These Internet resources were selected with a broad range of professionals in mind, including health care professionals, mental health professionals, educators, and community workers. Our aim is to support these professionals in their quest to serve the special needs of the adolescent population.

These links are presented as informational resources only and do not imply endorsement of any individual, organization, product, or philosophy.

Click on your topic of interest:

General Adolescent Health
Youth Policy and Advocacy
Substance Abuse
Prevention
Juvenile Justice and Crime Prevention
Mental Health
Schools and Education
Violence Prevention
Communities of Color
Sexual Health
Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgendered
Research and Data
Girls
Boys
Media
Youth Development
Special Needs
Transitions
Adoption
New England-Specific Resources
Recent Reports, Projects, and Initiatives
Wellness Materials

General Adolescent Health Resources

Adolescence Directory Online: Indiana University's Adolescence Directory Online is a collection of links and information on a variety of issues facing adolescents, such as conflict and violence, mental health issues, and health and health risks. The guide is designed to be of use to educators, counselors, parents, researchers, health practitioners, and teens.

Bright Futures Center for Pediatric Education in Growth and Development Behavior and Adolescent Health: The Bright Futures Center for Pediatric Education in Growth and Development Behavior and Adolescent Health offers downloadable self-contained case-based teaching modules covering topics in child growth, development, behavior, and adolescent health for use by pediatric training programs.

California Project Lean: The mission of California Project Lean is to increase healthy eating and physical activity to reduce the prevalence of chronic disease. This site offer a range of materials for consumers, as well as advocacy and policy information, information on current projects and initiatives, and more.

CDC Health Topic: Adolescents and Teens: CDC Health Topic: Adolescents and Teens is a collection of CDC reports and fact sheets on topics related to adolescent health and development. Topics include reproductive health, physical activity, skin cancer prevention, school health, tobacco, pregnancy, and working teens.

Data Skills Online: Data Skills Online "offers a set of analytic and technical tools for state and local Title V professionals to engage in self-directed learning...The overall goal of Data Skills Online is to train MCH professionals to apply analytic and technical skills in their day-to-day job responsibilities. There is no charge to access or complete tools, and participants may print certificates of completion."

The Maternal and Child Health Bureau: The Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) is a division of the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. It provides leadership, partnership, and resources to advance the health of mothers, infants, children, and adolescents by offering a variety of programs that promote comprehensive, coordinated, family-centered, and culturally sensitive systems of health care that serve the diverse needs of all families within their own communities. The site has publications, grant information, and a collection of links to MCHB-funded sites and recommended resources.

National Adolescent Health Information Center: The National Adolescent Health Information Center (NAHIC) web site offers information on current research and recommendations for improving the health of adolescents, links to other adolescent health resources, and fact sheets and other publications available for download.

National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health: National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health (NCEMCH) provides national leadership to the maternal and child health community in three key areas--program development, policy analysis and education, and state-of-the-art knowledge--to improve the health and well-being of the nation's children and families. The site includes publications, data and research tools, and a Reference Desk to assists users in obtaining the information that they are seeking.

National Network for Health: National Network for Health offers a wealth of consumer and clinical resources on a wide variety of health issues including maternal and child health, adolescent pregnancy, substance abuse, healthy lifestyles, community health and safety, health care access, and more.

Office of the Surgeon General: The Office of the Surgeon General offers health information and publications on a variety of topics, and providers information on conferences, calls to action, and more. The site also offers links to other key resources for locating health publications from other government offices.

Partners in Program Planning for Adolescent Health: Partners in Program Planning for Adolescent Health (PIPPAH) has three primary goals: increase the level of social work competency in adolescent health, advocate on behalf of adolescents and their families and work together collaboratively with the PIPPAH partners. The site offers a wide variety of resources including information about PIPPAH's partner organizations, current research, and a database of State Adolescent Health Coordinators (SAHCs). They also maintain links to upcoming conferences, reports and publications, active listservs and newsletters, related organizations, and other resources.

PEDIATRICS: PEDIATRICS is the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. searchable, and includes additional articles online found in online edition.

