Most people could probably name a positive mentor or role model they've been lucky enough to have in their life to praise or correct their behaviour when required.
For Indigenous youth, who may not have that stable influence, a range of mentoring programs have been tried in a variety of places.
Those programs have been reviewed in a new study by the Closing the Gap Clearinghouse, which provides Australian governments with information on policy aimed at closing the gap in Indigenous disadvantage, and the Australian Institute of Family Studies.
The Institute's Daryl Higgins has told Murray Silby, the review shows that mentoring programs can have lasting, positive impacts on behaviour, academic and vocational achievement for at-risk Indigenous youth if implemented in the right way.
Click on the audio tab above to hear the full interview.
