The Standards are not meant to certify or accredit mentoring programs.  They provide a planning and assessment framework that raises the bar for mentoring programs.  The Standards provide a basis for each program (board, staff, and other constituents) to make a conscious comparison and determination of how the Standards will best meet the needs of youth and families in their service area.

Also available is the  Program Self-Assessment Checklist , which is a tool for youth mentoring programs.  The Checklist can help determine areas of potential improvement and identify the components of quality youth mentoring that are strengths of the organization.

The Mentor Michigan Providers Council, a body of 20 mentoring experts from across the state, drafted the standards from best practices developed by national, state, and local organizations.  First Gentleman Daniel G. Mulhern presented the standards and gathered feedback from mentoring professionals throughout the state at four Regional Trainings in the summer of 2005.  Feedback was also gathered from mentoring programs that were unable to attend a Regional Training.  The feedback was incorporated and the Standards finalized by the Mentor Michigan Providers Council in October 2005.   Click here for additional information on the development of the Standards and Checklist .  Also available is a  flow chart which visually depicts the process and the timeline for the development of the Standards and Checklist.

Mentor Michigan Quality Program Standards for Youth (PDF)
Mentor Michigan Program Self Assessment Checklist (PDF)

The complete set of Standards are listed below:

Standard 1
Standard 1 Revisited
Standard 2
Standard 2 Revisited
Standard 3
Standard 3 Revisited
Standard 4
Standard 4 Revisited
Standard 5
Standard 5 Revisited
Standard 6
Standard 6 Revisited
Standard 6 Guest Columnist
Standard 7
Standard 7 Revisited
Standard 8
Standard 8 Revisited
Standard 9
Standard 9 Revisited
Standard 10
Standard 11