Milagros Chocce

During the 2022-23 school year,  Youth Policy Lab partnered with TRAILS (Transforming Research into Action to Improve the Lives of Students) to evaluate the implementation and impact of its Tier 1 Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum as part of a statewide expansion in two intermediate school districts in Michigan. To assess the program's effects on student outcomes related to social-emotional well-being and mental health, a one-year, school-level randomized control trial was conducted. Students and staff from approximately 40 schools gave feedback through surveys at the beginning an...

Funder: U.S. Department of EducationThe Youth Policy Lab launched an three-year evaluation during the 2022-23 school year in a large urban school district, focusing on the implementation and effectiveness of the TRAILS Early Intervention program (TRAILS-EI). This Tier 2 school-based program is designed to enhance social and behavioral outcomes in students affected by mental health concerns by increasing the delivery of evidence-based practices, ultimately aiming to improve academic performance. TRAILS-EI seeks to raise awareness and understanding of mental health, improve the accurate and time...

In 2019, Youth Policy Lab partnered with TRAILS (Transforming Research into Action to Improve the Lives of Students) and the Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment. This initiative was designed to guide future activities and establish a baseline for evaluation by gathering data from 3,500 DPSCD staff, 11,000 students in grades 8-12, 800 family members, as well as DPSCD Police and community mental health agencies.

As evaluation partners for Project AWARE—a Michigan Department of Education-Michigan Department of Health and Human Services initiative on youth mental health—YPL examined a variety of efforts by state and local agency partners to better support students’ healthy development.  Youth Policy Lab worked with the Project AWARE team to design and implement a multifaceted assessment of the five-year initiative’s success in increasing mental health awareness, strengthening interagency collaboration, and streamlining service coordination in three participating communities across the state.

Funder: Arnold VenturesChronic absenteeism can interfere with students' learning and overall school engagement. National Heritage Academies (NHA) is investing resources in strategies to improve attendance and is partnering with YPL to learn which approaches are most effective for different groups of students and across different school settings. This project involves two complementary interventions to improve student attendance. The first is a text messaging program for parents, and the second is a case management intervention in which a dedicated school staff member works one-on-one with stud...