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.
Administration for Native Americans
The mission of ANA is to promote the goal of self-sufficiency and cultural preservation for Native Americans by providing social and economic development opportunities through financial assistance, training, and technical assistance to eligible Tribes and Native American communities, including American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and other Native Pacific Islanders organizations. ANA provides funding for community-based projects that are designed to improve the lives of Native children and families and reduce long-term dependency on public assistance.
Advancing the Self-Sufficiency and Well-Being of At-Risk Youth: A Conceptual Framework
This report explores how programs can help advance the self-sufficiency and well-being of at-risk youth. The research-based framework presented for efforts to help at-risk youth enter a career workforce trajectory is particularly relevant for youth who are or could be served by Administration for Children and Families programs but may also apply to other programs.
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.
Getting Staff Buy-in for a “Low-Barrier” Approach at a Youth Shelter
The Department of Health and Human Services’ National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth is featuring information on its website for individuals who work in youth shelters who want to help other staff get used to a “low-barrier” approach, meaning young people are not turned away because they have been drinking or using drugs.
Framework for Advancing the Well-being and Self-Sufficiency of At-Risk Youth
This brief summarizes a research-based framework that can serve as the foundation for efforts to move at-risk youth toward positive social, emotional, and economic functioning in adulthood.
Keep in Touch
Young people offer advice on staying connected and living independently
Learn More About Positive Youth Development
Learn more about Positive Youth Development with this resource by RHY. Positive Youth Development (PYD) 101 Online is a series of short courses intended to introduce PYD to new youth work professionals, volunteers, and advocates.
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.
NCFY Voices: The Youth Dreamers Think Big
Two young people from Youth Dreamers share how they raised money to build a safe place for youth in their community to go after school. Youth Dreamers is a youth leadership group in Baltimore, MD.
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.
Putting Positive Youth Development Into Practice: A Resource Guide
This guide provides information about how you can put positive youth development principles into practice
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.
Read the Key Lessons of the RPG Program
“The Final Synthesis and Summary Report: Grantee Interviews” (PDF, 35 pages) captures lessons learned and stories from the Regional Partnership Grant (RPG) Program. The RPG is the broadest federal program ever launched to assist states, tribes, and communities across the nation to improve the well-being, permanency, and safety outcomes of children who are in, or at-risk of, out-of-home placement as a result of a parent's or caregiver's methamphetamine or other substance abuse.
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.
Runaway and Homeless Youth Training and Technical Assistance Centers
This resource provides technical assistance to runaway and homeless youth programs.
Synthesis of Research and Resources to Support at-Risk Youth
This report by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the Department of Health and Human Services provides a synthesis of research and existing ACF resources for serving at-risk youth. It describes the body of knowledge on at-risk youth and how at-risk youth are currently being served by programs in and outside of ACF that have been shown to put youth on a path toward self-sufficiency. Based on the review of research and resources, it identifies issues to consider in creating conceptual frameworks for developing and enhancing ACF programs that can or do serve at-risk youth.
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.
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.
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.