Kinship Mentor Application

Dear Potential Mentor,

Thank you for your interest in becoming a mentor with Kinship of the Park Rapids Area. All adults who wish to actively mentor a child must complete the application in addition to providing Personal References, Interest Survey, Background Investigation and Exchange of Information Release. When applicants plan to mentor as a couple, we ask each person to complete an application. This helps in making the best match possible for you. Children and youth who wish to mentor with their parent need to complete the Application for Youth to Mentor with Parent.

The Kinship matching process often takes several weeks to complete:

• You complete and submit the volunteer application below
• We check all references and background checks
• We interview you in your home
• The Board of Directors approves all new mentors
• You attend an orientation for new volunteers at Kinship
• We match you with a Kinship Youth in their home

Please understand that if you are accepted into the Kinship program, any final decision about whether you are an appropriate volunteer for a specific child rests with the parent/guardian of that child. Acceptance into the program does not guarantee that a match can or will be made.

Any information obtained through this application process, and deemed, by the Kinship staff, to be relevant to your appropriateness as a volunteer for a particular child, may be communicated to the parent/guardian of that child. You will receive similar relevant information about the background and family of any child with whom you are being considered for a match as deemed appropriate by the Kinship staff. However, your full name, as well as the full name of the child and his/her family members, will be kept confidential until all parties agree to a match. This process helps insure that the wishes of all parties are respected, yet maintains privacy should a match be declined by either party.

Thank you for your interest in making a difference in the life of a child!