Youth who receive special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004) and especially young adults of transition age, should be involved in planning for life after high school as early as possible and no later than age 16. Transition services should stem from the individual youth’s needs and strengths, ensuring that planning takes into account his or her interests, preferences, and desires for the future.
Federal Data Sources
National Extranet Optimized Runaway and Homeless Youth Management Information System (NEO-RHYMIS)
NEO-RHYMIS, maintained by the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB), provides a revised version of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Management Information System (RHYMIS). New services include data reporting by its grantee agencies. NEO-RHYMIS provides the user community and other interested parties with the ability to display and create standard reports of data collected nationally by the FYSB grantees in NEORHYMIS v2.1 for their use. The standard reports also include graphical representations of the selected data.
The Homelessness Data Exchange (HDX)
HDX is an online tool designed to allow Homeless Continua of Care to submit data to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for
- the Annual Housing Inventory Count;
- Homeless Point-in-Time Counts;
- the Annual Homeless Assessment Report; and
- quarterly homeless counts through the Homelessness Pulse Project.
These reports are based primarily on data collected and maintained in the Homeless Management Information Systems.
Consolidated State Performance Reports (CSPR) Education Data
Section 1.9 of the CSPR Part I, submitted from states to the U.S. Department of Education, provides information on education for youth experiencing homelessness. This includes information about the number of youth experiencing homelessness in public schools in the state, the primary residence for these students, and if receiving a McKinney-Vento subgrant, information about the students and their academic achievement. Additional information about this data can be found at the National Center for Homeless Education. This site provides an overview of national data as well as state specific information based on the CSPR data.
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Youth Briefs
Research links early leadership with increased self-efficacy and suggests that leadership can help youth to develop decision making and interpersonal skills that support successes in the workforce and adulthood. In addition, young leaders tend to be more involved in their communities, and have lower dropout rates than their peers. Youth leaders also show considerable benefits for their communities, providing valuable insight into the needs and interests of young people
Statistics reflecting the number of youth suffering from mental health, substance abuse, and co-occurring disorders highlight the necessity for schools, families, support staff, and communities to work together to develop targeted, coordinated, and comprehensive transition plans for young people with a history of mental health needs and/or substance abuse.
Nearly 30,000 youth aged out of foster care in Fiscal Year 2009, which represents nine percent of the young people involved in the foster care system that year. This transition can be challenging for youth, especially youth who have grown up in the child welfare system.
Research has demonstrated that as many as one in five children/youth have a diagnosable mental health disorder. Read about how coordination between public service agencies can improve treatment for these youth.
Civic engagement has the potential to empower young adults, increase their self-determination, and give them the skills and self-confidence they need to enter the workforce. Read about one youth’s experience in AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC).