How to Apply Mentor Application (Adobe PDF, 218 KB) Mentee Application (Adobe PDF, 272 KB)

Mentor
Current service providers who have at least four years of experience working with children birth to five with special needs may apply to be a mentor in the program. Service providers in our database include therapists, early intervention specialists, early childhood special educators, program directors of early intervention centers, developmental day directors, and others. Your name and information will be entered into our mentor program database and will be used to help make referrals to new mentees joining the program. The mentor program coordinator, Laura Curtis, will call you when a someone requests a mentor with your expertise and location to verify that you are able to participate in the program at that time. If so, Laura will share your information with the mentee. You will receive a phone call from the potential mentee so that you both can discuss your needs, experience, and time availability. If the mentee decides to work with you, then we will set up an orientation session for you, your mentee, and the mentor program coordinator to meet and discuss the program and the mentee's learning needs. You can download an application (you will need Adobe to open it) or email Laura to request an application.

Mentee
Any service provider working with, or interested in working with, children birth to five with special needs who would like to learn from another service provider may sign up to be a mentee. You may be new to the field, want to learn more about a specific topic in your discipline, or want to be mentored by someone in another discipline. You can download an application (you will need Adobe to open it) or email Laura to request an application.

Examples of mentees include:

There is a $10.00 processing fee and application required to be a mentee. When your application is received, the program coordinator, Laura Curtis, will locate available mentors who would be able to serve your individual needs. Laura will establish a list of potential mentors from our mentor bank who live or work in your area and have the expertise in the areas of your professional needs. If there are no mentors in our database in your area, Laura will perform a targeted search to locate experienced service providers in your area who would like to participate in the program. If you have a specific mentor that you would like to work with, you are encouraged to indicate that on your application. 

One of the most important steps in establishing a mentorship is finding the right person. As the mentee, you are given the opportunity to decide which mentor you would like to work with in the program. Laura will provide you with information about each potential mentor and you call each mentor to informally interview / discuss your needs and expectations. You will also be given a list of things you may want to think about before calling the potential mentors as well as a list of questions that may help guide your discussions with the potential mentors. 

After you talk to the potential mentors and decide who you would like to work with you will call Laura at the Family Support Network of North Carolina at (800) 852-0042. We will then set up an orientation session for you, your mentor, and the mentor program coordinator to meet and discuss the program and your learning needs.