Through the YPL Policy Fellowship program, we work with partners to place early-career policy professionals in full time roles with state and local agencies in Michigan. The Fellows provide technical assistance and strategic support to achieve specific and measurable improvements in social policies and state programs that impact Michigan’s youth, their families, and their communities. The Fellows provide context around service delivery that informs YPL’s research and analysis work. And the Fellows gain valuable and practical experience to advance their skills and knowledge and support them in their career paths. It’s a Triple Win!
“The Youth Policy Lab Michigan Data & Policy Fellowship program has been incredibly helpful in advancing the Whitmer Administration’s talent initiatives over the past two years.”
- Kim Trent, MDLEO
Each of the Fellows are selected to participate in the program based on their educational and professional experience as well as their commitment to advancing their social sector career. Fellows:
- are recruited and hired by YPL to serve two-year, fixed term appointments
- are placed full-time in a state or local agency, reporting directly to an agency project lead
- have direct access to and support from UM faculty expertise
- receive mentorship and guidance from YPL Faculty and Staff Directors and Researchers
- learn alongside and support peer Policy Fellows as they tackle program challenges and uncover relevant insights
“The Data & Policy Fellowship program assures chosen Fellows have a top-notch skill set coupled with a drive for increasing knowledge and improving their assigned program area.”
- Dawn Shanafelt, MDHHS
Current Partnerships
DPSCD: Expanding School-Based Mental Health Supports to Detroit Students
With support from a U.S. Department of Education’s Institute for Educational Studies grant, this fellowship is embedded within the Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) to support a YPL-led evaluation of the TRAILS Tier 2 Early Intervention curriculum as it is implemented across 75+ DPSCD school buildings. The Tier 2 Early Intervention Curriculum trains school mental health professionals on principles of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and mindfulness, so that school staff can equip students with skills to manage common mental health concerns such as depression and anxiety.
DPSCD Fellow Megan Jagolinzer works out of DPSCD Headquarters at the Fisher Building in Detroit, where she helps coordinate research activities between DPSCD, TRAILS, and YPL. When Megan is not busy traveling to DPSCD schools to support Tier 2 implementation and data collection activities for the evaluation project, she works closely with teams at DPSCD, YPL, and TRAILS to support the rollout of a new school-based mental health curriculum across over 70 DPSCD schools.
MDHHS MIHP: Modernizing MIHP Program Interventions
With support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Michigan Health Endowment Fund and in partnership with the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services (MDHHS), this fellowship is embedded in the Maternal Infant Health Program (MIHP), focusing on modernizing MIHP program interventions and assessing variations in quality of MIHP services.
MIHP Fellow Dipita Das’s main projects at MIHP are 1) Revamping MIHP interventions and plans of care: updating evidence base for MIHP’s interventions and plans of care, and helping MIHP improve processes for initial enrollment and assessment; 2) Analyzing MIHP agency quality data: exploring data collected from MIHP’s network of service providers to inform statewide quality improvement initiatives and/or innovative outreach methods.
MDLEO: Improving Employment Outcomes for Justice Involved Michigan Residents
With support from the Michigan Justice Fund and the Public Welfare Foundation and in partnership with the Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Opportunity (MDLEO), this fellowship is embedded in the Office of Prosperity, focusing on improving employment outcomes for Michigan residents who have been involved in the criminal justice system.
MDLEO Justice Fellow Sophie Ordway’s main projects are: 1) Expanding access to apprenticeship programs: analyzing administrative data and conducting qualitative data collection to document access gaps and inequities, to inform strategies to expand participation in state-run apprenticeship programs; and 2) Supporting MDLEO’s strategic priorities around justice-involved individuals through Clean Slate process improvements and expanding housing access for justice-involved individuals.
MiLEAP Sixty by 30: Expanding Post-Secondary Educational Opportunitie
With support from the Kresge Foundation, Ralph C Wilson, Jr Foundation, and the Ballmer Group, and in partnership with Michigan Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP), this fellowship is embedded in the Office of Higher Education. Dimitri Przeslawski has been tasked with supporting efforts to expand post-secondary educational opportunities for Michigan residents.
Through this fellowship, Dimitri has developed a legislative report, highlighting successes of the Office of Higher Education, and drafted a data dashboard to improve information access. He has also examined data regarding community college participation with the corequisite model, through which community colleges provide opportunities for students to take pre-req courses at the same time as gateway courses. In addition, Dimitri has been analyzing data around transfer students in Michigan for those moving from two- to four-year institutions.
MiLEAP Early Childhood Fellowship (NOW HIRING!)
As part of a partnership with the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education and Potential (MILEAP) and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the University of Michigan Youth Policy Lab is hiring a Policy Fellow in 2025 to help strengthen access, affordability, and quality within Michigan’s early childhood education system. This new fellowship is designed to support the State’s efforts to expand PreK for all students in Michigan through three key projects:
- Early Childhood Data Landscape: The Fellow will conduct a landscape analysis of Michigan’s early childhood education data and its governance structure, with the goal of understanding the information that exists and where it is held. The Fellow will also conduct benchmark research on data systems from other states and communities to inform recommendations for a new system here in Michigan.
- Coordinated Enrollment System. MiLEAP has started exploring the possibility of implementing a coordinated enrollment system for early childhood services, which would streamline information provision and enrollment in services across the state. To develop an implementation roadmap for this system, the Fellow will research the barriers that the State would need to address as well as offer evidence-based recommendations for a successful rollout of a system.
- Curriculum and Professional Development Alignment. MiLEAP is interested in understanding how curricula and professional development are aligned between PreK and kindergarten to facilitate student achievement. The Fellow will research preschool and kindergarten curriculum and best practices to identify policy and/or administrative changes that will improve the transition between Pre-K and kindergarten.
Interested in learning more about becoming a YPL Fellow, or partnering with YPL to host a fellow at your organization? Contact us at YouthPolicyLab@umich.edu
Team members
Partners
