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Federal Resources
You For Youth
This site helps youth professionals connect and share resources with colleagues, provide professional development and technical assistance opportunities, and offer tools for program improvement. The site provides information focused on afterschool programs.
An Interview With Dr. Temple Grandin
This blog post provides highlights from an interview with autism advocate, author, professor, and scientist Dr. Temple Grandin, in which she shares insights about autism, what parents can do to help their children, and the importance of learning life skills.
Best Practices Guide on Mentoring Youth with Disabilities
This best practices guide funded in part under a grant/contract supported by the Office of Disability Employment Policy of the U. S. Department of Laborh and the Technology Opportunities Program of the U. S. Department of Commerce,
National Telecommunications and Information Administration aims to help communities to start mentoring programs or expand a program to include youth with disabilities.
Office of Disability's Guide to Emergency Preparedness
This webpage from the Office of Disability of the U.S. Department of Labor offers guidance on emergency preparedness at the workplace.
Know It 2 Own It: Helping People with Disabilities Access Middle Class Careers
This blog post describes efforts of federal agencies and departments to support the employment of individuals with disabilities and action steps to increase access to jobs and job skills.
National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability
NCWD/Youth is your source for information about employment and youth with disabilities. Our partners - experts in disability, education, employment, and workforce development - strive to ensure you will be provided with the highest quality, most relevant information available.
Office of Disability Employment Policy, Department of Labor
The Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) was authorized by Congress in the Department of Labor's FY 2001 appropriation. ODEP provides information for families, professionals, and communities on transitioning youth with disabilities into training and employment opportunities.
Soft Skills to Pay the Bills: Mastering Soft Skills for Workplace Success
The Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy released this collection of career development exercises that aim to improve the "soft skills" of young workers, including those with disabilities.
Teaching Soft Skills Through Workplace Simulation in Classroom Settings
The Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy provides a resource focused on how schools and employment opportunities can teach soft skills, specifically for students with disabilities. Relevant soft skills, as mentioned in the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills, include: teamwork, problem solving, effective use of resources and effective coommunication.
“Because” PSA
Developed as part of the “What can YOU do?” initiative, the new “Because” public service announcement (PSA) features stories of real people with disabilities who have been able to achieve their goals because of the positive support they received from caring adult mentors, such as parents, friends, employees, and teachers.
Healthy Transitions: A Pathway to Employment for Youth with Chronic Health Conditions and Other Disabilities
This brief highlights an ODEP-commissioned study that aimed to improve understanding of the relationship between disability, health and wellness, and transition and employment outcomes for youth with disabilities (PDF, 13 pages), as well as the role health care providers play in establishing employment expectations. The brief also includes recommendations for promoting purposeful health care transition planning for all youth, including those with chronic health conditions and other disabilities.
Share with Youth: Workforce Recruitment Program for College Students with Disabilities (WRP)
WRP is a recruitment and referral program that connects federal and private sector employers with highly motivated college students and recent graduates with disabilities who are seeking summer or permanent jobs.
Share with Youth: Hitting the Open Road After High School
Co-written by teens for teens, this resource can help youth with disabilities (PDF, 16 pages) think about their options for life after high school. It provides information on post-graduation options and guides students in making choices that are right for them, finding activities that can help them get ready now, and accessing supportive services.
Resource: Personal Competencies for College & Career Success
This guide describes strategies postsecondary professionals can use to assist all students, including those with disabilities, to develop personal competencies that will increase their chances of success.
Resource: National Dialogue with Youth People with Disabilities
This resource (PDF, 36 pages) provides a summary of the recent online event “YouthACT Transition Truths,” which provided an opportunity for youth with disabilities, as well as allies of the disability community, to virtually share ideas about the strategies and supports that can help young people with disabilities successfully transition to adulthood.
Resource: Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP)
This program connects federal and private sector employers with college students and recent graduates with disabilities seeking summer or permanent employment. WRP recruiters from federal agencies conduct personal interviews with interested candidates, who are then included in a searchable database that is available to hiring officials in federal agencies. Colleges and universities can apply to host interviews with WRP recruiters, and students and employers can apply to gain access to the database.
Resource: Mental Health Needs of Youth
This webpage, developed by the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability, provides multiple resources on the mental health needs of youth, especially as they relate to employment. Youth service practitioners can use this information to better understand the needs of youth, and policymakers can utilize it in their work to address system and policy obstacles and improve service delivery systems for youth with mental health needs.
Share with Youth: #ApprenticeshipWorks
These resources promote inclusive apprenticeship program models that meet employer needs by attracting a diverse array of candidates, including people with disabilities. ODEP's #ApprenticeshipWorks Guides introduce youth, educators, service providers, and businesses to the benefits and opportunities of inclusive apprenticeship. The #ApprenticeshipWorks Video Series demonstrates how apprenticeship works for job seekers and employers. These videos feature apprentices with and without disabilities and their apprenticeship sponsors participating in inclusive programs.
SCOTUS Decision Supports LGBT Behavioral Health
This blog post by SAMHSA Administrator Pamela Hyde describes the importance of the Supreme Court’s historic ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which states that the Constitution requires LGBT couples be allowed to marry no matter where they live, and marriages performed in one state must be recognized in every state. The post also highlights other steps the federal government has taken this year to improve the health and well-being of LGBT people.
Celebrating Minority Mental Health Month: Spotlight on Tribal Behavioral Health Needs
Minority Mental Health Month provided an opportunity to raise awareness of how mental health and substance use issues affect ethnic minority groups. This blog post, written by a SAMHSA intern and member of the Rosebud Sioux and Oglala Sioux Tribes, describes a personal journey with addiction and provides hope and encouragement to tribal youth, tribal leaders, scholars, and community members to seek help and promote recovery and healing.
Now Available: Children's Mental Health Awareness Day Webcast
The 2015 Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day national event recorded webcast is now available. The event highlighted the needs of youth and young adults with mental or substance use disorders and their families, while demonstrating how these needs can be best met through integrated care. The event also introduced cutting-edge community strategies for integrating behavioral health care with primary health care, education, and child welfare.
Is it ADHD or Trauma Symptoms?
This podcast describes how children exposed to traumatic events can exhibit symptoms that overlap with ADHD and, in some cases, could result in inaccurate diagnoses. It also provides suggestions for ways to talk about impulsive and disruptive behaviors with school staff and pediatricians to make sure that children receive the services they need.
Behavioral Health Equity Barometer
The “Behavioral Health Equity Barometer” (PDF, 20 pages) report is a one-year snapshot of the state of behavioral health of youth and adults by demographics and insurance status. Highlights of the findings show there are gaps in treatment for some behavioral health conditions among racial/ethnic minority populations and people without health insurance.
Quick Guide for Clinicians Based on TIP 57: Trauma-Informed Care in Behavioral Health Services
This resource equips care providers and administrators with information on caring for people who have experienced trauma or may be at risk for developing trauma stress reactions. It addresses prevention, intervention, and treatment issues and strategies.
SAMHSA's "Talk. They Hear You." Start the Talk Trailer
Start the Talk is the newest component of SAMHSA's "Talk. They Hear You." Underage Drinking Prevention National Media Campaign aimed to reduce underage drinking among youth ages 9 to 15. This online role-play tool gives parents and caregivers the opportunity to practice talking with their children about underage drinking, helping to build practical skills and confidence to conduct these conversations in real life.