Youth Policy Lab

News

Federal funding supports critical education research at the University of Michigan

Mar 21, 2025

A new brief from the Ford School's Education Policy Initiative and Youth Policy Lab shows the impact of federally funded education research. The policy-relevant research is developed in partnership with local and state agencies, practitioners, and...

Federal funding supports critical education research at the University of Michigan

In the Media

‘There doesn’t seem to be a rationale’: Michigan leaders react to US Department of Education cuts

Mar 12, 2025 WDIV Click On Detroit

University of Michigan Education Policy Professor Brian Jacob criticized the cuts. “There’s really very little thought going into what to cut, when to cut, and how much to cut. It’s kind of slash and burn,” said Jacob.Read on WDIV Click On...

In the Media

Jacob questions efficiency in the use of tech in classrooms

Jan 22, 2025 The Wall Street Journal

The Ford School's Brian Jacob recently spoke with The Wall Street Journal regarding his 2023 research survey on the use of technology in classrooms. Jacob's survey was conducted among 1,000 educators and showed technology is used for completing...

Jacob questions efficiency in the use of tech in classrooms

News

Cohodes, Jacob, and Weiland make Education Week’s 2025 public influence rankings

Jan 9, 2025

Education Week has announced the annual 2025 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings, which highlights scholars who made significant contributions to educational practice and policy in the past year.Three Ford School faculty members have been...

Cohodes, Jacob, and Weiland make Education Week’s 2025 public influence rankings

News

State program significantly reduces homelessness, utility insecurity, U-M report reveals

Dec 3, 2024

The pilot of a Michigan program created to help improve health outcomes for pregnant parents and their children shows positive impacts on families, including food and financial security and housing stability, according to a new report from the...

State program significantly reduces homelessness, utility insecurity, U-M report reveals

In the Media

Washtenaw County schools explore consolidating career technical education for consistency and equity

Nov 20, 2024 Concentrate

WISD partnered with the Youth Policy Lab at the University of Michigan to commission a report, released earlier this year, called “Inequities in CTE Access in Washtenaw County.”The report found that all students in Washtenaw County had access to...

Ann Arbor Student Building Industry Program students working on a house on Sedgewood Lane in Ann Arbor, thumbnail from YPL news article related to CTE report

Publication

Beating the odds: Students at Detroit public schools are less depressed, anxious

Nov 11, 2024

The share of 8th-12th grade students reporting depression and anxiety symptoms fell below pre-pandemic levels in 2022-23 in the Detroit Public School Community District—which is the opposite of national trends.The most substantial improvements were...

Beating the odds: Students at Detroit public schools are less depressed, anxious

Publication

Youth Policy Lab explores the impact of family engagement with educational technology

Aug 12, 2024

Family support for young learners—both during school and outside of school hours—can be crucial for developing key academic skills like reading. Gauging family support can be difficult, though, especially when multiple languages are involved, but...

Youth Policy Lab explores the impact of family engagement with educational technology

Publication

Small cash incentives boost participation in Medicaid home visiting program

Aug 8, 2024

Offering small cash incentives can significantly increase participation in a Medicaid home visiting program for pregnant people, infants and their families, according to a study by the Youth Policy Lab at University of Michigan.U-M researchers...

Pregnant person talking to another person

News

ASPIRE program bridges research and real-world impact

Aug 6, 2024

When Chaelee Farquarson learned about the Applied Social Policy Internship and Research Experience (ASPIRE), she applied out of curiosity. As a rising senior studying psychology at Spelman College, much of her research was theoretical.“I was drawn...

ASPIRE program bridges research and real-world impact

News

Youth Policy Lab celebrates growth and expansion in annual report

Aug 5, 2024

Since launching in 2016, The Youth Policy Lab (YPL) at the University of Michigan has helped community and government agencies make informed, impactful policy and program decisions. The most recent annual report shares remarkable growth and...

Youth Policy Lab celebrates growth and expansion in annual report

Publication

Disparities in career, technical education access found in Washtenaw County

Jul 29, 2024

Significant inequalities in career and technical education access have been found across Washtenaw County school districts, according to a report by the Youth Policy Lab at the University of Michigan.The analysis, titled "Inequities in CTE Access in...

Disparities in career, technical education access found in Washtenaw County

Publication

Study offers ways to boost participation in program promoting healthy pregnancies, infant growth

Jul 8, 2024

Home visiting programs are effective in promoting healthy pregnancies, birth outcomes and infant growth and development—and new University of Michigan research offers ways to increase participation among eligible families.Michigan's Maternal and...

Small cash incentives boost participation in Medicaid home visiting program

News

Youth Policy Lab welcomes Spelman and Morehouse students to 2024 ASPIRE Summer Program

May 24, 2024

Summer 2024 brings another exceptional cohort of undergraduate students from Spelman College and Morehouse College to the University of Michigan’s Applied Social Policy Internship and Research Experience (ASPIRE). Launched in 2023, the eight-week...

Youth Policy Lab welcomes Spelman and Morehouse students to 2024 ASPIRE Summer Program

News

Ford School researchers to study Michigan’s education governance

May 1, 2024

In partnership with the Michigan Department of Education (MDE), a team of researchers from the Ford School will conduct a study into how Michigan’s education governance system can be improved for the benefit of public school students.“An effective...

