Update from ACT for Youth
Youth Development Research, Resources, Opportunities
February 2023
Featured Resource
Helping Youth Build Relationship Skills
Healthy relationships require communication and intimacy skills. Youth programs that do not focus explicitly on promoting healthy relationships can still include activities that help young people practice pro-social behaviors and communication skills. Here you'll find program activities and curricula that emphasize building healthy relationship skills.
Research and Resources

Child Trends: Systemic racism and reproductive oppression have, over centuries, denied bodily autonomy to Black girls and women and led to disproportionately adverse sexual and reproductive health outcomes. This brief argues that the reproductive justice framework can help decision makers identify and respond to Black girls’ and women’s reproductive health needs, thereby promoting their reproductive autonomy and the well-being of Black families.

Child and Family Well-being in New York State

Citizens’ Committee for Children has released a new report which underscores the urgent need for state leaders to go further to address the compounding consequences of the pandemic and profound disparities experienced by children and families. This comprehensive report examines county-level data on economic security, housing stability, health care, education, youth, and families and communities.
Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month Action Guide

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month and Love is Respect has created an action guide which calls on individuals and organizations to stand up for the education, engagement, and empowerment of young people to create a world free from relationship abuse.

The Early Childhood Equity Movement and Child Trends have collaborated to create this report which discusses access to family services (e.g., early care and education, health care, and SNAP/EBT) for racially and culturally diverse families in New Hampshire.
Youth Engagement Matters!
Two New Guides to Help You Build Effective Youth Engagement Programs

UCLA: High-quality youth engagement within an organization can be an all-around win. Involving young people in research and evaluation improves the quality and relevance of both the research and ultimately the programs, policies, and organizations that serve young people. It also helps youth develop skills that they’ll need to thrive as contributing adults. These two guides offer help for practitioners and funders to better engage youth.
Funding Opportunities
Lime Connect Fellowship for Students
with Disabilities

The Lime Connect Fellowship Program guides fellows through the summer internship
recruitment process, connects them with partners for potential summer 2024 internships, deepens their leadership skills, builds their confidence as a person with a disability, and more!

Deadline: February, 26
This newsletter was developed with funding provided by the New York State Department of Health Bureau of Perinatal, Reproductive, and Sexual Health. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the ACT for Youth Center for Community Action and do not necessarily represent the views of the New York State Department of Health.