Breadcrumb
- Federal Resources
Federal Resources
Share with Youth: Advice to Young Adults from Young Adults: Helpful Hints for Policy Change in the Mental Health System
This resource (PDF, 8 pages) can guide youth- and young adult-led organizations that want to make policy changes in the mental health system. Developed bythe Research and Training Center for Pathways to Positive Futures and Portland State University, it contains recommendations and quotes from a series of interviews with young adult leaders from advocacy groups that focus on mental health challenges or living in foster care.
Resource: Understanding Neurobiology of Psychological Trauma: Tips for Working with Transition-Age Youth
This resource (PDF, 8 pages), developed by Pathways Research and Training Center, introduces service providers to scientifically-informed findings about brain development and trauma specific to young adults, and describes the implications for trauma-informed interventions and trauma-informed engagement of young people in services.
Share with Youth: Changing the Rules: A Guide for Youth and Young Adults with Mental Health Conditions Who Want to Change Policy
This policy guide, developed by Pathways RTC (Research and Training Center), is written for youth- and young adult-led groups and organizations that want to make changes in policies related to mental health and other human services that affect them and other transition-age youth. The guide is intended for use by youth and young adults working together within a group or organization to make specific change, usually in partnership with other agencies, groups, or organizations.
Parents’ Influence on the Health of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Teens: What Parents and Families Should Know
CDC’s DASH developed the factsheet, “Parents’ Influence on the Health of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Teens: What Parents and Families Should Know," which provides information for parents on how they can support and promote healthy outcomes for their LGTBQ teens.
The Association Between School-Based Physical Activity, Including Physical Education, and Academic Performance
The report indicates that school-based physical activity may help improve students' grades and test scores and positively affect other factors that influence academic achievement. The report also concludes that adding time during the school day for physical activity does not appear to take away from academic performance.
Resource: Parent Engagement
This webpage provides an overview of parent engagement in schools, a promising protective factor that has been linked to better student behavior, higher academic achievement, and enhanced social skills. It also features fact sheets and other resources on parent engagement for school districts, school administrators, teachers, other school staff, parents, and families.
Youth Advisory Councils
Youth Advisory Councils (YACs) provide ongoing advice and support to school districts on policies and practices that affect students. This webpage provides a detailed overview of Youth Advisory Councils (YACs). It describes the role YACs play in improving the schools and communities they serve, discusses how they can use data to make decisions and create action plans, and outlines the structure of a YAC.
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.
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: Academic Performance, Retention, and Alcohol Use
This article (PDF, 3 pages) discusses the effect of alcohol on academic performance, retention, and college graduation. It also describes evidence-based strategies college and universities can use to address high-risk drinking and shares what some institutions are doing to prevent risky alcohol use and promote healthy decision making.
Slideshow: 5 Collaborations to Ensure Trauma-Informed Care for Youth and Families
This slideshow highlights five types of professionals that runaway and homeless youth program managers can collaborate with to support youth who have experienced trauma.
Guidance: Education Department Reiterates — Title I Funding Can Be Used to Serve Homeless Students
This article explains the guidance provided in a recent “Dear Colleague” letter (PDF, 4 pages) issued by the Department of Education which explains how school districts can use Title I funds to help children and youth experiencing homelessness. Some examples of ways districts can use the funds are to transport homeless students to and from school, pay the salaries of staff who work with homeless youth, and to generally meet the needs of these students.
Research: Does Sexual Orientation Affect Teen Pregnancy Risk?
This article describes a study that used data from the 2005, 2007, and 2009 New York City Youth Risk Behavior Surveys to understand how sexual orientation affects high-school students' risk of getting pregnant or getting someone pregnant. Results show that a young person’s sexual orientation and the gender of their sexual partners was strongly linked with risk of getting pregnant or getting someone pregnant, suggesting that adolescent pregnancy prevention efforts focused exclusively on heterosexual young people may be too narrow.
Resource: Narrative Writing Exercises for Promoting Health Among Adolescents: Promises and Pitfalls
This resource describes a literature review that explores the potential mental health benefits and concerns of using narrative writing with youth and young adults.
