How to Make Mentor Programs a Positive Influence on Service Utilization by Teen Parents?
Sara-Ann Steber, MSS, MLSP, Center for Mental Health Policy and Services Research, University of Pennsylvania, 3600 Market Street, Room 720, Philadelphia, PA 19104-2648, 215-662-2886, ssteber@cmhpsr.upenn.edu and Lani L. Nelson-Zlupko, PhD, School of Social Work, University of Pennsylvania. Abstract: Mentor programs have become a popular approach to increasing reading level’s, improving school performance and improving quality of life for children and adolescents in a variety of settings. At their best, mentor programs are a strength-based service designed to identify supportive responses to the struggles and challenges that face our youth at school, at home and in the community. Model mentor programs help to link children and adolescents to appropriate and beneficial services in the community. If mentoring is effective across age groups and populations, it should be highly effective for parenting teens, but there are unique problems. Unlike most other groups of children and adolescent
