Education
Smithsonian for Kids
www.smithsonian.kids.us
The Smithsonian’s online museum for adolescents is excellent in its simplicity. The site features three exhibits at a time on topics as varied as space travel and American presidents, with the exhibits rotating every few months. The information is chopped into kid-size chunks and accompanied by the high-quality visuals one would expect from the Smithsonian.
Employment
Streaming Futures
www.streamingfuture.com
An online career program sure to enlighten teens on the struggles and rewards of working toward a productive future. The site features 15- to 20-minute interviews with people in various professions, including art, business, politics and journalism, in which they discuss decisions they’ve made throughout their lives that helped them succeed. The segments are scripted enough to consistently provide crucial information, but different enough that they aren’t repetitive. The site, operated by youths in Herndon, Va., is part of the Nortel Network Kidz Online program.
Safety
Children’s Safety Network National Injury and Violence Prevention Resource Center
www.childrenssafetynetwork.org
This online information bank for the national network of safety resource centers is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The site features links to safety network publications for adults working in child safety, as well as to documents on seemingly every youth safety issue, ranging from fire and poison to child labor and violence. Also included are news updates on youth safety and violence.
Substance Abuse
Alcohol Cost Calculator
www.alcoholcostcalculator.org/kids
Allows viewers to find the number of 12- to 20-year-olds in their states or communities with serious alcohol problems, as well as the number who will not receive treatment for the problems. The findindgs, based on averaged data from 2001 and 2002 surveys by the Department of Health and Human Services, estimate that about 8 percent of youth ages 12 to 20 have such a problem, and only 17 percent will receive treatment for it. An excellent resource for advocates and researchers. Operated by the George Washington University Medical Center.
Violence
OVC Directory of Crime Victim Services
http://ovc.ncjrs.org/findvictimservices
An invaluable resource for any youth worker seeking money to help children in dire situations. The searchable database uses cross-references to pinpoint local programs for specific needs that are funded by the Office of Victim Services (part of the U.S. Department of Justice). For example, a visitor can search for programs that provide group counseling to child abuse victims in California or emergency financial help for sexual abuse victims in Alabama.
Youth Development
National Youth Development Information Center
www.nydic.org
The premier resource for youth workers on the Internet has been revamped to provide more updated information in a much simpler layout and format. Links to funding, staffing and training opportunities are supplemented with connections to recent and archived research on youth development. Operated by the National Collaboration for Youth.
