Breadcrumb
- Federal Resources
Federal Resources
Testifying in Court about Trauma: The Court Hearing
This tip sheet helps clinicians prepare to testify in court regarding trauma (PDF, 7 pages) and its impact on children. It provides insight into the different types of cases and tips on how to testify effectively.
Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB)
FYSB supports the organizations and communities that work every day to reduce the risk of youth homelessness, adolescent pregnancy and domestic violence. Learn more about FYSB programs.
Introduction to Positive Youth Development
The National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth has recently updated its two-part, self-paced online training, “Introduction to Positive Youth Development.” The modules focus on explaining the concepts and theories of positive youth development, and how this information can be put into practice.
Learn More About Positive Youth Development
Learn more about Positive Youth Development with this resource by RHY. Positive Youth Development (PYD) 101 Online is a series of short courses intended to introduce PYD to new youth work professionals, volunteers, and advocates.
Mental Health: The First Step to Well Being
This collection of articles from the National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth analyzes some of the most prominent mental health issues facing at-risk youth in order to provide youth workers with insight into the prevention and treatment of mental health challenges. Post-traumatic stress disorder, the risks and uses of psychotropic medications, and postpartum depression in teen mothers are discussed.
NCFY Voices: The Youth Dreamers Think Big
Two young people from Youth Dreamers share how they raised money to build a safe place for youth in their community to go after school. Youth Dreamers is a youth leadership group in Baltimore, MD.
Q&A: Helping Families Protect Themselves From Recurring Trauma
Produced by the National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth, this interview with Laurel Kiser, of the University of Maryland’s Family-Informed Trauma Treatment Center, discusses the potential negative effects of anticipatory stress and highlights Strengthening Family Coping Resources, a multi-week program that Kiser and her colleagues facilitate that helps families deal with recurring stressors.
Putting Positive Youth Development Into Practice: A Resource Guide
This guide provides information about how you can put positive youth development principles into practice
Trauma and the Teen Brain
The National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth conducted an interview that educates readers about the effect that trauma can have on teen brain development. Research suggests that the brains of teens who experience homelessness or abuse can develop differently than the brains of their peers who grow up in safe and supportive homes.
Voices from the Field: Why People Take Risks
This podcast features Dr. Carl Lejuez of the University of Maryland discussing his research on risk taking and the implications of his findings for traumatized youth.
What Promotes Resilience Among Alaska Native Youth?
This article describes the findings of a recent study that looked at the everyday struggles of Alaska Native teens and how they have dealt with these challenges. The authors of the study found that the means through which Alaska Native youth found strength during difficult times, such as helping their families and giving back to their communities, reflect unique cultural values and provide insight into how providers can promote health among this population.
Youth Workers: When Did You Make the Biggest Difference in a Youth’s Life?
In the first of a new video series from the Department of Health and Human Services’ National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth (NFCY) that asks youth workers to discuss the impact they have had on the lives of youth, Linda Mascarenas of Family and Youth Services in Stockton, CA, talks about a teen mother who became a paid employee of her youth program.
Improving Attachment Between Mothers and Children
This article describes a recent study on whether new mothers dealing with past trauma would be able to develop an attachment to their babies. If the mothers could develop an attachment, the study examined if addressing the mother’s issue would help with bonding. The results show that all the mothers in the study who were dealing with past trauma had trouble bonding with others and over 75% of the mothers with unresolved trauma had insecurely attached infants. The researchers found that being in the process of dealing with past trauma can help mothers form secure bonds with their children, despite the mothers themselves having difficulty attaching to others around them.
5 Tips for Providing Trauma-Informed Sex Education
This article highlights the work of two researchers who are pioneering changes in sex education that bridge the gap between sex education and trauma-informed care by better understanding how sex education could be more sensitive to students’ traumatic experiences. This article also offers tips, based on this research, for implementing a trauma informed approach to sex education.
Slideshow: 5 Collaborations to Ensure Trauma-Informed Care for Youth and Families
This slideshow highlights five types of professionals that runaway and homeless youth program managers can collaborate with to support youth who have experienced trauma.
Resource: Narrative Writing Exercises for Promoting Health Among Adolescents: Promises and Pitfalls
This resource describes a literature review that explores the potential mental health benefits and concerns of using narrative writing with youth and young adults.
Resource: Helping Youth Prevent Suicide Among Their LGBTQ Peers
This article highlights free resources educators and youth service providers can use to implement the Trevor Project’s Lifeguard Workshop, a program encouraging young people to be “lifeguards” for one another by having the knowledge to help in a crisis. Professionals can request a free, in-person workshop or use the resources highlighted in the article to create personalized trainings.
Resource: Integrating Medical and Mental Health Care for Teen Moms
This article describes the mental health challenges teen moms face and highlights a Denver-based program that integrates mental health screening and treatment into their existing medical care.
Child Trauma and its Effects: Implications for Police
This article describes child trauma and the negative impact it can have on development, and the implications this has for police, especially for those working in poor communities of color. The article also suggests police be trained on the high prevalence of severe childhood trauma in such communities, its effects on the developing child, and its impact on adolescent and adult functioning to increase their capacity to address this major public mental health issue.
Report: Summary of School Safety Statistics
This report (PDF, 12 pages), developed by NIJ’s Comprehensive School Safety Initiative, draws on data collected by multiple federal agencies to examine common beliefs pertaining to school safety statistics and provides evidence to support or dispel each of them.
Resource: School Safety: By the Numbers
This resource (PDF, 2 pages), produced by the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative, examines statistics about school safety and violence, including the rates of school crime and school shootings, security measures in schools, the occurrence of traumatic events at school, and the role of social media in making threats. Education professionals, policymakers, and other stakeholders can use this information to develop responses to school violence.
Promise Neighborhoods
To address the challenges faced by students living in communities of concentrated poverty, Promise Neighborhoods grantees and their partner organizations will plan to provide services from early learning to college and career, including programs to improve the health, safety, and stability of neighborhoods, and boost family engagement in student learning.
Aftercare Services
This Bulletin examines aftercare services that provide youth with comprehensive health, mental health, education, family, and vocational services upon their release from the juvenile justice system.
Discipline Disparities Briefing Paper Series
As featured on the OJJDP website, the Discipline Disparities Research-to-Practice Collaborative has released a Discipline Disparities Briefing Paper Series, which consists of three briefing papers on policy, practice, and research related to disparities in school discipline.
Juvenile Justice Journal, Vol. VII, No. 1 (Mental Health Issue)
This issue discusses incarcerated youth with mental health issues, including challenges and solutions.