GeneralPediatrics.com: GeneralPediatrics.com is an index of pediatric information online dedicated to the dissemination of information for pediatricians and others interested in child health via the Internet.

Search Institute: The Search Institute web site offers research and information about building and reinforcing a set of 40 critical developmental factors that promote positive growth and development in children and youth.

Strategies for Finding Adolescent Health Resources for Professionals: Strategies for Finding Adolescent Health Resources for Professionals is a large collection of adolescent health links compiled and organized by the Leadership Institute on Adolescent Health. Categories include subject guides, special health topics, adolescent health programs, professional organizations, funding sources, databases, current events, and statistical resources.


Youth Policy and Advocacy Resources

Youth Activism Project: Youth Activism Project is a "democracy dropout reversal clearinghouse encouraging maximum youth participation." The site includes information on fundraising, successful youth-led initiatives, and more.

The Administration for Children and Families: The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is a federal agency funding state, territory, local, and tribal organizations to provide family assistance (welfare), child support, child care, Head Start, child welfare, and other programs relating to children and families. Information on ACFÕs services for families, current projects and initiatives, policy and planning information, and more.

Ambulatory Pediatric Association: ÒThe Ambulatory Pediatric Association is the organization of academic general pediatric health professionals who create, disseminate, and advocate excellence and innovation in education, research, and health care delivery activities that enhance the health and well-being of infants, children, and adolescents in the context of their families and communities.Ó

Annie E. Casey Foundation: The mission of the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) is "to foster public policies, human service reforms, and community supports that more effectively meet the needs of today's vulnerable children and families." The site provides information on the AECF's initiatives and projects (including KIDS COUNT: a national and state-by-state effort to track the status of children in the U.S), publications, and more.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is a Federal agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Programs for which CMS is responsible include Medicare, Medicaid,State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), HIPAA, and CLIA. Wealth of info for professionals including publications and resources.

The Children's Defense Fund: The Children's Defense Fund is an advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring a healthy start for all children, with particular emphasis on meeting the needs of economically disadvantaged and minority children and children with disabilities. The web site offers information on key issues in child development and safety, links, and state-specific statistical data useful for designing and implementing effective community programs.

The Family Health Outcomes Project: The Family Health Outcomes Project (FHOP) is dedicated to improving the health of children, their families, and their communities. The site offers public health data, reports and guidelines, planning tools, training, and more.

Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics: ÒThe Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics (LDI) is the center of the University of Pennsylvania's activities and programs in health services research, health policy, and health care management executive education.Ó LDIÕs Issue Briefs page provides health care decision makers with the results of timely relevant health services research. The briefs are updated monthly.

Moving Ideas Network: The Moving Ideas Network (MIN) is dedicated to bringing information about national policy to a broader audience. They work to improve communication between grassroots organizations and legislators and to foster awareness in the public and in the media.

National Center for Children in Poverty: The mission of National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) is to identify and promote strategies that prevent young child poverty in the United States and that improve the life chances of the millions of children under age six who are growing up poor. They offer a variety of publications on topics like welfare reform, child care and early education, family support resources, and state and local information.

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation: ÒThe Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) is the principal advisor to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on policy development, and is responsible for major activities in the areas of policy coordination, legislation development, strategic planning, policy research and evaluation, and economic analysis.Ó This site contains a wealth of information on policy issues in key areas, including science and data policy issues.

United States General Accounting Office: The U.S. General Accounting Office examines the use of public funds and helps Congress makes effective policy, oversight, and funding decisions.

Urban Institute: The Urban Institute is a non-profit, non-partisan economic and social policy research organization. The site contains information and news on current issues, research interests conducted by the instituteÕs ten policy centers, and more.


Substance Abuse Resources

Center for Substance Abuse Prevention: The Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) is a division of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA). CSAP offers alcohol and drug facts, information about model programs for prevention (including evaluation, implementation, and funding), information for professionals and for teens, and links to other information resources.

Join Together Online/Substance Abuse: Join Together Online/Substance Abuse supports community-based efforts to reduce, prevent, and treat substance abuse throughout the United States. They offer reports, newsletters, community action toolkits, assistance in linking people and programs for information sharing and resources, information on finding grants for community-based prevention projects, a database of upcoming prevention events nationwide, and more.

Drug Policy Alliance: Drug Policy Alliance is a comprehensive resource for information and resources on issues to drug policy. They offer an online library of full-text drug and drug policy publications, chat rooms, discussion forums, an e-newsletter, listservs, and a well-organized links library of drug-related web sites.

Office of National Drug Control Policy: The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) web site has information on current drug policy, enforcement efforts, research studies, prevention and education efforts, drug fact sheets, and more.


Prevention Resources

Board on Children, Youth, and Families: The Board on Children, Youth, and Families (BOCYF) provides a national focal point for authoritative, nonpartisan analysis of child and family issues in the policy arena, primarily by establishing committees to synthesize, analyze, and evaluate the research from scientific disciplines that is relevant to critical national issues and by publishing reports from the committees' work. The site includes information on current and completed projects, publications, and more.

Children, Youth and Families Education and Research Network: Children, Youth and Families Education and Research Network (CYFERnet) offers an extensive selection of links to practical, research-based information on topics of child and youth development, parent and family issues, and community issues culled from of all the public land-grant universities in the country.

Sociometrics Corporation: Sociometrics Corporation is a research and development firm specializing in social science research applications. The site includes a data archive of almost 350 data sets across seven data archives, and program archives of outstanding prevention programs in key health areas. Some of the information is available for free, some is for purchase.


Juvenile Justice & Crime Prevention

Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice: The Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ) is private non-profit organization dedicated to reducing society's reliance on the use of incarceration as a solution to social problems. The site offers information on CJCJ's programs, publications for download, and commentary on and news about current developments in the juvenile justice system.

National Crime Prevention Council - The mission of the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) is to enable people to create safer and more caring communities by addressing the causes of crime and violence and reducing the opportunities for crime to occur. The site includes information on prevention programs, local initiatives, training and tools, publications, and more.

National Criminal Justice Reference Center: The National Criminal Justice Reference Center offers a wealth of publications and information relating hundreds of topics in criminal justice.

Office of Justice Programs: The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs offers information on funding, training, programs, statistics and research about the justice system, fighting crime, crime victims and more.


Mental Health

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) web site is designed to serve clinicians, parents, and families, and is intended to aid in the understanding and treatment of the developmental, behavioral, and mental disorders in children and adolescents. The site offers information on child and adolescent psychiatry, fact sheets for parents and caregivers, AACAP membership, current research, practice guidelines, managed care information, awards and fellowship descriptions, meeting information, and much more.

Center for Mental Health Services Knowledge Exchange Network : The Center for Mental Health Services Knowledge Exchange Network (KEN) offers information on programs and services, consumer mental health information publications, resources for professionals, services locator, information on funding, a special kids section, and more.

National Institute for Mental Health: The National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH) web site offers information for consumers and practitioners. The site offers educational materials around mental health issues, funding information, information for researchers, and more.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is an Agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The web site offers grant and funding information, information on policy issues, statistics and data, information clearinghouses, and more.

Suicide Awareness Voices of Education: Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (SAVE) offers educational materials about suicide.


Schools and Education

Education World: Education World offers a wealth of resources for educators including a search engine that searches educational Web sites only, lesson plans, practical information for educators, information on technology in the classroom, and articles written by education experts; web site reviews; daily features and columns; teacher and principal profiles; Wire Side Chats with the important names in education; employment listings and more.

National Center for Education Statistics: The National Center for Education Statistics is the primary federal agency dedicated to collecting and analyzing education-related data.

National Institute for Urban School Improvement: The mission of the National Institute for Urban School Improvement is to support urban communities, schools, and families in building sustainable, successful urban education. The web site offers an online research library, e-news, publications, a chat forum, a nationwide events database, and more.

National School Board Association's School Health Programs: The National School Board Association's School Health Programs is a program committed to helping school policymakers and educators make informed decisions about health issues affecting the academic achievement and healthy development of students and the effective operation of schools.

School Mental Health Program: The UCLA School Mental Health Project (SMHP) "was created in 1986 to pursue theory, research, practice and training related to addressing mental health and psychosocial concerns through school-based interventions."

U.S. Department of Education: The U.S. Department of Education web site is a comprehensive information source for all phases of education in the United State.


Violence Prevention

Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence: "The Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence (CSPV) was founded in 1992 with a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York to provide informed assistance to groups committed to understanding and preventing violence, particularly adolescent violence."

Family Violence Prevention Fund: "The Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF) works to end domestic violence and help women and children whose lives are devastated by abuse...challenges lawmakers to take this issue seriously, educates judges to protect all victims of abuse, and advocates for laws to help battered immigrant women. The FVPF helps health care providers and employers identify and aid victims of abuse, and shows all Americans how to join the effort to end domestic violence." The web site includes information on health care initiatives (i.e., clinician training, practical tools, and more).

Partnerships Against Violence Network Online: Partnerships Against Violence Network (PAVNET) Online is a "virtual library" of information about violence and youth-at-risk, representing data from seven different Federal agencies. It aims to be is a comprehensive, searchable information resource to help reduce redundancy in information management and provide clear and comprehensive access to information for States and local communities." The information available at this web site is quite extensive.


Communities of Color

Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum : Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum is a national advocacy organization dedicated to promoting the improvement of the health and well-being of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. This site offers news and publications, policy and action alerts, and more.

Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations: The Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO) advocates for policies and programs that support community driven, affordable, linguistically accessible, and culturally appropriate health care. This web site offers products and publications, program information, and more.

Diversity Rx: Diversity Rx promotes linguistic and cultural competence as a means to improve the quality of health care for minority, immigrant, and ethnically diverse communities. The site offers an orientation to to the basic issues and concerns behind linguistic and cultural competence in health care delivery, practical models and practice information to aid in effective program development, an overview of related legal issues, and a networking section to help connect clinicians with organizations, resources, and one another.

Institute on Race and Poverty: The Institute on Race and Poverty (IRP) analyzes the ways in which intersections of racism and poverty impact low-income communities of color. This site offers a newsletter, mail and e-mail lists, news articles, links, information on strategic research and publications, and more.

National Alliance for Hispanic Health: The National Alliance for Hispanic Health is a network of health and human service providers dedicated to serving Hispanic communities across the U.S. This web site offers consumer health information, links, statistics, program information and more.

National Asian Women's Health Organization: The mission of the National Asian Women's Health Organization (NAWHO) is to eliminate health disparities for Asian women and families. This web site focuses on advocacy and policy reform, publications, events, live chats, and links and resources for both clinicians and consumers.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is the oldest civil rights organization in he United States. This web site offers program information, news, a magazine, links, local branch information, and more.

National Center for Cultural Competence: The National Center for Cultural Competence (NCCC) offers a variety of informational resources geared toward increasing cultural and linguistic competence in the delivery of health care and mental health care services.

Office of Minority Health: The Office of Minority Health (OMH), created by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, strives to improve the health of racial and ethnic populations through the development of effective health policies and programs that help to eliminate disparities in health and health care. This web site offers publications, data and statistics, conference information, and links to a variety of related information clearinghouses.

The Provider's Guide to Quality & Culture: The Provider's Guide to Quality and Culture is a web site dedicated to assisting health care organizations throughout the U.S. in providing high-quality, culturally competent health care services to multi-ethnic populations.


Sexual Health

Advocates for Youth: Advocates for Youth is dedicated to policies and programs that help young people make informed and responsible decisions about their reproductive and sexual health. The web site offers advocacy and program information, news, publications, lesson plans, facts and figures, and information for parents and teens.

Alan Guttmacher Institute: The Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI) is an international non-profit organization focused on sexual and reproductive health research, policy analysis, and public education. The AGI offers a variety of publications, reports and resources designed to support their mission to protect the reproductive choices of all women and men in the United States and throughout the world.

Contraception Online: Contraception Online is "the online contraception resource for clinicians, researchers and educators." The site offers a variety of resources including a slide library, patient education information, and the online quarterly The Contraception Report.

