This study explored youth-initiated mentoring (YIM) implementation at the organizational level through interviews with mentoring program staff (n = 11) and addressed motivations of mentoring program staff to implement YIM, how their programs implemented this approach, and their perceptions of the facilitators and barriers to successful YIM implementation.
Youth-initiated mentoring (YIM) is an approach to mentor recruitment that represents a significant departure from how formal mentoring typically has been conceptualized and implemented, most notably by having youth identify their own mentors. Despite enthusiasm for YIM, implementation can require significant shifts in program practices. Given the limited resources with which most mentoring programs must work, it is important to discern staff investment in YIM and what it takes for programs to implement this approach. (publisher abstract modified)