Welcome to The Center for the Advancement of Mentoring

Welcome to the Web site of The Center for the Advancement of Mentoring (TCAM). Funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), TCAM provides technical assistance and training to OJJDP-funded youth mentoring programs.

Mentoring can be an effective strategy to support positive youth development. Guidance and encouragement from adults are critical for the development of youth. Mentoring can inspire and guide hard-to-reach youth to pursue successful and productive futures through a structured relationship with an appropriately screened and trained adult. Engaging youth involved in the juvenile justice or foster care system in sustained, one-to-one mentoring relationships is a complex and challenging endeavor.

OJJDP plays a leadership role in the field of youth mentoring by supporting communities to establish new mentoring programs and expand existing programs to serve at-risk and high-risk youth. TCAM’s role is to strategically support these mentoring initiatives and empower them to realize their goal of transforming the lives of vulnerable youth. Acting together, we can realize the greatest possible return on this considerable federal investment and fulfill the promise of youth mentoring for the greater good of our nation’s youth.

This Web site provides resources and information on mentoring for at-risk and high-risk youth populations. These resources are designed to assist mentoring programs in enhancing their capacity and developing partnerships to support mentoring. Visit often to find new resources and information, as well as updates on the OJJDP mentoring programs and their successes!