Breadcrumb
- Federal Resources
Federal Resources
Adolescent Health
CDC's overview topic page on adolescent health, including alcohol, tobacco, and substance use; adolescent injuries; and youth violence.
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)
The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is the world’s largest, ongoing telephone health survey system, tracking health conditions and risk behaviors in the United States yearly since 1984. Currently, data are collected monthly in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam.
Aftercare Services
This Bulletin examines aftercare services that provide youth with comprehensive health, mental health, education, family, and vocational services upon their release from the juvenile justice system.
Bureau of Justice Assistance Training and Technical Assistance
This resource provides technical assistance to practitioners in state, local, and tribal justice systems.
Bullying and Suicide: A Public Health Approach
A special online supplement from the Journal of Adolescent Health reports on the findings of an expert panel convened by the CDC to better understand the link between bullying and suicide-related behaviors.
CDC Data on Rates of Autism Spectrum Disorder
This report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that 1 in 88 children in the United States has been identified as having an autism spectrum disorder and more children are being diagnosed by age 3.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Coping With a Disaster or Traumatic Event
The effects of a disaster, terrorist attack, or other public health emergency can be long-lasting, and the resulting trauma can reverberate even with those not directly affected by the disaster. This page provides general strategies for promoting mental health and resilience that were developed by various organizations based on experiences in prior disasters.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) works to protect public health and safety by providing information to enhance health decisions, and it promotes health through partnerships with state health departments and other organizations.
Director’s Blog: What Caused This to Happen?
Written by NIMH Director Dr. Thomas Insel, this blog post explains the mixture of genetic and environmental factors that underly mental illness and cites recent research that suggests “bad luck” may play a role in the development of psychopathology.
Healthy Youth
This Web site provides information on and links to school health strategies, research and evaluation tools, Youth Risk Behavior Survey data, evidence-based guidelines for school health programs, and adolescent and school health program resources and tools.
Healthy Youth Mental Health
This CDC website provides information on youth mental health, including information on school policies and programs to support youth mental health.
Guide to Community Preventive Services
The Guide to Community Preventive Services is a free resource listing programs and policies that improve health and prevent disease. The Program Planning Resources section of the site outlines the types of steps that are generally used in program planning, along with selected resources that may be useful at each step.
Guideposts for Success for Youth with Mental Health Needs
The Guideposts for Success are a framework to assist the multiple organizations that need to be involved to meet the needs and improve the transition outcomes of all youth, including youth with disabilities. The guideposts discuss school-based services, career preparation, leadership opportunities, community services, and family involvement supports for youth with mental health needs. These documents were developed by the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability, which is supported by funds from the Department of Labor.
Healthy Youth - Evaluation
CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health provides evaluation technical assistance to Funded Partners through a variety of evaluation resources and tools.
Juvenile Justice Journal, Vol. VII, No. 1 (Mental Health Issue)
This issue discusses incarcerated youth with mental health issues, including challenges and solutions.
National Center for Health Statistics
As the Nation's principal health statistics agency, this site compiles statistical information to guide actions and policies to improve the health of our people.
Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General
This Report of the Surgeon General on Mental Health is the product of a collaboration between two federal agencies, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the National Institutes of Health. The report provides an overview of mental health as well as a section targeted at children’s mental health. Sections of this report include information on interventions and service delivery.
Mental Health Surveillance Among Children — United States, 2005-2011
This report, from the Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, provides comprehensive estimates of the number of children and youth in the United States living with specific mental disorders and outlines federal efforts to monitor the prevalence of these disorders and the impact they have on the mental health of young people
NIMH Strategic Plan Aims to Focus, Accelerate Mental Health Research
NIMH has issued a new Strategic Plan for Research, which updates the strategic objectives of its 2008 plan, with a focus on balancing the need for long-term investments in basic research with urgent mental health needs. The plan includes four strategic priorities which will guide the institute’s research for the next five years:
- Define the mechanisms of complex behaviors
- Chart mental illness trajectories to determine when, where, and how to intervene
- Strive for prevention and cures
- Strengthen the public health impact of NIMH-supported research
OJJDP Safe Start Center
The Safe Start communities are funded competitively through OJJDP, and work to coordinate the efforts of service providers in key areas, such as early childhood education, health, child welfare, substance abuse prevention and intervention, domestic violence, law enforcement, and the courts to address the needs of children exposed to violence.
PTSD, Trauma, and Comorbid Psychiatric Disorders in Detained Youth
Developed by the Department of Justice as part of the ongoing Beyond Detention series, this bulletin analyzes data from the Northwestern Juvenile project, a longitudinal study of youth detained at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center in Chicago. The prevalence of trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) seen among the juveniles studied is discussed, as well as the tendency for PTSD and other psychiatric disorders to co-occur in this population.
Scientists Spot Gene Tied to Severe Autism
In a recent study, researchers claim to have discovered a new genetic cause of autism, singling out a rare gene mutation. The gene, CTNND2, provides instructions for making a protein called delta-catenin, which plays a crucial role in the nervous system. Researchers found that a group of girls with severe autism carried CTNND2 mutations that appeared to reduce the effectiveness of delta-catenin, potentially affecting their neurological development.
Special Education and the Juvenile Justice System
The Bulletin summarizes the provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and analyzes their relevance to the juvenile justice process-from intake and initial interview to institutional placement and secure confinement.
Suicide Prevention Resources
This Centers for Disease Control and Prevention created suicide prevention resources developed from federal and local partnerships. The site contains information about a national strategy for suicide prevention, data and trends, and youth-specific information.
The Northwestern Juvenile Project: Overview
This bulletin provides an overview of the Northwestern Juvenile Project, the first large-scale, prospective longitudinal study of drug, alcohol, and psychiatric disorders in a diverse sample of juvenile detainees.