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- Federal Resources
Federal Resources
College Preparation Checklist
This resource can help students of all ages to prepare academically and financially for education beyond high school (PDF, 28 pages). It provides an overview of options for financial aid for college, and checklists for students and parents to reference at each stage of a student’s education.
Share With Youth: Budgeting for College
ED’s Office of Federal Student Aid reminds students about the importance of budgeting to achieve future financial goals and prepare for unexpected bumps in the road.
Share with Youth: FAFSA Overview
The Office of Federal Student Aid at the Department of Education provides an overview of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA takes about 30 minutes to complete, is free, and provides students access to grants, loans, and work-study funds from the federal government.
Share with Youth: Types of Federal Student Aid
The Office of Federal Student Aid offers more than $150 billion to students each year in the form of grants, loans, and work-study funds. While some colleges can also offer private student loans, federal loans often have lower fixed interest rates and other benefits.
Share with Youth: After the FAFSA — What Happens Next
This Office of Federal Student Aid video explains what happens after students complete and submit their FAFSA. The U.S. Department of Education will process the application and indicated colleges will be notified. Students will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) and can check their student aid status online.
Resource: Program-Level Gainful Employment Earnings Data
This data set provides information on program-level outcomes of college students preparing for gainful employment that can be used by prospective students and their families to weigh their options. Overall, the data show graduates of career training programs at public institutions generally fare better than those of comparable programs at for-profit colleges, earning higher salaries and being more prepared to enter higher earning fields.
Report: National Student Loan FY 2014 Cohort Default Rate
These data describe the FY 2014 cohort student loan default rate, which increased slightly from 11.3% to 11.5% for students who entered repayment between fiscal years 2013 and 2014. During the tracking period, more than five million borrowers entered repayment and 580,671 of them defaulted on their loans.
Resource: Digital and Social Media Financial Aid Collateral
This website provides digital and social media resources to help teachers and counselors share important federal student aid information with students and parents. It features sample social media posts, messaging guidelines, blog posts, infographics, presentations, videos, and fact sheets on a variety of financial aid topics.
Report: Exploring Cross-Domain Instability in Families with Children
This brief examines different types of instability among children and families, using data on employment, income, moves, and changes in family and household composition. The brief shows significant differences in the prevalence of instability for children by household education level.
Tribal Justice and Safety
The site features the latest announcements, press releases, speeches and information regarding Department of Justice initiatives in tribal communities. It also provides comprehensive resources available through the Office of Tribal Justice and the Department's grant-making divisions: the Office of Justice Programs, Community Oriented Policing Services and the Office on Violence Against Women. Access to the Department's Combined Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS) is also available on the Web site.
Resource: Helping Your Child with Test-Taking: Helping Your Child Succeed in School
For some students, test anxiety can be so great that it affects their ability to perform their best. This resource can help parents as they discuss testing with their child and create a home environment that is conducive to academic success.
Resource: Building a School Responder Model
This website guides local leaders and stakeholders through the process of establishing a School Responder Mode (SRM), a behavioral health response to school infractions that provides an alternative to exclusionary school discipline and justice system referral. Launched by the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice, this site outlines key steps in setting up a successful SRM and provides tools and resources to implement an SRM and gauge its progress.
Report: Early Millennials: The Sophomore Class of 2002 a Decade Later
This report examines the early adulthood milestones of 2002 high school sophomores as of 2012. It reports on key outcomes, including high school completion, enrollment in postsecondary education, progress toward or completion of a college degree, family formation, and employment status and earnings.
Report: Substance Use Among 12th Grade Aged Youths, by Dropout Status
This report uses combined data from the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health from 2002 to 2014 to identify 12th grade-aged youth who had dropped out of school and to describe their substance use compared to their peers who were currently attending school.
After a Suicide: A Toolkit for Schools, Second Edition
This toolkit, developed by the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, can assist schools in implementing a coordinated response to the suicide death of a student. This second edition includes new information and tools that middle and high schools can use to help the school community cope and reduce suicide risk.
