Update from ACT for Youth
Youth Development Research, Resources, Opportunities
May 2023
News from ACT for Youth
Jane Powers is Retiring!
Jane Powers--our director, colleague, and friend for two decades and more--is retiring in June! Jane has been at the heart of everything we do at ACT for Youth, leading and supporting us with intelligence, humor, and commitment to youth and community. She has made our work possible. We know she will stay connected to our community and our work because that’s who she is. Thank you and congratulations, Jane!

If you would like to send well wishes to Jane, you can email us at act4youth@cornell.edu and we will be sure she gets your message.

~ The ACT for Youth Team

Research and Resources
National Adolescent Health Month™

HHS: National Adolescent Health Month™ (NAHM™) is a health observance hosted by the HHS Office of Population Affairs (OPA) each May. Adolescent health involves many aspects of health and well-being, including sexual and reproductive health, mental health, community support, and the role of caring adults. Explore this year's topics, including guides and resources below.
New York’s Fertility Rate Drops, Average Age of Mothers Rises

Cornell Chronicle: A decline in New York’s childbirth rate is showing no sign of reversing and many women are waiting longer to have children, according to newly compiled data.
Communities Must Tailor Youth Suicide Prevention Efforts to Those Who Need Them Most

Child Trends: Research shows that youth of color and LGBTQ+ youth are at higher risk of suicide than White and heterosexual youth, which suggests the importance of tailoring prevention approaches to the populations most in need of support. This new brief offers three recommendations to help community-based organizations tailor their youth suicide prevention efforts.
Emerging Issues on Youth & HIV

Watch this roundtable discussion on the current and emerging issues youth are facing with HIV. The roundtable’s panelists discuss the need for youth and students to receive scientifically factual, honest, and culturally competent sexual health education that includes information on HIV and its effects on Black and Latino communities.
Act Out! Young People Fighting Back Against LGBTQ+ Attacks

Advocates for Youth: Introducing Act Out!, a new national network of young people fighting for LGBTQ+ equality, justice, and liberation. Act Out is a hub where young people (ages 14-24) who are outraged by recent laws and attacks on the LGBTQ+ community can find resources to help them plan actions, campaigns, and more!
Professional Development
Building Protective Communities for Black Children and Families

Child Trends: Join this webinar on building and sustaining protective communities for Black children and their families. Communities play a critical role in children’s development and well-being, across all ages and developmental stages. Panelists for this webinar will include a diverse range of perspectives—including research, policy, direct service, and advocacy voices in the fields of education, housing, health, and safety—and discuss strategies to dismantle racial inequities and build the conditions and contexts that Black children and families (and all children and families) need to thrive.

When: June 13, 2023 02:00 PM EST

Grants
Innovative, Community-led Solutions to Advance the Mental Health of Children and Youth

The Children and Youth Resilience Prize Challenge will award prizes to innovative community-led solutions to promote resilience in children and adolescents affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and other man-made or natural disasters.
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.