Breadcrumb
- Federal Resources
Federal Resources
Report: Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange
This report provides information on international students studying at higher education institutions in the U.S. and students from the U.S. studying abroad. Developed by the Institute of International Education, the report shows the number of international students at colleges and universities in the U.S. increased by 7% to a record high of 1,043,839 in the 2015-16 academic year, while U.S. students studying abroad increased by 3% to 313,415 students in the 2014-15 academic year.
Upcoming Event: November is National Adoption Month
This observance aims to increase national awareness of the need for permanent families for children and youth in the foster care system. This year’s theme, “We Never Outgrow the Need for Family—Just Ask Us,” reflects a focus on the importance of identifying permanent families for the thousands of 15- to 18-year-olds in foster care who are currently less likely to be adopted or who may age out of the system without a stable home. A new tip sheet, Talking with Older Youth About Adoption (PDF, 2 pages) provides child welfare professionals with a framework for how to talk with older youth about permanency and includes suggestions for how to make these conversations more effective.
Report: Point-in-Time Estimates of Homelessness: 2016 Annual Homeless Assessment Report
This annual report (PDF, 96 pages) provides a snapshot of homelessness, both sheltered and unsheltered, on a single night in late January in the U.S., including estimates for particular populations such as youth. The data show 35,686 unaccompanied homeless youth were counted. Eighty nine percent were between the ages of 18 and 24, and 11% were under the age of 18. There were 9,800 parenting young adults between 18 and 24 years of age, and 92 parents under the age of 18.
Internet Safety
This site, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Technology, includes a consolidated list of federal links providing information on internet safety for children and youth.
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).
Report: HHS's Response to the Recommendations of the Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities
This report to Congress responds to recommendations for HHS contained in the March 2016 final report of the Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities. It identifies areas in which the vision of HHS specifically overlaps with the Commission's recommendations and responds briefly to each of the individual recommendations that affect HHS.
Resource: Health Care Coverage for Homeless and At-Risk Youth
This fact sheet describes eligibility for health care coverage, including through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), for youth experiencing or at risk of homelessness. It also provides information on subpopulations of youth who may be eligible, services covered, enrollment, and Medicaid and CHIP income eligibility levels for each state.
Resource: Social Media and Disaster Response
This website features resources related to social media’s role in emergency management, including a free online course, informational videos, and a literature review of current research and tools.
Report: Exploring Cross-Domain Instability in Families with Children
This brief examines different types of instability among children and families, using data on employment, income, moves, and changes in family and household composition. The brief shows significant differences in the prevalence of instability for children by household education level.
Report: Multi-Site Family Study on Incarceration, Parenting, and Partnering: Program Impacts Technical Report
This report presents findings on the impact of family strengthening services in four prison-based programs from the Multi-Site Family Study on Incarceration, Parenting, and Partnering and discusses the implications for policy, programs, and future research.
Report: Predictive Analytics in Child Welfare: An Assessment of Current Efforts, Challenges and Opportunities
This environmental scan, developed by the MITRE Corporation, explores how child welfare agencies currently use predictive analytics in their work. It describes several agencies’ motivations for using predictive analytics, how their models support casework practice, and the challenges encountered.
Resource: Attachment Behaviors in Children with Incarcerated Fathers
This podcast, created by the Institute for Research on Poverty, describes a new study on attachment in children who have an incarcerated father and discusses some of the factors that may lead to differences in children’s attachment behaviors.
Report: Psychotropic Medication Use among Children Who Are Subjects of Child Protective Services Investigations: Does Court Oversight Matter?
This brief examines courts’ roles in overseeing psychotropic medication prescriptions for children who were the subjects of child maltreatment investigations. It also explores the relationship between oversight roles, rates of psychotropic medication use, and rates at which children were re-reported to child protection agencies.
Report: Patterns of Foster Care Placement and Family Reunification following Child Maltreatment Investigations
This brief identifies characteristics of children and families who reunified with parents or family following the child’s stay in foster care, patterns regarding success or failure of reunification, and maltreatment re-reports among children reunified with their families.
Report: Parental Incarceration and Children in Nonparental Care
This brief compares children in nonparental care as a result of parental incarceration with those who experienced parental incarceration but not as a reason for nonparental care, and those with no experience of parental incarceration.
Report: E-cigarette Use Among Youth and Young Adults: A Report of the Surgeon General
This report is the first to be issued by a federal agency that comprehensively reviews the public health issue of electronic cigarettes and their impact on young people. Using evidence gathered from studies that included young adolescents, adolescents, and young adults, this report confirms there is no acceptable level of nicotine when it comes to these populations and the aerosol from e-cigarettes is not harmless. The report website also offers tools for parents and a public service announcement.
Facing Addiction in America: The Surgeon General’s Spotlight on Opioids
This report provides the latest data on the prevalence of substance use, opioid misuse, opioid use disorders, opioid overdoses, and related harms. It also addresses prevention, treatment, and management of opioid use disorders and the progress to address the opioid epidemic.
Cultivating Evaluation Capacity: A Guide for Programs Addressing Sexual and Domestic Violence
Cultivating Evaluation Capacity: A Guide for Programs Addressing Sexual and Domestic Violence (PDF, 58 pages) helps programs that serve survivors of domestic and/or sexual violence assess their evaluation capacity and identify areas of strength, as well as areas for improvement.
National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS)
NVDRS collects data on violent deaths from a variety of sources, including death certificates, police reports, medical examiner and coroner reports, and crime laboratories.
National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline
The National Dating Abuse Helpline is the direct service provider behind loveisrespect.org, operating the 24/7 text, phone, and live chat services. The texting function of the Helpline allows for users to text the Helpline advocates 24 hours a day, seven days a week about anything ranging from questions about healthy dating to raising red flags about relationships. The Helpline’s peer advocates serve thousands of teens and young adults through the 24/7 phone service. Users call 1-866-331-9474 to be connected with an advocate who is trained to offer education, support and advocacy to those involved in dating abuse relationships as well as concerned friends, siblings, parents, teachers, law enforcement members and service providers. The live chat (IM-style) of the Helpline is another way for users to contact a peer advocate. They receive the same one-on-one, real-time, confidential information from a trained peer advocate as they do if they contact loveisrespect.org by text and phone.
Office of Violence Against Women
The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), a component of the U.S. Department of Justice, provides national leadership in developing the nation's capacity to reduce violence against women through the implementation of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
Teen Dating Violence
This site provides information about teen dating violence
The Halls: Web Series
Created by the Building Healthy Teen Relationships Initiative and the Defending Childhood Initiative at the Boston Public Health Commission, Division of Violence Prevention, The Halls is a web series featuring the stories of three young men living in Boston who are struggling with issues related to relationships, trauma, violence, and identity. The goal of the series is to prevent gender-based violence, promote healthy relationships among adolescents, and encourage young people to challenges the messages they have received about how to act in relationships. A discussion guide (PDF, 34 pages) is available on The Halls website which can help facilitators foster discussions around the themes of the series.