Program Evaluation

Mature teacher playing piano and rehearsing song with children while they standing with notes around her in music class

Transforming Children’s Attitudes to Disability with the Power of Music and Mentoring

Breaking Barriers with MOSSAIC: Empowering Autism Inclusion on Campus through Mentorship and Support

Locke, J., Osuna, A., Myrvold, R. J., & Closson, J. S. (2023). Supporting autistic college students: Examining the mentoring, organization and social support for autism inclusion on campus (MOSSAIC) program. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 1-14. Summarized by Ellen Parry Luff About this Study There has been an increase in the number of autistic individuals […]

The Magic of Reading: How mentorship can boost reading level and story comprehension in elementary schoolers

Reference: Rubin, N. T., & Travero, A. S. (2022). Fostering reading level and story comprehension through MARITES (Marungko Approach Reading Intervention to Elementary Schoolers) with mentor-mentee arrangement. International Research Journal of Science, Technology, Education, & Management (IRJSTEM), 2(3). Summarized by Saniya Soni Introduction:  Reading is a crucial skill that plays a significant role in individuals’ […]

Finding purpose during times of adversity: The MentorOn program

Patel, K. N., Lincoln, B., Gomez, L. A. M., Lopez, A. C., Ting, T., Lund, T. J., & Liang, B. (2023). MentorOn: A peer mentoring program developed for COVID‐19 times. Journal of Community Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.23030 Summarized by Megyn Jasman and Ariel Ervin Notes of Interest: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought up several concerns about youth […]

New study shows how enhanced mentoring practices affect children of incarcerated parents.

Stelter, R. L., Stump, K. N., Rhodes, J. E., & Kupersmidt, J. B. (2023). A randomized controlled trial of enhanced mentoring program practices for children of incarcerated caregivers: Assessing impacts on youth and match outcomes. Journal of Community Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.23017 Summarized by Ariel Ervin Notes of Interest: Parental incarceration is an adverse childhood experience that often leads […]

New exploratory study evaluates a youth mentoring program partnership

Silke, C., & Brady, B. (2022). Youth mentoring as a supportive resource for young people involved with CAMHS: An exploratory study. Galway: UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, University of Galway. Summarized by Ariel Ervin Notes of Interest:  Evidence indicates that adolescent well-being and mental health have notably languished over the last two decades. Youth mentoring is […]

A novel peer-to-peer coaching paraprofessional training program to support digital mental health

Rosenberg, B. M., Kodish, T., Cohen, Z. D., Gong-Guy, E., & Craske, M. G. (2022). A novel peer-to-peer coaching program to support digital mental health: Design and implementation. JMIR Mental Health, 9(1), e32430. Summarized by Saniya Soni Notes of Interest: Paraprofessional support models are a significant pathway to bridge the gap in mental health care […]

New study explores the experiences of high-achieving, underserved high school students in an e-mentoring college access program

Arnold, K. D., Deutschlander, D. T., & Lewis, J. S. (2022). Someone on my side: The experiences of high-achieving, underserved high school students in an e-mentoring college access intervention. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 30(4), 381–408.  https://doi.org/10.1080/13611267.2022.2091193 Summarized by Ariel Ervin Notes of Interest:  Practitioners use a variety of approaches, such as mentoring, coaching, and advising, […]

What lessons can be learned from a supportive accountability study on an online anxiety intervention?

Werntz, A., Silverman, A. L., Behan, H., Patel, S. K., Beltzer, M., Boukhechba, M. O., Barnes, L., & Teachman, B. A. (in press). Lessons learned: Providing supportive accountability in an online anxiety intervention. Behavior Therapy.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2021.12.002 Summarized by Ariel Ervin Notes of Interest: Although technology-delivered interventions (TDI) can help bridge the gap in seeking mental […]

“Black Box Thinking:” Drawing on disappointing findings to improve youth mentoring programs

by Jean Rhodes After a plane crash, investigators examine black box data to determine what went wrong and to make the necessary changes to protect against future incidents. Unfortunately,  that is not always the case in evaluations of prevention programs. In fact, we often find it easier to reframe and dismiss disappointing results than to […]