Breadcrumb
- Federal Resources
Federal Resources
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.
Academic Achievement Trajectories of Homeless and Highly Mobile Students: Resilience in the Context of Chronic and Acute Risk
As featured by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, the University of Minnesota released a study, Academic Achievement Trajectories of Homeless and Highly Mobile Students: Resilience in the Context of Chronic and Acute Risk, which examined academic achievement of students identified as homeless or highly mobile as compared with other students in the federal free meal program, reduced price meals, or neither. This study was partially federally funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Science Foundation.
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.
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
The Anatomy of NIMH Funding
In response to calls for transparency, this blog post and corresponding white paper (PDF, 13 pages) written by NIMH director Thomas Insel provide insight into the NIMH budget, including what is funded, who is funded, and how funding decisions are made.
The Teen Brain: Still Under Construction
This brochure describes changes in the brain that occur during the teen years, and the significance of this stage of development.
Boys More Likely to Have Antipsychotics Prescribed, Regardless of Age
New research funded by NIMH analyzed antipsychotic prescription data between 2006-2010. The data show that, in children ages 1-6, boys were more than twice as likely as girls to receive an antipsychotic prescription. This pattern held true for boys and girls ages 7-12, before narrowing for those ages 13-18, and finally becoming more comparable for young men and women ages 19-24.
Share with Youth: Teen Depression
Youth-serving professionals can use this resource, developed for teens, to educate young people about depression. It contains information about the signs and symptoms of depression, places to turn to for help, effective treatments for depression, steps teens can take to feel better, and the impact depression can have on relationships.
Director’s Blog: The Brain’s Critical Balance
Written by NIMH Director Thomas Insel, this blog post highlights one of early projects of the BRAIN Initiative, launched to support scientists as they conduct research on the brain, consciousness, and behavior. This project involves scientists at NIMH and the University of Maryland who are trying to understand how the activity of individual neurons integrates into larger patterns of brain activity
Recent Event: Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder
This Twitter chat featured Dr. Ellen Leibenluft, Chair of the Section on Bipolar Spectrum Disorder and expert on severe irritability in children, who answered questions on disruptive mood dysregulation disorder submitted by Twitter users.
Resource: Child and Adolescent Mental Health
This web portal provides information on mental health conditions and disorders among children and teens, including warning signs, latest news, videos, hotlines, and clinical trials.
Report: Testing Interpretation Bias Training (IBT)
This report describes a new, large-scale study that will test IBT, a computer game designed to diminish the tendency of children with disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD) to view ambiguous faces as angry. This study will also test cognitive behavioral therapy in conjunction with IBT in an effort to establish the first non-drug interventions for those with DMDD.
Ask Suicide-Screening Questions Toolkit
This free resource can help nurses and physicians in settings like emergency departments, inpatient medical/surgical units, and outpatient clinics/primary care identify youth at risk for suicide.
Depression and College Students
This webpage provides answers to college students’ questions about depression. It addresses the types, signs and symptoms, and treatment of depression, as well as co-occurring disorders and where to find help. The webpage also features information on suicide, including the warning signs and what a person should do if they or someone they care about is considering suicide.
An Interview With Dr. Temple Grandin
This blog post provides highlights from an interview with autism advocate, author, professor, and scientist Dr. Temple Grandin, in which she shares insights about autism, what parents can do to help their children, and the importance of learning life skills.
Best Practices Guide on Mentoring Youth with Disabilities
This best practices guide funded in part under a grant/contract supported by the Office of Disability Employment Policy of the U. S. Department of Laborh and the Technology Opportunities Program of the U. S. Department of Commerce,
National Telecommunications and Information Administration aims to help communities to start mentoring programs or expand a program to include youth with disabilities.
Office of Disability's Guide to Emergency Preparedness
This webpage from the Office of Disability of the U.S. Department of Labor offers guidance on emergency preparedness at the workplace.
Know It 2 Own It: Helping People with Disabilities Access Middle Class Careers
This blog post describes efforts of federal agencies and departments to support the employment of individuals with disabilities and action steps to increase access to jobs and job skills.
National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability
NCWD/Youth is your source for information about employment and youth with disabilities. Our partners - experts in disability, education, employment, and workforce development - strive to ensure you will be provided with the highest quality, most relevant information available.
Office of Disability Employment Policy, Department of Labor
The Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) was authorized by Congress in the Department of Labor's FY 2001 appropriation. ODEP provides information for families, professionals, and communities on transitioning youth with disabilities into training and employment opportunities.
Soft Skills to Pay the Bills: Mastering Soft Skills for Workplace Success
The Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy released this collection of career development exercises that aim to improve the "soft skills" of young workers, including those with disabilities.
Teaching Soft Skills Through Workplace Simulation in Classroom Settings
The Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy provides a resource focused on how schools and employment opportunities can teach soft skills, specifically for students with disabilities. Relevant soft skills, as mentioned in the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills, include: teamwork, problem solving, effective use of resources and effective coommunication.
“Because” PSA
Developed as part of the “What can YOU do?” initiative, the new “Because” public service announcement (PSA) features stories of real people with disabilities who have been able to achieve their goals because of the positive support they received from caring adult mentors, such as parents, friends, employees, and teachers.
Healthy Transitions: A Pathway to Employment for Youth with Chronic Health Conditions and Other Disabilities
This brief highlights an ODEP-commissioned study that aimed to improve understanding of the relationship between disability, health and wellness, and transition and employment outcomes for youth with disabilities (PDF, 13 pages), as well as the role health care providers play in establishing employment expectations. The brief also includes recommendations for promoting purposeful health care transition planning for all youth, including those with chronic health conditions and other disabilities.