Public Health TAG Resources

Provide Leadership for Developing Community-Wide Approaches to Promoting Adolescent Health

• Healthy Workplace Food and Beverage Toolkit - PDF 
  This toolkit helps organizations adopt healthy meeting practices to encourage eating well and being physically active. (American Heart Association)
• Investing in the Health and Well-Being of Young Adults 
  This report offers guidance to program leaders, non-profit organizations, and community partners on enhancing programs to improve the health and well-being of young adults. (National Academy of Sciences)
• Mobilize, Assess, Plan, Implement, Track Framwork (MAP-IT): A Guide To Using Healthy People 2020 in Your Community
  The MAP-IT framework is a step-by-step method for creating healthy communities and can be used to plan and evaluate public health interventions to achieve Healthy People 2020 objectives. (HHS, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion)
• A Big Picture Approach to Community Impact 
  A Big Picture Approach helps leaders build the infrastructure to manage change in their communities. This approach follows five field-tested steps that align with the five steps of collective impact. (Forum for Youth Investment)
• Adolescent Health System Capacity Assessment Tool - PDF 
  This tool identifies six areas of capacity that must be in place in public health agencies to support effective state adolescent health programs. (Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs and State Adolescent Health Resource Center)

Conduct or Provide Data for Community Health Assessments

• National and State Data Sheets
  National and state data sheets covering more than 75 health indicators in five adolescent health areas: mental, physical, and reproductive health, substance use disorders, and relationships. (HHS, Office of Adolescent Health
• Adolescent Health Data Resource
  Find links to several large federal datasets providing national- and/or state-level information on adolescent health. (HHS, Office of Adolescent Health)
• Maps and Data Reports to Enrich Community Work 
  An interactive mapping, networking, and learning utility for the broad-based healthy, sustainable, and livable communities’ movement. Use Community Health Needs Assessment to help identify assets and potential disparities in your county/region. (Community Commons
• Hospital Community Benefits Program 
  Community benefit activities present an opportunity for tax-exempt hospitals to collaborate with public health agencies and other local organizations to identify health needs and develop strategies to improve health in the communities they serve. (Hilltop Institute, University of Maryland Baltimore County)
• Health Data Tools and Statistics 
  This collaboration between U.S. government agencies, public health organizations and health sciences libraries provides an array of data and community health assessment tools. (Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce) 
• CDC Community Health Improvement Navigator
  A list of resources related to implementing the Community Health Needs Assessment. (HHS, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Focus on Risk Reduction Activities for Adolescents

• Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS)
  This issue brief showcases how an evidence-based, trauma-focused intervention is helping children and schools in Connecticut. (Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut, Inc.)
• CollegeAIM
  CollegeAIM is a resource that helps college officials address harmful and underage student drinking with the use of evidence-based interventions. (HHS, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism)
• Information for Healthcare Providers and Public Health Professionals: Preventing Tobacco Use During Pregnancy
  This fact sheet provides useful information and resources for healthcare and public health professionals on the health effects and prevalence of tobacco use during pregnancy. (HHS, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Resources for Positive Youth Development
  A collection of resources on interventions and programs that reduce risks and strengthen protective factors. (youth.gov)

Train Staff on Working with Adolescents Using the Latest Knowledge About What Is Effective

• Developing Adolescents: A Reference for Professionals - PDF
  Reference guide on adolescent development for professionals working with adolescents. (American Psychological Association)
• Results First Clearinghouse Database 
  This database provides information on the effectiveness of social policy programs from nine national clearinghouses. It applies color-coding to the clearinghouses’ distinct rating systems, creating a common language that enables users to quickly see where each program falls on a spectrum from negative impact to positive impact. (The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation)
• A Public Health Approach to Children's Mental Health: A Conceptual Framework, 2010 - PDF 
  This monograph is written for a broad range of leaders who play a role in bringing about change in their system(s) or organizations and influencing children’s mental health and wellbeing. (National Technical Assistance Center for Children’s Mental Health)
• What Works Searchable Database
  A searchable register of over 700 programs that have had at least one randomized evaluation to assess child or youth outcomes related to education, life skills, and social/emotional, mental, physical, behavioral, or reproductive health. (Child Trends)

Promote a Positive, Strengths-Based View of Adolescents

• Positive Youth Development/Healthy Youth Development - PDF
  A research-based framework with recommended strategies to support healthy youth development. (State Adolescent Health Resource Center)
• TAG Talks
  Video presentations by key experts that showcase the latest research on a range of topics relevant to adolescent development. Video presentations are strengths-based and include companion resources such as discussion guides for professionals and parents. (HHS, Office of Adolescent Health)  

Help Adolescents Take Responsibility for Managing Their Own Health and Promoting Healthy Communities

• Youth Engagement Resource Page
  These resources provide guidance and tools for engaging adolescents in state-level program and policy development, which can provide opportunities for youth to contribute to their communities, develop positive self-identifies and social skills, and successfully transition to adulthood. (National Network of State Adolescent Health Coordinators) 
• Encouraging Teens to Take Responsibility for Their Own Health Care 
  Guidance for parents and caregivers on helping their teen take responsibility for their healthcare. (American Academy of Pediatrics)  

Adolescent Health: Think, Act, Grow® and the logo design are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.