Second Rule of Mentor/Coaching Youth

Promote the youth’s welfare and safety

The second guiding ethical principle is promoting the welfare and safety of the youth. There are a number of components to consider when considering how to best promote their welfare and safety:
• Build rapport with the youth’s primary caregivers to develop understanding of family circumstances, belief systems, and expectations for the child. Because the Right Back on Track mentoring/coaching program is unique in that it is done through phone mentoring/coaching, rapport building with caregivers can be more challenging than face-to-face mentoring/coaching. However, contact with school counselors can help bridge this gap. Building rapport and connections with the youth’s support systems improves the youth’s chances for success.
• Obtain ongoing training to expand your cultural knowledge. In addition to formal training on working with youth from different cultural backgrounds, it is important to understand the youth’s perspective on his or her life and culture. It can be helpful if you have a similar background to the youth, but remember that regardless of the similarities, the youth has his or her experiences that must be understood.
• Clear and appropriate boundaries: mentor/coaches should be aware of multiple roles and mindful of situations in which youth make disclosures or raise concerns that would be better handled by a parent or professional (e.g., psychologist, physician) and encourage the youth to take his or her concerns up with them. Mentor/coaches are not parents, licensed counselors, clergy, or friends with the youth there are mentoring/coaching.