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The National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth is a free information service of the HHS/ACF Family and Youth Services Bureau. Contact NCFY at |
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August 2009
In This Issue:
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. |
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Another Person to Take Care of Being a new parent is demanding no matter the circumstances, but homeless teen parents may struggle more than most. In our most recent installment of the NCFY podcast series, we speak with a young mother about the challenges of adolescent parenthood and homelessness and how she has worked to overcome them with the help of a FYSB-funded maternity group home. Listen to the podcast. Tips for Programs That Serve Pregnant and Parenting Youth Maternity group homes can tap into a wealth of resources to help pregnant and parenting teens--and their children--succeed. NCFY's new tip sheet, "Check Out These Programs" (PDF), lists some of the major programs maternity group homes should know about. Give Your Program a Facelift on a Budget Youth programs should be fun, homey places, but many organizations don't have the cash to redecorate. To help our readers brighten up their spaces, we spoke to interior designer Inola Walston of Frederick, MD about how to redecorate for pennies. She laid out the following steps: Assemble your team. Getting youth to help redecorate a space they use can be a great way to teach them life skills, get them and staff to have fun, and practice Positive Youth Development. Invite youth to plan the project, draw floor plans, paint walls, refinish furniture, decide where to place furniture in the room, and create artwork to frame and hang on the walls. Volunteers and staff members can contribute elbow grease too, but let youth take the lead. Assess the space. "Decide exactly what the space is going to be used for," Walston says. "Will it be a private space meant for use by an individual or two, or is it a public space in a high traffic area of the building? This will help you to determine what materials to use on the floors, walls and the best type of furniture needed." states Ms. Walston. You may also won't to consider what mood you want the space to convey be it a fun space with bright colors or a relaxing space with cool colors. If you are transforming, say, an office into a game room, "Make sure that it can accommodate the furniture, equipment, and number of people that will be using the space," Walston says. In addition, when designing a public space, take into account different tastes, she says. She recommends clean, uncomplicated but comfortable furniture, neutral colors, and engaging artwork on the walls. Set a budget. Decide exactly how much you can spend, and stick to that amount! To save money, consider giving old furniture new life rather than buying new, Walston says. "Giving the good pieces a new coat of paint or stain can really make a difference in the space and your wallet," she says, and new hardware can give dressers and cabinetry a new lease on life. You can also recover couches and chairs and sew drapes with donated or on-sale fabric. If you do buy new furniture or décor, "Consider speaking with a store manager about making a donation to the agency. There may be clearance and discontinued items that are just sitting in the warehouse that they may be willing to donate to you," she says. You might also have your fundraising department contact the corporate giving departments of furniture or department stores. (See NCFY's article on "in-kind" donations.) Choose your colors. Different colors evoke different emotions, Walston says. For example, blue and green are calming and "clean feeling," she says, while soft yellows create a warm, cozy, welcoming environment. Light colors make a space look larger, and dark colors make a space feel smaller. Assemble your tools. Walston recommends picking up the following materials from a nearby art supply or hardware store:
Set aside a weekend, and get started making your space a more youthful and inviting place to be! Invite youth, community members, and staff to take part in your "redecorating party." To see a redecorating project in action, read the Washington Post's "The Comforts of a Temporary Home," by Jura Koncius. 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. When Young People Grow Up Too Fast Too Young, an educational video from The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, takes an empathetic look at adolescent parents from diverse backgrounds. The video explores the many factors that can lead to adolescent pregnancy. The National Campaign also offers complementary resources, including a discussion guide and a fact sheet. Going After Grants—Are the Time and Effort Always Worth It? Nothing in life is free, and that holds true for grants. When deciding whether or not to seek funding from a foundation, government agency or corporation, busy youth-service professionals need to weigh the costs and benefits of writing the grant proposal, managing the project, and reporting back to the funder, says John Porter, executive director of the American Grant Writers' Association. In fact, putting together a grant proposal might not be worth the time and effort if the award is small and the grant maker requires a lot of documentation. "Estimate the man