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.
Share with Youth: A Roadmap to Behavioral Health: A Guide to Using Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Services
This guide (PDF, 24 pages) can help people understand how to use health insurance coverage to improve their mental and physical health. It provides an eight step road map for understanding behavioral health, finding and accessing appropriate providers, and staying on the road to recovery.
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.
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.
Juvenile Justice Journal, Vol. VII, No. 1 (Mental Health Issue)
This issue discusses incarcerated youth with mental health issues, including challenges and solutions.
OJJDP Safe Start Center
The Safe Start communities are funded competitively through OJJDP, and work to coordinate the efforts of service providers in key areas, such as early childhood education, health, child welfare, substance abuse prevention and intervention, domestic violence, law enforcement, and the courts to address the needs of children exposed to violence.
PTSD, Trauma, and Comorbid Psychiatric Disorders in Detained Youth
Developed by the Department of Justice as part of the ongoing Beyond Detention series, this bulletin analyzes data from the Northwestern Juvenile project, a longitudinal study of youth detained at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center in Chicago. The prevalence of trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) seen among the juveniles studied is discussed, as well as the tendency for PTSD and other psychiatric disorders to co-occur in this population.
Special Education and the Juvenile Justice System
The Bulletin summarizes the provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and analyzes their relevance to the juvenile justice process-from intake and initial interview to institutional placement and secure confinement.
The Northwestern Juvenile Project: Overview
This bulletin provides an overview of the Northwestern Juvenile Project, the first large-scale, prospective longitudinal study of drug, alcohol, and psychiatric disorders in a diverse sample of juvenile detainees.
OJJDP Releases Research on Youth's Mental Health Needs and Long-Term Outcomes after Detention
OJJDP released four research bulletins based on findings from the Northwestern Juvenile Project, which investigates the mental health needs and long-term outcomes of juvenile detainees:
- Detained Youth Processed in Juvenile and Adult Court: Psychiatric Disorders and Mental Health Needs (PDF, 16 pages)
- Perceived Barriers to Mental Health Services Among Detained Youth (PDF, 12 pages)
- Psychiatric Disorders in Youth After Detention (PDF, 20 pages)
- Violent Death in Delinquent Youth After Detention (PDF, 14 pages)
Report: Surviving the Streets of New York: Experiences of LGBTQ Youth, YMSM, and YWSW Engaged in Survival Sex
The Urban Institute released a report (PDF, 94 pages), supported by OJJDP, on involvement in the juvenile justice, criminal justice, and child welfare systems and youth engaging in survival sex who self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ); young men who have sex with men (YMSM); and young women who have sex with woman (YWSW). The report offers practice and policy recommendations to repurpose law enforcement-based responses to youth engaged in survival sex and services to meet their needs without system involvement.
Report: Recommendations of the LGBT Subcommittee: Advancing the Reform Process for LGBQ/GNCT Youth in the Juvenile Justice System
This report (PDF, 11 pages) summarizes the recommendations of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Subcommittee of the Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice to OJJDP on strategies to advance juvenile justice reform for lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning/gender nonconforming, transgender (LGBQ/GNCT) youth. The recommendations are grouped into four categories:
- Policy and program development,
- Training and technical assistance,
- Data collection and research, and
- Federal LGBT juvenile justice coordination.
Resource: Arts-Based Programs and Arts Therapies Literature Review
This literature review (PDF, 9 pages) explores recent research on arts-based programs and arts therapies for at-risk, justice-involved, and traumatized youth. It describes the theoretical foundation that supports the use of these therapies, outcome evidence found in the literature, and model program descriptions. Youth-serving professionals can use this resource to learn about programs that have demonstrated positive impacts on youth. Researchers can use it to understand the current state of research on this topic and to explore how future studies can address how and in which optimal conditions the arts can directly impact youth.
Resource: Arts-Based Programs and Arts Therapies Webpage
This webpage from the Model Programs Guide provides summaries and ratings of arts-based programs and arts therapies for at-risk, justice-involved, and traumatized or victimized youth. Youth-serving professionals and organizations can use this information when looking for interventions to implement.
Resource: Strategies to Build Family and Youth Engagement to Keep Kids in School
This podcast series was produced by the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice with OJJDP’s School-Justice Partnership Program. It explores the challenges that parents and other caregivers of youth with behavioral health needs face regarding school, and how effective family and youth engagement can help overcome these challenges.
Resource: Social Media and Disaster Response
This website features resources related to social media’s role in emergency management, including a free online course, informational videos, and a literature review of current research and tools.
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.
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.
You Make SAMHSA Rock!
In this blog post, SAMHSA's Pamela Hyde announces her resignation and recounts SAMHSA’s accomplishments and its federal partners during her tenure.
IOM Recommendations Reflect Importance of Improving Quality of Behavioral Health Services
As highlighted in a recent blog post by HHS officials, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a new report, “Psychosocial Interventions for Mental and Substance Use Disorders.” The report is a result of a collaboration to identify key steps to ensure individuals receiving mental health and substance use services receive evidence-based, high-quality care. It details the reasons for the gap between what is effective and what is currently practiced, and it offers recommendations for how best to address this gap. It proposes a framework to establish standards for psychosocial interventions. The HHS blog post addresses how SAMHSA, ASPE, and other HHS agencies will implement the recommendations in the report.
2014 NSDUH Report on Mental and Substance Use Disorders
SAMHSA’s 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health report shows progress in reducing substance use, especially among adolescents. However, it also indicates that adolescents are experiencing higher levels of depression than in past years.
How We Talk about It Matters
This blog post describes the Resource Guide for Reporting on Behavioral Health: How You Talk About It Matters, which provides information to the media about mental illness and substance use disorders. It also includes tips and supporting facts that can help ensure representations of mental illness and substance use disorders are fair, balanced, and accurate.