Ford School researchers to study Michigan’s education governance

In the Media

How the Flint water crisis set schoolchildren back

Mar 13, 2024 The Washington Post

School-age children affected by the water crisis in Flint, Mich., nearly a decade ago suffered significant and lasting academic setbacks, according to a study released Wednesday, showing the disaster’s profound impact on a generation of children.The...

Flint residents voice their concerns at Flint City Hall water meeting. Photo credit: Sam Owens

News

Youth Policy Lab fellowships bridge public policy and academic research

Mar 5, 2024

Since 2019, the Youth Policy Lab has partnered with the State of Michigan and with local school districts to place early-career professionals in government agencies to make specific, measurable improvements in policies and programs that impact...

Youth Policy Lab fellowships bridge public policy and academic research

News

School enrollment during COVID-19: U-M study reveals racial disparities

Feb 21, 2024

Student enrollment in districts that provided in-person schooling in fall 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic showed a greater decline among nonwhite students than white students.But in districts that offered virtual learning, the opposite was true,...

School enrollment during COVID-19: U-M study reveals racial disparities

In the Media

Students’ math outcomes have plummeted. Here’s what to do

Jan 2, 2024 Education Week

Math education across the country is in urgent need of redesign, and recent NAEP scores confirm there is no time to waste, with students showing the largest decline in math scores for 4th and 8th graders since 1990.Recent findings from the EdWeek...

$Two pencils lying next to a calculator$

Press Release

Chancellor David C. Banks announces new cohort of Next Generation Community Schools backed by partnership with the Robin Hood Foundation

Nov 6, 2023

NEW YORK, NY- Chancellor David C. Banks today announced that 20 Community Schools have been selected to participate in the Next Generation Community Schools (NGCS) pilot program. The K-8 pilot program is supported through the Robin Hood Foundation...

Chancellor David C. Banks announced that 20 Community Schools have been selected to participate in the Next Generation Community Schools (NGCS) pilot program. The K-8 pilot program is supported through the Robin Hood Foundation in the form of a $5.5 million grant over the course of three years. The Next Generation Community Schools Pilot Program integrates a high-quality, rigorous academic experience into the community school model in twenty K-5 and K-8 schools across the city.

News

Inaugural ASPIRE cohort enjoys rewarding summer research experience with the Youth Policy Lab

Aug 24, 2023

Summer 2023 proved to be eventful and rewarding for the inaugural Applied Social Policy Internship and Research Experience (ASPIRE) cohort. The program, a collaboration between the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and Spelman College, provided...

Inaugural ASPIRE cohort enjoys rewarding summer research experience with the Youth Policy Lab

News

Ford School welcomes PPIA 2023 cohort

Jun 19, 2023

The 2023 Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Junior Summer Institute (JSI) has welcomed 23 students from 11 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. This year’s cohort will spend seven weeks taking classes, participating in...

News

Spelman students chosen for the Youth Policy Lab’s summer policy research experience

May 23, 2023

This summer, four outstanding undergraduate students from Spelman College will participate in the University of Michigan’s Applied Social Policy Internship and Research Experience (ASPIRE)—a seven-week summer program run by the Youth Policy Lab...

Spelman students chosen for the Youth Policy Lab’s summer policy research experience

News

YPL wins grant to evaluate Michigan child welfare program

Apr 24, 2023

In Michigan, each year 140,000 children are investigated for suspected child abuse or neglect. Many of these youth end up in foster care, where they are especially vulnerable to long-term difficulties. Research has shown that children associated...

YPL wins grant to evaluate Michigan child welfare program

Publication

Jacob finds little benefit, large costs to pretrial juvenile detention

Apr 11, 2023

Despite the large number of youth detained in juvenile detention centers before a trial, little research has been conducted on the impact of this detainment on life outcomes. Publishing a new research brief for the Cato Institute, Brian Jacob,...

Jacob finds little benefit, large costs to pretrial juvenile detention

News

Ford School Fellow finds outlet in music

Mar 6, 2023

Downtown Ann Arbor’s thriving music scene attracts crowds of University of Michigan students to bars and music venues each weekend to see live bands perform.Some Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy students may be surprised to see a familiar face...

Ford School fellow finds outlet in music

News

Ford School welcomes local and state elected officials to boost collaborative work

Feb 16, 2023

Elected officials from local, county, and state government came to the Ford School to hear about the potential for collaborations with their offices and the School’s faculty, research centers, and students. Fifteen members of the Michigan State...

Ford School welcomes local and state elected officials to boost collaborative work

News

Ford School names Weill Scholars and Weill Youth Policy Fellows

Jan 24, 2023

Seven outstanding master’s students have been named as 2022 Weill Scholars and Weill Youth Policy Fellows. Weill Scholars Shirley Araiza Santaella (MPP ‘24), David Castro (MPP '24), Moriah Nacionales-Tafoya (MPP ‘24), Juan Sandoval (MPP ‘24), and...

Ford School names Weill Scholars and Weill Youth Policy Fellows

Publication

Jacob and Guardiola call for investment to address CTE access inequity across Michigan

Jan 3, 2023

As college tuition and resulting student debt continue to rise, and college completion rates for underserved students have declined, Career Technical Education (CTE) is increasingly seen as offering alternative paths to economic security. While CTE...

Jacob and Guardiola call for investment to address CTE access inequity across Michigan

State & Hill

COVID-19 and education: A tough time for all

Dec 19, 2022

Ford School education researchers look for answers By Shaun Manning From early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally altered public education in the United States. Many schools introduced remote learning for at least part of the 2020-2021...

COVID-19 and education: A tough time for all