Meeting the Challenge: Youth As Advocates
Published in Common Ground, the newspaper of the New England Association of Child Welfare Commissioners and Directors, explores how a Youth Speak Out advocacy program also helped youth recover from trauma and be healthy and productive.

Launch of the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD): A Message from the Commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families
Beginning in 2000, ACF initiated national consultations with State child welfare agencies, private agency youth service providers and current and former foster youth, to develop this data collection system. In 2008, this collaborative work culminated in the publication of the regulation implementing the data collection requirements of the Foster Care Independence Act; a reporting system we now know as the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD). October 1, 2010 marked another important milestone in the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program, as it was the official start of NYTD data collection, as described in this message from Commissioner Bryan Samuels.
 
Guide to Independent Living for Transitional-Age and Emancipated Foster Youth
This guidebook was created by the Alameda County Court Appointed Special Advocates program so that foster youth transitioning to independent living can have a thorough understanding of their legal rights and how to best utilize the resources available to them. In addition, this guide explains to Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) how they can best assist the youth for whom they are serving as advocates to become independent and responsible adults. The vast majority of foster youth have encountered a great deal of challenges in life and need consistent and ongoing support to reach their potential. Through consistent mentoring and advocacy, these young people have a greater chance of avoiding homelessness, prison or being subjected to other poor outcomes.

Guide on Supporting Career Development of Youth with Learning Disabilities
This Guide by the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability For Youth is intended to help practitioners, administrators, and policymakers in secondary and postsecondary education programs, transition programs, One-Stop Career Centers, youth employment programs, and community rehabilitation programs to improve services and outcomes for youth, ages 14 to 25, with diagnosed and undiagnosed learning disabilities. This Guide includes numerous quick reference charts, tables, and tools for counselors, career advisors, and other professionals who work directly with youth. In-depth information is provided on a variety of topics, including the types and impact of learning disabilities, needed supports, and research-based interventions. This Guide is intended to increase awareness of the fact that the workforce development system serves many youth who have learning disabilities that may never have been identified and many others who may know they have a learning disability but choose not to disclose. Although focusing primarily on youth with learning disabilities, many of the strategies and approaches advocated in this Guide, which are premised on universal design, may be of practical use for other youth.

New Resources to Help Youth Build Relationships with Parents and Foster Parents
Below are some new resources from Youth Communication to help youth build good relationships with parents and foster parents. Each of these webpages includes the following sections: Stories by Teens, Resources for Teens and Staff, Tips for Staff, and Helpful Links.
Birth Parents
Foster Parents

Links to other groups focused on youth advocacy

• National Foster Youth Action Network — The National Foster Youth Action Network equips, trains, and empowers foster youth to take leadership in advocating for their interests in improving the foster care system, which governs the lives of the nearly 500,000 foster youth in the U.S.  
• Foster Club — FosterClub is the national network for young people in foster care.
• National Youth in Care Network – Canada —Youth in Care Canada exists to voice the opinions and concerns of youth in and from care and promote the improvement of services for them.