How the match works
Mandated requirements are unique to BBBS when compared with other current mentoring programs that give preference to more casual youth-mentor relationships that require far less screening and training, and do not necessarily have prescribed standards regarding participant investment, and may not involve intense and rigorous relationship supervision.
Big Brothers Big Sisters targets the children who need us most, including those living in single parent homes, growing up in poverty and coping with parental incarceration.
Before we make a match, we do our homework. After someone expresses an interest in becoming a Big, they go through an extensive background check and careful interview process.
Then we match Bigs and Littles based on location, personalities and preferences. And we provide full support from the start, so matches can grow into lasting, fruitful friendships. It’s also important to note that the entire matching process is made possible through donations and we can’t do what we do best here in Rockland County without them!
What’s a Big and Little to do? Each match is unique. Getting together doesn’t require a special occasion or expensive activity—just a few hours every month doing things the Little and Big already enjoy BECAUSE According to A NATIONALLY PROVEN study, our one-to-one matches are the driving force behind making an impact on children.
A Big Brothers Big Sisters’ match is carefully administered and held to the strictest standards. Agency staff strives for matches that are not only safe and well suited to each child’s needs, but also harmonious and built to last. But don’t just think of us as simply matchmakers.
We provide ongoing support and supervision to the Big, the Little, and the Little’s family.
We offer training and advice to help ensure that the match is working for everyone involved and our professional staff even receives its own ongoing training and consulting from the Big Brothers Big Sisters national office. It is this web of support that helps maximize the likelihood that a Big Brothers Big Sisters relationship lasts.
In the traditional Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring model, the volunteer mentor commits to spending approximately three to five hours per week with the child for at least one year. Goals for the child are set with the BBBS staff during an initial interview held with the parent and child. Prior to acceptance into the program, youth undergo a screening process involving a written application, interviews with both parent(s) and child, and a home assessment. This process is intended to ensure that both child and parent are prepared and equipped to honor the high level of commitment required by the program
Mentor participants undergo an extremely rigorous screening process designed to protect children and youth by identifying and screening out applicants who are unlikely to honor their time commitment or form positive relationships with youths or who pose a safety risk. After acceptance as a volunteer, mentors undergo orientation and training. The specific training requirements vary from site to site but typically involve discussions on program rules, match expectations, relationship building, match activities, and communication skills.
Big Brothers Big Sisters is predicated on extremely detailed and rigorous volunteer/youth screening, training, and matching practices and standards. In an effort to ensure effective matches, during the first year BBBS Match Support Specialists provide ongoing supervision of the mentor-youth relationship: They are required to contact mentors and youths and/or youths’ parents monthly. Beyond the first year, supervision requirements are reduced: BBBS Match Support Specialists are required to contact mentors and youths and/or youths’ parents four times yearly. These requirements are unique to BBBS when compared with other current mentoring programs that give preference to more casual youth-mentor relationships that require far less screening and training, do not necessarily have prescribed standards regarding participant investment, and may not involve intense and rigorous relationship supervision.
