationships, Youth Development & Youth Culture, Active Listening, Setting Boundaries, Child Abuse Prevention

Topics for Ongoing Mentors: Self-Care for Mentors and Avoiding Burnout, Inspiring Motivation and Creating a Learning Environment, Building Resiliency in Youth, Healthy Closure for Mentoring Relationships

Having well-prepared mentors can help your program run smoothly. Our Mentor Training covers a number of issues that are important for volunteers working with youth. Topics such as effective communication and setting boundaries will help your volunteers start their mentoring relationships with a strong foundation. The training is interactive and fun, allowing volunteers to share their experiences while presenting the latest research and Recommended Best Practices.