Thank You for your interest in our 'Kids in the Middle' mentoring program!
'Kids in the Middle' (KIM) is a community-based prevention model mentoring program, pairing 'At-Promise' youth 1:1 with volunteer mentors from the community who spend an hour a week, every week for at least one year having fun, exploring new and exciting opportunities within the community, and building the skills and character needed to realize their greatest potential.
Youth in the KIM program are:
- 2x more likely to plan for their futures
- 3X less likely to commit an act of violence or delinquency
- Demonstrate better attendance, grades, and graduation rates over non-mentored peers
Student Profile Guidelines:
- Should be in the 'middle' grades: between 4th & 8th grades at time of enrollment
- Should be 'in the middle' of choosing between good and bad choices; grades starting to slip, behavior becoming problematic, suffered significant loss, withdrawn, choosing anti-social friends, etc.
- A mismatch in potential and performance
- No criminal or significant behavior background
- No unstabilized mental health concerns or behaviors
- Will be in the community for at least the next 12 months time
It is important to remember that not everyone responds to mentoring as a model for change.
Some kids just don’t need another adult in their life! They need skills more (they already have strong and supportive parents and peers) or they will never trust an adult without intensive therapy and clinical
support (i.e., they have suffered significant neglect, abuse or trauma.) An important finding in mentoring research suggests that youth who have a moderate environmental risk and satisfactory but not strong baseline relationships are best suited for mentoring. Again, youth who have significant history with poor relationships may not trust an adult and youth with a lot of supportive adults in their lives are already saturated and may not benefit.
The Process:
- Speak with the student- would they like a reliable friend to explore activities, interests, and help with life skills?
- Speak with parent/guardian to gauge willingness to support the concept of mentorship
- Request Informed Consent and ROI from parent and to designate referrer to sign electronically on their behalf
- Complete all sections of form below
- CFSS Staff will be in contact with parent/guardian and student to complete enrollment and place on waiting list for a mentor!
