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Children's Bureau
The Children's Bureau (CB) is one of two bureaus within the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Administration for Children and Families, of the Department of Health and Human Services. The Children's Bureau seeks to improve the safety, permanency and well-being of children through leadership, support for necessary services, and productive partnerships with states, tribes, and communities. It has the primary responsibility for administering federal programs that support state child welfare services.
Keep in Touch
Young people offer advice on staying connected and living independently
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.
Watch: Youth Describe Their Most Meaningful Relationships
In a new video series from the National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth, four youth talk about the adults who helped change their lives. The first video in the series features Marcus, a former foster youth, describing how his adoptive mom has helped and supported him.
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: 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: 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.
Resource: National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse
This website disseminates research and information related to supporting strong fathers and families. Resources available on the site include the Responsible Fatherhood Toolkit, the DadTalk blog, videos, and other resources that address a variety of topics including fatherhood and child well-being, absent and unwed fathers, teenage fathers, and more.
ACYF Protective Factors Framework
The final report and materials from the ACYF Protective Factors Framework project are now available. The project, conducted by Development Services Group (DSG) from FY2011 through 2013, involved conducting a systematic literature review to identify protective factors across five ACYF populations (children and youth who are victims of child abuse or neglect; runaways and/or homeless; in or transitioning from foster care; exposed to domestic or community violence; pregnant and/or parenting teens) and developing a protective factors conceptual model and tools that can be useful to the field. Building on the literature review and input from experts and practitioners, development of the conceptual model included the preparation of: (a) crosswalks identifying and synthesizing the protective factors identified for ACYF populations, the populations and developmental stages for which they are most relevant, and evidence to support their inclusion and (b) models that depict the relationships between the identified factors and positive outcomes. The executive summary, literature review, appendices (with crosswalks and models), and accompanying research brief are available.
Ask NCFY: 'How Do I Help Clients Try to Clear an Arrest Record?’
Many young people who have arrests on their record may have difficulty obtaining a job or securing housing. In this blog post, a lawyer provides advice for youth-serving professionals who help their clients move on by clearing their arrest records.
Child Welfare Information Gateway Logic Model Builder
The Child Welfare Information Gateway has developed two new Logic Model Builders, Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention and Family Support Programs and Postadoption Services Programs. These Logic Model Builders can help programs define their goals, outcomes, and indicators of success and select appropriate evaluation instruments.
Community Mapping Connects Youth to Their Neighborhoods
This podcast from the National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth describes the work of a nonprofit organization that uses a tool called community mapping to help young people understand the assets and deficits that exist in their communities
Creating a Vision for Afterschool Partnerships
This tool is intended to help the growing number of new after school partnerships create a shared vision for their work.
Children’s Bureau Spotlight Videos
The Children’s Bureau has developed a suite of seven new videos that feature Children’s Bureau staff and leadership discussing their work with states, tribes, grantees, and community organizations and sharing insights about what they have learned through this work.
Enhancing Cultural Competence in Social Service Agencies: A Promising Approach to Serving Diverse Children and Families
This brief from HHS's Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation summarizes the state of the field on cultural competence in social services and provides service providers and administrators with concrete strategies for ongoing self-reflection and development. The brief also includes links and references for additional relevant resources, tools, and information.
Fundraising Solutions for Youth-serving Nonprofits
In an interview with the National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth, Kim Klein, an Oakland, CA fundraising consultant, shares five resolutions youth-serving nonprofits should make in 2012 to help them increase the amount of money they raise from donors.
New Online Training: Logic Models and Theories of Change
“Logic Models and Theory of Change” is a new, free online course from NCFY that walks users through the basics of each model while presenting examples from the field. This training can help staff working for family and youth-serving agencies make plans to establish a new program or update an existing one.
Program Evaluation: A Variety of Rigorous Methods Can Help Identify Effective Interventions
This GAO report describes how program evaluations can help identify effective interventions.
Q&A: Alicia Wilson-Ahlstrom on Choosing the Right Outcome-Measurement Tool
The National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth spoke with Alicia Wilson-Ahlstrom, a lead author of the report, From Soft Skills to Hard Data, to learn more about how to choose the right outcome-measurement tool for a youth program.
Runaway and Homeless Youth Training and Technical Assistance Centers - Community of Practice
This site is a meeting place that provides members of the RHYTTAC CoP with opportunities to participate in discussion forums, member profiles, photo gallery, file storage, and more.
When a Local Partner Closes, a Response Plan Keeps Youth Services Constant
This article provides insights about how social services organizations can ensure that services to young people continue to be delivered seamlessly after a longtime source of support is no longer available
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.