College and career pathways are a critical strategy for supporting economic development in rural communities and creating economic advancement opportunities for youth. However, implementing pathways requires recognizing rural communities’ unique needs and opportunities. This Jobs for the Future resource includes a report and a brief which outlines three promising strategies for implementing rural pathways: build on local strengths and context, prioritize economic development, and embed remote opportunities.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is working to strengthen the well-being of children, youth, and their families by integrating behavioral health services into the existing supports they rely on, such as social services and early childhood programs. This ACF announcement highlights the new behavioral health webpage that includes a tip sheet for parents and caregivers and a series of short videos about mental health.

The new behavioral health webpage includes audience-specific pages with resources about mental health and substance use for:

• Teens and young adults
• Parents and caregivers
• American Indian and Alaska Native Communities
• Service providers
• Grant recipients
• Early childhood professionals

As youth and young adults with disabilities (Y&YADs) transition into adulthood, they face a complex series of milestones and hurdles in achieving economic self-sufficiency. Y&YADs struggle to navigate access to community services, support, and programs that meet their basic needs. This Cape Youth brief provides policy considerations that help Y&YADs foster economic self-sufficiency through financial literacy and independence. These strategies can reduce financial pressures for Y&YADs as they transition to employment and adulthood.

Whether or not they have a strong understanding of all the options before them, many Gen Z youth are looking for faster, more economical, and more relevant on-ramps to meaningful jobs that offer life-sustaining wages and are aligned to their real interests. They want opportunities to learn and grow while working and earning—options that do not require them to put their lives on hold for years and accumulate life-changing debt in the process. This Jobs for the Future report is intended to improve public awareness of nondegree pathways by exploring how they benefit people and the workplace as well as barriers that prevent them from being mainstreamed.

The Office of Family Assistance podcast series, “Incorporating Lived Experiences into Decision Making,” provides insights into how TANF agencies can include and involve individuals with lived experience in receiving TANF into agency programming and policy development. The series discusses why including individuals with lived experience is important and highlights various strategies and resources agencies can use to incorporate these perspectives. This first episode explores various strategies agencies have taken to gather and use input from individuals with lived experience to benefit agencies’ understanding, decision-making, and programming. Podcast speakers discuss varying approaches, including gathering survey feedback on program operations, forming participant advisory committees, incorporating participant-led case management practices, and hiring individuals with lived experience into permanent positions. This episode also explores how to engage in lived experiences equitably, including discussions of compensating individuals appropriately for their time and expertise.

January was National Mentoring Month, which highlighted the critical role that mentors play in the lives of youth and the extent to which young people have access to mentors in America. Unfortunately, new data indicate that decades of mentoring progress may be eroding at a time when youth mental health needs are soaring. This Annie E. Casey Foundation blogpost emphasizes trends, impacts, and recommendations for youth mentoring.

Access to basic needs is key to a successful transition to adulthood, but gaps in the safety net leave many young people without the supports they need. To address these gaps, human services agencies are increasingly recognizing the importance of engaging young people with lived experience navigating safety net programs. This Urban Institute fact sheet highlights strategies human services agencies can use to develop strategic partnerships. It draws on insights from a series of workgroups with staff at human services agencies and youth-serving nonprofits, as well as young leaders.

This National Sexual Violence Resource Center and Just Detention International recording is accompanied by presentations and transcripts from the July 20, 2023 webinar. The resource offers suggestions on how to communicate about sexual violence as something that men experience and about what services are available for men who are survivors.

Romantic relationships are a common part of adolescence. However, not all relationships are healthy. This Office of Justice Programs special feature resource highlights an overview of teen dating violence, such as a definition as well as signs, statistics, and prevention methods. Additional publications and resources are available.