The Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) has identified the importance of permanency for children and youth in care, defined as “permanent, stable relationships” which “are a major determinant of whether children feel safe and secure and therefore, of well-being overall” (MCFD, n.d.). However, currently only 20% of children and youth transitioning from government care in British Columbia (BC) achieve it, while the remaining 80% are left to navigate a complex adult system and the incumbent challenges that ensue on their own (GBC, 2019). Limited research has been conducted on the impact of relational permanency and mentorship, or the lack thereof, on care leavers in BC; this thesis examines this topic, identifies mentorship programs for youth in or recently out of care, and recommends system improvements based on policy reviews, literature reviews, and interviews with care providers and youth transitioned from care. The literature review highlights the importance of youth mentorship as a support for youth in and/or transitioned from care as well as the root causes of systemic issues within the child welfare system. The policy review uncovers gaps and inconsistencies within MCFD’s policies and practices that enable discretionary decision-making and undermine consistency and clarity. The interviews expose ongoing community-based mentoring (CBM) program, care leaver, and system level challenges, as well as opportunities to improve outcomes for youth in and/or transitioned from care. Ultimately, this research highlights the importance of relational permanency in the lives of children and youth in and transitioned from care, while drawing attention to the reasons that many care leavers do not attain it. Additionally, it demonstrates the effectiveness of CBM programs and identifies the need and opportunity for system change, both at the provincial level and specific to MCFD. The proposed recommendations provide implementable solutions to the identified policy gaps and inconsistencies, as well as a systems level reform to the purpose and role of MCFD. / Graduate

This research describes organizational level implementation strategies utilized in piloting enhancements to the school-based mentoring program from Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Semi-structured interviews (n=15) with lead agency implementers along with conference call meeting notes were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Findings yield a description of the challenges to implementation and strategies to overcome these challenges, formal implementation strategies engaged in, and the extent to which these align with an implementation framework put forth by Klein, Conn, and Sorra (2001) with supplement from Fixsen, Naoom, Blase, Friedman, and Wallace (2005). Findings from this study indicate that financial resources, management support, implementation climate and select implementation policies and practices are important to attend to during the implementation of a school-based mentoring program. Additionally, organizational readiness for change and organizational climate should be attended to before program implementation. Implementation strategies identified through this research help to define important organizational factors that drive the implementation of school-based mentoring programs.

The greatest and most persistent lag in academic achievement in the United States is between African American males and all other groups of students. This study was designed to investigate one possible approach to ameliorating the gap: a school-based mentoring program that helps African American males internalize a positive racial-ethnic identity regarding their academic-self competency and possible future-selves. This study 1) examined the quality of 6th grade African American young males experience in a school-based mentoring program, 2) examined the impact of the program in terms of participants’ racial-ethnic identities in their grade point averages, academic achievement, behavior, academic self-efficacy, and possible future selves. Qualitative findings showed the mentees enjoyed the mentoring program as it allowed for meaningful interactions with guest speakers and co-learning with classmates. Academic self-efficacy findings revealed the mentees grew in their understanding that academic work may be rigorous, but persistence is key. For possible future-selves, the mentees were motivated to pursue different career-paths, believed that more things were possible in life, along with being prompted to take school more seriously. Quantitative results showed there were positive increases in the mentees’ perception of their racial ethnic-identity and grade point average. There was also statistically significant data in the academic self-efficacy and possible future-selves. The results of an ANOVA showed a statistically significant difference in the mentees’ academic self-efficacy. The results of an ANOVA showed a statistically significant difference in the mentees possible future-selves. Additionally, the mentees’ possible future-selves Cohen’s d test showed a large effect size. / Educational Leadership