Breadcrumb
- Federal Resources
Federal Resources
National Center for Safe Routes to School
The National Center for Safe Routes to School assists states and communities in enabling and encouraging children to safely walk and bicycle to school. The National Center serves as the information clearinghouse for the federal Safe Routes to School program. The organization also provides technical support and resources and coordinates online registration efforts for U.S. Walk to School Day and facilitates worldwide promotion and participation.
Videos: Reminding Kids About Street Safety Ages 5-18
Pedestrian Safer Journey has created videos for multiple age groups that can help teach young people about pedestrian and bike safety. Each video is accompanied by a quiz or discussion and resources for educators. Access materials on pedestrian safety for ages 10-14 and 15-18 and resources on bike safety for ages 10-14 and 15-18.
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.
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.
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.
Resource: HIV Prevention Toolkit: A Gender-Responsive Approach
This toolkit (PDF, 138 pages) can help HIV prevention program planners and managers understand how to integrate gender into HIV prevention programs and support services for women and adolescent girls. As described in this blog post, the toolkit includes background information on how gender influences HIV vulnerability of women and girls, basic concepts related to gender and gender-responsive HIV prevention programming, and gender analysis and how it can be applied.
Promoting Positive Adolescent Health Behaviors and Outcomes: Thriving in the 21st Century
Promoting Positive Adolescent Health Behaviors and Outcomes: Thriving in the 21st Century identifies key program factors that can improve health outcomes related to adolescent behavior and provides evidence-based recommendations toward effective implementation of federal programming initiatives. This study explores normative adolescent development, the current landscape of adolescent risk behavior, core components of effective programs focused on optimal health, and recommendations for research, programs, and policies. You can download a free PDF copy (148 pages )here: https://www.nap.edu/catalog/25552/promoting-positive-adolescent-health-behaviors-and-outcomes-thriving-in-the
Department of Defense STARBASE
The DoD STARBASE is an educational program sponsored by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs. Students can participate in challenging "hands-on, mind-on" activities in aviation, science, technology, engineering, math, and space exploration. The program provides students with 20-25 hours of stimulating experiences at National Guard, Navy, Marine, Air Force Reserve and Air Force bases across the nation.
Defending Childhood
Attorney General Eric Holder launched the Defending Childhood initiative, which strives to harness resources from across the Department of Justice to prevent children's exposure to violence; mitigate the negative impact of children's exposure to violence when it does occur, and; develop knowledge and spread awareness about children's exposure to violence.
Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Toolkit
Rural Development is committed to helping faith and community organizations learn about and access programs that can enhance their capacity to serve their community. This toolkit offers a one-stop shop for organizations interested in applying for Rural Development programs and includes supplemental resources, legal guidance for faith and community groups and contact information for the Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Office and liaisons at USDA
Rural Development State Offices
This site provides contact information for Rural Development State Offices.
Rural Development Funding Notices
This site provides funding notices for Rural Development programs and grants.