The role of long-term mentoring in alternative child care settings.

Background: Udayan Care, an NGO based in New Delhi, India, provides alternative care to 'Children without Parental Care', in small-group residential homes. The homes have a Living In Family Environment (L.I.F.E) Model, where 'Group Care' ensures that children are loved and cared for by a group of long-term volunteers, called mentor parents, along with other care staff. A novel parenting concept, the mentor parents are ordinary individuals with extraordinary sensitivity, voluntarily committing themselves for life. They instill in children a sense of trust and belonging to the community and are concurrently empowered and fulfilled by the endeavor.

Objective: This study attempted to explore the scope and impact of a distinct mentor model in alternative child care, its positive outcomes, and some challenges faced, from the perspective of mentor parents.

Participants And Setting: With a qualitative research design, interviews were conducted with the mentor parents (n = 21) from Udayan Care, to capture their experiences and perspectives.

Methods: The interviews were conducted using an indigenously developed semi-structured interview guide, and the responses were transcribed, organized, coded, and analyzed using applied thematic analysis.

Results: The unique roles and responsibilities that mentor parents bring to the care system were identified, along with how they add value to the mentor-mentee relationship. Some challenges in the care practice were also discerned.

Conclusions: This paper gleans mentor perspectives that could be valuable for the design and implementation of mentorship programs, encouraging similar scalable models that could support the growth, development, and outcomes of children in care.