Departments and Research Centers

Youth Policy Lab

The Youth Policy Lab coordinates activities to provide information and analyses that social services organizations need to do their jobs most effectively.

Showing 31 - 60 of 176 results

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...

In the Media

Jacob on the effects of SEL in schools

May 18, 2023 Hour Detroit

Robin Tepper Jacob, Hour Detroit: “Social-emotional learning involves teaching students about self-awareness, self-management, social skills, and responsible decision-making,” says Robin Tepper Jacob, faculty co-director and founder of the Youth...

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...

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,...

Photo of Brian Jacob standing at the Annenberg Auditorium podium, delivering remarks at a public event

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...

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...

Local Public Officials at the Ford School

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...

Headshots of Shirley Araiza Santaella, David Castro, Christiana Verdelus, Juan Sandoval, Moriah Nacionales-Tafoya, Eneida Hysi, and Paloma Ramos

Publication

Groundbreaking data from College and Beyond II help researchers examine diverse college experiences

Jan 10, 2023

Researchers have known for decades that attending college is associated with wide-ranging benefits to individuals and society. What is not entirely clear are the mechanisms that connect these beneficial outcomes with the undergraduate experience....

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...

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...

Photo of a teacher in a classroom, speaking to a young student who is seated at their desk

State & Hill

Data for good: Expanding college opportunity in Michigan

Dec 19, 2022

By Daniel Rivkin When the state of Michigan issued its COVID-19 stay at home order in March 2020, Youth Policy Lab (YPL) Data and Policy Fellow Ava Attari found herself in the middle of an ambitious state program. The thousands of workers who had...

News

Tompkins-Stange weighs in on no-strings-attached donations

Dec 5, 2022

Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott is changing the world of education philanthropy by giving no-strings-attached, multimillion-dollar donations to schools. Megan Tompkins-Stange, associate professor of public policy, analyzed the donations, and the...

News

Jacob breaks down increasing importance of school board elections

Oct 23, 2022

With midterms quickly approaching, school board races are getting increasing attention. Brian Jacob, Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Education Policy, explained to WWMT Channel 3. “School boards I think even before COVID had started being more...

News

U-M Youth Policy Lab and TRAILS to study effectiveness of student mental health programming

Aug 18, 2022

The University of Michigan’s Youth Policy Lab (YPL) and TRAILS (Transforming Research into Action to Improve the Lives of Students) have been awarded a $3.8 million grant by the U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences (IES). The...

Photo of a young child facing away from the camera and looking into a laptop computer screen, their arms held against their chest with their hands folded up below their ears

In the Media

YPL affiliate Awilda Rodriguez on why test-optional admissions policies fall short of their promise

Jul 24, 2022 The Hechinger Report

In an opinion piece for The Hechinger Report, YPL faculty affiliate Awilda Rodriguez outlines the reasons why a test-optional approach isn’t necessarily a game changer for more equitable college admissions. In response to the pandemic, many...

State & Hill

Discourse: Ford School faculty in the news, spring 2022

May 31, 2022

“(Putin) has already violated every international treaty, including the U.N. charter, by invading. This has international implications, not just European implications. Now, the question of what we do and how we do it, with regards to sanctions or...

Headshots of Melvyn Levitsky, Brian Jacob, Natasha Pilkauskas, Katherine Michelmore, Justin Wolfers, and Barry Rae

News

Math games: High 5s program brings the 'math out of play'

Apr 11, 2022

TAYLOR—While groups of first graders work in clusters at pods around the classroom, four children face their teacher at a U-shaped desk, backs straight and eyes alert as she deals cards to each of them. They're playing "Chocolate Chip Count," a...

Photo of young students, each reading a book, seated around a small classroom table

Publication

YPL study calls for mental health training and support of DPSCD staff

Mar 7, 2022

Schools are a promising setting for mental health services – they meet students where they are, surrounded by adults that they trust. Yet more research is needed to determine the most effective way to deliver those services within schools. In a...

