Relationship Education...and more!

Update from ACT for Youth

Youth Development Research, Resources, Opportunities

October 2021

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Featured Resources

A Career Creating Change

Just before she retired as ACT for Youth’s Director of Technical Assistance and Training, Jutta Dotterweich talked about the challenges and joys of collaborating for community change throughout her career.

Doing Translational Research is a podcast series from the Bronfenbrenner Center at Cornell University.

Podcast Interview

Helping Youth Build Healthy Relationships

The ACT for Youth website has many resources to help you help youth.

Helping Youth Build Relationship Skills

Newly updated, this part of Preparing Youth for Adulthood connects you with program activities and curricula focused on healthy relationship education, as well as resources for young people.

SEL Toolkit: Relationship Skills

In this section of the SEL Toolkit, we link to strategies and resources that will help youth work professionals teach relationship skills.

Teen Dating Violence

Here we offer resources focused on violence prevention and consent for educators, parents, and youth.

Research and Resources

What Do Trust-Building Interactions Look Like?

Turnaround for Children: Designing learning settings with relationships at the core could not be more important than it is today. Research shows that strong relationships and supportive developmental experiences are what cultivate potential. Trust is the cornerstone of developmental relationships, and can be built through gestures of caring, authentic listening, personalization, consistency and dependable support.

Putting the Science of Learning and Development Into Action

This playbook suggests a set of design principles that were developed by a group of educators, practitioners, scientists, and parents. It builds on current knowledge in the field to nurture innovations, new models, and new enabling policies that will help foster positive youth development and relationships.

2021 Children’s Mental Health Report

Child Mind Institute: Even before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, mental health professionals were struggling to meet the needs of the 1 in 5 children and adolescents with a mental health or learning disorder. This report examines the growing body of research on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s mental health.

Relationship Education for Youth Who Have Faced Adversity

Marriage Strengthening Research and Dissemination Center: Offering extra support on developing healthy relationships is particularly important for youth who have faced interpersonal trauma and adversity. These experiences may place young people at increased risk for poor relational and other outcomes.

Sex Ed Programs for Young Men Can Promote Gender Equity in Preventing Unintended Pregnancy

New Child Trends research discusses how young people perceive gender roles around pregnancy prevention and how men can support their partners in pregnancy prevention efforts. The research suggests that sexual education programs that provide young men with accurate and comprehensive information about contraceptive methods and improve their communication skills can help these men take a more active role in preventing unintended pregnancies.

Professional Development

Preventing and Addressing Childhood Trauma with Faith and Community Partners

HHS: Join part 2 of this webinar series to hear examples of how faith and community groups are integrating prevention of Adverse Childhood Events (ACEs) into their programing and community efforts. Learn the specific evidence-based practices and strategies that have been identified to reduce these events and reduce the severity of the harms associated with them.

Date: November 16, 12:00 PM EST

Youth-Adult Partnerships to Improve School Health

Youth engagement is central to successful school health policy. Student input grounds policy conversations in the realities of today, and the opportunity to have their thoughts considered provides students with a meaningful venue to improve the world around them. Join the Leadership Exchange for Adolescent Health Promotion (LEAHP) for a webinar featuring two panels of speakers who will discuss strategies for youth-adult partnerships.

Date: October 28, 4:00 PM EST

This newsletter was developed with funding provided by the New York State Department of Health Bureau of Women, Infant and Adolescent 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.