Abstract
The latest research indicates that children experience traumatic events more frequently than ever expected. As a result, many youth carry symptoms of their trauma that put them at risk for diminished academic and social success. School-based mentoring programs (SBMPs) are one support that has historically been utilized as an intervention for at-risk youth, but that has not specifically targeted children who have experienced trauma. Unfortunately, the literature available on SBMPs is neither comprehensive nor uniform, which prevents cross-comparison between interventions to determine best practice methods for SBMPs supporting youth who have experienced trauma. This research used a systematic review to determine whether SBMPs are able to address the needs of this population. Findings from this review noted that relational impact, even in the short term, was a significant factor in all types of outcomes, and despite a behavioral focus in the referral process few programs carried behavioral support through program implementation. Implications for practice and further research include: the importance of proactively preventing slow program start-up, improvement of data collection practices to differentiate between influencing variables, and further exploration into specific SBMP interventions that more fully support populations that do not see the same positive effects from SBMPs as their peers.