Resources

• Health Care for Adolescents and Young Adults Leaving Foster Care: Policy Options for Improving Access
  The issue brief describes the young people who are aging out of foster care, their health status, and the barriers to securing health care they face when leaving foster care. It explains how health care access can be improved for this population, by describing how Medicaid and SCHIP currently reach adolescents and young adults, and how these two programs can be used to help former foster youth. The brief emphasizes the important opportunity presented by the Medicaid Expansion Option contained in the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999, and summarizes the policy options that can best improve access to health care for former foster youth.

• Research FACTs and Findings: Adolescent Development
  Adolescence is a time of great change for young people. It is a time when physical changes are happening at an accelerated rate. But adolescence is not just marked by physical changes—young people are also experiencing cognitive, social/emotional and interpersonal changes as well. This fACt sheet summarizes the physical and psycho-social markers of healthy adolescent development.

• Research FACTs and Findings: Childhood Obesity
  Over the past few years, much has been written about childhood and adolescent obesity. A recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that 15% of 6-19 year olds (almost 9,000,000) in the U.S. are overweight, and that rates of childhood obesity have been steadily increasing since the 1970’s (Ogden, et. al., 2002). This increase in obesity has raised concerns regarding both the physical and psychological health of our nation’s youth.

• Research FACTs and Findings: Risky Sexual Behavior
  The clearest risks of adolescents' sexual behavior are pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The surest way to avoid the risks of sexual behavior is not to engage in it. Short of abstinence, condoms and other forms of protection can reduce the risks.

• The Body: A Complete Online Resource Guide for HIV and Aids
  The Body's mission is to: use the Web to lower barriers between patients and clinicians; demystify HIV/AIDS and its treatment; improve patients' quality of life, and foster community through human and online connections. This website offers professional, and factual information about the treatment of HIV and AIDS.

• KidsHealth
  KidsHealth is the largest and most-visited site on the Web providing doctor-approved health information about children from before birth through adolescence. Created by The Nemours Foundation's Center for Children's Health Media, the award-winning KidsHealth provides families with accurate, up-to-date, and jargon-free health information they can use.

• National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities
  NICHCY is an information clearinghouse that provides free information on disabilities and related issues, focusing on children and youth (birth to age 35). Free services include personal responses, referrals, technical assistance and general information searches. National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities. P.O. Box 1492, Washington, DC 20013-1492, phone: (800) 695-0285 (V/TTY) Fax: (202) 884-8441

• National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy