Children of Incarcerated Parents

Pastors’ reasons for recommending specific members of their congregations
suggest some of the attributes that volunteers would be bringing to their role as
mentors. Some people were recommended because of their experience as volunteers
in other youth ministries at the church. Some were recommended
because of their relevant work experience—for example, as a school teacher,
mental health worker, youth worker, or police officer. Others were recommended
because of their own experiences growing up:“raised without a father
and mentored by church family and greatly concerned about children in a similar
situation,” a pastor wrote about one volunteer;“has experience with a parent
who is incarcerated”;“has a great deal of experience dealing with issues surrounding
grief and loss.” Other people were recommended because they were “a
loving grandmother” or “good parent.” And in still other cases, pastors pointed
to personal qualities that are essential for successful mentors:“a very warm person
who cares about children and their needs”;“communicates well”; and, simply,“a
good listener.” 14
In at least one important respect, the volunteers recruited through Amachi
differed from volunteers in a typical mentoring program.While the percentages
of male and female mentors were comparable to other programs, Amachi
attracted a much higher percentage of African Americans. Studies have found
that, across mentoring programs, 15 to 20 percent of adult volunteers are members
of a racial minority, 15 and programs—particularly those that strive to match
children with mentors of the same race—are constantly looking for ways to
increase that percentage. In Amachi, however, 82 percent of mentors were
African American and an additional 8 percent were Latino/a. (See Table 2.) In
addition, 34 percent were African-American males—a significant percentage. For
most mentoring programs, this is the most difficult group of volunteers to
attract, and one that programs are most interested in recruiting so they can be
paired with African-American male children who might otherwise be growing
up without a supportive male adult of the same race who is a consistent presence
in their lives.
Amachi volunteers also tended to be somewhat older than volunteers in typical
community-based mentoring programs. In one broad survey of programs, for
example, 12 percent of mentors were age 21 or younger; 69 percent were 22 to
49; and 19 percent were 50 or older. 16 While the percentage of 22- to 49-yearold
mentors was comparable in Amachi, there was a higher percentage of older
volunteers—26 percent were more than 50 years old.
GETTING AMACHI UP AND RUNNING 23