MINOT (AP) - A new program aims to give children of incarcerated parents a better chance for a positive future by connecting them with senior mentors.

The Retired Senior Volunteer Program of Minot is just starting the program, which operates statewide in six communities. The grant-funded program grew out of a study at North Dakota State University that found a need for mentoring for many of the children whose parents are in prison.

Currently, four mentors are trained in Minot and one in Rugby, and some families are beginning to show interest, said Kristina Keeney, an Americorps Volunteers in Service to America worker with the program in Minot.

Keeney said the program has been working with social service agencies and schools to identify children who might benefit from mentoring. However, the decision about mentoring rests with the families, so the RSVP program welcomes direct contacts from families, she said.

Additional mentors are being sought from throughout northwestern North Dakota. Needs have been identified in Williston, Garrison and New Town.

Volunteer mentors must go through a four- to six-hour training and a background check. The RSVP program is for volunteers ages 55 and older, but Keeney said the mentoring program will accept any adult volunteers.

Mentors devote at least an hour a week to spending time with a child doing fun activities in the community. Mentors commit to a year with a child, but may continue longer.

Keeney said mentors are encouraged to spend their first hours working with the child in that child's school setting to develop a comfort level for both the mentor and child. Keeping a weekly appointment is important, she said.

"These kids have been let down so often. They like to see the consistency of somebody being there," Keeney said. "They have been through so much already and they have little trust for adults. Why should this child trust this adult when every other adult has let them down in the past?"

Besides building trust, mentors give support and encouragement that statistics show produces results.

Parent surveys from mentoring programs show:

n 47 percent said their child's grades improved.

n 49 percent reported their child's school attendance rate improved.

n 55 percent said their child gets along better with family members.

n 70 percent said their child got along better with friends.

n 83 percent saw improvement in their child's self-esteem.

n 53 percent reported their child had fewer behavior problems.

n 60 percent found their child became more responsible.

Jane Grunseth of Minot, a trained mentor, said the program came along at a time when she had been reading about children from troubled backgrounds. She decided mentoring might be one way she could help.

"I have always enjoyed doing things with my grandchildren," Grunseth said. The training was helpful in highlighting issues that make mentoring a little different from grandparenting, she said.

"You don't think about the fact that they might have probably heard everything, seen everything, more than I have in their short lives," she said. "You are supposed to kind of be there as just a friend and somebody they can feel safe with for that one hour."

Bob and Ada Lower of Minot had just finished six years in children's ministry in the Dakotas when they signed up as mentors.

"Children just play a big part in our lives," Ada Lower said. "God has opened our hearts so big, and we just want to share our lives with whoever they match us up with."

"The program really does have a lot of potential to do some very positive and good things for some children," Bob Lower added. "Perhaps just having access to an adult person to talk to and do things with will make a difference in their lives."

The Lowers both signed up because they see the importance of male and female figures in a child's life. Accustomed to having a house full of grandchildren or other children, they look forward to involving more children in their family life and offering positive reinforcement to youngsters who need it.

"To let them know there's people out there who care," Bob Lower said, "and there's a different way of doing things in life in place of the way it's always occurred for them."

(People interested in mentoring or signing up a child can contact the RSVP program at 852-3799 or by e-mail at minotvista@;srt.com or minotrsvp@;srt.com.)