Transgender and nonbinary youth are under attack; states have passed legislation encouraging discrimination against them and targeting their access to health care. 94% of LGBTQ+ youth say the current political discourse in the country is negatively impacting their mental health. But, there are glimmers of hope—having just one accepting adult in their life reduces transgender and nonbinary youth suicide attempts by one third. Today we provide a brief review of some of the recent literature and reporting on this issue, and a recommendation for a free webinar on helping transgender and nonbinary youth feel more seen, supported, and heard.

The breadth of literature over the past two years of the pandemic has been truly monumental, and trying to digest it all, nearly impossible. Understanding that, we are highlighting some of the most effective and informative research we’re reading; curating noteworthy analysis, comprehensive data, and compelling findings from the experts in child and youth services who have their finger on the pulse of the field’s ongoing pandemic challenges.

Youth Catalytics’ Training Director Cindy Carraway-Wilson argues that the workforce shortage and subsequent crisis in the child and youth care field can be ameliorated by the professionalization and certification of child and youth care practitioners.

Today we bring you the first of many updates from our newest project: The Foresight Initiative. We are sharing feedback from experts in the child and youth services field who have taken our survey and described their experiences on managing the challenges of the last two years. We hope you’ll add your voice to the conversation.

Today’s Voices from the Field is a first-hand, behind-the-scenes account of the complicated and contentious actions of local school board meetings that have, like many across the country, become cataclysmic during the course of the pandemic.

Youth Catalytics’ Director of Training Cindy Carraway-Wilson has decades of experience leading professional development trainings in the child and youth care services sector. Today we highlight one of her upcoming educational opportunities: The Child and Youth Care Foundations Course.

Listen to our new Voices from the Field podcast with Steven Jella, Associate Executive Director for San Diego Youth Services. We discuss how his organization went from, “90% in-person services to 90% remote services in just 5 days” at the start of the pandemic, and how he has focused on preserving his workforce over this past year.

Today we launch The Foresight Initiative: an inquiry into how our field is rising to meet this moment of extraordinary disruption and uncertainty. Starting with a short survey we will learn what adaptations have worked, what practices have lost relevancy, and what innovations are being planned. Learn more about our new initiative and please take our survey!

The difficult realization at the core of our services for minor victims of trafficking is the acknowledgement that however nefarious and immoral the actions of traffickers may be, they are successful at meeting the needs of youth through their own manipulative and exploitive means. The only way we can compete with them is to demonstrate to victims, from the very first encounter, that we can help them in a compassionate and therapeutic manner.

There are some people who, for 20 or 30 years, have been doing direct service, on the ground seeing how families or communities transform or change, seeing their needs every single day — and a lot of times those people don't get the opportunity to influence how things go, where the money is spent, how programs are formed or how they're evaluated.

How about training young people to investigate issues and resources in their communities? How about teaching them how to collect and fact-check information, provide background and context, summarize it all for their peers — and do it in a way guaranteed to make adults take note?

Almost anyone who knows someone in middle or high school sees signs of the stress that is part of adolescence; I’ve talked with young people who cut, whose hair fell out in patches. But in these pandemic months, our stress has been as self-contained as everything else

As Covid-19 gripped the nation last year, the philanthropic sector greatly boosted its support for charitable and community organizations, and nonprofits can take a range of actions to encourage that generosity to continue.

Over the last many years, I’ve helped lots of nonprofits with strategic planning, and so have an enormous appreciation for what’s involved in creating a plan that’s not merely done for planning’s sake — but one that is tracked, adjusted, and evaluated in real time.

I’ve been involved with Youth Catalytics for many years, and I continue to marvel at its resilience and relevance even in extraordinary times such as these. One of the things I most admire is …

Yes, this has been a hellish last year of isolation, political insanity (almost literally), and economic struggle, but now — and even if it’s a bit premature — I can speak to how I am emerging. The fact is, I’m a better person

Ever since the pandemic began in March, we at Youth Catalytics have been talking about our collective...

The Homeless Youth Estimation Project is designed to provide a reliable estimate of the number of youth in any given school district who have left home and are living somewhere else — a car, a friend’s house, with a boyfriend or girlfriend — temporarily.

Happiness as a state of mind — rather than a passing emotional state — can be developed with practice. By cultivating workplace happiness, programs can both reduce employee turnover and increase client satisfaction.

After compiling the top answers from 25 stakeholder interviews, this Board realized that stakeholders’ #1 response to the question about where their organization was most successful was “I don’t know.”