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- Federal Resources
Federal Resources
Children's Bureau
The Children's Bureau (CB) is one of two bureaus within the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Administration for Children and Families, of the Department of Health and Human Services. The Children's Bureau seeks to improve the safety, permanency and well-being of children through leadership, support for necessary services, and productive partnerships with states, tribes, and communities. It has the primary responsibility for administering federal programs that support state child welfare services.
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.
Report: Child Maltreatment 2015
This report from the Child Welfare Information Gateway provides state-level data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System on reports of abuse and neglect made to child protective services (CPS) agencies, the children involved, types of maltreatment, CPS responses, child and caregiver risk factors, services, and perpetrators.
Resource: Engaging Youth in Foster Care
This podcast shares the perspective of a youth formerly in foster care. It provides tips to caseworkers for engaging youth in developing their case plans and identifying supportive adults in their lives. This resource can help caseworkers as they work with youth who are in foster care or preparing to transition to adulthood.
Share with Youth: Being an Engaged and Involved Teen in Foster Care
This webpage provides information to teens in foster care about their permanency options, tools to help them transition to adulthood, and how to find support from other teens who have been in foster care.
Supporting Families Impacted by Incarceration — A Dialogue with Experts
This report, developed by the National Child Abuse and Neglect Technical Assistance and Strategic Dissemination Center, is the outcome of a meeting that convened national child welfare experts on families impacted by incarceration. It features key issues around this topic for practitioners and identifies needed resources and tools to support the workforce and families, along with a practical framework of intervention points from arrest to release.
John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood
The John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood (the Chafee program) provides funding to support youth/ young adults in or formerly in foster care in their transition to adulthood. The program is funded through formula grants awarded to child welfare agencies in States (including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and participating Tribes. Chafee funds are used to assist youth/ young adults in a wide variety of areas designed to support a successful transition to adulthood. Activities and programs include, but are not limited to, help with education, employment, financial management, housing, emotional support and assured connections to caring adults. Specific services and supports are determined by the child welfare agency, vary by State, locality and agency, and are often based on the individual needs of the young person. Many State or local agencies contract with private organizations to deliver services to young people.
Parents’ Influence on the Health of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Teens: What Parents and Families Should Know
CDC’s DASH developed the factsheet, “Parents’ Influence on the Health of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Teens: What Parents and Families Should Know," which provides information for parents on how they can support and promote healthy outcomes for their LGTBQ teens.
The Association Between School-Based Physical Activity, Including Physical Education, and Academic Performance
The report indicates that school-based physical activity may help improve students' grades and test scores and positively affect other factors that influence academic achievement. The report also concludes that adding time during the school day for physical activity does not appear to take away from academic performance.
Ways to Influence Your Teen's Sexual Risk Behavior: What Fathers Can Do
CDC’s DASH has developed the factsheet, "Ways to Influence Your Teen's Sexual Risk Behavior: What Fathers Can Do," which offers resources and tips for dads on helping their children avoid risky sexual behaviors.
Resource: 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) Results
This survey monitors six types of health-risk behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death and disability among youth and adults. The 2015 release includes data from the 2015 National YRBS and YRBS data from 37 state and 19 large urban school district.
Resource: Youth Online
This data access application allows users to analyze national, state, and local Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) data from 1991 to 2015. Researchers and other professionals can use this resource to filter and sort YRBSS data on the basis of race/ethnicity, sex, grade, sexual orientation, sex of sexual contacts, or site; and create customized tables, maps, and graphs, and perform statistical tests by site and health topic.
Resource: Parent Engagement
This webpage provides an overview of parent engagement in schools, a promising protective factor that has been linked to better student behavior, higher academic achievement, and enhanced social skills. It also features fact sheets and other resources on parent engagement for school districts, school administrators, teachers, other school staff, parents, and families.
Youth Advisory Councils
Youth Advisory Councils (YACs) provide ongoing advice and support to school districts on policies and practices that affect students. This webpage provides a detailed overview of Youth Advisory Councils (YACs). It describes the role YACs play in improving the schools and communities they serve, discusses how they can use data to make decisions and create action plans, and outlines the structure of a YAC.
Museums and Libraries: Engaging America's Youth
This initiative shines a spotlight on the role libraries and museums play in bringing about positive change in the lives of young people. This report discusses the effectiveness of library programs for children and youth ages 9-19, from a year-long study of IMLS (Insitute of Museum and Library Services) grants.
Archived Webinar: Performance Partnership Pilots (P3) Round 2 Bidders Conference
This archived webinar presents details of the Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) for the second round (FY 2015) of Performance Partnership Pilots for Disconnected Youth (P3), including application requirements and selection criteria for potential applicants.
How Americans Are Expanding Their Use of the Internet (2001) Chapter 5: How Young People Have Embraced Computers and the Internet
A report by the U.S. Department of Commerce: Children and young adults have embraced new information technologies in large numbers. More than any other age group, these younger age groups use computers and the Internet widely for many of their daily activities.
How Access to Technology Benefits Children
This site includes a report, created by the Department of Commerce, which contains 11 stories about people who are working hard to ensure technology will enhance the lives of children.
Guidance: Raising Awareness on Specific Learning Disabilities
This guidance for state and local educational agencies clarifies that students with specific learning disabilities — such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia — have unique educational needs. The guidance also clarifies that there is nothing in the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act prohibiting the use of the terms dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia in a student’s evaluation, determination of eligibility for special education and related services, or in developing the student’s individualized education program.
Resource: Improving Outcomes for Youth with Disabilities in Juvenile Corrections
This toolkit includes evidence- and research-based practices, tools, and resources that educators, families, facilities, and community agencies can use to better support and improve the long-term outcomes for youth with disabilities in juvenile correctional facilities. The toolkit focuses on four key areas identified as part of an OSEP-sponsored focus group series on juvenile corrections: facility-wide practices, educational practices, transition and re-entry practices, and community and interagency practices.
Share with Youth: A Transition Guide to Postsecondary Education and Employment for Students and Youth with Disabilities
This guide (PDF, 62 pages) aims to educate students and youth with disabilities and their families about the transition from school to post-school activities. It includes information about transition planning, transition services and requirements, and education and employment options.
Prevalence and Implementation Fidelity of Research-Based Prevention Programs in Public Schools
This report from the Study of the Implementation of Research-Based Programs to Prevent Youth Substance Abuse and School Crime offers the following information which can be applied to gang prevention efforts: collecting background information on substance abuse and school crime, identifying research-based programs and practices, using data collection instruments, developing implementation fidelity measures, and collecting, processing, and analyzing data.
Report: Advancing Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education
This report (PDF, 94 pages) provides key data that illustrate the educational inequities and opportunity gaps that continue to exist for students of color and low-income students in accessing and completing a quality postsecondary education. It also highlights the Obama Administration’s efforts to promote diversity in institutions of higher education, and provides recommendations for states, colleges, and universities to promote higher education access and inclusion for all students.
PACER Center's Technical Assistance on Transition and the Rehabilitation Act (TATRA) Project
The Technical Assistance on Transition and the Rehabilitation Act (TATRA) Project offers Parent Information and Training Programs funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) a variety of services to help them achieve their goals. Individualized services for each center are identified in technical assistance plans on an annual basis.