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Youth Leadership Toolkit: Strategic Sharing
Foster youth have precious and hard-earned stories. Strategic Sharing teaches youth how to present their stories with meaning and purpose.
Youth Leadership Toolkit: Youth Engagement
Young people are valuable contributors in the planning and implementation of programs that impact them. This section of the Toolkit discusses strategies for increasing the effectiveness of their participation and engagement in the process.
Brief: Developing a Trauma-Informed Child Welfare System
This issue brief provides an overview of trauma and its effects, and describes some of the primary areas of consideration for state or county child welfare systems as they design and implement approaches that are more responsive to trauma.
Trainings: Substance Abuse Treatment, Child Welfare, and Court Professionals
NCSCW offers free online tutorials for a wide variety of professionals related to substance abuse disorders, treatment, and recovery. NCSACW requires users to register online before access these courses:
- Understanding Child Welfare and the Dependency Court: A Guide for Substance Abuse Treatment Professionals
- Understanding Substance Use Disorders, Treatment, and Family Recovery: A Guide for Child Welfare Professionals
- Understanding Substance Use Disorders, Treatment, and Family Recovery: A Guide for Legal Professionals
Brief: the Needs of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ) Youth in Child Welfare Settings
A recent brief from the Permanency Innovations Initiative highlights how research is contributing to a better understanding of the needs of LGBTQ youth in child welfare settings. The brief presents findings from qualitative interviews conducted with youth participating in the Recognize, Intervene, Support, and Empower (RISE) project, funded through a grant from the Children’s Bureau to the Los Angeles LGBT Center.
Videos: Real-Life Stories — Authentic Voices
These videos share the stories of foster and adoptive parents, children, youth, and child welfare professionals, including their perspectives about issues of belonging, connection, development, and normalcy for children and youth in out-of-home care. Developed as part of the Real-Life Stories collection, these Authentic Voices Videos were created to raise awareness and provide resources to promote normalcy for children and youth in foster care and to support the implementation of provisions in the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act that relate to participation in age-appropriate experiences that allow for healthy development.
Resource: National Foster Care Month Promotes Positive Connections Between Fathers and Their Children
This blog post discusses how improved connections with a father or father figure can be a critical protective factor for youth in foster care that yields positive outcomes and help prevent homelessness and encounters with law enforcement.
Resource: Health-Care Coverage for Youth in Foster Care and Beyond
This issue brief reviews the eligibility pathways for youth in foster care to receive Medicaid or other health-care coverage. It also examines some of the newer benefits now mandated through the Affordable Care Act, especially those for older youth in, or formerly in, foster care.
Resource: Running Away from Foster Care
This article highlights a literature review that analyzed the research on prevalence, risk factors, and outcomes of running away from foster care, as well as the interventions implemented to stop it from happening.
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.
Resource: Engaging Youth in Foster Care
This podcast shares the perspective of a youth formerly in foster care. It provides tips to caseworkers for engaging youth in developing their case plans and identifying supportive adults in their lives. This resource can help caseworkers as they work with youth who are in foster care or preparing to transition to adulthood.
Share with Youth: Being an Engaged and Involved Teen in Foster Care
This webpage provides information to teens in foster care about their permanency options, tools to help them transition to adulthood, and how to find support from other teens who have been in foster care.
Share with Youth: Youth Speak Out: Shared Experiences Help Rural Youth Leaders Connect
This podcast, developed by the National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth, features rural youth leaders who were once homeless or in foster care offering advice on how to engage vulnerable rural youth.
PSA Series, “Firsts”
This series of public service announcements (PSAs), launched by ACF, AdoptUSKids, and the Ad Council, highlights the importance of adopting teens from foster care and emphasizes the many “firsts” families experience when adopting a teen from foster care. Potential adoptive parents can learn about the experience of adoption and find resources about the adoption process.
Youth Leadership Toolkit: Member Outreach
Pamphlet discussing how to strengthen and build organizations through effective youth outreach.
Youth Leadership Toolkit: Branding and Logos
Branding is an important aspect of marketing and creating a positive image for your group. This section provides useful tips for building your brand including creating logos, selecting tag lines, use of color, and advertising.
Youth Leadership Toolkit: Travel Guide
The Travel Guide includes everything you need to know about travel, from packing and flying, to spending money and earning credit. The guide contains travel tips, packing lists, and more.
John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood
The John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood (the Chafee program) provides funding to support youth/ young adults in or formerly in foster care in their transition to adulthood. The program is funded through formula grants awarded to child welfare agencies in States (including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and participating Tribes. Chafee funds are used to assist youth/ young adults in a wide variety of areas designed to support a successful transition to adulthood. Activities and programs include, but are not limited to, help with education, employment, financial management, housing, emotional support and assured connections to caring adults. Specific services and supports are determined by the child welfare agency, vary by State, locality and agency, and are often based on the individual needs of the young person. Many State or local agencies contract with private organizations to deliver services to young people.
National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth (NCFY)
NCFY is a free information service for Community, organizations, and individuals interested in developing new and effective strategies for supporting young people and their families. Their website includes youth development resources, funding announcements for FYSB's programs, free publications, and a calendar of conferences and trainings.
PACER Center's Technical Assistance on Transition and the Rehabilitation Act (TATRA) Project
The Technical Assistance on Transition and the Rehabilitation Act (TATRA) Project offers Parent Information and Training Programs funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) a variety of services to help them achieve their goals. Individualized services for each center are identified in technical assistance plans on an annual basis.
Booklet Series: FASD Prevention
SAMHSA’s FASD Center for Excellence released an updated version of its How To Have a Healthy Baby booklet series. This series provides useful guidance to encourage women to remain alcohol-free during pregnancy. The three-booklet series provides tips for men and women who want to support a healthy pregnancy, and for providers who work with pregnant women. These resources are available in both English and Spanish.
Resource: 5 Resources to Support and Empower Teen Parent Slideshow
This slideshow highlights five campaigns and organizations that focus on the strengths and needs of young parents and provides links to additional resources on supporting parenting teens.
Resource: Working with Non-Residential Fathers
This webpage provides information for professionals who work with non-residential fathers, or fathers who do not live with their children. It discusses common issues faced by non-residential fathers, addressing those issues through fatherhood programs, partnering with child support, and coordinating efforts related to employment and child support.
Resource: 1-2-3 Care: A Trauma-Sensitive Toolkit for Caregivers of Children
As described in this NCFY article, this toolkit teaches young parents how to interact with children who have had traumatic experiences and addresses important aspects of child development and parenting, such as attachment, teaching emotional regulation, and repairing mistakes.
Resource: Youth-Friendly Manual Shows New Fathers the Ropes
This NCFY article highlights a manual (PDF, 28 pages) that uses driving and car analogies and youth-friendly language to teach teen dads and expectant dads about topics such as establishing paternity, what to expect when the baby comes home, caring for the baby, and co-parenting.