Welcome to Peer MentoringWorks!

Peer MentoringWorks (PMW) offers a dynamic suite of tools and resources to enhance peer mentoring programs. PMW focuses on accessible training and practical resources, empowering mentors to provide impactful support that fosters independence, employment, and personal growth for individuals with and without disabilities. 

The PMW team supports your program’s goals with a growing collection of tools, partnering with you to deliver customized, effective mentoring services. Explore the resources PMW offers to maintain high fidelity in program delivery and see how we can help maximize your program’s impact. 

PMW utilizes a community of practitioners to leverage shared experiences, fostering personal and professional growth. By enhancing skills, confidence, and networks, PMW not only improves participants’ lives but also fosters more inclusive communities. The program emphasizes self-advocacy and self-determination, guiding mentors and mentees toward achieving their full potential.  

Join us by harnessing the power of peer mentoring to increase achievement and success for students, youth and adults with disabilities transitioning to CIE.  

How does peer mentoring work for mentees and mentors, especially those with disabilities?

It drives personal development and career growth and workplace readiness. 

Research indicates that mentors and mentees sharing similar challenges leads to more effective support and personal development, enhancing coping skills and independence.  Peer mentoring significantly aids individuals with disabilities by fostering emotional, psychological, and career growth 

  • Specifically, programs matching students with learning disabilities with mentors who also have similar experiences have improved social and emotional outcomes (Frontiers). 
  • Mentors themselves benefit from professional and personal growth, gaining new insights on disabilities and expanding their social networks. This reciprocal advantage underscores peer mentoring as a vital tool in educational and community settings, supporting both academic and life skills and promoting inclusivity (Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability). 

 

 

 Building a peer mentor workforce presents a valuable professional development initiative that integrates opportunities for growth, skill enhancement, and employment readiness, empowering individuals as they contribute to and benefit from mentoring others. 

Peer mentoring effectively supports transition and growth for several reasons: 

  • Shared Experience and Empathy  
  • Role Modeling 
  • Skill Development 
  • Increased Confidence 
  • Support During Critical Transitions 
  • Promotion of Self-Advocacy and Independence 

Harness personal connections and shared experiences to promote resilience, empowerment, and let peer mentoring work for you.  

What PMW Resources are Available to Support Your Peer Mentoring Initiative?

Peer MentoringWorks (PMW) revolutionizes disability peer mentoring with its innovative training and real-time assistance tools. PMW delivers effective mentoring interactions and enhances the overall quality and impact of the mentoring experience through structured peer mentoring programs with comprehensive training modules, certification processes, and a suite of digital tools.  

PMW Learning Courses

The PMW LearnCTR serves as a dynamic training hub, offering a curated library of accessible courses available to certify youth, students and adults in the nuanced art of peer mentoring.  

  • Training Courses: A comprehensive catalog of courses designed to train and certify Peer Mentor Program Administrators, Coordinators, and Peer Mentors. 
  • Certification Programs: Structured programs that validate the competence of peer mentors and administrators in delivering effective mentoring. 

PMW FieldGuide

The FieldGuide is an accessible mobile web app that serves as an indispensable online program information handbook with immediate access to essential PMW tools and resources through a menu-driven interface. 

PMW Dashboard

The PMW FieldGuide features an integrated dashboard that serves as a direct service provision management tool that streamlines and supports the mentoring process. This tool facilitates real-time tracking, reporting and management of mentoring activities, ensuring each interaction is maximized for mentor and mentee benefit. 

 

PMW ActivityGuides

The Peer MentoringWorks ActivityGuides are program content resources accessible through the PMW FieldGuide and User dashboard that facilitate exploration and engagement while tracking measurable outcomes and program participation.   

Each guide provides detailed guidance aligned with peer mentoring programs’ objectives.  Subject matter content videos, worksheets, pre-post surveys, and interactive reflection prompts are integrated to enhance understanding and participation. 

For example, the MyCube ActivityGuide is a creative tool that allows individuals to articulate and share their personal stories.  

Participants use imagery and narratives to reflect on their identities and experiences across six facets:  

  • MyPassions (what motivates them), 
  • MyVerbs (actions and skills),  
  • MyBase (background),  
  • MyStory (current self),  
  • MyGoals (future aspirations)  
  • MySelf (personal identity). 

 

 

 

Each side features an image, a description, and a narrative in a structured yet adaptable format, enabling participants to create a physical cube as a personal keepsake or share their stories digitally, enhancing their connections and expanding their networks. 

Tour PMW Resources, Schedule a PMW Resources Demonstration today! 

Peer Mentoring Vocational Rehabilation Program Service Model Provision

PMWLearnCTR and FieldGuide was designed to support vocational rehabilitation for students, youth and adults with disabilities.

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) of 2014 established that students with disabilities (14-21) be provided access to instruction in self-advocacy with the support of a peer mentor may be included as one of five required Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) funded by 15% of the federal $3.6 billion annual vocational rehabilitation (VR) budget.

In fact, if a State VR Agency (SVRA) uses peer mentors to provide any of the five required Pre-ETS services, can they charge the cost of the peer mentor delivering the required service to the minimum reserve requirement for Pre-ETS.  

Source: WINTAC’s FAQs Pre-employment transition services


PolicyWorks brings a decade of peer mentoring service delivery and 5 years of intensive technical assistance experience working with SVRAs through the Workforce Innovation and Technical Assistance Center (WINTAC) and currently two Subminimum Wage Transition to Competitive Integrated Employment (SWTCIE) 5-year Demonstration Innovation Fund (DIF) grant projects funded by the Rehab Services Administration (RSA) to design, pilot and implement peer mentoring programs. 

 

Join Peer MentoringWorks

Join the PMW Team and our Community of Practitioners as we continue to pioneer innovation in the field of applied peer mentoring. Explore the resources PMW offers to maintain high fidelity in program delivery and see how we can help maximize your program’s impact through a customized package of Peer Mentoring Resources and Tools.