Assessing for Impact: Key Elements to Successful Group Mentoring at the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Atlanta

This document reports on a research study that utilized a mixed methods approach to determine the impact of Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention-funded program enhancement on mentored youth, in a network of Boys & Girls Clubs in Metro Atlanta (BGCMA). The researchers conducted secondary data analysis of youth outcomes for participants of an enhanced mentoring program as well as qualitative interviews to better understand the enhanced mentoring program and staff and program practices, as well as to obtain insights from staff mentors and youth served. The study included two primary phases with the goals of providing research that would support program improvement and implementation, developing a better understanding of BGCMA mentoring approaches that support youth success, and disseminating new information into the field about the mentoring model and its youth outcomes. The report presents detailed information about the research study’s data collection, research methodology, and findings. Overall research findings indicated that the enhanced mentoring model used by BGCMA had a positive impact on several youth outcome areas, including attendance frequency, program rendition, academics, and delinquency. Qualitative staff interviews highlighted key BGC practices that paralleled best practice recommendations for youth monitoring, and staff as well as youth highlighted the central role of relationships that supported evidence of BGC’s implementation of a collective mentoring approach. Findings also support potential continued investment in this mentoring model and provide context for future research to better understand the enhanced mentoring approach.