Federal Resources

CYFERnet is a national network of Land Grant university faculty and county Extension educators working to support community-based educational programs for children, youth, parents and families. It provides program, evaluation and technology assistance for children, youth and family community-based programs and is funded as a joint project of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's NIFA and the Cooperative Extension System

National 4-H Headquarters, United States Department of Agriculture. 4-H is the largest youth organization in the United States for children and youth ages 5 to 19. Visit the Cooperative Extension Office near you to find a 4-H program in your community

NNCC unites the expertise of many of the nation's leading universities through the outreach system of Cooperative Extension. Our goal is to share knowledge about children and child care from the vast resources of the land grant universities with parents, professionals, practitioners, and the general public.

Passport in Time (PIT) is a volunteer archaeology and historic preservation program of the USDA Forest Service (FS). PIT volunteers work with professional FS archaeologists and historians on national forests throughout the U.S. on such diverse activities as archaeological survey and excavation, rock art restoration, survey, archival research, historic structure restoration, oral history gathering, and analysis and curation of artifacts. FS professional staff of archaeologists and historians serve as hosts, guides, and co-workers.

These tip sheets, developed by Penn State Extension, are teaching tools that apply scientific and communication principles to an extension evaluation problem in the field.

The Rural Information Center (RIC) provides services for rural communities, local officials, organizations, businesses and rural citizens working to maintain the vitality of America's rural areas.

The USDA/1890 National Scholars Program will provide full tuition, employment, employee benefits, fees, books, use of a laptop, printer, and software while on scholarship and room and board each year for four years to students pursuing a bachelor's degree at 1890 Historically-Black Land Grant Institutions.

This report includes data from the 2015 Farm to School Census. The public can access respondent level data, as well as state and national level data. Schools or districts that have received HealthierUS School Challenge: Smarter Lunchroom awards are also now noted on each respondent webpage. 

This toolkit provides communication resources such as flyers, presentations, newsletter articles, and social media posts that schools can use to educate and engage staff and parents in school wellness. Many of the tools can be tailored to represent Local School Wellness Policy activities. 

This electronic prototype application serves as a model for how state and local program operators can develop effective and fully-compliant web-based applications for school meal benefits. 

This fact sheet describes a joint commitment from multiple federal departments to align supports and program delivery to promote college access and completion. The guidance will support colleges and universities in their efforts to expand college opportunity. 

The Department of Labor conducted an analysis that examines how the relationship between high school courses and college attendance may have changed between the late 1970s and the late 1990s. As time progressed, students began taking more rigorous coursework and that became a high predictor of who was likely to attend college. In the late 1970s, however, fewer students took advanced courses and the rigor of the courses did not seem to be a determining factor in college attendance. 

This news release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics provides new data collected on the college enrollment and work activity of high school graduates in 2013. The news release reports that in October 2013, 65.9 percent of high school graduates in 2013 were enrolled in colleges or universities, and recent high school graduates who were not enrolled in college were more than twice as likely as enrolled graduates to be working or looking for work.

Job Corps is the nation's largest career technical training and education program for students ages 16 through 24.

The National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability, which is supported by the Department of Labor, features information on its website that answers the question, “What is an Individualized Learning Plan (ILP)?” Readers can learn when an ILP is used, what information it contains, and how students can use ILPs to map interests and goals as they relate to future education and employment opportunities.

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.

This report compiles six articles that give education and training practitioners practical suggestions for applying SCANS in classrooms and the workplace.

1. SCANS in Schools
2. Implementing SCANS: First Lessons
3. Students use SCANS to Explore Changing Jobs: Lessons of InidianaPLUS
4. Prepearing Limited English Proficiency Students for the Workplace
5. Technology and High Performance Schools: A SCANS Survey
6. Assessment of the SCANS Competencies, Some Examples

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. 

Youthbuild provides an alternative education pathway that encourages youth to obtain a high school diploma or GED, while advancing toward employment while developing leadership skills and serving the community.

Co-written by teens for teens, this resource can help youth with disabilities (PDF, 16 pages) think about their options for life after high school. It provides information on post-graduation options and guides students in making choices that are right for them, finding activities that can help them get ready now, and accessing supportive services.

This guide describes strategies postsecondary professionals can use to assist all students, including those with disabilities, to develop personal competencies that will increase their chances of success. 

These technical assistance guides assist collaborations among DOL, ED, states, local workforce development areas, other workforce and education partners, and social service providers with serving out-of-school youth. Specifically, strategies are included in the guides for serving out-of-school English learners, current and former foster youth, and justice-involved youth. 

This report, developed by Jobs for the Future, highlights the findings of a survey of 38 community colleges on apprenticeship program design, occupations, and participant diversity. It also provides recommendations for four areas of focus for organizations partnering with community colleges to expand apprenticeship initiatives. 

The Board on Children, Youth, and Families (BCYF) addresses a variety of policy-relevant issues related to the health and development of children, youth, and families. It does so by convening experts to weigh in on matters from the perspective of the behavioral, social, and health sciences.

Each year, AmeriCorps offers 75,000 opportunities for young people of all backgrounds to serve through a network of partnerships with local and national nonprofit groups.