The Stuff of Supervision

Supervision's services

The forms of assistance that match supervision provides will vary among different matches and over time in the same match. But in general, supervision consists of two primary activities: have a closer look at what is involved with:

1. Supervision as support
2. Supervision as monitoring

Supervision's aims

Ultimately, the goal of match supervision is to help the mentoring relationship result in positive outcomes for the mentee. Match supervision should both support the match to do those things that create positive outcomes, and monitor the match to ensure that those things are occurring.

Research has identified some of the factors that create positive mentoring outcomes. The results of this research point to some important attributes that match supervision should encourage and/or enforce in order to achieve positive mentoring outcomes. For instance, the research indicates that matches who have frequent contact (e.g. once a week) tend to have more positive outcomes than those with less frequent contact. Supervision should therefore promote regular contact. Research (McLearn, Colasanto and Schoen, 1998) also found that in mentoring relationships that last at least two years, mentors are more likely to indicate the relationship had a positive influence on the life of the young person. Supervision should therefore aim at promoting long-term relationships.

Have a look at more research findings that point to successful match attributes that supervision should aim to encourage and monitor, as related to:

• Mentors
• Mentees

Supervision's systems

Trained, professional staff should conduct supervision with all parties in a match, including the mentor, mentee, parent or guardian, and anyone else who has regular involvement in the match. As much as possible, continuity of the match supervisor should be maintained, in order to develop and sustain trust and familiarity in the supervisory relationship. The match supervisor is usually a member of the program staff, but could be another professional, such as a teacher involved in a school based mentoring program.

Supervision contacts are made by phone or in person, and should at minimum follow an established schedule of contacts. For instance, many community-based programs require that supervision contacts be made at least:

• Weekly in the first month of a match,
• Monthly for the first six months,
• Bi-monthly from the seventh to twelfth months,
• Quarterly after that.

If problems are occurring in the match, more frequent contacts are needed. In-person interviews with match participants are often required within the first four months of the match, and around every anniversary of the match if program involvement is ongoing.

The match supervisor should also be available by phone or in person as needed. Additional supervision could also be offered through group support meetings for mentors or parents. Staff should always lead these sessions to intervene should inappropriate or detrimental strategies and advice be offered.

Every attempted and completed supervision contact must be thoroughly documented. This information should be documented in such a way as to ensure that there is follow-up on any problems or potential problems, and to ensure a readable, descriptive, complete narrative exists for other staff who might deal with the match in the future. All entries should be legibly signed and dated by the author.

Through match supervision, many issues can be effectively addressed in order to make for a satisfying, long-lived match. But match supervision may also help to determine when it is time to end a match. Next, learn about match closure.

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