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- Federal Resources
Federal Resources
Share with Youth: A Roadmap to Behavioral Health: A Guide to Using Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Services
This guide (PDF, 24 pages) can help people understand how to use health insurance coverage to improve their mental and physical health. It provides an eight step road map for understanding behavioral health, finding and accessing appropriate providers, and staying on the road to recovery.
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.
Beyond Addiction: Understanding and Treating Substance Abuse in Young People
This report series from the National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth provides an overview on substance abuse in youth and young adults. Find information on how drug use can affect the teen brain, how the development of the teen brain makes young people susceptible to trying drugs, the benefits and things to be aware of when hiring youth workers in substance abuse recovery, and some best-known evidence-based practices for treating adolescent substance abuse.
Mental Health: The First Step to Well Being
This collection of articles from the National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth analyzes some of the most prominent mental health issues facing at-risk youth in order to provide youth workers with insight into the prevention and treatment of mental health challenges. Post-traumatic stress disorder, the risks and uses of psychotropic medications, and postpartum depression in teen mothers are discussed.
Q&A: Helping Families Protect Themselves From Recurring Trauma
Produced by the National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth, this interview with Laurel Kiser, of the University of Maryland’s Family-Informed Trauma Treatment Center, discusses the potential negative effects of anticipatory stress and highlights Strengthening Family Coping Resources, a multi-week program that Kiser and her colleagues facilitate that helps families deal with recurring stressors.
Trauma and the Teen Brain
The National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth conducted an interview that educates readers about the effect that trauma can have on teen brain development. Research suggests that the brains of teens who experience homelessness or abuse can develop differently than the brains of their peers who grow up in safe and supportive homes.
Voices from the Field: Why People Take Risks
This podcast features Dr. Carl Lejuez of the University of Maryland discussing his research on risk taking and the implications of his findings for traumatized youth.
What Promotes Resilience Among Alaska Native Youth?
This article describes the findings of a recent study that looked at the everyday struggles of Alaska Native teens and how they have dealt with these challenges. The authors of the study found that the means through which Alaska Native youth found strength during difficult times, such as helping their families and giving back to their communities, reflect unique cultural values and provide insight into how providers can promote health among this population.
Improving Attachment Between Mothers and Children
This article describes a recent study on whether new mothers dealing with past trauma would be able to develop an attachment to their babies. If the mothers could develop an attachment, the study examined if addressing the mother’s issue would help with bonding. The results show that all the mothers in the study who were dealing with past trauma had trouble bonding with others and over 75% of the mothers with unresolved trauma had insecurely attached infants. The researchers found that being in the process of dealing with past trauma can help mothers form secure bonds with their children, despite the mothers themselves having difficulty attaching to others around them.
5 Tips for Providing Trauma-Informed Sex Education
This article highlights the work of two researchers who are pioneering changes in sex education that bridge the gap between sex education and trauma-informed care by better understanding how sex education could be more sensitive to students’ traumatic experiences. This article also offers tips, based on this research, for implementing a trauma informed approach to sex education.
Slideshow: 5 Collaborations to Ensure Trauma-Informed Care for Youth and Families
This slideshow highlights five types of professionals that runaway and homeless youth program managers can collaborate with to support youth who have experienced trauma.
Resource: Narrative Writing Exercises for Promoting Health Among Adolescents: Promises and Pitfalls
This resource describes a literature review that explores the potential mental health benefits and concerns of using narrative writing with youth and young adults.
Resource: Helping Youth Prevent Suicide Among Their LGBTQ Peers
This article highlights free resources educators and youth service providers can use to implement the Trevor Project’s Lifeguard Workshop, a program encouraging young people to be “lifeguards” for one another by having the knowledge to help in a crisis. Professionals can request a free, in-person workshop or use the resources highlighted in the article to create personalized trainings.
Resource: Integrating Medical and Mental Health Care for Teen Moms
This article describes the mental health challenges teen moms face and highlights a Denver-based program that integrates mental health screening and treatment into their existing medical care.
Child Health USA
The Child Health USA Databook is an annual report of the health status, well-being and service needs of America's children and youth. Coalitions, program planners and policy makers can identify national trends by examining and comparing data from one year to the next. Indicators for youth, or adolescents, cover multiple issues, including childbearing, substance abuse, violence, mental health treatment, and mortality from traffic and firearms injuries. The section, Population Characteristics, provides information about poverty status and school dropouts. Each topic includes a written summary and at least one graph that clearly depicts key statistical facts.
Health Center Program Technical Assistance
This resource provides technical assistance to health centers. The Bureau of Primary Health Care has developed partnerships with state, regional and other national organizations to provide:
- Training and technical assistance on fiscal and program management
- Operational and administrative support
- Program development/analysis
- Primary care/clinical care development and operations
- Support to meet the needs of special populations
- Support to develop and implement health and other information technology systems
Resource: Center for Integrated Health Solutions
This website features information to help healthcare providers and organizations learn about Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT), an evidence-based practice used to identify, reduce, and prevent the use and abuse of alcohol and drugs. The site includes basic information, training materials, workflow charts and diagrams, and information on financing.
2015 National Distracted Driving Enforcement
In recognition of National Distracted Driving Awareness Month in April, NHTSA has planned a number of activities, including the implementation of U Drive. U Text. U Pay, its second national enforcement campaign for distracted driving, and a robust social media strategy designed to raise public awareness about the consequences of texting and driving.
About Safe Communities
The Safe Communities approach represents a new way community programs are established and managed. All partners participate as equals in developing solutions, sharing successes, assuming risks, and building a community structure and process to continue improvement of community life through the reduction of injuries and costs.
Community How-to Guides on Underage Drinking Prevention
This set of documents was developed by the National Association of Governors Highway Safety Representatives with financial assistance from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The guides focus on the following topics: Coalition Building, Needs Assessment and Strategic Planning, Evaluation, Prevention and Education, Underage Drinking Enforcement, Public Policy Advocacy, Media Relations, Self-Sufficiency, and Resources.
Distraction.gov
Distraction.gov provides wide array of information and resources about distracted driving including information from the 2010 summit on distracted driving, campaign tools, facts, statistics and research, information about laws in different states related to distracted driving, speeches, press releases and other resources for the media.
Dangers of Texting and Driving
Liz Marks shares how her accident from texting while driving changed her life.
Five Seconds of Texting While Driving
The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration shows what could happen in just five seconds of texting while driving.
Impaired Driving Reports from NHTSA
This page compiles multiple research and evaluation projects conducted by NHTSA related to behaviors and attitudes in highway safety. The research presented focuses on the role of impaired driving in fatal crashes, and the prevention of alcohol and drug use by drivers.
Life's 3 Second Moments
The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration reminds drivers to take three seconds to wear their seat belts and experience all of life's three-second moments.