SECTIONS 2100-2106 - California Statutes

WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE

SECTION 2100-2106

2100. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that California's
children are growing up under conditions of great stress that are
resulting in devastating effects on their development and well-being.
Structural changes in society, including the breakdown in the
traditional family and erosion of neighborhood community support
networks, have taken a toll on their welfare, self-esteem, and
academic achievement. While youth struggle with many difficulties,
four risk factors stand out: academic failure, substance abuse,
involvement in the criminal justice system, and teen pregnancy. To
address these challenges, the State of California recognizes quality
mentoring as a critical prevention strategy, not as a panacea for the
aforementioned problems, but as a cost-effective method of assisting
today's youth to become productive, contributing members of society,
and as an important source of data for improving the quality of all
relationships between youth and adults. Research finds that without
the caring support, counsel, and role modeling of more experienced
individuals or exposure to natural support networks, young people are
much more vulnerable to the destructive forces of apathy, abuse, and
neglect. As we acknowledge the increasing numbers of children who do
not have the benefit of positive relationships, there has been an
increasing recognition of the value of mentoring, an activity that
connects a caring and more experienced person with a young person who
is in need of attention and support. As a means of maximizing public
resources, mentoring is both efficient and effective, relying on
volunteers as the core service providers to create collateral
improvements in the lives of youth. The public investment in the
prevention strategy of mentoring has inspired significant private
support at the local level. Mentoring principles may also be used to
create mentor-rich environments wherever youth and adults interact on
a regular basis, thereby effectively expanding the world of positive
adult contacts for youth in their natural environments.
(b) The complexities of supporting mentoring organizations and
promoting the formation of positive developmental relationships
wherever young people and adults interact requires the coordinated
and sustained support of many private and public sector organizations
to ensure that their services are available to all young persons who
wish to have a mentor. To meet the needs of each young person,
mentor services should be available in communities throughout
California and mentor-rich environments should be created wherever
young people and adults interact on a regular basis. Mentor programs
should be culturally and linguistically competent and should embrace
the rich diversity of the state. It is the intent of the Legislature
and the purpose of this chapter to foster a partnership between the
public and private sector for the long-term support of quality mentor
programs and mentor-rich environments in which young people can
interact on a regular basis with an array of caring adults.
(c) Mentoring California's youth has been carried on by thousands
of dedicated volunteers through local mentor organizations and with
the very significant contributions of the business community in both
time and money. State and local government agencies also operate
mentor programs. However, the need far outweighs the current
resources. The valuable potential services of many caring adults and
older youth continue to go untapped while the waiting list of
children in need continues to grow, and distant youth-adult
relationships continue to exist where developmental youth-adult
relationships could flourish.

2102. It is the goal of the Legislature in enacting this chapter to
do all of the following:
(a) To give every young person in California access to a quality
mentoring relationship. This shall be accomplished by sustaining or
growing the state's resources under the auspices of the Governor's
Mentoring Partnership, to the extent those resources are available.
The Legislature recognizes the efforts of state departments who have
supported local mentor programs under the Governor's Mentoring
Partnership, including the State Department of Alcohol and Drug
Programs, the California Conservation Corps, the Department of the
Youth Authority, the Governor's Office on Service and Volunteerism,
the Department of Community Services and Development, the State
Department of Education, the State Department of Health Services, the
Department of Justice, the Office of the Secretary for Education,
and the Office of Criminal Justice Planning. This base of support
shall be sustained or increased predicated upon the performance
outcomes in successfully addressing the four risk factors, and in
ensuring that youth are problem free, and fully prepared for the
responsibilities and challenges of adulthood.
(b) To direct consideration towards identifying opportunities for
increased private sector investment in the support and expansion of
mentoring.
(c) To encourage state agencies and departments to collaborate to
build youth developmental assets.

2104. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
apply:
(a) "At-risk youth" means an individual under 21 years of age
whose environment increases their chance of academic failure, alcohol
and other drug use, involvement in the criminal justice system, or
teen pregnancy.
(b) "Mentoring" means a relationship over a period of time in
which caring and concerned adults and older youth provide support,
guidance, and help to younger at-risk persons as they go through
life.
(c) "Mentor-rich environments" are environments that create many
opportunities for young people to interact with an array of caring
adults and where youth feel respected, connected, and affirmed.

2106. It is the intent of the Legislature that all youth mentoring
programs shall be afforded all of the following:
(a) The adoption of quality assurance standards by school- and
community-based mentor programs.
(b) The provision of mentor program technical assistance.
(c) The provision of technical assistance to any organization that
wishes to improve youth-adult relationships.
(d) The provision of a mentor program clearinghouse and library
service.
(e) The preparation and periodic updating of a statewide directory
of mentor program services.
(f) The provision of mentor program referrals to the general
public.
(g) The coordination of the state employee mentor recruitment
campaign.
(h) The development of a coordinated and coherent reporting form
and requirements.
(i) (1) In order to obtain funding appropriated by the
Legislature, mentor programs shall have adopted the California Mentor
Initiative Quality Assurance Standards and shall provide data
regarding mentee outcomes as requested by the state funding agencies
consistent with subdivision (h).
(2) Adopted in 1997, the Quality Assurance Standards can be found
in the State Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs Publication
Number 99-1121. The requirements of these standards are summarized as
follows:
(A) A statement of purpose and a long-range plan.
(B) A recruitment plan for both mentors and mentees.
(C) An orientation for mentors and mentees.
(D) Eligibility screening for mentors and mentees.
(E) A readiness and training curriculum for all mentors and
mentees.
(F) A strategy that matches the provider program's purpose.
(G) A monitoring program that includes ongoing assessment.
(H) A support, recognition, and retention component, including
ongoing peer support, training, and development.
(I) Closure steps that include confidential exit interviews.
(J) An evaluation process based on an outcome analysis of the
mentor program, program criteria, and statement of purpose.