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The Mentor is matched with one child, preferably of the same gender, and commits to meeting with that child at least once a week at the aftercare facility. The commitment should last until the child is returned back to his/her family, or until the child moves into long-term family care. The goal of creating a relationship between a Mentor and a child is to provide additional rehabilitative support from someone who interacts with them on a volunteer basis. A mentor should only be paired with one child at a time, and can be paired with a child whether he/she is temporarily sheltered in the aftercare program or will be moved into long-term family care. This individual should be recruited and trained within the context of a local/faith-based organization within the community in which the aftercare program exists.

The God-Parent commits to meeting with the child at least once a week at the site of the family care home, school, or long-term facility of the local/faith-based organization. The commitment should be life-long; weekly meetings take place until the child becomes an adult, after which the God-Parent should continue to serve as an integral role of his/her life. The goal of creating a relationship between a God-Parent and a child is to provide ongoing personal, emotional, spiritual, social, and economic support from a stable and caring adult who is a part of the child’s life voluntarily on a long-term basis. The child who is assigned a God-Parent should have transitioned out of a short-term shelter and into long-term family care or a family-care home. This God-Parent should be continually trained and provided support from the same local/faith-based organization.

Guardianship is a legal commitment to provide shelter, education, food, medical care, and financial management to a child. It is a life-long commitment, whereby a child will become fully integrated into a family and receive the same love and care of a natural born child. Guardians fulfill the following duties:

• Accept the constant responsibilities of caring for a child
• Accept full liability for the child’s actions
• Manage the child’s finances and provide records to the court
• Go through necessary court proceedings for permission to handle certain financial issues
• Build a stable, caring, and supportive relationship with the child
• Act as the legal parent of the child for the entirety of the guardianship
• Accept the impact that becoming a Guardian has upon one’s family, health, and job