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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.
America’s Natural and Cultural Resources Volunteer Portal: Volunteer.gov
Volunteer.gov is America's Natural and Cultural Resources Volunteer Portal built and maintained by the Federal Interagency Team on Volunteerism (FITV) that is comprised of volunteer program coordinators from three Cabinet level departments. Since its initial deployment in 2002, the Portal has grown into a strategic alliance of governmental partners from all levels - local, State, and Federal Government dedicated to serving the volunteer community by populating this e-Government site with volunteer positions and events for citizens interested in volunteer service benefitting our Nation's resources.
Computers for Learning
The CFL program's ambitious goal is to make modern computer technology an integral part of every classroom so that every child has the opportunity to be educated to his or her full potential.
Parents, Lock Up Your Drugs
While children and teens are home on winter break, parents are encouraged to hide or secure their medications to avoid accidental ingestion or abuse.
What You Need to Know About Kids and Concussions
Featured by Kids.gov, this article provides parents with a general overview of concussions, including information about symptoms, treatments, when to seek help, and when it is okay for children to return to normal activities following a concussion. Follow the hashtag #CDCHeadsUp on Twitter or like the CDC's Heads Up Facebook page to receive updates and join the conversation about concussions.
Back-to-School Vaccinations: Be a Step Ahead
August is National Immunization Awareness Month, and with school just around the corner, it is a good time to ensure children and teens are up-to-date on their vaccines. This resource provides links to information about immunization and where parents can take children to receive vaccines
10 Tips To Get Ready for Back to School
Kids.gov developed 10 tips that can help parents make the transition back to school easier for students. Tips address topics like time management, back to school shopping, and talking with teachers.
Share with Youth: A Friend of a Friend Might Be a Scammer
This article describes a scam known as “farcing,” in which users receive a friend request from someone with whom they supposedly share mutual friends, only to have the scammer collect their personal data. It also provides tips for identity protection when using social media.
Share with Youth: Don’t Fall for These Scams: Phishing and Vishing
This article explains two kinds of scams: phishing, occurring through fraudulent e-mails that ask the recipient to verify personal information, and vishing, in which a scammer may make contact over the phone to request this information. It also provides tips for what those who think they may be a victim of one of these scams can do.
Resource: How to Get Food Stamps (SNAP Food Benefits)
This resource describes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as “food stamps,” and explains how to access benefits, become a SNAP food benefits retailer, and report fraud.
Resource: Kids.gov Re-envisioned
This blog post describes the re-envisioning of Kids.gov, a project which aims to improve the site to better suit the public’s needs.
Resource: Support for Families When a Suicide Attempt Hits Home
This resource provides information, tips, and useful links to families who have experienced a suicide attempt to assist in getting appropriate help and to foster resiliency.
Action Guide for Emergency Management at Institutions of Higher Education
This guide has been developed to give higher education institutions a useful resource in the field of emergency management.
A Guide to School Vulnerability Assessment Key: Principles for Safe Schools
This guide is a companion piece to the Practical Information on Crisis Planning: A Guide for Schools and Communities (above). It emphasizes a valuable part of emergency management planning—ongoing vulnerability assessment—and is intended to assist schools with the selection and implementation of an effective vulnerability assessment tool.
Archived Webinar: Using Data to Identify Programmatic Interventions
The Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Healthy Students’ Safe and Supportive Schools Technical Assistance Center held a webinar on December 14, 2011, “Using Data to Identify Programmatic Interventions.” It covered the need to use school climate data to identify needs, selecting evidence based programs to address these needs, and implementing these programs effectively within a school or district.
Archived Webinar: School Climate Webinar Series: Enhancing Peer-to-Peer Relationships to Strengthen School Climate
The Safe and Supportive Schools Technical Assistance Center, supported by the Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Healthy Students, delves into the importance of fostering healthy student-to-student relationships in the webinar, “Enhancing Peer to Peer Relationships to Strengthen School Climate.” This resource is meant to help administrators, teachers, support staff and student support personnel in creating a nurturing learning environment.
Compendium of School Discipline State Laws and Regulations
Developed by the National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments, which is funded by the Department of Education's Office of Safe and Healthy Students and the Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Compendium of School Discipline State Laws and Regulations provides information on school discipline laws and regulations for each of the 50 states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico. Users can search by state or category and can also download the full Compendium in PDF format.
ED Office of Safe and Healthy Students Emergency Planning Website
The U.S. Department of Education (ED)'s Office of Safe and Healthy Students' (OSHS) Center for School Preparedness provides support, resources, grants, and training to support emergency management efforts for local educational agencies and institutions of higher education.
Emergency Planning for Schools
This website, Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS), provides information that can help school leaders plan for any emergency, including natural disasters, violent incidents and terrorist acts.