The Kitsap Youth Mentoring Consortium (KYMC) is committed to supporting the expansion of quality mentoring relationships for Kitsap area youth. This commitment includes collaborative activities aimed at: raising community awareness about the benefits of mentoring, mentor recruitment, fund development and providing ongoing training for mentors and program staff. The individual mentoring programs active in the KYMC also strive to develop, implement, and/or maintain the following elements of effective mentoring practice:

• a written strategic plan or program description that identifies the target population and defines mission and goals.
• able to demonstrate a plan for recruiting mentors and mentees.
• an orientation for mentors, mentees and caregivers prior to match.
• initial mentor training, which includes a policy and procedure for confidentiality issues.
• ongoing training of mentors and program staff (as well as, mentees and caregivers, as appropriate.)
• screening of potential mentors with either a Washington State Patrol background check or an FBI finger-print check.
• defined matching criteria that takes into consideration gender, age, race, ethnicity, language, needs, preference and temperaments.
• routine monitoring and evaluation of matches.
• formal recognition of the contributions of volunteers.
• a procedure for closing a match that includes debriefing for both mentor and mentee.
• ongoing evaluation of:
  • the outcomes associated with each mentoring relationship
  • the program's capacity to achieve its own effectiveness goals