Federal Resources

The National 4-H Headquarters, at USDA has established formal partnerships with Army Child and Youth Services, Air Force Airmen and Family Services, Army Child and Youth Services and Navy Child and Youth Programs to support positive youth development education for youth whose parents are serving in the military.

4-H Afterschool is a special focused effort within the 4-H Youth Development Program that helps 4-H and other youth-serving organizations create and improve after-school programs in urban, suburban, and rural communities across the United States.

The 4-H Youth Development Program is the only national organization that is federally mandated to conduct positive youth development programs. The program works to improve knowledge and skills of young people (their Heads, Hearts, Hands, and Health) and the quality of life in the communities in which they live.

This site provides information on the state and community Children, Youth, and Families at Risk programs funded by the National Insitute of Food and Agriculture.

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

The CES, administered by over 130 land grant universities and anchored in all 3,150 counties across the country, is a network of academically trained university faculty and staff who provide a broad array of staff training, curriculum, community collaboration building, evaluation, resource development, and other expertise and resources to out-of-school time programs.

This site provides resources on families, youth, and communities from Cooperative Extension experts around the country.

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

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) advances knowledge for agriculture, the environment, human health and well-being, and communities by supporting research, education, and extension programs in the Land-Grant University System and other partner organizations. NIFA replaced the former Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), which had been in existence since 1994.

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.

4-H is encouraging young people to give a voice to the dedication and commitment they’ve shown in addressing challenges in their communities and creating lasting, positive change. Read the stories of 4-H youth who joined the Revolution of Responsibility by using creative ideas to address issues in their community. 

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 website describes food, agriculture, and natural resource careers at the US Department of Agriculture.

USDA has awarded $200 million to fund and evaluate pilot projects in 10 states to help Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program (SNAP) participants find jobs and work toward self-sufficiency. The selected pilots will focus on target populations and represent a wide array of balanced approaches, including skills training, work-based learning, support services, and other job-driven strategies. 

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. 

This special report on young adults in the United States, ages 18-24, includes data from nationally representative, federally sponsored surveys. Data are summarized under five key themes: education; economic circumstances; family formation; civic, social, and personal behavior; and health and safety. 

Released by the National Center on Secondary Education and Transition (NCSET) and the PACER Center, the report, “Preparing for Employment: On the Home Front,” illustrates how parents can help prepare their children for employment.

Kids.gov is the official kids' portal for the U.S. government. It links to over 2,000 web pages from government agencies, schools, and educational organizations, all geared to the learning level and interest of kids.

This website provides articles, videos, tools, and other resources on bullying prevention.