This toolkit offers steps on how the juvenile justice and workforce development systems can collaborate to serve youth with justice involvement. The toolkit includes a review of evidence-based practices in youth workforce development, an examination of how the public workforce system is funded under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), examples of how to utilize WIOA-funded services for better outcomes for youth with justice involvement, and steps that could be taken to form interagency partnerships between the juvenile justice and workforce development systems.

This brief reviews youthCONNECT, an initiative implemented in Prince George’s County, Maryland. The initiative integrates college and career preparation skills, life skills training, and connection with a caring adult to improve healthy behaviors, school engagement, and the social and emotional skills of participating students. The youthCONNECT initiative seeks to leverage these improvements into increased high school achievement and postsecondary educational enrollment and employment. The brief describes a survey of 721 students enrolled in the youthCONNECT program based on self-reporting as well as data from these students’ academic records (grades, attendance, and disciplinary actions taken).

This brief summarizes potential federal funding sources and programs that can be used to address barriers facing young parents and families, such as unemployment, disruption to education, financial instability, and lack of child care access, parenting experience, or family supports. Programs listed include, but are not limited to, TANF, SNAP, SSBG, Medicaid/Children’s Health Insurance Program, Child Care Development Block Grant, WIOA, and the Family First Prevention Services Act Prevention Funds.

The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education published a Request for Information (RFI) on Expanding Work-Based Learning Opportunities for Youth. This RFI supported efforts to implement the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 and the amended Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V). The RFI solicited information on approaches to expand work-based learning, including paid internships, work study, cooperative education, apprenticeships, and pre-apprenticeships. The input received was useful to support lessening the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth employment. Input can be provided by states, tribes, state and local educational agencies, community-based and other nonprofit organizations, employers, industry associations, philanthropic organizations, faith-based organizations, researchers, and other engaged stakeholders. Responses to the RFI were due by January 13, 2021.

This report offers key considerations on how to develop and evaluate direct cash transfer programs (DCTP) for youth experiencing homelessness. In designing a DCTP program in New York City, these considerations include centering on youth, boosting housing stability, flexibility in the implementation of delivery of payment and support systems, and identifying barriers to program success. This report’s findings are based on a literature review of DCTPs; focus groups with youth experiencing homelessness and a range of other stakeholders beyond affected youth; and a co-interpretation workshop with stakeholders, including young people, government agency representatives, funders, and advocates.

This blogpost by the Associate Commissioner of the Children’s Bureau identifies this year’s National Adoption Month theme as “Engage Youth: Listen and Learn” and features a link to the Adoption Month’s website, which provides resources to engage youth and prepare them for adoption or guardianship. These resources are intended for child welfare professionals who work with youth to ready them for adoption, and for legal professionals to provide guidance on how the judicial system can support youth well-being. Tips are offered for case planning with older youth, removing barriers for permanency, and collaboration with child welfare agencies. Also included on the website are videos of real-life stories of young people who have transitioned out of foster care to adoption, guardianship, or independent living.

This blogpost explains how juvenile diversion programs can be used as an alternative to the juvenile justice system. The blogpost notes the effectiveness of diversion programs and how commonly these programs are implemented in lieu of incarceration. The blogpost also examines which youth should be diverted, whether juvenile diversion is safe, who decides when youth diversion should be used, and the consistency and disparities in using diversion as a practice.

The effects of trauma on teens and young adults can be far reaching. The Dibble Institute will host a webinar on November 11, 2020 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET to present findings and lessons learned from a study conducted by researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. In the study, a trauma-informed approach utilizing relationship education was implemented with over 100,000 young people over four years in San Antonio. The speakers will define trauma, its effects on young people, and their reactions to trauma, and will discuss adverse childhood experiences. The webinar is intended for Federal- and state-funded grant managers, program supervisors, teachers, health care staff, and others who work with high-need youth.

To develop an understanding of interventions to prevent homelessness among youth in or formerly in foster care, The Children’s Bureau at the Administration for Children and Families created the Building Capacity to Evaluate Interventions for Youth/Young Adults with Child Welfare Involvement At-Risk of Homelessness (YARH) grant program. This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report includes assessment findings of the YAHR grant program. It examines the characteristics of six organizations that formed partnerships with local child welfare agencies to define a comprehensive service model of interventions designed to prevent homelessness in youth who have experienced foster care. The report provides an initial review of how youth participants benefitted from these comprehensive models and how the models changed the services that youth participants received. The report also highlights how these grantees prepared to implement their service models and what factors hindered implementation.

The National Association of Workforce Development Professionals will convene its annual Youth Symposium as a virtual event from December 7 to December 9, 2020. The symposium will feature workshops in the areas of: Educating and Training Our Future Workforce; Employment, Retention, and Advancement; Overcoming Barriers; Recruiting and Engaging Youth; and Self-Care for Workforce Professionals. Workshops will include live and pre-recorded sessions. There is a registration fee to participate.