The middle school years offer key moments in which to educate young people and their parents about healthy relationships and teen dating violence prevention. Programs that are doing this work should meet youth where they spend their time, such as in schools, and engage a range of community partners. And when these programs are effective in engaging youth as advocates and peer leaders, they can have lasting benefits.

Those are among the lessons that adolescent experts, researchers and advocates shared with representatives from diverse federal agencies at a forum on July 20, 2010 at the United States Department of Justice.