hours to both write and administer the grant," Porter says. "In a few cases, the hourly wage may actually exceed the amount of the award." When considering whether or not to go after a grant, take the following steps: Read the grant announcement or RFP (request for proposal) closely to learn what is expected of groups that will receive the grant. "The best place to find funders' RFPs is the Foundation Center Directory," Porter says. The directory is available for free in a number of locations across the country. In addition, he says, "Nearly every local library will have at least a few other sources of local funding in print form." Determine if your organization and your clients (who will receive the services made possible by the grant funding) are eligible. "Even though one could argue that all youth are deserving, the RFP may stipulate that only a certain sector of youth are eligible for a particular award," Porter explains. "This group might be identified by income, at-risk, health, school district, etc." Ask yourself the following questions:
Find more information about fundraising in general and grant writing in particular, as well as links to fundraising resources, on the NCFY Web site. 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. Monitoring, Measuring and Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy The latest research on preventing pregnancy among adolescents examines trends in the teen birth rate, suggests ways to involve the community in measuring those trends and other risky behaviors and looks at effective methods for providing reproductive health services to young people. (Publications discussed here do not necessarily reflect the views of NCFY, the Family and Youth Services Bureau, or the Administration for Children and Families). The nagging question of adolescent birth rates. Why, after declining for almost a decade and a half, did the teen birth rate rise in 2006 and 2007? That is the question addressed by the authors of a new Guttmacher Institute study, Changing Behavioral Risk for Pregnancy among High School Students in the United States, 1991-2007 (PDF), published in the July issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health. To answer it, they used data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, an ongoing national study that looks at risky behavior, including sexual activity, that may damage the health of youth and young adults. The Guttmacher researchers looked at the risky behaviors of young women in grades 9–12 and estimated their "behavioral risk" for becoming pregnant. The estimate was based on the young women's sexual activity, the contraceptive method they used and the effectiveness of that method in preventing pregnancy. The authors found no change in adolescent sexual activity between 2003 and 2007. They write, "[D]eclining contraceptive use may be the primary determinant of the 2006 increase in birth. Additional years of data are needed to fully understand this increase." What health problems most affect adolescents near you? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently came out with a series of publications on the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), which produces the national YRBS. The latest installment of the series, A Guide to Conducting Your Own Youth Risk Behavior Survey (PDF), takes community leaders through the steps of conducting a local youth risk behavior survey (without technical or financial support from the CDC). Local surveys can be conducted to identify young people's rates of smoking, drinking, using drugs, having unprotected sex that may lead to unintended pregnancy, and engaging in other potentially harmful activities. The authors outline a list of questions that community leaders should answer before launching a survey, including whom to survey, whose permission is needed to survey youth, how to analyze the data and how to report and share the results. Adolescent pregnancy interventions on the ground. In the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy's What Helps in Providing Contraceptive Services for Teens (PDF) (2009), the authors examine research into the types of programs that help prevent teen pregnancy. They place the most effective programs in one of three categories: (1) freestanding clinics, such as teen health clinics run by health departments, Planned Parenthood affiliates, and nonprofits; (2) clinics in or near a school; and (3) programs in which adolescent "providers" are trained to offer such services as patient intake, counseling, and outreach. The authors found that successful teen clinics give their clients longer appointment times than are standard at clinics for adults, offer individual counseling and educational programs, and have a wide range of reproductive and family health services. Go to the NCFY literature database for abstracts of these and other publications. 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. Funding Opportunities & Recent Awards Maternal and Child Health Research Investigator-Initiated Grants on Youth Issues Building Healthy Communities Grant Program Wal-Mart Giving Program End Childhood Hunger Skate Parks in Low-Income Communities Social Change Projects Campaign for Black Male Achievement Youth Executive Training Program $500 Disaster Grants $500 Do Something Grants 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. |
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