Best Practices for Mentoring Programs

In an effort to build on the knowledge of what works in mentoring programs, The Evaluation, Management and Training (EMT) Group interviewed 50 mentor program managers throughout California to uncover the practical wisdom they had gained working on the front lines of mentoring. “Successful” programs were identified by mentoring coalitions, program managers, and mentoring professionals as exhibiting innovative and effective approaches. EMT asked the program managers and coordinators of these programs a series of open-ended questions about their experiences in the mentoring field and the specific practices they believe account for their program’s success. The results of these interviews are identified as “Six Common Pitfalls and Best Practices.”