Youth who receive special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004) and especially young adults of transition age, should be involved in planning for life after high school as early as possible and no later than age 16. Transition services should stem from the individual youth’s needs and strengths, ensuring that planning takes into account his or her interests, preferences, and desires for the future.
Funding Opportunity: Youth Participatory Action Research with Children of Incarcerated Parents
The Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention have issued a Call for Research Proposals to advance youth participatory action research (YPAR) on issues affecting children and youth who have or have had an incarcerated parent (COIP) in order to improve practices and support policymakers and practitioners in this field. The proposed research should engage youth with this experience as full partners in doing the research and disseminating the results.
Selected projects are required to:
- Demonstrate meaningful youth engagement in the research process;
- Focus on issues faced by children and youth who have or have had an incarcerated parent as defined by those with lived experience of such;
- Demonstrate substantive contribution to the field of COIP;
- Compensate youth fairly for their time;
- Constitute new, original work, to be submitted to a professional conference, submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal, and submitted as a research brief to be published on youth.gov/coip; and
- Be presented by youth and the lead researcher at a virtual meeting of federal staff, sponsored by the Interagency Working Group.
Two (2) researchers will receive a contract of up to $50,000. This amount includes travel expenses to a professional conference where researchers will present their work. Researchers may use no more than $5,000 for travel expenses.
Download the RFP for more information (PDF, 9 pages).
Download the list of questions and answers (PDF, 4 pages).
All research proposals must be submitted via electronic mail to Juliette-Marie deSousa at AIR at jdesousa@air.org no later than 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, December 10, 2020. Award notifications will be made via email on Friday, January 8, 2021.
Announcements
Collaboration Profiles
Feature Articles
Resources
Technical Assistance
Tools & Guides
Videos & Podcasts
Webinars & Presentations
Websites
Youth Topics
Research links early leadership with increased self-efficacy and suggests that leadership can help youth to develop decision making and interpersonal skills that support successes in the workforce and adulthood. In addition, young leaders tend to be more involved in their communities, and have lower dropout rates than their peers. Youth leaders also show considerable benefits for their communities, providing valuable insight into the needs and interests of young people
Statistics reflecting the number of youth suffering from mental health, substance abuse, and co-occurring disorders highlight the necessity for schools, families, support staff, and communities to work together to develop targeted, coordinated, and comprehensive transition plans for young people with a history of mental health needs and/or substance abuse.
Nearly 30,000 youth aged out of foster care in Fiscal Year 2009, which represents nine percent of the young people involved in the foster care system that year. This transition can be challenging for youth, especially youth who have grown up in the child welfare system.
Research has demonstrated that as many as one in five children/youth have a diagnosable mental health disorder. Read about how coordination between public service agencies can improve treatment for these youth.
Civic engagement has the potential to empower young adults, increase their self-determination, and give them the skills and self-confidence they need to enter the workforce. Read about one youth’s experience in AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC).