The National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth is a free information service of the HHS/ACF Family and Youth Services Bureau. Contact NCFY at (301) 608-8098 or ncfy@acf.hhs.gov. If you're having trouble viewing this e-mail, please click here to view it on the web.. |
In This Issue:
- New From NCFY
- Bright Idea
- NCFY Recommends
- Right on the Money
- Primary Sources
- Funding Opportunities
- Contests and Awards for Youth
Know youth workers or other professionals who might enjoy receiving a copy of the monthly Youth Initiatives Update in their inboxes? PASS IT ON! Subscribing is easy. Simply send an email with "Subscribe YIU" in the subject line to ncfy@acf.hhs.gov.
This month, help keep young people off the streets. NCFY recommends the following ways to observe National Runaway Prevention Month:
The National Runaway Switchboard has more tips. |
This month, celebrate Native culture. NCFY recommends the following ways to observe Native American Heritage Month:
The Library of Congress Web site has more information about ways to celebrate Native American heritage. |
 |
‘If We Don’t Fight for It, We Lose It’
In the latest installment of its Positive Youth Development podcast series, NCFY speaks to two Native American young people to get their perspectives on the importance, and challenges, of Native youth leadership.
Using Technology in Family and Youth Work
In a new issue of The Exchange, NCFY takes a look at how family and youth-serving organizations are using technology to work with young people. Articles explore a technology training program for runaway and homeless youth, a digital film-making program for Native American youth, and ways youth workers can help young people stay safe online.
Give Youth a ‘Safe Place’ to Go
A restaurant, a fire station or a library could save a young person’s life. In more than 1,500 communities across the nation, these and other sites have been designated “Safe Place locations” where young people can go when they have nowhere else to go. Safe Place sites provide emergency assistance to youth who are homeless or abused or who have clashed with their families.
 |
“By contacting a Safe Place early on, it is more likely youth will be able to resolve the problem rather than running away,” says Sandy Bowen, executive director of National Safe Place, in Louisville, KY, which works with youth shelters to establish safety-net services for youth.
Bowen spoke to us about how youth-serving organizations can get a Safe Place network started in their communities.
Got a bright idea that you've put into practice? Send it to ncfy@acf.hhs.gov and we may feature it in Youth Initiatives Update.
Let's Talk! ¡Hablemos!
The National Runaway Switchboard has released Hablemos, the Spanish version of its runaway-prevention curriculum, Let's Talk. The 14-module curriculum was developed in partnership with DePaul University's Center for Community and Organizational Development and made possible by funding from the Elizabeth Morse Genius Charitable Trust. For more information, on preventing young people from running away, contact prevention@1800RUNAWAY.org .
Spruce Up Your McKinney-Vento Knowledge
A webinar from the National Center for Homeless Education will give youth workers the tools to understand and apply the federal law that ensures education for homeless children and youth. McKinney-Vento 101: Knowing and Applying the Law will take place November 30, 2009, from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Eastern time. Participants will discuss how to implement provisions of the McKinny-Vento Homeless Assistance Act in their agencies, and homeless education experts will answer questions about the law. Register here.
TXT 4 Help
If youth can text, they can ask for help. In October, National Safe Place unveiled its TXT 4 Help initiative—when youth text SAFE to 69866, they are given the location of the nearest Safe Place site, where trained volunteers can connect them with a local shelter or other social services. If there is no Safe Place nearby, they are connected to the National Runaway Switchboard, the national hotline for runaway and homeless youth.
Get Everyone in on Grant Writing
In these tough economic times, hiring a full-time grant writer or using a consultant may not make the most financial sense. As an alternative, small nonprofits can tap into the talents of their staff to put together grant proposals.
“What you ultimately want is to use your staff’s greatest strengths,” says Kristen Valentine, chief fundraiser for Bread for the City, a social service agency in Washington. “You want to find out what people do well and have them do it.”
Following are some tips she offered on training staff to write grant proposals.
Right on the Money is an ongoing series about how to keep the doors of nonprofit organizations open in good times and bad. If there's a topic you'd like us to address here, please e-mail us.
Preventing and Responding to Youth Homelessness
Youth homelessness is strongly associated with living in poverty, not finishing school, not having a job, being in foster care or the juvenile justice system, getting pregnant or having a child, drinking and using drugs, and having poor mental and physical health. All of those factors are important for youth workers to recognize and address, as the authors of Covenant House Institute’s National Youth Status Report have pointed out (April 2009).
Those who work with runaway and homeless youth also know that many youth who end up on the streets get there because of friction at home. In fact, callers to the National Runaway Switchboard, the national hotline for runaway and homeless youth, cite “family dynamics” more often than any other reason for running away.
Primary Sources is a summary of recent research on youth and families. Got a research topic you want to learn more about? E-mail us and we may feature it in Youth Initiatives Update.
Statewide Family Network Grants
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Application Due Date: November 25, 2009
Cooperative Agreements for Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children and Their Families Program
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Application Due Date: December 3, 2009
Relatives as Parents Program
The Brookdale Foundation
Application Due Date: December 3, 2009
Social Change Projects
Ben & Jerry’s Foundation
Application Due Date: Rolling
Campaign for Black Male Achievement
Open Society Institute
Application Due Date: Rolling
$500 Disaster Grants
DoSomething.org
Application Due Date: Rolling
$500 Do Something Grants
DoSomething.org
Application Due Date: Rolling
The Youth Initiatives Update comprises links to Web sites with information on programs, organizations, resources, and publications relevant to children, youth, and family issues. Inclusion of this information does not imply endorsement by the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), or the National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth (NCFY). Moreover, the points of view or opinions expressed on these Web sites do not necessarily represent the official position, policies, or views of FYSB, HHS, or NCFY.
To subscribe or unsubscribe to Youth Initiatives Update, please send your request to ncfy@acf.hhs.gov.