Dept. of Health and Human Services

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) hosted a forum on Emphasizing Evidence-Based Programs for Children and Youth in Washington, D.C. The forum consisted of experts across the field of evidence and innovation. During the Forum, experts discussed challenges encountered when selecting and replicating evidence-based programs and also identified approaches for developing evidence-informed programs when evidence-based programs are not available or applicable for a given population.

Each year, more than 50,000 people lose their lives to violence. In addition to the tremendous physical and emotional toll, violence has substantial medical and lost productivity costs. In 2000, these totaled more than $70 billion in the United States. The figure grows when we add criminal justice system costs, social services, and other expenses.

Youth are disproportionately affected by violence. For young people aged 15 to 24, homicide is the second leading cause of death, and suicide is the third leading cause of death.

The Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics recently released America’s Young Adults: Special Issue, 2014, a statistical snapshot of the health, education, and well-being of America's young adults.

One in every four or five youth in the general population meets criteria for a lifetime mental disorder,¹and the risk of mental illness increases for young people from low-income families² and those who have been involved with the juvenile justice³ or child welfare systems.⁴ Discrimination associated with mental ill

Thanks to a project known as AdoptUsKids, more than 10,000 children have been placed into adoptive families. The AdoptUsKids project is managed through a cooperative agreement with the Children's Bureau of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

With a bevy of braids and a big smile, Summer can really bust a move on roller skates. The 11-year-old has managed to stay out of trouble in her East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Even so, her mother, Patti Fountain, says, "Summer's seen a lot of things that she should not have in her young life."

Fountain, a single mom with health problems, wanted to see her daughter "in a positive environment where she's just able to be a child and not grow up too fast."

FPT, a workgroup with representatives of several federal agencies, supports all youth, including youth with disabilities, in successfully transitioning from school to adulthood.

The National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention (the Forum) is an interagency effort for localities to share knowledge and experience in what works and what doesn't work in preventing youth and gang related violence.