Local mentoring for children

& youths

European Social Mentors MeetingBarcelona

8th November 2014

Local mentoring for children and youths

Part 1 /

What is “local mentoring “ with Parrains Par’Mille

Part 2 /

Your experience with mentoring : local projects

and best practices ?

PART 1 / What is “Local mentoring “ ?

A. Definition, core principles and purpose

B. Areas of intervention of the association

C. Whom is mentoring intended for?

D. Protocol for setting up mentorings, providing

support, and assessing mentorings

E. Parrains Par’Mille network

F. Communication campaigns to promote the

mobilisation of civil society

A / Definition

Building a special, emotional relationship between a child and an adult, or a child and a family

A relationship based on trust and reciprocity, which can be built by citizens grouped together in associations, or by community services in charge of child-related issues

A voluntary and regular action which involves giving time, attention and affection within a personal and sustainable relationship organized on a voluntary basis

Emotional support, educational guidance, broadened cultural horizons, and bonds that change over time

Focus - Core principles – Mentoring National Charter

A voluntary and cooperative approach between all the stakeholders

Voluntary mentors

The long-term commitment of mentors and parents, or the individuals who have

parental authority

Respecting parental authority, the child’s choice and the role of each stakeholder

Flexible proposals that fit each situation

Formalisation of mutual commitments in a convention (« moral commitment »)

Mentoring support by the association or the service implementing it

Establishing a partnership with specialized, social, health and social care services, or

legal services when the child’s situation requires some measure of protection

Focus - Objectives of local mentoring

For children:

- To expand their social networks within an intergenerational framework

- To empower them by developing the skills they will need to carry outfuture responsibilities

- To promote their social and cultural integration

Provide parents with support, within the framework of a parenting supportpolicy (supporting today’s parents and preparing tomorrow’s parents)

Social prevention in conjunction with public authorities

- Regional child protection programmes

- REAPP networks (listening to parents and supporting them)

B / Areas of intervention of the association Parrains Par’Mille

7

1. Promoting social and intergenerational bonds

Mentoring is about sharing and exchanging, to the extent each sponsor is capable of

2. Taking preventive action with isolated families

Mentoring is based on prevention and parenting support

3. Supporting education

Sponsorship is an innovative form of care which supports the institutional assistance provided to children and youths

C / What are the profiles of the target children and youths?

Children and youths living with their family

Children and youths who have

been placed

•They experience a form of isolation(family, cultural, social)

80% of mentees by the association live in single-parent families

•Their living situation is fragile

•They have few ties with their birth familyand they rarely, or never, visit their family.

•They are minors, isolated, foreigners in France

• They have been placed under the care of social services, and mentoring is considered as a possible means of enriching the schemes already in place

Children, from 0 to 18 years old, and young adults up to 21 years old

Focus - Mentoring within the framework of Child Welfare Service - experiencing « another bond »

•A chosen bond, without the constraint of care, built with a non-professional volunteer

•An individual bond, outside the institution, allowing the child or the youth a respite and enabling him to experience another way of socializing, as an alternative to community interactions

•A sustainable bond to meet the need for consistency and continuity in the child’s life journey, often punctuated with separations and changes (placement methods, location)

•A bond allowing the child or the youth to prepare for the time when sponsorship ends

•Mentoring is always put in place in the interest of the child. It is desired by the child, and thought out and put in place with the educational team, in consultation with the individuals who have parental authority

C / Who are the mentors?

Adults who wish to engage with a child, or an isolated or fragile youth, and whose mentoring project matches the association and the families’ expectations

Adult men and women

Parents or childless adults

Singles or couples

Working or retired

D / Protocol for setting up mentoring

Create the conditions for afulfilling relationship between

the family, the child and the futuresponsor

Interviews with clinicalpsychologists to assess the demandsof the families and the child’s needsTwo interviews with the potentialmentors to validate their project –”approval”

A proposal to establish an initialcontact between the mentor and thefamily

Gradual meetings, in 3 stages 1st meeting between adults 2nd meeting between the

adults and the child 3rd meeting between the

mentor and the mentee

Assess the benefits ofmentoring

An annual meeting between allthe sponsorship stakeholders toexchange and assess

Annual interviews with thementee, his parents and his mentor.

Support the mentoring tiesby offering a support to the familyand the mentor (and to the child ifneeded)

Telephone appointments to review

Meetings with all the stakeholdersof the relationship and thementoring team

Support groups meeting quarterlyto solve issues and foster dialogue

MEET SUPPORT ASSESS

Since its creation in 1990- 10 000 mentoring requests processed- 4 000 mentorings initiated

Today- 450 active mentorings across France

National presence- 1 HQ-branch office in Paris – 4 employees and

et 10 volunteers- 13 regional branch offices – 40 volunteers

In 2009 Parrains Par’Mille becamea member of the group SOS Jeunesse

Dijon

Avignon

Alès

Bordeaux

Vannes

Nantes

Valenciennes

Paris-Ile de France

Senlis

Lyon

Angers

Toulouse

Pau

E/ Parrains Par’Mille network

Montpellier

F/ Communication campaigns to promote the mobilisation of civil society

Exhibition «(Extra)-ordinary bonds, mentoring stories photographed by Stéphanie Lacombe » -a touring exhibition displayed in district town halls in Paris.

Mobilize the general public support by emphasizing theurgent need, for the most isolated children, to establishbonds

• Organisation of conferences and debates: Collège des Bernardins with the participation of Boris Cyrulnik.

• Conseil Economique, Social et Environnemental (Economic, Social and Environmental Council), November 2013 – « Child in foster family », conference organised by La Voix de l’enfant

PART 2 / What about your experience with mentoring?

Let’s talk about your local projects !

What are your best practices?

How do you mobilize mentors ?

..............

Contact

Marie-Aimée MENUETGeneral Manager

Parrains Par’Mille31 rue Planchat75020 Paris

01 40 02 02 05direction@parrainsparmille.org

Thank you !