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- 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.
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.
National Center for Safe Routes to School
The National Center for Safe Routes to School assists states and communities in enabling and encouraging children to safely walk and bicycle to school. The National Center serves as the information clearinghouse for the federal Safe Routes to School program. The organization also provides technical support and resources and coordinates online registration efforts for U.S. Walk to School Day and facilitates worldwide promotion and participation.
Videos: Reminding Kids About Street Safety Ages 5-18
Pedestrian Safer Journey has created videos for multiple age groups that can help teach young people about pedestrian and bike safety. Each video is accompanied by a quiz or discussion and resources for educators. Access materials on pedestrian safety for ages 10-14 and 15-18 and resources on bike safety for ages 10-14 and 15-18.
Food and Nutrition Service List of State Distributing Agency Contacts
These contacts provide information about partnership with the National School Lunch Program, the Child and Adult Care Food Program, and the Summer Food Service Program. They can also provide organizations with access to food during times of disaster.
Food and Nutrition Service Faith-Based and Community Organizations
This site provides information about programs and grants that faith and community groups are eligible for within FNS, as well as technical assistance for interested organizations.
Nutrition Assistance Programs
This site lists links to program information for Nutrition Assistance Programs through Food and Nutrition Service.
Team Nutrition
Team Nutrition is an initiative of the USDA Food and Nutrition Service to support the Child Nutrition Programs through training and technical assistance for foodservice, nutrition education for children and their caregivers, and school and community support for healthy eating and physical activity. Team Nutrition's Goal is to improve children's lifelong eating and physical activity habits by using the principles of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPyramid
Resource: Summer Meals
This resource kit is designed to be used by summer meal site operators to teach kids and families about healthy habits. It uses music, games, art, and movement to motivate kids and families to make healthy food and drink choices, exercise, and limit screen time.
Resource: Federal Food Assistance
This webpage features English- and Spanish-language resource guides to help connect food insecure families to food assistance resources.
Resource: Local School Wellness Policy Outreach Toolkit
This toolkit provides communication resources such as flyers, presentations, newsletter articles, and social media posts that schools can use to educate and engage staff and parents in school wellness. Many of the tools can be tailored to represent Local School Wellness Policy activities.
Resource: Web-Based Prototype Application for Free and Reduced Price School Meals
This electronic prototype application serves as a model for how state and local program operators can develop effective and fully-compliant web-based applications for school meal benefits.
Resource: Summer Food Service Program
This website provides information on the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), which provides nutritious meals to low-income children when school is not in session. Local organizations can use this website to learn how to be a part of the program. Families can use the search tool to find local sites serving meals.
21st Century Community Learning Centers
This program supports the creation of community learning centers that provide academic enrichment opportunities for children, particularly students who attend high-poverty and low performing schools. The program: helps students meet state and local student standards in core academic subjects, such as reading and math; offers students a broad array of enrichment activities that can complement their regular academic programs; and offers literacy and other educational services to the families of participating children.
Choice for Parents: Supplemental Educational Services
Information for parents regarding Supplemental Educational Services including, service providers, state contacts, pilot programs, information regarding No Child Left Behind, technical assistance, and additional resource links.
Comprehensive Centers Program
This program awards discretionary grants to establish comprehensive technical assistance centers to help low-performing schools and districts close achievement gaps and meet the goals of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Awards have been given to Fifteen (15) Regional Centers to provide technical assistance to States within defined geographic boundaries; and Five (5) content focused centers to provide expert assistance to benefit States and districts nationwide on key issues related to the goals of NCLB.
Getting a Bigger Bang for Your Buck: How Community Colleges Can Get the Most Out of Student Support Services
This blog post discusses an approach that colleges can take in planning and implementing student support services that can increase the impact of these programs on student success.
McKinney Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program
Under this program, state educational agencies (SEAs) must ensure that homeless children and youth have equal access to the same free, appropriate public education as other children and youth. Homeless children and youth should have access to the educational and other services that they need to enable them to meet the same challenging state student academic achievement standards to which all students are held. In addition, homeless students may not be separated from the mainstream school environment. States and districts are required to review and undertake steps to revise laws, regulations, practices, or policies that may act as a barrier to the enrollment, attendance, or success in school of homeless children and youth.
Race to the Top
This funding stream supports educational success by adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and to compete in the global economy; building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction; recruiting, developing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most; and turning around our lowest-achieving schools.
The National High School Center
The National High School Center serves as the central source of information and expertise on high school improvement for the Regional Comprehensive Centers (RCCs).
The National Center of Safe Supportive Learning Environments
The National Center of Safe Supportive Learning Environments' (NCSSLE) website contains information for an expanded audience, and includes new Center product lines, updated information, and resources from and for the field.
CDC Grand Rounds: Addressing Preparedness Challenges for Children in Public Health Emergencies
This article highlights the unique needs of children that must be addressed during public health emergencies and the roles that community-level pediatricians, state and local public health departments, regional coalitions, and the federal government play in addressing these needs.
Safe Place: Trauma-Sensitive Practice for Health Centers Serving Students
As one of the tools commissioned by the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault, Safe Place is a resource kit that introduces and endorses trauma-sensitive practice with an emphasis on sexual assault trauma. The kit is designed to help health center staff who work with students in higher education to better understand trauma, infuse trauma-sensitive approaches into their work, and create a care environment that supports students affected by trauma.
Resource: Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as Amended by the ESSA--Accountability and State Plans
These regulations (PDF, 383 pages) will guide the development of the accountability, data reporting, and state plan provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The regulations will focus on supporting states in using flexibility to provide a high-quality, well-rounded education and ensure equity remains at the core of implementation.