National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy: The web site of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy offers pregnancy facts and statistics, fact sheets, and publications for both professionals and teens.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc.: The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. "believes in the fundamental right of each individual, throughout the world, to manage his or her fertility, regardless of the individual's income, marital status, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, or residence." This web site offers a variety of informational publications on reproductive health, sexual health, parenting, and other related topics, as well as action information, research and media information, and more.

Resource Center for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention: The Resource Center for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (ReCAPP) provides practical tools and information to help reduce sexual risk-taking behaviors in young people. The web site offers a wealth of information geared primarily toward educators in support of efforts to effectively reduce teen pregnancy.

Sex Education Coalition: The Sex Education Coalition is composed of educators, health care professionals, trainers, and legislators dedicated to providing information and supporting informed discussion concerning sexuality education. The Coalition web site offers educational materials to sexuality and family life educators, a discussion forum for between clinicians, legislators, parents and youth, sexuality information from reputable scientific agencies, and general sexuality education materials and resources.

Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States: The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS) is a national, nonprofit organization which develops, collects, and disseminates information on sexuality, promotes comprehensive education about sexuality, and advocates the right of individuals to make responsible sexual choices. The web site offers information for schools, parents and other adults, teens, policy makers and advocates, and more.


Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgendered

OutProud: OutProud is the website of the National Coalition for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Youth. The site offers a diverse collection of resources for youth and educators, including a searchable national resource database for GLBT youth, a chat forum, a school resources library, and more.


Research and Data

ChildTrends: ChildTrends is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization that studies children, youth, and families through research, data collection, and data analysis. This web site offers information on projects, products, publications, news, research briefs, the ChildTrends e-newsletter, and more.

Bureau of Labor Statistics: The U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics web site offers a wealth labor data and information.

Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics: : The Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics web site offers consolidated access to federal and state statistics and reports on children and their families, including population and family characteristics, economic security, health, behavior and social environment, education, International Comparisons, and other reports and publications.

FedStats: FedStats is the gateway to statistics from over 100 U.S. Federal agencies. The site offers a wealth of links to both statistical data and statistical agencies.

Immigration Information Statistical Yearbook: The Immigration Information Statistical Yearbook provides "information, in the form of text, tables, and charts, about the various types of foreign nationals who are inspected, naturalized, apprehended, or removed by the DHS. Types of aliens include immigrants, nonimmigrants (temporary visitors), parolees, refugees, and asylees, as well as those naturalized or apprehended. Topics covered include statistical data overview, discussion of specific statistical programs (e.g., naturalization), and assistance in understanding the data with information on data collection and data limitations."

Indicators of Social and Economic Well-Being by Race and Hispanic Origin: Prepared by the Council of Economic Advisers for the President's Initiative on Race, this is a chart book documenting current differences in well-being by race and Hispanic origin and describeing how such differences have evolved over the past several decades.

Maternal and Child Health Information Resource Center: The Maternal and Child Health Information Resource Center (MCHIRC) is dedicated to the goal of helping MCH practitioners on the Federal, State, and local levels to improve their capacity to gather, analyze, and use data for planning and policymaking.

Monitoring the Future: Monitoring the Future (MTF) is an ongoing study of the behaviors, attitudes, and values of American secondary school students, college students, and young adults. This web site offers data tables and figures on drug and cigarette trends collected through the study, recent publications and monographs, information for schools, links, and more.

National Center for Health Statistics: The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is the Federal Government's principal vital and health statistics agency. This site offers a wealth of statistical data on health in America.

National Center for Statistics and Analysis: The National Center for Statistics and Analysis of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration web site contains a wealth of information, data, and reports related to traffic accidents and fatalities.

National Institute of Child Development and Human Health : The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) conducts and supports laboratory, clinical, and epidemiological research on the reproductive, neurobiologic, developmental, and behavioral processes that determine and maintain the health of children, adults, families, and populations. The web site offers consumer health information, research, information on epidemiology, statistics and prevention, and more.