Photo of a teacher and three young elementary school students around a classroom table

In the Media

Jacob weighs in on chronic absenteeism

Feb 27, 2022 Chillicothe Gazette

Across the country, schools are struggling with chronic absenteeism. Brian Jacob, Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Education Policy, weighed in on the issue. "Even before we figure out if we should improve the curriculum, at the basic level you...

In the Media

Jacob discusses chronic absenteeism fueled by pandemic

Feb 20, 2022 The Columbus Dispatch

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools across the nation are struggling with rising absenteeism rates. Brian Jacob, Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Education Policy, weighed in on the issue. "There was a once-in-a-century global public...

In the Media

Social and emotional learning especially important for students during pandemic - YPL

Jan 12, 2022 The 74

Social and emotional learning has become very important for schools as students adjust to the many changes they have had to endure during the pandemic. According to Robin Jacob, co-director of the Youth Policy Lab, Detroit students were experiencing...

News

YPL co-director-led project to receive $8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education

Dec 15, 2021

Over a five-year period, Reading Partners and third-party education program evaluator, MDRC, will receive $8 million in Education Innovation and Research (EIR) funding through the U.S. Department of Education in order to expand Reading Partners’...

News

Ford School names Weill Youth Policy Fellow and Weill Scholars

Oct 12, 2021

The Ford School recognizes three outstanding master’s students—Paolo Mutia (MPP/MSI ‘24) and Anna D. Nguyen (MPP/MSI ‘24) as Weill Scholars and Sharon Ceron Espinosa (MPP ‘23) as the Weill Youth Policy Fellow. All three are recipients of the...

Weill Hall entrance with "Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy" etched into the glass

News

Jacob and Parthasarathy receive prestigious University awards

Oct 11, 2021

Brian Jacob and Shobita Parthasarathy have been recognized by the University of Michigan Provost for their scholarly contributions, teaching, and service to the University. They will be honored with other faculty members at a dinner and ceremony on...

Photo of Shobita Parthasarathy and Brian Jacob

State & Hill

Building strength

Jun 10, 2021

With new leading-edge research and faces at the school, the Ford School builds depth in two key policy areas. Energy and the environment Economics, political science, psychology, and community engagement are at the roots of the Ford School’s...

News

YPL report: Pre-COVID, more than half of Detroit students felt anxious or depressed, 1 in 4 considered suicide

Jun 10, 2021

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, serious mental health concerns impacted a significant portion of students in Detroit public schools, a new report shows. More than half of student respondents in the Detroit Public Schools Community District had...

News

Examining Detroit students' college pathways

May 26, 2021

Academic and non-academic barriers are preventing Detroit high school students from enrolling and succeeding in college. Detroit Students’ College Pathways and Outcomes, a policy brief released by the Youth Policy Lab (YPL) at the University of...

Publication

Career and technical education offers pathways for students with disabilities in Michigan

May 13, 2021

Career and Technical Education (CTE) could offer one way of bolstering educational attainment among and providing valuable job skills to students with disabilities (SWD). A new release by the Youth Policy Lab at the Ford School looks at CTE...

In the Media

Amid border surge, Lin discusses immigration reform

Mar 22, 2021 Sinclair Broadcast Group

“It matters in the sense that members of Congress and the president will be worried about the public reaction to the surge might affect the willingness to support either of these bills,” said Ann Lin, as a surge of migrants — including unaccompanied...

Photo of Ann Chih Lin in Weill Hall's 2nd floor hallway

In the Media

Youth Policy Lab finds metro Detroit is slipping in college readiness

Feb 3, 2021 Detroit Free Press

U-M's Youth Policy Lab (YPL) analyzed data for the Detroit Regional Chambers "2021 State of Education" report, finding "a sober assessment of education attainment in the Detroit region." "With many key enrollment and attainment indicators trending...