AmeriCorps NCCC and FEMA Corps Deployment Reports
AmeriCorps NCCC and FEMA Corps is a 10-month, full-time, team-based residential service program for young adults who want to give back to communities in need. These recently updated deployment reports show where teams are serving across the country as well as which organizations, efforts, and initiatives they are currently supporting.
AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC)
AmeriCorps NCCC is a full-time, team-based residential program for young people aged 18 to 24. Members are assigned to one of five campuses, located in Denver, Colorado; Sacramento, California; Perry Point, Maryland; Vicksburg, Mississippi; and Vinton, Iowa. The mission of AmeriCorps NCCC is to strengthen communities and develop leaders through direct, team-based national and community service. In partnership with non-profits (secular and faith-based), local municipalities, state governments, the federal government, national or state parks, Indian Tribes and schools, members complete service projects throughout the region to which they are assigned.
AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps (formerly the Corporation for National and Community Service) brings people together to tackle the country’s most pressing challenges, through national service and volunteering. AmeriCorps is the only federal agency tasked with elevating service and volunteerism in America. AmeriCorps provides opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds to give their time and talent to strengthen communities across the country. By bringing people together to serve communities, AmeriCorps is making service to others an indispensable part of the American experience. AmeriCorps offers individuals and organizations flexible ways to make a local impact through several key programs: State and National, VISTA, NCCC, Foster Grandparents, Senior Companions, RSVP, and Volunteer Generation Fund, along with initiatives including 9/11 and MLK Day of Service.
FEMA Corps
FEMA Corps is a partnership between FEMA and the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) program. FEMA Corps is a unique, team-based service program that gives 18‐24‐year‐old participants the opportunity to serve communities impacted by disaster while gaining professional development experience.
FEMA Corps members live, work, and travel in dedicated teams and serve for 12 months with an option to extend for a second term. They gain training and experience while providing important support to disaster survivors and communities. They also earn a modest living stipend during their service and receive an education award upon completion of the program.
Four Colleges and Universities Earn Presidential Honor for Community Service
766 higher education institutions were named to the 2014 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. Four received the President’s award, the highest honor a college or university can receive, for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning, and civic engagement.
Minnesota Reading Corps Evaluation Shows AmeriCorps Boosts Childhood Literacy
CNCS funded a two-part independent evaluation of its Minnesota Reading Corps program, the largest AmeriCorps tutoring program, which provides evidence-informed interventions and data-driven assessments to children from age three to grade three. The evaluation revealed students tutored by AmeriCorps members were significantly more prepared for kindergarten than students without tutors, and AmeriCorps members helped students meet or exceed targets for kindergarten readiness in all five critical literacy skills assessed. Results also showed the program was effective across a range of settings and for all students, regardless of gender, race/ethnicity, or dual language learner status.
AmeriCorps Resource Center
The Knowledge Networks page, on the AmeriCorps website, provides training and technical assistance resources organized by focus area. It connects service programs with targeted training and information.
New Requirement to Record Your Indirect Cost Rate in eGrants
As part of the new Uniform Guidance for AmeriCorps award and grants, recipients must record the indirect cost method and rates they will be using on their awards. AmeriCorps has created a feature in eGrants for recipients to record the method they will be using to apply their indirect costs to all awards.
ServiceWorks
As part of a partnership called Pathways to Progress, CNCS and the Citi Foundation have created ServiceWorks, a program that will deploy 225 Americorps VISTA members in 10 cities to help build large-scale volunteer programs that address the crisis of low college and career attainment.
Updates to Knowledge Network and Resources
Formerly a stand-alone technical assistance website, the Knowledge Network, which offers resources on many CNCS focus areas, is now housed directly on the CNCS website. Additionally, eCourses available through the Knowledge Network Online Learning Center no longer require a log in for access.