National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health: The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) is a school-based study of the health-related behaviors of adolescents in grades 7-12 based on the postulates that families, friends, schools and communities play roles in the lives of adolescents that may encourage healthy choices of activities or may lead to unhealthy, self-destructive behaviors. This web site offers information about the Add Health study, and information on the data and how to use it.

U.S. Census Bureau: The U.S Census Bureau web site offers population and economic data, publications, search tools, and more.


Girls

Girlpower: The Girlpower web site is a public education campaign sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The site offers separate areas for adults, for girls, and for research and news about girls.

Girls Incorporated: Girls Incorporated is a national nonprofit youth organization that offers research-based educational programs on a variety of topics pertinent to American girls, particularly young women from high-risk areas. This web site offers resources, links, fact sheets, publications, and more, and offers separate site areas for girls and for adults.

Center for Young Women's Health: The Center for Young Women's Health web site offers a wide variety of health publications written for teens on adolescent growth and development, reproductive and sexual health, nutrition, eating disorders, and more. The site also includes information for parents and clinicians.

4 Girls Health: 4 Girls Health is a web site developed by the Office on WomenÕs Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It offers a variety of health-related information for girls 12-16, information for parents and caregivers, and information for girls with disabilities and/or chronic illness.

GirlsAllowed!: GirlsAllowed! is a web site developed by the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence. The aim of the site is to provide girls with information and tools for developing and maintaining healthy relationships with friends, partners, and others. It offers daily activities for girls as well as daily activities for parents and for educators and group leaders that are designed to help foster dialogue between parents/adults and girls.


Boys

AdolescentHealth.com: AdolescentHealth.com offers health information sheets written especially for young men on topics like nutrition, acne, athlete's foot, sexual health, stress and depression, and more.

Testicular Cancer Resource Center: The Testicular Cancer Resource Center is a non-profit resource center overseen by a baoard of specialists in the field. The site contains information on diagnosis, treatment, testicular self-exam (TSE) and more.


Media

National Institute on Media and the Family: The web site of the National Institute on Media and the Family offers resources for teachers, parents, community leaders and other adults interested in the influence of electronic media on early childhood education, child development, academic performance, culture and violence, including a research library, links, fact sheets, research reports, and more.


Youth Development

Bright Futures: The Bright Futures Web site is designed to support published guidelines for health supervision of infants, children, and adolescents by helping both health professionals and families to better understanding the diagnostic process and what to expect during health supervision visits.

Connect for Kids: Connect for Kids is a project of the Benton Foundation designed to helps adults make their communities better places for families and children. The web site offers a wealth of information for parents, grandparents, educators, policymakers and others seeking information and opportunities to enhance the lives of children and youth.

Improving the Health of Adolescents & Young Adults: A Guide for States and Communities: This guide "extracts the Healthy People 2010 objectives that are key to the health of adolescents and young adults. The health concerns addressed by the Critical Health Objectives for Adolescents and Young Adults are mortality, unintentional injury, violence, substance use and mental health, reproductive health, and prevention of chronic disease into adulthood. The Guide will be especially helpful to those who want to translate the key objectives for youth into a vision and plan for improving the health, safety, and well-being of adolescents and young adults in their communities."

Institute for Youth Development: Institute for Youth Development (IYD) is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that promotes a comprehensive risk avoidance message that encompasses five major risk behaviors: alcohol, drugs, sex, tobacco and violence. The web site offers information for parents, teens, professionals, including publications, program information, links, an article archive, and more.

National Youth Development Information Center: The National Youth Development Information Center (NYDIC) provides free or low-cost practice-related information about youth development to national and local youth-serving organizations. The web site offers a wide range of information about youth programs development and working with diverse youth populations, including policy information, funding opportunities, career development information and more.

National Youth Leadership Council: The National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC) strives to enhance America's communities and the lives of young people through service-learning. This web site offers information on NYLC's mission and programs.


Special Needs

Autism Resources: Autism Resources offers a selection of resources and links on autism and Asperger's Syndrome.

Bandaids and Blackboards: Bandaids and Blackboards is a web site offering information and resources on topics relating to children with chronic illness and special health care needs in school. There are separate site areas for kids, teens, and adults (parents, health professionals, and educators).

