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Even when parents discuss alcohol consumption with their children, they may not explain why underage drinking is harmful. To help educators and parents address this information gap, Responsibility.org has developed Ask, Listen, Learn: Kids and Alcohol Don’t Mix, an alcohol education program that provides a suite of education resources on the harmful effects of underage drinking. The National AfterSchool Association recently hosted a webinar to introduce the program. Information and resources can be found on the Ask, Listen, Learn website.

Published in Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, this article examines the role of sports participation in the lives of socially vulnerable youth. Based on interviews with 10 young adults, the article describes sports participation as providing a safe place, a venue for learning life skills, an instrument for reaching goals, and a sense of purpose for socially vulnerable youth.

This American Youth Policy Forum article explores how out-of-school time programs can be positioned as a mechanism for disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline. Examples include the safe, supportive environment that afterschool programs provide; social and emotional learning; culturally relevant teaching; diverse learning experiences; and wraparound services.

The afterschool setting provides an environment where afterschool practitioners can engage students in challenging conversations about topics that affect them and their communities. This archived webinar from the Afterschool Alliance provides the perspectives of experts and practitioners, strategies for having challenging but important conversations with youth, and tools that practitioners can use to facilitate discussions in their own afterschool programs.

The journal of the Mid-Western Educational Research Association has published “Serving English Language Learners Afterschool,” an evidence-backed commentary article on English learners (ELs) and afterschool. The authors explain the unique opportunities of afterschool programs to benefit EL youth and review strategies that programs use to help ELs succeed. Among the conclusions: All afterschool programs, even those challenged by limited resources and access to bilingual staff, can implement research-proven strategies to support the achievement of EL youth.

Pathways RTC works to improve the lives of young people with serious mental health conditions through research and training. Resources include Promoting Positive Pathways to Adulthood, a 10-module training series designed to enhance the knowledge and skills of service providers across a variety of fields who work with youth and families facing mental health challenges. Free registration is required, and participants have the option of participating in data collection surveys to further the organization’s research efforts. CEU credits are also available.

Studies have proven that children’s academic and cognitive performance improves when students are active. This blog post from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation describes the October 5 “Walk to School Day,” and provides four tips to help schools make every day a walk to school day. Learn how schools across the country are making health a priority by integrating walking into everyday activities.

Is your program staff intentionally trained to be culturally responsive? It can be difficult for staff to understand how to provide a safe environment for youth if they have no experience or awareness of the different cultures, races, or physical disabilities that may be represented in the program they serve. Several states, including Washington and Arizona, have made cultural responsiveness one of their out-of-school time program quality standards. Read more on the Youth Today website about why leaders from School's Out Washington, and other organizations, are talking about the necessity of culturally competent youth programming.

The American Youth Policy Forum describes here five important ways that foster youth can be supported, practices that were spotlighted in the June release of the U.S. Department of Education’s guidance on the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This article is a valuable tool to those working with youth within the school system or as outside community support. The collaboration that can be fostered by having a common language around these supports can be invaluable to our youth within the foster care and juvenile justice systems.

This Fact Sheet presented by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network provides practical ways in which community support providers can help families in their own community during a major economic crisis. The step-by-step guide shows community organizations how to help create a sense of safety, calm the nerves of citizens who feel angry or hopeless, build up self-efficacy and community efficacy, promote connectedness, and foster hope. Providers can help to build up their struggling community so that everyone benefits.