Strategies

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

Provide financial assistance to working parents, or parents attending school, to pay for child care

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

Support the federal-state partnership that pays participating landowners an annual rental rate for removing environmentally sensitive land from production and introducing conservation practices on the land.

Encourage methods of soil cultivation that keep at least one-third of cultivated soil covered with the previous year’s crop residue (e.g., mulch till, ridge till, strip till, or no-till)

Support a four-tiered approach to outdoor pest control that minimizes potential hazards to people, property, and the environment

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

Provided work supports for low income individuals and families (e.g., job search assistance, transitional jobs, subsidized child care, health insurance, etc.); participants worked at least 30 hours/week

Support site-specific plans for crop production that match nutrient applications to crop needs, typically with agricultural best management practices

Teach positively stated behavior expectations to all students, often reinforced with prizes or privileges and supported with coaching and data