Fact Sheet: National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth

The National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth (NCFY) is a free information service for communities, organizations, and individuals interested in developing new and effective strategies for supporting young people and their families. The Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, established NCFY to link those interested in youth issues with the resources they need to better serve young people, families, and communities.

NCFY develops resources to promote the Positive Youth Development approach. Underlying this approach is the idea that young people need support, guidance, and opportunities during adolescence, a time of rapid growth and change. With support, they can develop self-assurance in four areas key to a happy, healthy, and successful life: a sense of competence, a sense of usefulness, a sense of belonging, and a sense of power. If these factors are being addressed, and basic needs are being met, young people can become fully-prepared to engage constructively in their communities. To learn more about positive youth development, visit the Positive Youth Development section of this Web site or visit the NCFY Web site at http://ncfy.acf.hhs.gov.

NCFY offers the following:

• Information Sharing: NCFY responds to information requests regarding youth programming and policy, available resources, national youth-related initiatives, and other topics. The NCFY library contains free and low-cost publications on youth issues, and a searchable database on the NCFY Web site offers abstracts of thousands of other documents. The Web site also includes youth development resources, funding announcements for FYSB programs, free publications, and a calendar of conferences and trainings. NCFY’s Youth Initiatives Update, a free monthly electronic newsletter, shares information on new initiatives and resources.
  
• Publications Development: NCFY produces free publications, including community education guides and technical assistance publications, publications for parents and young people in English and Spanish, and summaries of FYSB-funded evaluations and research and demonstration projects.
  
• Outreach: NCFY supports FYSB in working with other Federal agencies and national organizations to improve practices for strengthening youth and families. At NCFY conferences and forums, youth service providers and the public can learn about these national developments that may benefit youth and families in their communities.

Contact

National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth, P.O. Box 13505, Silver Spring, MD 20911-3505; (301) 608-8098; fax: (301) 608-8721; Web: http://ncfy.acf.hhs.gov; e-mail: ncfy@acf.hhs.gov.