Children of Incarcerated Parents

changes in their lives that affected their time or ability to continue. Among the
46 children whose matches were terminated for these reasons, Amachi was able
to re-match 38 with new mentors.
HOW ARE THE CHILDREN BENEFITING?
Amachi is still a very young program, and it is too soon for a rigorous evaluation
of outcomes. However, early indications—and, specifically, the duration of
many of the Amachi matches—suggest that it is making a difference in the lives
of children who are involved in the mentoring relationships.
Outcomes and the Length of Relationships
P/PV’s evaluation of Big Brothers Big Sisters demonstrated that children and
youth whose matches last longer are more likely to show improvement in their
behaviors and attitudes than are those whose matches are shorter. 20 Relationships
of short duration probably do not allow adequate time to develop the mutual
trust and respect necessary for real growth to occur on the part of the mentee.
But how long do relationships have to be for positive changes to begin to occur?
The BBBS research demonstrated that 12 months is the point where positive
outcomes start to appear.That study divided mentees into four groups according
to the length of time they were matched with an adult: matches that terminated
in less than 3 months, in 3 to 5 months, and in 6 to 12 months, and matches
that were still active after more than 12 months.The threshold was for relationships
that lasted more than 12 months. Children and youth in those relationships
(as compared to similar youth who were not in a mentoring relationship):
•Felt more confident about doing their school work,
•Skipped fewer days of school,
• Had higher grades, and
•Were less likely to start using drugs or alcohol.
There were no positive impacts shown in relationships lasting less than 6
months. For children and youth in relationships that lasted 6 to 12 months, the
one positive outcome was that they skipped fewer days of school.
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AMACHI