Washington Youth ChalleNGe Academy Renews their Partnership with MentorPRO

The academy has used MentorPRO to support post-residential mentoring since 2023, and the new statewide contract continues that work without interruption.

“Washington has been one of the standout implementations in the entire ChalleNGe community, and Director Amy Steinhilber’s team has shown what consistent, well-supported post-residential mentoring can look like. We are proud that the state has made this a direct, lasting commitment,” said Jean Rhodes, PhD, Co-founder of MentorPRO and Director of the Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring at UMass Boston.

The Washington Youth ChalleNGe Academy prepares at-risk 16-18 year olds through an intensive residential program, followed by a 12-month post-residential phase in which mentoring is central. MentorPRO gives case managers real-time visibility into cadet-mentor engagement and match health, and earlier phases of the partnership saw engagement rates above 85 percent. Washington staff also contribute regularly to the national ChalleNGe best-practices webinar series hosted with MentorPRO.

The partnership reflects MentorPRO’s growing work across the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe community and builds on peer-reviewed research linking structured, technology-supported mentoring with stronger outcomes for young people in transition.