National Association of Foster Grandparent Program Directors (NAFGPD)

National Association of RSVP Directors, Inc. (NARSVPD)

Program Overview

What is the Peer Mentoring Program?

In October 2007, NAFGPD and NARSVPD were awarded a contract by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) to design, implement and manage a Peer-to-Peer Mentoring Program for new Senior Corps Directors who have been “on the job” for 18 or fewer months. Experienced Senior Corps directors who have managed their Senior Corps project for at least 3 years serve as the mentors for their less experienced peers. The Peer Mentoring Program (PMP) is designed to provide new directors with personalized and meaningful mentoring that is grounded in information laid out in the program handbooks and regulations, and is delivered by knowledgeable, seasoned, and experienced fellow-director-mentors who have faced numerous project operations realities. The Peer Mentoring Project creates an organized system to link experienced project directors to novices.

What are the qualifications of NAFGPD and NARSVPD to manage the PMP?

NAFGPD and NARSVPD have informally mentored new directors across the nation for over 35 years. All of the directors who serve on the Peer Mentoring Program Management team with Katharine Gregg, the CNCS Contracts Officer Technical Representative (COTR), and Senior Corps staff, as well as Mary Louise Schweikert, the Program Manager, have mentored many new directors in their long careers as Senior Corps directors. In addition, the Associations designed and managed a CNCS-funded formal peer mentoring program several years ago. The goal of this joint endeavor by NAFGPD and NARSVPD is to formalize and institutionalize peer mentoring as an integral part of training for all new FGP, RSVP and SCP directors across the country

What is the current status of the Peer Mentoring Program?

The systems for recruiting, nominating, selecting and training experienced Senior Corps directors as well as delivering mentoring services to new directors who were referred for mentoring services by their CSO staff was tested with 15 Senior Corps mentors in the Southern Cluster from mid-February 2008 through the end of May 2008. Forty-five Mentors from the remaining four Clusters were recruited, nominated by their CSOs, selected and trained prior to the Senior Corps national conference in Atlanta and will begin mentoring their assigned new directors after June 2, 2008. To date, 60 experienced FGP, SCP< and RSVP directors are engaged as Mentors with approximately 120 new Senior Corps directors. By the end of the contract year (9/30/08), the Peer Mentoring Corps will be comprised of a total of 75 Senior Corps directors.

What are the basic components of the Peer Mentoring Program?

After required orientation and training, each Mentor is:

• matched with two new project directors per year;

• delivers two face-to-face visits to each assigned new director;

• develops a simple Mentoring plan with each new director, detailing 3 to 5 knowledge areas and/or skills upon which the mentoring will focus for the year;

• available on an on-going basis for telephone consultation with the new project director for one year;

In addition, each Mentor:

• makes regular email and telephone contacts with their assigned new project directors to answer questions and assess the new project director’s need for further assistance;

• completes and submits minimal but required paperwork;

• tracks contacts with their assigned new project directors, and

• receives an honorarium and reimbursement for travel expenses for each face-to-face meeting.

As a Peer Mentor, what will I actually do?

New Senior Corps project directors have a great deal to learn as they assume their duties – from regulations and policy to effective practices. While Corporation State Office staff are, and will remain, the primary source of technical, policy interpretation, and compliance interpretation information to their new project directors, there is great value in peer mentoring by experienced directors.

As a peer mentor, you will:

• Serve as an experienced source of practical programmatic or volunteer management information to your new project director.

• Identify 3 to 5 areas of need to work on with the new project director and help guide your new project director to make the most of your time together – to help ensure that the meetings or conversations stay on track and address the issues raised.

• Help connect your new project director to other resources that may have been helpful to you – particularly online resources.

• Encourage your new project director to make use of materials and resources provided by the Corporation – including the Statute (Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973), Program Regulations, Project Director Handbook, the Senior Corps list serve, and others.

• Guide your new project director to develop a relationship and interact with their CSO when necessary.

How can I participate as a Mentor in the Peer Mentoring Program?

If you have been “on-the-job” for at least 3 years and want to become a Mentor:

1. Review the Mentor Selection Criteria (available from the PMP Manager) to make sure you qualify. If you qualify:

2. Call your CSO program specialist and ask him/her to nominate you as a Mentor (using a form supplied by the PMP Manager), or

3. Nominate yourself as a Mentor (using a form supplied by the PMP Manager).

In order for you to be selected as a Mentor, there must be 2 new directors who need a mentor located within a reasonable driving distance from your project.

How can I receive the services of a Mentor if I am a new Senior Corps Director?

Requests for mentoring for new Senior Corps directors must come from CSO staff in your state. If you have been “on-the-job” for no more than 18 to 24 months and would like to work with a Mentor:

1. Call your CSO program specialist and ask him/her to request mentoring services for you (using a form supplied by the PMP Manager).

Questions? Need a form?

If you have any questions or need copies of any forms, please feel free to contact the Peer Mentoring Program Manager, Mary Louise Schweikert, at 570.713.8800 (voice) or gschweik@sunlink.net.