Breadcrumb
- Federal Resources
Federal Resources
ACF Recovering from Disasters and Other Disruptions
After disasters and other breaks in continuity of services, child welfare agencies' tasks are continuing to manage, capturing lessons learned, and rebuilding better systems. In this section you will find federal and state resources for longer term recovery and rebuilding from natural disasters or other major unexpected events, including resources on mental health services and research.
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.
Coping with Disasters and Strengthening Systems: A Framework for Child Welfare Agencies
This resource was developed by the National Child Welfare Resource Center for Organizational Improvement (NRCOI) a service of the Children's Bureau and provides information for before a disaster occurs, during a disaster, and after a disaster.
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.
Keep in Touch
Young people offer advice on staying connected and living independently
Measles: What Programs Serving Children and Families Should Know
In light of the recent outbreak of measles, this resource can help the staff of programs that serve children, youth, and families to prevent the spread of the disease and provide accurate information to families.
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.
Preparing for Disasters and Disruptions to Service Continuity
Preparing for disasters involves creating plans, preparing to manage during a disaster, and enhancing critical infrastructure prior to a disaster. In this section of the Child Welfare Information Gateway, you will find federal and state resources for professionals and families to prepare for disasters—both natural (e.g., hurricanes, floods, fires) and human created (e.g., terrorism) —including examples of state disaster plans.
Quick Health Data Online
Quick Health Data Online provides reliable, easily accessible state- and county-level health data for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories and possessions. Data are available by gender, race, and ethnicity and are organized into 11 main categories, including demographics, mortality, natality, reproductive health, and mental health.
Ready for Anything: A Disaster Planning Manual for Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs
This manual from the Administration for Children, Youth and Families, Family and Youth Services Bureau, guides youth-serving organizations in creating an emergency preparedness plan and explains the three areas of disaster planning: prevention and preparedness, response, and recovery. It includes worksheets and checklists that can help organizations prepare for disasters before they happen.
Resource Roundup: Helping Youth and Families Get Affordable Care Act Health Coverage
NCFY has compiled a list of resources from federal agencies and nonprofit organizations that can help professionals guide youth and families in obtaining affordable health care through Medicaid or the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Research Roundup: What Do We Know About Hispanic Youth and Teen Dating Violence?
This article highlights recent research that analyzes dating violence among Hispanic teens. It draws from the research to provide an overview of the prevalence of dating violence among Hispanic teens, the kinds of help-seeking behavior these teens exhibit, and what makes prevention programs successful in reducing teen dating violence among this group of young people.
Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month Resources
This page provides information about Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month (TDVAM), TDVAM training and awareness events, and teen dating violence–related resources for young people, educators, and youth workers.
Train Juvenile Justice Staff to Educate Youth on Sexual Health
Without other trusted adults to guide them, young men in juvenile justice facilities may turn to employees for information about sexual health, a role that these individuals may not be trained to fulfill. To answer this need, the Washington State Department of Health, through the State Personal Responsibility Education Program, provided training to juvenile justice staff to deliver evidence-based sexual health curricula to youth.
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.
Q&A: How Trauma Affects Physical Health
This article features a Q&A with Dr. Stacy Drury, of the Tulane University School of Medicine, who co-authored a study on the physical effects of trauma on the health of young survivors. The study looked at the length of young people’s telomeres, which appear at the end of every cell and act as a marker of aging. Drury and her colleagues found that youth with a history of violence in the home and other traumatic experiences had shorter telomeres than their peers.
Q&A: How to Help Homeless Youth Quit Smoking
This Q&A with Joan Tucker, the senior behavioral scientist and professor at Pardee RAND Graduate School in Santa Monica, California, focuses on Dr. Tucker’s work on smoking among homeless youth and her recommendations for what tailored cessation programs might look like.
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: Family-Based Approaches to Preventing Teen Dating Violence Research
This article analyzes research describing and evaluating two family-based approaches to preventing teen dating violence, Families for Safe Dates and Moms and Teens for Safe Dates.
Resource: Apps Help Prevent Teen Pregnancy and Promote Youth Sexual Health
This slideshow highlights six free apps that can help youth avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.
Report: Family and Youth Services Bureau Highlights in 2014 & 2015
This report shares FYSB’s key accomplishments over the past two years specifically related to ending youth homelessness, domestic violence, and teen pregnancy.
Share with Youth: Apps Promote Youth Sexual Health
This slideshow features free apps that can help youth avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. It includes a brief description of each app and a link to where it can be downloaded.
Resource: How Does Talking to Extended Family Influence Teens' Decisions About Sex?
This article highlights a recent study which examined why teens talk with extended family members about sex and what they discuss. The results indicate that almost 60% of teens in the study talked with extended family members about sex, and youth who said they talked exclusively to extended family members about sex were more than twice as likely to have had sex.
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.