Strategies

Match disadvantaged or at-risk youth with volunteer mentors in school or community settings

Combine academic, mental and physical health, and social service resources in schools for students and families via partnerships with community organizations; also called community learning centers

Provide at-risk expectant parents and families with young children with information, support, and training regarding child health, development, and care from prenatal stages through early childhood via trained home visitors

Use specialized courts to work with parents involved in the child welfare system who may lose custody of their children due to substance abuse

Support fathers’ active involvement in child rearing via various father-focused or family-focused interventions

Provide employment-based services for non-custodial fathers who pay child support and experience a job loss or a decrease in income

Teach parenting skills in a group setting using a standardized curriculum, often based on behavioral or cognitive-behavioral approaches and focused on parents of at-risk children

Provide home visiting services to families who are at risk for adverse childhood experiences, starting prenatally or right after birth and continuing for three to five years

Arrange full-time foster care by relatives or adults who are not a child’s parent but have a family relationship with the child when a child is removed from home due to a safety concern

Delay school start times for middle and high schools to better align with adolescent sleep-wake cycles; often until after 8:30 or 9:00 a.m.