Frequently Asked Questions

Mentors must apply to become part of the Kids Hope program through a local church. They follow a rigorous screening process laid out by Kids Hope and must complete child safety training every year. Mentors also undergo training in child development and check in regularly with Kids Hope coordinators.

Mentors can choose what activities would best suit their mentor child. Kids Hope provides ideas for activities on a regular basis, including resources for helping a child celebrate school milestones like graduation from Year 6.

Studies show that the presence of one or more caring, committed adults in a child’s life increases the likelihood that children and youth flourish, and become productive adults themselves. The Kids Hope one-to-one mentoring program is based on evidence and best practice. We also commission external audits to evaluate our program. The 2018 Monash Report clearly indicates the improved wellbeing of children and the many other key strengths of the program. Read the report here.

Dr Virgil Gulker began Kids Hope USA after talking to sociologists, law enforcement, health professionals, educators, and child development experts about what sort of program would have the greatest impact on children. In 2004 the first Aussie pilot programs began under the umbrella of World Vision Australia. In 2013 Kids Hope registered as an Australian charity and not-for-profit organisation. Read more on our history.

Mentors from churches have a strong sense of duty and a call to faithful service for their local community. The children in Kids Hope mentoring programs often lack a sense of stability because of their life circumstances. The willingness of mentors to commit for the long term is known to contribute towards positive outcomes for the children. Each mentor is expected to have an active church life (which demonstrates commitment and stability) and a willingness to commit to at least 12 months of participation. Additionally, church members are often known by reputation to the broader community. Being connected and known is an integral step in our rigorous screening processes.

You can apply to be a Kids Hope mentor through a local church program. Or you can ask your church to partner with Kids Hope and a local school to begin a new program. Either way, if you fulfil the requirements to be a Kids Hope mentor, and are willing to undergo the required screening, training and supervision, you can become a mentor.

Kids Hope is Australia’s largest primary school-based, one-to-one mentoring program. And it is totally unique! Why? Because schools and churches work together to impact the lives of Aussie kids experiencing vulnerability.

While churches pay an annual licencing fee, Kids Hope doesn’t charge local primary schools for mentors. In fact, the income from the licencing fees covers less than 40% of our costs. To ensure Kids Hope is available to any government school who needs it, we ask our local communities to help. Sadly, we have a waiting list of schools.

But… if we could fund more mentors, we could reduce that waiting list and increase the number of children being impacted. Kids Hope welcomes your generous support. Donations help us train co-ordinators and mentors, provide program support and best-practice resources, invest in independent research and ensure child safety. Click here to donate. 

Child protection is a key priority. To ensure that the Kids Hope program and mentors continue to adhere to the highest level of child protection policy standards we partner with ChildSafe. This includes ongoing updates to our program and ensures mentoring training exceeds State and Federal regulations.

The Kids Hope program is evidence-based. This means we invest in independent research and annual evaluations enabling the safe delivery of best practice mentoring.

Additionally, Kids Hope provides daily support and hundreds of exclusive resources to all new and existing programs.

But the real reason is the impact on children, their families and community. The success stories are numerous! Just one Primary School in QLD saw a reduction from 900 behavioural incidents to 300 in just 12 months. The principal attributed this solely to the introduction of Kids Hope mentors into his school. Click here to donate.