Federal Resources

The Guideposts for Success are a framework to assist the multiple organizations that need to be involved to meet the needs and improve the transition outcomes of all youth, including youth with disabilities. The guideposts discuss school-based services, career preparation, leadership opportunities, community services, and family involvement supports for youth with mental health needs. These documents were developed by the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability, which is supported by funds from the Department of Labor.

The U.S. Departments of Labor and Justice funded 14 local demonstration projects designed to assist youth at risk of criminal involvement, youth offenders, and gang members ages 14 through 24 into long-term employment . This process evaluation provides an interim assessment of the implementation process undertaken by each project and determines the extent to which each was effective in building upon existing programs and systems to serve targeted youth.

The Department of Labor's Reintegration of Ex-Offenders (RExO) Program targets court-involved youth, young adults, and adult ex-offenders through a variety of discretionary grant awards. Organizations partner with juvenile and adult justice systems to assist in providing employment and training to this population of individuals who may find it difficult to obtain employment or training without additional assistance. Projects support a comprehensive strategy for serving youth in a local area to which many are returning from juvenile correctional or detention facilities. Both the adult and youthful offender grants serve as demonstration projects for improving communities with high rates of crime and poverty.

This guide provides practical information and resources for youth service professionals. In addition, it provides policymakers, from the program to the state level, with information to help them address system and policy obstacles in order to improve service delivery systems for youth with mental health needs.

This webpage, developed by the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability, provides multiple resources on the mental health needs of youth, especially as they relate to employment. Youth service practitioners can use this information to better understand the needs of youth, and policymakers can utilize it in their work to address system and policy obstacles and improve service delivery systems for youth with mental health needs. 

The Office of Human Services in the Bureau of Indian Affairs promotes the safety, financial security and social health of Indian communities and individual Indian people.

“Expert Working Group Report: Native American Traditional Justice Practices” (PDF, 35 pages) summarizes discussions and recommendations from a meeting about federal efforts to support the use of traditional Native American justice interventions to respond to criminal and delinquent behavior. The meeting was held in April 2013 and included 14 experts from multidisciplinary communities.

This resource (PDF, 3 pages) serves as a framework to help tribes interested in creating or enhancing their own codes that focus on juvenile justice. This model code encourages the use of alternatives to detention and confinement while focusing on community-based, multi-disciplinary responses to juvenile delinquency, truancy, and child-in-need services. 

This report (PDF, 36 pages) describes the barriers that disadvantaged youth, particularly young men of color, face related to education, exposure to the criminal justice system, and employment, and how improving the opportunities would benefit the United States economy and individual communities. The report also highlights promising programs shown to improve outcomes for young people by helping them reach important life milestones.

This report (PDF, 29 pages) highlights the condition of Hispanic girls and women in the United States and their participation in areas such as education, health, labor, housing, and politics.