Resource: Helping Youth Prevent Suicide Among Their LGBTQ Peers
This article highlights free resources educators and youth service providers can use to implement the Trevor Project’s Lifeguard Workshop, a program encouraging young people to be “lifeguards” for one another by having the knowledge to help in a crisis. Professionals can request a free, in-person workshop or use the resources highlighted in the article to create personalized trainings.
Resource: Integrating Medical and Mental Health Care for Teen Moms
This article describes the mental health challenges teen moms face and highlights a Denver-based program that integrates mental health screening and treatment into their existing medical care.
Child Trauma and its Effects: Implications for Police
This article describes child trauma and the negative impact it can have on development, and the implications this has for police, especially for those working in poor communities of color. The article also suggests police be trained on the high prevalence of severe childhood trauma in such communities, its effects on the developing child, and its impact on adolescent and adult functioning to increase their capacity to address this major public mental health issue.
OJJDP Releases Research on Youth's Mental Health Needs and Long-Term Outcomes after Detention
OJJDP released four research bulletins based on findings from the Northwestern Juvenile Project, which investigates the mental health needs and long-term outcomes of juvenile detainees:
- Detained Youth Processed in Juvenile and Adult Court: Psychiatric Disorders and Mental Health Needs (PDF, 16 pages)
- Perceived Barriers to Mental Health Services Among Detained Youth (PDF, 12 pages)
- Psychiatric Disorders in Youth After Detention (PDF, 20 pages)
- Violent Death in Delinquent Youth After Detention (PDF, 14 pages)
Report: Surviving the Streets of New York: Experiences of LGBTQ Youth, YMSM, and YWSW Engaged in Survival Sex
The Urban Institute released a report (PDF, 94 pages), supported by OJJDP, on involvement in the juvenile justice, criminal justice, and child welfare systems and youth engaging in survival sex who self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ); young men who have sex with men (YMSM); and young women who have sex with woman (YWSW). The report offers practice and policy recommendations to repurpose law enforcement-based responses to youth engaged in survival sex and services to meet their needs without system involvement.
Resource: National Resource Center on School-Justice Partnerships Website
This website serves as a “one-stop-shop” of resources, training, and technical assistance to help school-justice partnerships implement positive school discipline reforms and reduce the school-to-juvenile justice pathway.
Report: Recommendations of the LGBT Subcommittee: Advancing the Reform Process for LGBQ/GNCT Youth in the Juvenile Justice System
This report (PDF, 11 pages) summarizes the recommendations of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Subcommittee of the Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice to OJJDP on strategies to advance juvenile justice reform for lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning/gender nonconforming, transgender (LGBQ/GNCT) youth. The recommendations are grouped into four categories:
- Policy and program development,
- Training and technical assistance,
- Data collection and research, and
- Federal LGBT juvenile justice coordination.
Resource: Arts-Based Programs and Arts Therapies Literature Review
This literature review (PDF, 9 pages) explores recent research on arts-based programs and arts therapies for at-risk, justice-involved, and traumatized youth. It describes the theoretical foundation that supports the use of these therapies, outcome evidence found in the literature, and model program descriptions. Youth-serving professionals can use this resource to learn about programs that have demonstrated positive impacts on youth. Researchers can use it to understand the current state of research on this topic and to explore how future studies can address how and in which optimal conditions the arts can directly impact youth.
Resource: Arts-Based Programs and Arts Therapies Webpage
This webpage from the Model Programs Guide provides summaries and ratings of arts-based programs and arts therapies for at-risk, justice-involved, and traumatized or victimized youth. Youth-serving professionals and organizations can use this information when looking for interventions to implement.
Resource: Strategies to Build Family and Youth Engagement to Keep Kids in School
This podcast series was produced by the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice with OJJDP’s School-Justice Partnership Program. It explores the challenges that parents and other caregivers of youth with behavioral health needs face regarding school, and how effective family and youth engagement can help overcome these challenges.
Report: Personalized Learning Plans
This brief (PDF, 11 pages) describes personalized learning plans as a high school dropout prevention strategy and provides information on their purpose, prevalence, and implementation in schools.