The meeting’s discussion focused on elements of a holistic screening process, starting with the sharing of program policies and signing of a contract between volunteers and the program, and continuing with other screening tools such as criminal background checks, personal references, driver record checks, and volunteer interviews.

Participants emphasized the need for screening to begin with the first contact between potential volunteers and a program, and to carry on through the orientation and training of volunteers, as well as through the formal screening process.  Screening is also part of the ongoing supervision and monitoring of mentors after they are matched, as program managers must be alert to changes in the volunteer’s situation that could affect a mentor-mentee relationship.

Participants shared how their programs perform different screening functions such as personal interviews and background checks and how they have updated these functions to meet the need of youth, families and volunteers.  Of special interest were the ways in which program staff share responsibilities for screening, in order to have more then one person’s assessment of potential volunteers, and how programs interact with volunteers in their home environments in order to assess safety issues for children who might visit there.

However with home visits becoming a more accepted part of the volunteer screening process, more staff time is invested in screening.  Home visits offer a way for programs to assess how others in the home may interact with a mentee, witness how a potential mentor’s living situation reflects their personality and interests (as opposed to being told of this in an interview), and is also a way to check for potential hazards such as a home on a lake, motorcycles, etc.

Program providers agreed that no matter how long they had been screening volunteers there are always new concerns to incorporate into the screening process.  Programs have upgraded contracts with volunteers to spell out how to deal with issues such as gun ownership and vehicle airbags, in order to provide specific guidance to volunteers in keeping children safe. 

To be a part of discussions like this, to receive tools to operate more effectively, or to network among friends, join your peers on January 6, 2005 at 8:30 a.m. at Northeast Bank in Minneapolis for the next Metro Mentor Network meeting.