Federal Resources

The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness  released the 2012 Amendment to Opening Doors, the comprehensive federal strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness, that specifically addresses strategies for improving the educational outcomes for children and youth, and the steps that need to be taken to advance the goal of ending youth homelessness by 2020.

The Federal Trade Commission manages OnGuardOnline.gov, in partnership with other federal agencies. OnGuardOnline.gov is a partner in the Stop Think Connect campaign, led by the Department of Homeland Security, and part of the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education, led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. This is an educational website, providing educators, parents, kids, and others with information on online safety.

While children and teens are home on winter break, parents are encouraged to hide or secure their medications to avoid accidental ingestion or abuse.

Developed by the National Association of Broadcasters and featured on MentalHealth.gov, OK2TALK is a new campaign that aims to encourage young people struggling with mental health challenges to talk about their experiences, without fear of stigma, and to create opportunities for open conversations in schools, in the workplace, and among families about mental health. The campaign includes TV and radio PSAs and an online community where youth can share their story by submitting creative content. 

This GAO report describes how program evaluations can help identify effective interventions.

This publication from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services’ Technical Assistance Partnership for Child and Family Mental Health, “Putting the Pieces Together: Guidebook for Fact-based Decision Making to Improve Outcomes for Children and Families,” provides important basics that will help staff who are new to using data to more effectively identify, use, evaluate, and monitor practices, services, and outcomes for children, youth, and families.

A report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration illustrates the heightened risk of young people in juvenile justice and child welfare systems having experienced traumatic events and developing mental health conditions. However, as the report states, appropriate care for these children and youth can promote recovery and resilience.

Philip Uninsky discusses principal considerations in selecting evidence based programs at the Emphasizing Evidence Based Programs for Children and Youth Forum held in Washington, D.C. on April 27-28, 2011.

The Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA) requires commercial website operators to get parental consent before collecting any personal information of kids under 13.

Ed Mishrell discusses replicating evidence based programs in Boys and Girls Clubs at the Emphasizing Evidence Based Programs for Children and Youth Forum held in Washington, D.C. on April 27-28, 2011.

Many workers don't realize how important it is to get an early start on saving for retirement. This Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration video provides information for workers about the importance of saving for retirement and how to get started. The video also has links to additional online tools to help workers take full advantage of their employer-sponsored benefits.

The Seniorcorps Foster Grandparent website offers information on becoming a foster grand parent. As a foster grandparent, you're a role model and friend. Serving at one of thousands of local organizations, you help children learn to read, provide one-on-one tutoring, and guide children at a critical time in their lives.

Robert Slavin discusses scaling up Success for All at the Emphasizing Evidence Based Programs for Children and Youth Forum held in Washington, D.C. on April 27-28, 2011.

This newly released set of tables from the Census Bureau describes the characteristics of children and adults enrolled in school at all levels, by age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, nativity, and foreign-born parentage. A notable trend seen in the data is a drop in college enrollment (both undergraduate and graduate) by 467,000 students in fall 2012 from one year earlier.

This easy-to-understand publication starts you on the way to setting goals and putting your retirement high on the list of personal priorities.  This booklet will help clarify your retirement goals and help you make saving for retirement and other goals a habit.  You’ll learn that there is no such thing as starting too early or too late. Also available in Spanish.

The U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration has developed a webpage of resources, tools and information for consumers and employers on saving for retirement.

The Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council (NRC) have released a PowerPoint presentation on the OJJDP-funded report "Confronting Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Sex Trafficking of Minors in the United States,” which  shares findings on how schools, law enforcement, victim services, businesses, the legal system, and health care providers can collaborate to prevent, identify, and respond to commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of minors. 

The National Runaway Safeline Live Chat is an alternative way for runaway youth to get resources and help. All chats are confidential and anonymous. http://www.1800runaway.org/. 

Sesame Workshop's initiative — Little Children, Big Challenges: Incarceration — provides much-needed bilingual (English/Spanish) multimedia tools for families with young children (ages 3-8) who have an incarcerated parent. These FREE resources include a resource kit with A Guide for Parents and Caregivers, a Children's Storybook, and a new Sesame Street video; an Incarcerated Parent Tip Sheet; and the Sesame Street: Incarceration mobile app for smart phones and tablets.

As part of a  partnership called Pathways to Progress, CNCS and the Citi Foundation have created ServiceWorks, a program that will deploy 225 Americorps VISTA members in 10 cities to help build large-scale volunteer programs that address the crisis of low college and career attainment.

“Sticker Shock: Calculating the Full Price Tag for Youth Incarceration” estimates the long-term costs incurred by taxpayers as a result of the negative outcomes of incarcerating juvenile offenders. Such long-term costs include the effects of recidivism, fewer future earnings and tax revenues, additional public assistance spending, and higher victimization rate. These long-term costs could cost taxpayers $8-$21 billion each year. The report offers recommendations for reducing incarceration, including shifting funding to community-based alternatives and investing in diversion and prevention programs. This report was released by the Justice Policy Institute. 

This blog entry from AmeriCorps (formerly the Corporation for National and Community Service) highlights federal initiatives that promote mentoring as well as recent research on the benefits of mentoring for at risk youth.

Dennis Embry discusses creating new solutions for new situations and problems using evidence-based kernels and applied designs at the Emphasizing Evidence Based Programs for Children and Youth Forum held in Washington, D.C. on April 27-28, 2011.

Retirement is expensive.  Take charge of your financial future and start preparing now.  This brochure outlines ten steps to help you start saving for retirement. Also available in Spanish.

The Suicide Prevention Resource Center has developed this publication that can help school mental health providers respond to students who are at risk for suicide. Updated data and relevant resources are also included.