The Expelled and At-Risk Student Services (EARSS) program provides funding to implement educational and support services to expelled students, students at risk of being expelled, chronically absent and/or habitually truant students. Funds are annually appropriated to the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) for the purpose of making grants…

The Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program aims to reduce youth substance use by fostering multi-sector collaboration and implementing locally tailored strategies within the community. This study is among the first to evaluate the program's impact on youth development outcomes in the United States. Using the Callaway and Sant'Anna (2021)…

Unintentional injuries, such as pedestrian, bicycle, and drowning injuries--which are typically preventable when proper safety precautions are followed--are the leading cause of death among the pediatric population of the United States. The largest incidence of pediatric pedestrian injuries and fatalities occurs within Miami-Dade County (M-DC),…

The overriding aim of this study was to conduct a side-by-side comparative evaluation of two online suicide prevention gatekeeper-training programs: Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) and Making Educators Partners in Youth Suicide Prevention (MEP). Specific aims included identifying program components, instructional methods, and technology elements…

In Utah, public education is a community endeavor. It is shaped by the dedication and service of teachers, the curiosity of children, the commitment of families, and the support of policymakers and partners. This annual report reflects the collective effort that makes Utah's education system unique. The data and stories within shows the challenges…

Little is known about the outcomes of in-school comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) programmes two or more years after programme completion, particularly in low-income countries. "Projet Jeune Leader," a youth-founded Malagasy organisation, conducted a retrospective, qualitative evaluation of a CSE programme in Madagascar. The…

Objective: This study evaluated FITSTART+, a parent-based intervention (PBI), for preventing risky drinking among first-year college students. Participants: Participants were traditional first-year students aged between 17 and 20. Method: In total, 391 eligible students completed a baseline survey and their parents were then invited to use the…

The Global Research Agenda for Children with Disabilities (the Research Agenda) is a strategic framework that identifies priority research areas -- defined through a global research prioritization exercise -- to close critical evidence gaps, inform inclusive policies and programmes, and guide effective investments that support children with…

As evidence-based interventions are scaled, fidelity of implementation, and thus effectiveness, often wanes. Validated fidelity measures can improve researchers' ability to attribute outcomes to the intervention and help practitioners feel more confident in implementing the intervention as intended. We aim to provide a model for the validation of…

This statutory report presents the activities and accomplishments of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Inspector General (OIG) from October 1, 2024, through March 31, 2025. The audits, investigations, and related work highlighted in this report are products of OIG's mission to identify and stop fraud, waste, and abuse; and promote…

The Global Resilience Oral Workshops (GROW) Free and Strong programs take a strengths-based, positive youth development (PYD) approach to promoting thriving. Through both prevention (GROW Strong) and intervention (GROW Free) exercises, these programs aim to build character and emotional resilience while also lowering unhealthy alcohol use. To…

Drug use trends change rapidly among youth, leaving educators and researchers struggling to respond promptly. Widely adopted universal evidence-based interventions (EBIs), such as the Michigan Model for Health™ (MMH), and their delivery systems offer an opportunity to reach large youth populations and reduce the onset and escalation of emerging…

Similar to national trends, in Illinois, fatal opioid overdoses have risen. Black men (35+) outrank all other racial subgroups for the highest rate of fatal opioid overdoses in the state. To address this, Prevention First and the Illinois Department of Human Services developed a public health education campaign to support increasing enrollment in…

When the COVID-19 pandemic posed barriers to traditional school-based primary prevention programs for youth, interventions quickly pivoted to online delivery. While mindfulness-based programs include those that were adapted, research on their benefits and acceptance is limited. This study examined the 12-week Inner Strength mindfulness teen…

LifeSkills Training is the only program to prevent substance use disorder among adolescents that has evidence of effects on substance use outcomes from multiple randomized controlled trials. Evaluations have shown that the version for middle school students reduces their use of substances in high school, but these studies were conducted in the…