Federal Resources

Summer is a time for having fun outdoors, but teens must be aware of sun safety and air quality in order to avoid injury and aggravating chronic conditions. These federal resources can help young people — and the adults who work with them — stay safe while enjoying the summer months:

• The Environmental Protection Agency’s ultraviolet (UV) index forecasts can help users prepare for, and avoid excess, UV exposure.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Sun Safety for America’s Youth Toolkit has sun-safe policies for community programs.
• Use Airnow.gov to track local air quality and prepare accordingly for outdoor activities for youth with asthma.

CNCS, DOE, EPA, NOAA, the Rockefeller Foundation, and Cities of Service announced a new commitment to launch the Resilience AmeriCorps pilot program. Resilience AmeriCorps will help communities plan and implement efforts necessary to become more resilient to shocks and stresses, including extreme weather and other impacts of climate change. AmeriCorps VISTA members will serve in up to 12 communities in 2015-2016 to support the development of resilience strategies. 

This website allows users to contact and participate in peer-to-peer learning and sharing with school districts in their area that have earned the distinction of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) champions by the EPA for their achievements in improving IAQ. 

This archived webinar series features four hour-long technical web-based trainings that address how to improve or sustain indoor air quality (IAQ) management programs within schools or school districts. School professionals can use this training to learn about the implementation of a successful framework for IAQ management, critical actions needed to address building-related environmental health, and the use of tools in the School IAQ Assessment Mobile App to identify and prioritize IAQ improvements. 

This toolkit helps school officials responsible for the maintenance and/or safety of schools’ drinking water implement prevention programs for lead in drinking water. The toolkit introduces the 3Ts for an approach to reducing lead in drinking water: training, testing, and telling. 

Read.gov encourages everyone to discover the world of books.

The National Prevention Council released its 2014 Annual Status Report. The report illustrates progress in implementing the National Prevention Strategy and highlights the collective impact of the federal government and its partners to improve the health and quality of life for individuals, families, and communities

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. 

This site consolidates disaster assistance information in one place. The secure, user-friendly U.S. Government web portal allows users to apply for assistance online following a presidentially declared disaster and to find additional resources and information about recovering from a disaster.

The result of collaborative efforts of the over 15 federal agencies of the Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, the Federal Strategic Action Plan on Services for Victims of Human Trafficking in the United States 2013-2017 lays out a five-year path for enhancing coordination and building capacity across governmental and nongovernmental entities to better support individuals who are victims of human trafficking. 

The National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth recently profiled The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) Funding and Programs List, which outlines which federal departments have programs that help prevent and end homelessness and includes programs specifically designed to assist homeless youth.

The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) interviewed staff from three model programs using harm reduction to help youth experiencing homelessness.

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.

In this blog post, Laura Green Zeilinger, USICH Executive Director, illustrates the experience of family homelessness and the services and supports that can be effective in helping families, including coordinated assessment, transitional housing, and rapid re-housing. 

This report illustrates how the 17 departments that make up the National Prevention Council are incorporating prevention into their work to improve the health of all Americans and meet the goals set forth in the National Prevention Strategy.

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

This report illustrates how trauma-informed approaches (PDF, 77 pages) to serving women and girls have been implemented across more than a dozen federal agencies, departments, and offices through multiple projects, programs, and initiatives

USA.gov created a free Financial Self Defense kit that provides credit reports, debt calculators, retirement information, tactics for fraud protection, financial tips, and more. Order a free kit to begin safeguarding your financial future. 

This report discusses results from Washington state's adoption of OJJDP's Intensive Aftercare Program regarding recidivism as well as steps for moving forward.