Update: What Kids Need

Update from ACT for Youth | February 2026

ACT for Youth / BCTR Resource

What Kids Need Most from Adults

In this post from the Evidence-Based Living (EBL) blog, our sister program Residential Child Care Project outlines four skills that help adults develop productive relationships with young people. EBL originates from our home base, Cornell University's Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research.

EBL: What Kids Need Most

Research and Resources

Teens, Social Media, and Mental Health

Most teens say social media helps them feel more connected to friends. Still, roughly 1 in 5 say social media sites hurt their mental health, and growing shares think the sites harm people their age. Pew Research Center.

Social Media and Mental Health

Mindfulness Toolkit

This free toolkit includes lesson plans with bite-sized activities to engage youth. The 50 lessons include two hours of video content as well as handouts, meditations, and activities. New Leaf Foundation and YouthREX.

Family Device Agreements

Family Device Agreements can help guide conversations around healthy digital habits. Download a free worksheet based on your child's age. Aura and Common Sense Media.

Aura Parents: Family Device Agreements

Reels to Results: Collaborating with Young Creators

What if learning about sexual health felt more like scrolling through a friend’s social media than reading a tip sheet? Not a reel made by a clinic or campaign team, but by a young person speaking directly to their followers? Learn more about this collaborative, youth-led approach to content creation. Healthy Teen Network.

Blog Post and Guide

Professional Development

Youth REX

Music as a Vehicle for Community Development

WEBINAR

February 25, 10:00 ET

Music has long been a powerful tool for connection, expression, and social change. Community music programs remove barriers and provide young people with access to innovative music education. Featuring Richard Marsella, Executive Director of Community Music Schools of Toronto (CMST), this webinar will explore unique and transformative models in community music, from noise parades to musical playgrounds. YouthREX supports the youth work sector in Ontario, and provides resources that are useful to the wider youth development field.

Adolescent Health Initiative (AHI)

Hidden Bets: Youth, Online Gambling and Mental Health

VIRTUAL TRAINING

March 24, 11:00 - 12:30 ET

The rapid growth of online gambling among adolescents has emerged as a significant public health concern. Youth participation in gambling is increasing, fueled by greater access to digital environments and mobile platforms such as online casinos, sports betting, and poker. Disparities in gambling involvement are especially pronounced across racial, socioeconomic, and gender lines, with African American youth and male students at particularly elevated risk. Rising engagement, paired with the associated mental health and financial consequences, underscores the critical need for early identification and adolescent-centered intervention. This training is designed for health care and social work professionals who work with adolescents and young adults.

AHI Webinars and Trainings

Search Institute

State of Developmental Relationships 2026

WEBINAR

March 25, 2:00 ET

The State of Developmental Relationships is a free, annual webinar that shares insights from thousands of young people about the relationships and experiences that are shaping their lives today.

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.