Building on earlier announcements about the “TAG,” Think, Act ,Grow, HHS’s Office of Adolescent Health is continuing their efforts regarding a national call to action to improve the health and healthy development of America’s 42 million adolescents.

Adolescent Health: Think, Act, Grow, or TAG, calls on youth-serving professionals, families, and youth to take action by using some of their data, information and resources. The latest edition includes the TAG Playbook a guide to TAG that provides a framework for actions that organizations and individuals can take to improve adolescent health.

The Playbook is built around the Five Essentials for Healthy Adolescents. Through a series of consultations, the five elements were designed, the Five Essentials for Healthy Adolescents central to a framework to be a healthy, adolescents include:

 

Positive connections with supportive people

Safe and secure places to live, learn and play

Access to high-quality, teen-friendly health care

Opportunities for teens to engage as learners, leaders, team members and workers

Coordinated, adolescent-and Family Centered Services As Needed

You can find many online resources at https://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/tag/ and statistical tables through the adolescent health topics tab