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Federal Resources
American FactFinder
This U.S. Census website is a source for population, housing, economic, and geographic data.
Census Bureau
The Census Bureau site serves as the leading source of quality data about the nation's people and economy. It contains thePopulation & Housing Census collected every 10 years, the Economic Census collected every 5 years, the Census of Governments collected every 5 years, the American Community Survey collected annually, a number of Demographic and Econmic surveys, and Economic Indicators that are released on a specific schedule.
Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance in the United States in 2013
Released by the Census Bureau, this report illustrates key indicators of poverty and family income. The report shows that the overall poverty rate fell 14.5% in 2013, and the poverty rate for people under age 18 fell 1.9% from 2012 to 2013, which is equivalent to 1.4 million young people lifted out of poverty.
School Enrollment: 2012
This newly released set of tables from the Census Bureau describes the characteristics of children and adults enrolled in school at all levels, by age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, nativity, and foreign-born parentage. A notable trend seen in the data is a drop in college enrollment (both undergraduate and graduate) by 467,000 students in fall 2012 from one year earlier.
Resource: Statistics in Schools
This website uses Census data to educate K-12 students about statistical concepts and data analysis. Developed by educators to correspond with relevant education standards, teachers can incorporate these free resources into geography, history, math, and sociology activities.
Share with Youth: Youth Speak Out: Shared Experiences Help Rural Youth Leaders Connect
This podcast, developed by the National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth, features rural youth leaders who were once homeless or in foster care offering advice on how to engage vulnerable rural youth.
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.
America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being
Youth Indicators is a statistical compilation of data on the distribution of youth, their family structure, economic factors, school and extracurricular activities, health factors, and other elements that constitute the world of young people between the ages of 0-17 years. This report is created and published by Child Stats, a division of the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics.
Above the Influence
This is the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign's site for teens. The site allows teens to examine the negative influences in their lives and how to rise above them. It offers extensive drug information in a fun, exploratory way
Drug Free Communities Support Program
The Drug-Free Communities Support Program is led by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). This anti-drug program provides grants of up to $100,000 to community coalitions that mobilize their communities to prevent youth alcohol, tobacco, illicit drug, and inhalant abuse. The grants support coalitions of youth; parents; media; law enforcement; school officials; faith-based organizations; fraternal organizations; State, local, and tribal government agencies; healthcare professionals; and other community representatives. The Drug-Free Communities Support Program enables the coalitions to strengthen their coordination and prevention efforts, encourage citizen participation in substance abuse reduction efforts, and disseminate information about effective programs.
Evidence-based Principles for Substance Abuse Prevention
This website presents a set of research-based principles upon which prevention programming can be based, as developed by ONDCP.
Methamphetamine Resources
The Federal government's central Web site for information and resources related to methamphetamine. The site was developed to assist policy makers, law enforcement, educators, health care professionals, and others who are working to reduce meth production, trafficking, and abuse. The site features a listserv to promote information sharing and interactive communication with professionals across the Nation.
Springtime: A Good Time to Think About Our Kids and Steroids
This blog post was written by Don Hooten, president of the Taylor Hooton Foundation, an advocacy group that raises awareness about the dangers of young people’s use of appearance- and performance-enhancing drugs (APED). It describes the prevalence and perception of APED use among youth and shares the story of Hooten’s son Taylor, who died after using anabolic steroids.
Identifying and Serving LGBTQ Youth: Case Studies of Runaway and Homeless Youth Program Grantees
This report from the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation and the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) highlights the findings from case studies of four agencies receiving grants from the ACF Family and Youth Services Bureau’s Runaway and Homeless Youth Program. It includes information on the collection and use of sexual orientation and gender identity data, needs and capacities among LGBTQ runaway and homeless youth, approaches to serving this population, and gaps in research and services for practitioners and policymakers to consider.
Usability.gov
Usability.gov is a one-stop source for government web designers to learn how to make websites more usable, useful, and accessible.
SCOTUS Decision Supports LGBT Behavioral Health
This blog post by SAMHSA Administrator Pamela Hyde describes the importance of the Supreme Court’s historic ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which states that the Constitution requires LGBT couples be allowed to marry no matter where they live, and marriages performed in one state must be recognized in every state. The post also highlights other steps the federal government has taken this year to improve the health and well-being of LGBT people.
Celebrating Minority Mental Health Month: Spotlight on Tribal Behavioral Health Needs
Minority Mental Health Month provided an opportunity to raise awareness of how mental health and substance use issues affect ethnic minority groups. This blog post, written by a SAMHSA intern and member of the Rosebud Sioux and Oglala Sioux Tribes, describes a personal journey with addiction and provides hope and encouragement to tribal youth, tribal leaders, scholars, and community members to seek help and promote recovery and healing.
Now Available: Children's Mental Health Awareness Day Webcast
The 2015 Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day national event recorded webcast is now available. The event highlighted the needs of youth and young adults with mental or substance use disorders and their families, while demonstrating how these needs can be best met through integrated care. The event also introduced cutting-edge community strategies for integrating behavioral health care with primary health care, education, and child welfare.
Is it ADHD or Trauma Symptoms?
This podcast describes how children exposed to traumatic events can exhibit symptoms that overlap with ADHD and, in some cases, could result in inaccurate diagnoses. It also provides suggestions for ways to talk about impulsive and disruptive behaviors with school staff and pediatricians to make sure that children receive the services they need.
Behavioral Health Equity Barometer
The “Behavioral Health Equity Barometer” (PDF, 20 pages) report is a one-year snapshot of the state of behavioral health of youth and adults by demographics and insurance status. Highlights of the findings show there are gaps in treatment for some behavioral health conditions among racial/ethnic minority populations and people without health insurance.
Quick Guide for Clinicians Based on TIP 57: Trauma-Informed Care in Behavioral Health Services
This resource equips care providers and administrators with information on caring for people who have experienced trauma or may be at risk for developing trauma stress reactions. It addresses prevention, intervention, and treatment issues and strategies.
SAMHSA's "Talk. They Hear You." Start the Talk Trailer
Start the Talk is the newest component of SAMHSA's "Talk. They Hear You." Underage Drinking Prevention National Media Campaign aimed to reduce underage drinking among youth ages 9 to 15. This online role-play tool gives parents and caregivers the opportunity to practice talking with their children about underage drinking, helping to build practical skills and confidence to conduct these conversations in real life.
You Make SAMHSA Rock!
In this blog post, SAMHSA's Pamela Hyde announces her resignation and recounts SAMHSA’s accomplishments and its federal partners during her tenure.
IOM Recommendations Reflect Importance of Improving Quality of Behavioral Health Services
As highlighted in a recent blog post by HHS officials, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a new report, “Psychosocial Interventions for Mental and Substance Use Disorders.” The report is a result of a collaboration to identify key steps to ensure individuals receiving mental health and substance use services receive evidence-based, high-quality care. It details the reasons for the gap between what is effective and what is currently practiced, and it offers recommendations for how best to address this gap. It proposes a framework to establish standards for psychosocial interventions. The HHS blog post addresses how SAMHSA, ASPE, and other HHS agencies will implement the recommendations in the report.
SAMHSA's "Talk. They Hear You." Father-Son Video PSA
This PSA for SAMHSA's "Talk. They Hear You." campaign encourages parents, particularly fathers, to start an open dialogue with their children at a young age about drinking.