EParent.com: EParent.com is the online voice of Exceptional Parent Magazine. This web site offers a variety of resources for parents and families of children with disabilities and the professionals who work with them

LD OnLine: LD OnLine offers a wealth of information and resources for parents, educators, and other professionals on a wide variety of issues related to learning disabilities.

National Center for Learning Disabilities: The National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) strives to increase opportunities for all individuals with learning disabilities to achieve their potential. This web site offers information for people with learning disabilities, professionals, news, research, action information, and more.

National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities: The National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY) offers comprehensive information on the entire spectrum of issues involved in living with, caring for, and educating a child or youth with disabilties.

STARBRIGHT Foundation: The STARBRIGHT Foundation is dedicated to the development of projects that empower seriously ill children to combat the medical and emotional challenges they face on a daily basis by addressing the pain, fear, loneliness, and depression that can accompany a serious or chronic illness. The web site offers program information and products and materials designed to support this mission.

Special Needs Education: The Special Needs Education (SNE) project offers resources for parents, teachers, schools, and other professionals, individuals, groups, and organizations involved in the education of students with special needs.


Transitions

Transitions for Adolescents with Special Health Care Needs: The Massachusetts Initiative for Youth with Disabilities Transition Project at Children's Hospital Boston focused on improving the transition of adolescents and young adults with special health care needs into the adult health care system. This link leads to a selection of materials for providers that were developed or adapted by this project and by the Institute for Community Inclusion.


Adoption

Child Welfare Information Gateway Adoption Information Clearinghouse: The Child Welfare Information Gateway Adoption Information Clearinghouse builds upon the resources formerly provided by the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse (NAIC), offering a wealth of adoption information for professionals, adoptees, birth relatives, and parents.


New England-Specific Resources

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Public Health: The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Public Health web site offers information on health-related programs and services available to Massachusetts residents.

Connecticut Department of Public Health: The Connecticut Department of Public Health web site offers information on health-related programs and services available to Connecticut residents.

Maine State Bureau of Health: The Maine State Bureau of Health web site offers information on health-related programs and services available to Maine residents.

New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services: The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services web site offers information on health-related programs and services available to New Hampshire residents.

Rhode Island Department of Health: The Rhode Island State Department of Health web site offers information on health-related programs and services available to Rhode Island residents.

State of Vermont Department of Health: The State of Vermont Department of Health web site offers information on health-related programs and services available to Vermont residents.


Recent Reports, Projects, and Initiatives

National Adolescent Health Information Center National Initiative to Improve Adolescent Health: The National Adolescent Health Information Center (NAHIC) National Initiative to Improve Adolescent Health is a collaborative effort to improve the health, safety, and well-being of adolescents and young adults. Here you will find resources, briefs, and a comprehensive listing of activities and resources from National Initiative partner organizations.

www.ParentsMedGuide.org: "The American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry have prepared these Guides to help patients, families, and physicians make informed decisions about obtaining and administering the most appropriate care for a child with depression."

Developing Adolescents: A Reference for Professionals: A guide from the American Psychological Association

Taking the Fizz out of Soda Contracts: A Guide to Community Action: An advocacy and policy tool from California Project Lean. Click on "Advocacy and Policy Tools" to get to the report.

Guidelines for Adolescent Nutrition Services: "This book focuses on the biological, psychosocial and cognitive changes that begin during puberty and continue through adolescence, which directly affects nutritional status and nutrient needs." (2005)

Prevention of Mental Disorders in School-Aged Children: Current State of the Field: An article from Prevention & Treatment, the American Psychological Association's e-journal.

