Federal Resources

The Problem-Oriented Guides for Police summarize knowledge about how police can reduce the harm caused by specific crime and disorder problems. They are guides to prevention and to improving the overall response to incidents, not to investigating offenses or handling specific incidents.

NCSCW offers free online tutorials for a wide variety of professionals related to substance abuse disorders, treatment, and recovery. NCSACW requires users to register online before access these courses:

1. Understanding Child Welfare and the Dependency Court: A Guide for Substance Abuse Treatment Professionals
2. Understanding Substance Use Disorders, Treatment, and Family Recovery: A Guide for Child Welfare Professionals
3. Understanding Substance Use Disorders, Treatment, and Family Recovery: A Guide for Legal Professionals

This website guides local leaders and stakeholders through the process of establishing a School Responder Mode (SRM), a behavioral health response to school infractions that provides an alternative to exclusionary school discipline and justice system referral. Launched by the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice, this site outlines key steps in setting up a successful SRM and provides tools and resources to implement an SRM and gauge its progress. 

This report (PDF, 3 pages), developed by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, details the results of a national survey of probation officers on their roles, what they know about trauma and youth, and what they want to learn about trauma and trauma-informed practices. 

This guide, developed by the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing, describes the concept of focused deterrence initiatives (FDI), administering and leading an FDI, and applying focused deterrence to specific crime problems. Police and police departments can use this guide to design and implement local FDIs. 

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.

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.

This press release from the American Psychological Association reports findings from a  study that used data from a national CDC survey and found that more than one in three teens had experienced dating violence. 

This report describes the overall prevalence of sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence victimization in the United States using data from 2011. It reveals that nearly 54% of all female victims and 48% of all male victims experienced their first victimizations before age 25, many of whom were first victimized during childhood or adolescence.

The CDC is leading an initiative to test Dating Matters, a teen dating violence prevention program that includes evidence-based and evidence-informed curricula and training for middle school students, their parents, teachers, and others. This Q&A with Andra Tharp, the CDC health scientist who leads the initiative, explains what she and her colleagues hope to achieve with this project.

A national initiative to prevent youth violence before it starts. STRYVE's vision is safe and healthy youth who can achieve their full potential as connected and contributing members of thriving, violence-free families, schools, and communities. Their website includes training materials focused on understanding youth violence, the public health approach, and creating a plan along with a wealth of other resources and information.

CDC released an updated version of its VetoViolence training, DATING MATTERS®: Understanding Teen Dating Violence Prevention. DATING MATTERS ® is a free online course available to educators, school personnel, youth mentors, and other professionals that highlights what teen dating violence is and how to prevent it. New features include a fresh user experience, graphic novel scenarios, interactive exercises, and updated resources. 

This program is a five-year cooperative agreement supporting 10 state domestic violence coalitions as they focus on primary prevention of intimate partner violence. A recent blog post summarizes DELTA FOCUS grantee coalition’s work and provides information for other organizations on engaging in violence prevention. 

This update to CDC’s Dating Matters online training helps professionals working in the injury and violence prevention field learn about evaluating teen dating violence policies, how they impact the problem, and how to use findings to inform and strengthen public health efforts. 

This technical package (PDF, 64 pages) highlights six strategies that represent the best-available evidence to prevent intimate partner violence and its consequences across the lifespan. Communities and states can use this resource to guide and inform decisions about programs, policies, and practices related to intimate partner violence prevention. 

Different types of violence are connected and often share the same root causes. CDC’s Preventing Teen Dating and Youth Violence by Addressing Shared Risk and Protective Factors program funds 5 local health departments to engage in primary prevention activities to prevent teen dating violence and youth violence.