Building Your Capacity for Match Support: Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION TO MATCH SUPPORT
Match support involves establishing purposeful and ongoing communication among mentoring program staff members, mentors, and mentees. The primary aim is to ensure that the mentor, the mentee, and the mentee’s parent/guardian receive appropriate guidance, oversight, and support — ultimately resulting in a high-quality mentoring relationship. Facilitating this level of communication requires robust match-support systems.
Key terms and concepts we’ll explore in this chapter:
- Match support timeline
- Benefits of match support
- Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring: Standard 5
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When Do Match-Support Activities Occur? When do you think match-support activities occur during the mentoring cycle? Use the list of options below to complete the following sentence:
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Match Support Timeline In this module, match support refers to monitoring and support activities that occur:
- After match initiation
- Before match closure
Recruitment and Screening Training Match Initiation Match Support Getting matches off to a good start - Setting program expectations
- Starting the relationship
- Identifying goals
- Setting boundaries
Monitoring and supporting the match during the relationship - Establishing routine check-ins
- Planning match activities
- Recognizing match milestones
Providing additional support and training - Addressing match challenges
- Offering advanced training
- Facilitating community building
Match Closure -
Benefits of Match Support The communication systems you establish through match support can help:
Increase Match Contact When program staff members are in regular contact with mentors, mentees, and parents/guardians, matches meet more frequently. Increase Involvement of Supportive Adults Monthly contact with a supportive adult in the mentee’s life, such as a parent/guardian or teacher, provides an opportunity to involve that person in the mentoring relationship. The monitoring systems you establish through match support can help your program identify:
Changes in the Relationship Mentoring relationships develop over time and therefore must adjust to mentees’ changing developmental needs. Put another way, as the mentee changes, the mentoring relationship must also change. Unforeseen Challenges and Safety Concerns Consistent, frequent monitoring and support throughout the match help the mentor and mentee navigate any challenges that may arise over time. It also helps identify potential safety concerns as well. -
Essential Practices for Match Support 
Standard 5: Monitoring and Support from the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring provides high-level guidance and essential benchmarks to ensure the safety and effectiveness of mentoring relationships. Activity: Review the Standard 5: Monitoring and Support Checklist and consider:
- Which activities does your program already conduct?
- Which activities does your program have yet to implement? Where could you continue to build capacity?
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Additional Resources