Making the List: Understanding, Selecting, and Replicating Effective Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs: This is a PDF from the The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (2004) (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Technical Assistance Sampler: School Interventions to Prevent Youth Suicide : This is a PDF from the UCLS Center for Mental Health in Schools (2003) (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Influencing Behavior: The Power of Protective Factors in Reducing Youth Violence: This is a PDF from the Center for Adolescent Health and Development at the University of Minnesota (2004) (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Risk and Protective Factors for Substance Use among American Indian or Alaska Native Youths: A brief from SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) Report (2002,3)

Community How To Guides on Underage Drinking Prevention: A resource from National Association of Governors' Highway Safety Representatives & National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Community Action Framework for Youth Development: A report from Youth Development Strategies, Inc. Scroll down to find the title. The report is in PDF format (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health: The Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (CYSHCN) homepage of the Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health offers "tips and tools for using data to help guide improvements in community-based systems of care for CYSHCN - including an easy to use, interactive data query feature that allows users to view and compare state, regional and nationwide findings from the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs."

Addressing the Needs of Youth with Disabilities in the Juvenile Justice system: The Current Status of Evidence-Based Research: This is a report from the National Council on Disability (2003)

Federal Policy for Immigrant Children: Room for Common Ground?: This is a PDF from the Future of Children via PEN Weekly (2004) (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

What Does Gay Mean? How to Talk with Kids about Sexual Orientation and Prejudice: "What Does Gay Mean?" is an anti-bullying program from the National Mental Health Association which includes an educational booklet and other resources for parents and professionals.

Dealing with Legal Matters Surrounding Students' Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity: An online publication of the National School Boards Association

Parents Speak out on Health and Health Care in Schools: This is the result of a national poll commissioned by the The Center for Health and Health Care in Schools (2003)

Listening to What Kids and Parents really want from Out-of-School-Time: From Public Agenda, a report based on a national survey of teens and parents commissioned by the Wallace Foundation (2004)

Stalled in Secondary: Student Achievement Lags in Middle Grades and High School: A report from The Education Trust via PEN Weekly newsletter (2005)

Promoting Family Involvement In Child Learning & Development: "This issue of The Evaluation Exchange brings together the current knowledge base of programs in family support and family involvement, providing a continuous perspective on family processes with regard to children's learning and development, from a child's early years through adolescence" from Harvard Family Research Project via PEN Weekly newsletter (2004-2005)

Barriers and Promising Approaches to Workforce and Youth Development for Young Offenders: From the National Institute of Corrections: "Results of a national study to identify programs and policy initiatives that offer a blended approach of workforce and youth development that enables young people to become economically self-sufficient are provided."

The FrameWorks Perspective: Strategic Frame Analysis: "Strategic frame analysis is an approach to communications research and practice that pays attention to the public's deeply held worldviews and widely held assumptions." From The Frameworks Institute.

System Capacity for Adolescent Health: Public Health Improvement Tool: "System Capacity for Adolescent Health: Public Health Improvement Tool is a set of assessment and discussion tools designed to assist state maternal and child health program in assessing six areas of capacity to support effective state adolescent health programs" from State Adolescent Health Coordinators (SAHCN) and Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) (2004)

NIIAH Partner Resources List: The Partners Resources database "was created by The National Initiative to Improve Adolescent and Young Adult Health by the Year 2010 (NIIAH). This online tool provides a comprehensive listing of activities and resources from NIIAH partner organizations. It is designed to help users locate the many adolescent health resources available from NIIAH partners."

Best Practices Brief: " Adapted from Improving the Health of Adolescents and Young Adults: A Guide for States and Communities, this brief provides an overview of Best Practices and a comprehensive listing of resources available in adolescent health."

Towards Meeting the Needs of Adolescents: An Assessment of Federally Funded Adolescent Health Programs and Initiatives within the Department of Health and Human Services. Full Report. The Brief is available at: http://nahic.ucsf.edu/index.php/niiah/article/niiah_brief_documents/

Measuring the Positives: Review of Positive Indicators and Guidelines for their Use.: From NAHIC.


Wellness Materials

These materials require Adobe Acrobat Reader

Wellness Survey (PDF)
Wellness Assessment Tool (PDF)
Wellness 101 Pamphlet (PDF)
Jumpstart Flyer (Male) (PDF)
Jumpstart Flyer (Female) (PDF)
Heathy Snack Ideas (PDF)
Fast Food Facts (PDF)
Fast Food Facts (pamphlet) (PDF)
Change Brochure (PDF)