Breadcrumb
- Federal Resources
Federal Resources
Ready.gov Parents and Educators
This section of the Ready.gov website features resources, activities, and information for parents and teachers to use in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery efforts.
Ready.gov Family Plan
This tool from FEMA, provides information, things to consider, and an example plan that families can use in preparing for disasters. In addition to developing a plan, it is important to discuss the plan with all members of the family including youth, and to practice the plan to see if there are any issues.
The National Preparedness Community
Developed by FEMA, the National Preparedness Community is an online network that allows users to collaborate on emergency preparedness and access resources related to emergency management and disaster preparedness.
The Unaccompanied Minors Registry
The Unaccompanied Minors Registry (URM) will be administered by the NCMEC and supported by FEMA. It will be available during all disasters to gather and share information with local law enforcement and assist in the reunification of displaced children with their families or legal guardians. The URM will allow for a more expedient and efficient reunification of unaccompanied minors with their families and legal guardians when separated by a disaster and supports the ability to collect, store, report, and act on information related to children missing or lost as a result of a disaster. The URM will roll out in Fall 2012 and information can be found at the NCMEC website.
Youth Preparedness: Implementing a Community-based Program
This document, developed by FEMA, provides information about developing and implementing a community-based program focused on youth preparedness. The document includes activities to walk through the different information that the document covers from initial development to full implementation and evaluation.
Youth Preparedness Fact Sheet
This fact sheet from FEMA provides an overview of the importance of youth preparedness and tips for including youth preparedness in programs.
Heat Safety Social Media Toolkit
The Ready Campaign and America’s PrepareAthon! developed a social media toolkit (PDF, 7 pages) containing content to share on social media to promote extreme heat safety. It contains sample tweets and Facebook posts, as well as tips for social media writing and organizing a Twitter chat.
Advancing the Homeland Security Mission through Academic Programs and Training
DHS sponsors a variety of training institutions focused on building partnerships and facilitating programs for training practitioners in homeland security fields. FEMA’s National Preparedness Directorate consists of three training branches that offer training and educational advancement opportunities for federal, state, tribal, local, and whole community practitioners:
- Emergency Management Institute (EMI): EMI educates individuals on how to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the potential effects of disasters and emergencies. Students may be able to apply for college credit upon completion of their courses.
- Center for Domestic Preparedness (CPD): Facilitating training through DHS training partners, CDP focuses on identifying, developing, testing, and delivering training specifically to state, local, and tribal emergency response providers.
- National Training and Education Division (NTED): NTED manages and administers the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium (NPDC), which is comprised of seven training partners — including institutions of higher education — whose membership is based on addressing emergency first responders' counter-terrorism preparedness needs.
Individuals with Disabilities and Others with Access and Functional Needs
The Ad Council and FEMA launched a public service advertisement (PSA) as part of a series of videos that illustrate how people with disabilities can take charge to prepare themselves and their families for emergencies. The new PSA, which will be available on the Ad Council’s and FEMA’s YouTube channels, as well as in the FEMA media library, emphasizes the Ready.gov campaign’s four building blocks of preparedness: Be Informed, Make a Plan, Build a Kit, and Get Involved.
Resource: Youth Preparedness Catalogue — Disaster Preparedness Education Programs and Resources
This catalogue (PDF, 108 pages) identifies existing national, regional, and state-level programs, curricula, and resources for individuals interested in promoting youth preparedness education.
Share with Youth: How Youth Can Move the Needle of Emergency Preparedness
This blog post highlights the accomplishments of Hailey Starr, a FEMA Youth Preparedness Council member from the Muckleshoot reservation in the Pacific Northwest. Hailey describes what she has done to improve the level of preparedness on the reservation where she lives, including producing a video on active shooter awareness, creating emergency backpacks for the community elders, and coordinating an emergency preparedness fair.
Resource: Children and Disasters
This web page aims to help state, local, and tribal governments, as well as stakeholders responsible for the temporary care of children, integrate children’s disaster-related needs into preparedness, planning, response, and recovery efforts.
Resource: 2017 National Seasonal Preparedness Messaging Calendar
This resource highlights important messages, organized by month and season, which can be used to promote preparedness all year. Individuals engaged in preparedness efforts can adapt these materials to fit the needs of local areas in order to promote readiness and safety in their communities.
How Americans Are Expanding Their Use of the Internet (2001) Chapter 5: How Young People Have Embraced Computers and the Internet
A report by the U.S. Department of Commerce: Children and young adults have embraced new information technologies in large numbers. More than any other age group, these younger age groups use computers and the Internet widely for many of their daily activities.
How Access to Technology Benefits Children
This site includes a report, created by the Department of Commerce, which contains 11 stories about people who are working hard to ensure technology will enhance the lives of children.
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.
Interim Report for the Department of Labor Youth Offender Demonstration Project: Process Evaluation
The U.S. Departments of Labor and Justice funded 14 local demonstration projects designed to assist youth at risk of criminal involvement, youth offenders, and gang members ages 14 through 24 into long-term employment . This process evaluation provides an interim assessment of the implementation process undertaken by each project and determines the extent to which each was effective in building upon existing programs and systems to serve targeted youth.
The Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP): Launching a Nationwide Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Effort
Authorized by Congress through the Affordable Care Act, PREP was designed to reduce teen pregnancies and their negative consequences. State PREP grantees had discretion to design their programs, but were expected to be evidence-based, provide education on both abstinence and contraceptive use, and educate youth on at least three of six adulthood preparation topics. States are also encouraged to target their programming to high-risk populations. This report illustrates states’ program decisions, using data gathered through telephone interviews with state grantee officials. Learn more (PDF, 92 pages).
Guidance: Raising Awareness on Specific Learning Disabilities
This guidance for state and local educational agencies clarifies that students with specific learning disabilities — such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia — have unique educational needs. The guidance also clarifies that there is nothing in the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act prohibiting the use of the terms dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia in a student’s evaluation, determination of eligibility for special education and related services, or in developing the student’s individualized education program.
Resource: Improving Outcomes for Youth with Disabilities in Juvenile Corrections
This toolkit includes evidence- and research-based practices, tools, and resources that educators, families, facilities, and community agencies can use to better support and improve the long-term outcomes for youth with disabilities in juvenile correctional facilities. The toolkit focuses on four key areas identified as part of an OSEP-sponsored focus group series on juvenile corrections: facility-wide practices, educational practices, transition and re-entry practices, and community and interagency practices.
Share with Youth: A Transition Guide to Postsecondary Education and Employment for Students and Youth with Disabilities
This guide (PDF, 62 pages) aims to educate students and youth with disabilities and their families about the transition from school to post-school activities. It includes information about transition planning, transition services and requirements, and education and employment options.
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.