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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.
Upcoming Event: November is National Adoption Month
This observance aims to increase national awareness of the need for permanent families for children and youth in the foster care system. This year’s theme, “We Never Outgrow the Need for Family—Just Ask Us,” reflects a focus on the importance of identifying permanent families for the thousands of 15- to 18-year-olds in foster care who are currently less likely to be adopted or who may age out of the system without a stable home. A new tip sheet, Talking with Older Youth About Adoption (PDF, 2 pages) provides child welfare professionals with a framework for how to talk with older youth about permanency and includes suggestions for how to make these conversations more effective.
Teen Action Toolkit: Building a Youth-led Response to Teen Victimization
Developed by COPS and the National Center for Victims of Crime, this resource is hands-on implementation guide for the Teen Action Partnership (TAP) for Teen Victims (PDF, 150 pages) program, which harnesses youth as leaders, in partnership with adults, to transform their communities’ response to teenage victims of crime. The toolkit guides educators, law enforcement personnel, outreach workers, victim service providers, youth workers, and teens through the four phases of TAP for Teen Victims, and includes ideas for activities and reflections.
Tribal Justice and Safety
The site features the latest announcements, press releases, speeches and information regarding Department of Justice initiatives in tribal communities. It also provides comprehensive resources available through the Office of Tribal Justice and the Department's grant-making divisions: the Office of Justice Programs, Community Oriented Policing Services and the Office on Violence Against Women. Access to the Department's Combined Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS) is also available on the Web site.
America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being
Youth Indicators is a statistical compilation of data on the distribution of youth, their family structure, economic factors, school and extracurricular activities, health factors, and other elements that constitute the world of young people between the ages of 0-17 years. This report is created and published by Child Stats, a division of the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics.
College Preparation Checklist
This resource can help students of all ages to prepare academically and financially for education beyond high school (PDF, 28 pages). It provides an overview of options for financial aid for college, and checklists for students and parents to reference at each stage of a student’s education.
Share With Youth: Budgeting for College
ED’s Office of Federal Student Aid reminds students about the importance of budgeting to achieve future financial goals and prepare for unexpected bumps in the road.
Share with Youth: FAFSA Overview
The Office of Federal Student Aid at the Department of Education provides an overview of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA takes about 30 minutes to complete, is free, and provides students access to grants, loans, and work-study funds from the federal government.
Share with Youth: Types of Federal Student Aid
The Office of Federal Student Aid offers more than $150 billion to students each year in the form of grants, loans, and work-study funds. While some colleges can also offer private student loans, federal loans often have lower fixed interest rates and other benefits.
Share with Youth: After the FAFSA — What Happens Next
This Office of Federal Student Aid video explains what happens after students complete and submit their FAFSA. The U.S. Department of Education will process the application and indicated colleges will be notified. Students will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) and can check their student aid status online.
Resource: Program-Level Gainful Employment Earnings Data
This data set provides information on program-level outcomes of college students preparing for gainful employment that can be used by prospective students and their families to weigh their options. Overall, the data show graduates of career training programs at public institutions generally fare better than those of comparable programs at for-profit colleges, earning higher salaries and being more prepared to enter higher earning fields.
Report: National Student Loan FY 2014 Cohort Default Rate
These data describe the FY 2014 cohort student loan default rate, which increased slightly from 11.3% to 11.5% for students who entered repayment between fiscal years 2013 and 2014. During the tracking period, more than five million borrowers entered repayment and 580,671 of them defaulted on their loans.
Resource: Digital and Social Media Financial Aid Collateral
This website provides digital and social media resources to help teachers and counselors share important federal student aid information with students and parents. It features sample social media posts, messaging guidelines, blog posts, infographics, presentations, videos, and fact sheets on a variety of financial aid topics.
Report: Rates of Nonmedical Prescription Opioid Use and Opioid Use Disorder Double in 10 Years
This report illustrates the urgent public health problem of prescription opioid misuse. As described in the report, a recent study by the NIAAA shows the use of prescription opioids more than doubled among adults in the United States from 2001-2002 to 2012-2013.
2013 Monitoring the Future Survey
The Monitoring the Future survey, conducted annually, measures the current drug use, and attitudes toward drugs, of students in grades 8, 10, and 12 across the country. Results included observed declines in the abuse of prescription opioids, alcohol, and cigarettes by teens, the use of synthetic marijuana, Vicodin, and salvia among twelfth graders, and the use of inhalants by eighth graders, but an increase in teens’ use of Adderall. The results also reveal that less than 40% of high school seniors believed that regular marijuana users risk harming themselves, meaning that the perception by seniors that regular marijuana may be dangerous is the lowest it has been since 1978.
Accelerating HPV Vaccine Uptake: Urgency for Action to Prevent Cancer
This report, released by the President’s Cancer Panel, outlines the case for HPV vaccination and the urgency for action. The report presents three goals: to reduce missed opportunities to recommend/administer HPV vaccines; to increase acceptance of the vaccines among parents, caregivers, and youth; and to maximize access to HPV vaccination services
Alcohol Policy Information System
The Alcohol Policy Information System (APIS) provides detailed information on a wide variety of alcohol-related policies in the United States at both State and Federal levels.
Charge Up! Healthy Meals and Snacks for Teens
This document guides teens in making healthy food choices, offers examples of smart snack and meal ideas, and gives links to other healthy eating resources.
Child Sex Trafficking Victims Easily Missed by Doctors, Social Workers
A new study reveals that most health care workers may lack the knowledge, awareness, and training needed to identify potential victims of child sex trafficking. A survey of 500 doctors, nurses, physicians assistants, social workers, and patient and family advocates revealed that, when given two different scenarios, only half or fewer than half of respondents were able to correct identify a child as victim of sex trafficking.
Director’s Blog: What Caused This to Happen?
Written by NIMH Director Dr. Thomas Insel, this blog post explains the mixture of genetic and environmental factors that underly mental illness and cites recent research that suggests “bad luck” may play a role in the development of psychopathology.
Drug Addiction: Step-by-Step Guides for Seeking Help
NIDA has released new step-by-step guides both for those seeking help to overcome drug addiction and their loved ones. The guides are presented in a simple Q&A format with accompanying videos and are customized into four categories: (1) teens seeking help, (2) adults seeking help, (3) parents/guardians seeking help for their teen/young adult child, and (4) those trying to help an adult loved one.
E-Cigarette Use in College Tied to Other Risky Behaviors
A new study of more than 1,400 college students shows that students who use tobacco, marijuana, and/or binge drink are more likely to use electronic cigarettes. The survey results also show that students who considered e-cigarettes to be less harmful than traditional tobacco products were also more likely to use e-cigarettes.
Get Involved: NIDA's National Drug Facts Week
Get involved with NIDA’s fifth annual Drug Facts Week. Host or promote events for teens that help shatter the myths about drugs, and expose teens to facts about drugs and addiction from scientists and other experts. NIDA staff can recommend materials and activities, help organizations partner with one another, and highlight events on the official 2015 National Drug Facts Week map.
Marijuana: Facts Parents Need to Know
This resource provides parents with tips on how to spot marijuana use by their teen and how to raise the issue with them.
Marijuana: Facts for Teens
This resource for teens discusses the consequences and effects of marijuana use, as well as its risk for addiction and potential as a medicine.