Announcements

Recently $482,000 was awarded to four housing authorities to assist young people aging out of foster care and who are at risk of experiencing homelessness. Funded through HUD's new Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) Initiative, this fundingwill offer housing vouchers to local public housing authorities to prevent or end homelessness among young adults under the age of 25 who are, or have recently left, the foster care system without a home to go to. FYI requires that communities provide supportive services for the length of assistance to help youth achieve self-sufficiency. These activities center around basic life skills, landlord outreach and job preparation. Additionally, they will receive educational and career counseling, as well as counseling on program and lease compliance. These supportive services are critical given that the assistance is time limited. Learn more.

This review takes stock of the research that addresses the potential for mentoring to serve as a strategy for preventing and reducing substance use and the negative effects on personal health and well-being that may stem from this behavior. The review suggests several take-home messages for mentoring researchers and practitioners. Learn more.

This three-part guide series covers a family’s unique journey through the stages of a loved one’s involvement in the justice system. Learn more.

This national campaign, now in its 15th year, promotes adoption from foster care and raises awareness of the more than 123,000 children and teens who are waiting to be adopted. This year’s campaign includes videos, radio, digital, and print ads that highlight stories from families who have adopted from foster care and showcase the many moments that make adopting a teen rewarding. Learn more.

This survey, developed by Pathways RTC and the Family-Run Executive Director Leadership Association, will document the kinds of support provided to family members and young adults with behavioral health challenges during the transition years (16–25). Family members and other allies who provide/provided support to young people and young adults who receive/received support are invited to complete the confidential survey. Learn more.

This new toolkit is a collection of resources curated by youth for youth to help with one of the biggest decisions young people face. Find resources on career & education paths, paying for school, career planning, and more. Learn more.

This report synthesizes the knowledge and guidance of more than 75 national experts to help guide local, state, and national efforts to strengthen school mental health efforts and to start to understand and bring consensus to the quality domains of school mental health. Learn more.

The Youth Thrive™ Survey from The Center for the Study of Social Policy is a valid and reliable web-based instrument that measures the presence, strength, and growth of the Youth Thrive™ Protective and Promotive Factors as proxy indicators of well-being. Co-designed with youth and young adults and taking less than 15 minutes to complete, the survey can be an effective tool for informing case planning and practice, evaluation, and continuous quality improvement purposes. The Youth Thrive™ Survey provides reports and data visualization options. Access to the instrument is free of charge. Learn more.

This 90-minute webinar highlighted the Model Arrest Policy implementation and is recommended for law enforcement staff, probation officers, social services staff, youth serving organizations, and researchers. Learn more.

This call for participation invites middle and high school students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (LGBTQ), and are at least 13 years old, to share about their experiences in school, including those related to homophobia, harassment, gender expression, and support. GLSEN will use the data to compile the 2019 National School Climate Survey, a report in ongoing series that provides data on the experiences of LGBTQ youth and is used to educate and inform advocacy efforts for safer schools. Learn more.

This video series addresses the growing understanding that adolescents and young adults need healthcare that is geared specifically to their needs, and is distinct from services provided to adults or young children. The Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center provides high quality, comprehensive, and inter-disciplinary health and wellness services focused solely on the unique needs of adolescents and young adults. Learn more.

This campaign addresses the “cost-free” mentality among youth around the use of e-cigarettes. The FDA expanded its award-winning “The Real Cost” campaign to educate the nearly 10.7 million youth aged 12-17 who have ever used e-cigarettes or are open to trying them about the potential risks of e-cigarette use. Learn more.

This report details the alarming increase in youth use of any tobacco product increased for the first time in years. Learn more.

These videos highlight the PAF, a program that supports expectant and parenting teens, women, fathers, and families:

1. MN Student Parent Support Initiative: Advancing Health and Higher Education for Student Parents — Describes centers that help Minnesota university and college students with children stay enrolled in school.
2. Right from the Start: Empowering Young Parents for Success — Describes a Missouri program that helps parents, including hard-to-reach young people like youth who are homeless, gain the skills they need to support their children.

Registration Deadline: March 31, 2019
This opportunity, launched by America’s Promise Alliance in partnership with the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and Peace First, invites youth to bring positive change to their community by leading a local service project. Youth will receive coaching from online mentors and financial support in the form of mini grants of up to $250 to fund their project. Learn more.

This report uses data from the 2015 and 2017 cycles of the national Youth Risk Behavior Survey to examine differences in eight sexual risk behaviors between subgroups of sexual minority youth and nonsexual minority youth, as well as within sexual minority youth. Learn more.

This video, the fourth in a series of TAG Talks, addresses substance use and addiction in adolescents and young adults and the most effective approaches to treating addiction, including opioid addiction. The video is accompanied by two discussion guides (one for professionals and another for families), citations, and additional resources for interested viewers. Learn more.

This toolkit from the Child Welfare Information Gateway’s Capacity Building Center for States provides guidance and examples that illustrate the Youth Welfare approach for working with youth in foster care. The Youth Welfare approach recommends shifting from a child-focused system that is reactive, case plan-driven, and protection-focused to a more youth-focused system that is proactive, youth-driven, developmentally-framed, and normalcy-oriented. Learn more.

The Youth Engaged 4 Change website has a fresh, new look with content that continues to inspire and empower young people to improve their lives and the world around them. The newly-redesigned site will help youth who want to:

• FIND OPPORTUNITIES, including volunteering, internships, jobs, and leadership opportunities, and other ways to change their lives and their world.
• FIND ANSWERS and explore resources on topics they care about, like mental health, relationships, education, and more.
• FIND INSPIRATION and learn from Change Makers who are volunteering, acting as leaders and role models, advocating, and making an impact in the lives of others.

Learn more.

This publication provides the first results of the NPSAS:16, the most comprehensive nationally representative survey of student financing of postsecondary education in the U.S. It describes the percentages of students receiving various types of financial aid and average amounts received, by type of institution attended, attendance pattern, dependency status, and income level. Learn more.