Locations

Chicago IL.

Kankakee IL

Gary IN.

St Louis MO.

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Febuary 2004 /Chicago

The Couples Mentoring Program  (CMP) is a unique new program, developed by Dr. Dennis J. Woods, President  and CEO of Couples Mentoring Youth and Family Services, LLC. In this effective approach to mentoring,  married couples are utilized to provide this dynamic service. After years of being a Pediatric Mental Health Specialist and a Mentoring Consultant, Dr. Woods discovered that there was a greater benefit to his clients when his spouse accompanied him on mentoring sessions. 

The results were remarkable. Our clients responded better to the guidance, interaction, and perspective of both husband and wife working together as a team.   The payoff was a win-win situation where the client, the couple and the agency all benefited from this innovative new approach to mentoring. 

Statistics indicate that children do far better, behaviorally, scholastically, and go on to achieve greater levels of success when raised in a nurturing environment where both mother and father provide the care they need.  However, children that are in foster care typically,  do not have both mother and father role models in the home.   While, at the same time, there are married couples who don’t have children that would love to have a positive  impact on a child’s life.  The Couples Mentoring program unites both worlds to bring about a therapeutic dynamic that can not be equaled by traditional mentoring programs.

Services

Mentoring  Tutoring  Counseling  
 

COUPLES MENTORING IS SUPERIOR TO TRADITIONAL MENTORING PROGRAMS

• Provides a greater sensitivity to the client’s issues and needs
• Helps reinforce the concept of family
• Provides a better model for socialization
• Provides a richer environment for interaction and role modeling
• Provides a greater level of supervision
• Husband and wife team provides better security  therefore promoting greater self-esteem  
• Not gender restricted.  One couple can service both male and female clients
• Provides two mentors per client
• Excellent for sibling groups
• Mentoring sessions provide needed respite for the guardian 

Just as a children  naturally benefit from observing and learning from their mother and father, so do clients benefit from a mentoring couple.  Therefore, the benefits of couples mentoring as opposed to traditional mentoring are numerous.  Couples Mentoring provides a greater sensitivity to the clients issues and needs.  The maternal instincts of a mother and the strength and security  of a protective father, supplies the  emotional and psychological balance that foster children often miss in their daily experience.  The perspectives of the male and female, both collectively and individually, gives a much wider  range of insight, interaction, while helping to improve the clients socialization skills and behavior by observing the husband and wife role models.  Additionally, Couples Mentoring  provides a greater level of supervision, and promotes higher self esteem  because  clients  feel better about themselves in a stable environment.   Couples Mentoring is also excellent for sibling groups and is not gender restricted because one couple can service male or female clients.

Profile for Couples Mentoring Clients

Candidates  who best fit the couples mentoring profile are children between the ages of 5-12 years of age, and (1)  who have been emotionally or physically abused, where  trust, and the need to feel secure are best addressed by a male and female role model.  (2) Children who would have difficulty, trusting any adult in a one-on-one situation because of past abuse issues fairs better with a couple.  (3) Children that are hyperactive and require more supervision because of poor judgment and impulsivity. (4) Children that have suffered neglect and require additional attention are better served by a mentoring couple. (5) Children whose parents are incarcerated and children whose parents have lost custody and have limited or no contact with maternal parents.  (6) Sibling groups where separation from one another could be counter productive therefore, simultaneous mentoring sessions are best.

 Traditional Mentoring Program (TMP) is best suited for those clients who  are between the ages of 13 and 21, that require one-on-one  adult guidance and companionship to be along side the client, and to help steer the client away from trouble. Due to a variety of factors, foster parents  may have limited resources and time to engage clients in extra social or recreational activities.  In these cases, the  limited outlets for social and recreational engagement,  can  place clients in a greater likelihood of involvement in at-risk and delinquent behaviors. These undesirable  circumstances places the client in greater danger of delinquency and eventual placement disruption.  In situations like these, a one-on-one  mentor is best, to encourage, guide and empower the client to make appropriate choices  and decisions  through  effective therapeutic  role modeling.

Tutoring Services

Will focus on improving client’s classroom performance and grades through after school educational interventions, designed to improve skills, increase interest in school work, completion of home work and strengthening areas of academic deficiency.  In conjunction with input from teachers, the parents, and assessments, individualized educational plans will be implemented with the goal of raising client’s level of academic functioning by improving test scores and letter grade status.   

Counseling Services

The In-home *Counseling Program is designed to help prevent placement disruption from occurring and promote placement stabilization through in-home counseling sessions.  The purpose of the sessions would be to address behavioral, psychosocial, and emotional issues, of either client or family system, by setting obtainable treatment goals and objectives.  Unless otherwise stipulated, counseling sessions will occur once a week for 3 to 12 months.  All therapists will possess Masters Degrees in Human Services, Counseling, Psychology, Social Work, etc.   Clinical supervision will be provided by  Licensed Clinical Psychologists or LCSW's.

*Counseling services are currently available in Illinois and Indiana only.

Program Scope 
The CMP and TMP are designed  to meet the specific behavioral, social, recreational,  needs of each of our clients.  Each client receives a comprehensive individualized Treatment and Interventions Plan, based on the particular needs  of the client.  The treatment interventions plan will be comprehensive in that it will include  input from parents, teachers, social workers, and clinical professionals, who have direct involvement with the client.  Goals and objectives will be established so that the mentoring activities will coincide with treatment plan outcomes.   Additionally, progress notes and 90 day progress reviews will also be a part of the service.