Povertysolutions IMPACT 2018 UNIVERSITY of MICHIGAN | 1
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REPORT IMPACT 2018 poverty.umich.edu | #PovertySolutions UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN | 1 WELCOME TO THE 2018 POVERTY SOLUTIONS IMPACT REPORT. This report provides a snapshot of our accomplishments of the past year. Our work aims to address the most pressing economic mobility challenges PROJECTS SUPPORTED of our time, and progress is only possible because we do it together — through partnerships with university units, community, policymakers, and practitioners MORE THAN ACROSS CAMPUS across the state and nation. We invite you to learn more and to join us in 30 these efforts. 120 FACULTY AFFILIATES INSIDE THIS REPORT ACROSS U-M’S THREE CAMPUSES, 15+ LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT 2 SPECIALIZING IN PROJECTS SUPPORTED LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR 3 ECONOMIC GROWTH, HEALTH, IN THE CITY OF + DETROIT 4 HOUSING, AND MORE DETROIT THROUGH THE PARTNERSHIP ON SEEDING SOLUTIONS 12 100STUDENTS INVOLVED ECONOMIC MOBILITY poverty.umich.edu | #PovertySolutions ADDRESSING BARRIERS IN OUR OWN BACKYARD 14 THROUGH: IN SERVICE TO OUR STATE 18 RESEARCH ASSISTANT CREATING CONVERSATIONS 20 ATTRACTED AN ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES PROVIDING ACCELERATING TRAINING 24 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ON MORE THAN 20 PROJECTS A DEEPER COMMITMENT 28 $ OUR TEAM 29 + THE CASC CERTIFICATE 8 MILLION PROGRAM IN EXTERNAL FUNDING FOR IMPORTANT THE SPEAKER SERIES PROJECTS HAPPENING ACROSS U-M COURSE 2 | POVERTY SOLUTIONS IMPACT REPORT UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN | 3 We know that effectively addressing the complex Beyond providing opportunities to individual youth, this We collaborate whenever possible, both with internal First and foremost, action is required across all causes and consequences of poverty cannot be done by program is the core of a research study to explore the partners at U-M and with external policymakers and systems and sectors. Government can’t do it alone, nor any one group or organization, so we have collaborated lifelong impact of this approach to poverty amelioration. community stakeholders. We work toward being can community-based groups. Employers, universities, to launch bold partnerships to bring the best solutions responsive to the needs and interests of our partners, and decision-makers from the broader region must to the table. We have also expanded our grant program to include rather than allowing our own priorities to drive the be a part of the solution. Collective impact means all three U-M campuses, and we continue to support work. And we seek to address concrete challenges identifying common goals and organizing the actions Our Detroit Partnership on Economic Mobility, a community-academic connections that we know are faced by disadvantaged families across systems such of actors to achieve those goals. (Read more about our collaboration between Poverty Solutions and the city essential to effectively addressing poverty. as housing, transportation, employment, and health. partnership efforts in Detroit beginning on p. 4.) of Detroit, is off to a fast start, with projects pairing dozens of U-M experts with city departments and I thank Luke Shaefer, his many colleagues, and our Building on this progress, we’re looking forward to As we continue to deepen our engagement with Detroit, community groups. passionate students across the breadth of U-M for deepening our impact this year, especially in Detroit. we have also focused on service to the state, through their outstanding work to make Poverty Solutions our work on homelessness and housing instability This past October, we enhanced our efforts by so impactful. I also appreciate the many individuals We know Detroit is a city with a proud history. The city (p. 18), early childhood education, and partnership launching a new collaboration with Harvard University’s and organizations that support this initiative either is blessed with rich cultural institutions and natural efforts underway in Washtenaw County (p. 14). Poverty Solutions at the University Opportunity Insights initiative. Together, we are applying through collaboration or philanthropy, enhancing its Poverty Solutions has come a long assets. Yet for too long, Detroit has ranked as the of Michigan has made tremendous knowledge from big data on a neighborhood level in inspiring work. way since it was formally announced poorest large city in America. We’ve also made strides to extend our work by Detroit, providing insight on successes and failures attracting an additional $8 million in external funding progress in tackling one of the in serving children within the city, helping to identify Poverty Solutions brings together U-M’s academic in fall 2016. We have supported But today there is significant reason for optimism. A for important projects happening across the university. great challenges we face in our needed supports, and gaining a better understanding excellence and the commitment of the Michigan family nearly 30 projects in 15 of U-M’s revitalized city government means that core services This includes a new program to pilot a “Mobility from society. of what interventions are productive. to address some of society’s biggest challenges. The 19 schools and colleges. are back on track, and the city is engaged in numerous Poverty Network” with other universities in Midwest depth and breadth of our academic excellence ensure efforts to improve the lives of its residents. Parts of communities. In Ann Arbor, the Summer Youth Employment Program that the University of Michigan is uniquely positioned — the city are unrecognizable from two decades prior. The initiative has become a central component of has significantly expanded in size, giving more young and therefore uniquely obligated — to address complex We’ve formed new partnerships and deepened Midtown and downtown are vibrant; businesses are Thank you for your interest in Poverty Solutions. I invite how we fulfill our mission as a public university to adults access to enriching summer work and exposure issues such as poverty and inequality. existing ones, and developed systems, a theory of moving in and rents have skyrocketed. you to learn more about our efforts in the pages that produce the very best in research, education, and to our campus. Tyisha Thompson (p.15), who worked as change, and modes of work. follow. We look forward to deepening our partnerships service of value to society. Poverty Solutions is making an office assistant at the Institute for Social Research, Sincerely, The true test of a recovery, however, is whether it can with policymakers and communities to prevent and a difference by deepening important community found the program to be so beneficial she returned the Mark Schlissel Our collective accomplishments, many of them lift up everyone. Can we, collectively, do something alleviate poverty in Michigan, the nation, and the world. relationships, contributing to a broader and more following year to U-M’s Athletic Department. There, she President, University of Michigan highlighted in the pages that follow, are enabled by transformational to radically bolster economic mobility insightful national conversation on poverty and worked alongside the department’s career counselors what we do with our partners — both here at U-M and reduce poverty? How does a major city even do Sincerely, economic mobility, and informing important policies who assist our student-athletes — and in the process, and across the state and nation. such a thing? H. Luke Shaefer and programs. she developed job skills and learned about college life. Director, Poverty Solutions U-M PRESIDENT MARK SCHLISSEL POVERTY SOLUTIONS DIRECTOR H. LUKE SHAEFER 4 | POVERTY SOLUTIONS IMPACT REPORT UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN | 5 AREAS OF FOCUS JOBS: A THRIVING WORKFORCE EDUCATION: A PATH TO THE PARTNERSHIP ON Even as the economy has improved, unemploy- EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE ment among low-educated workers, especially Education, poverty, and socioeconomic mobility ECONOMIC MOBILITY those living in high-poverty areas in Detroit, are closely linked. A quality education can improve remains high. Poverty Solutions is collaborating labor markets and non-pecuniary outcomes that Through the Partnership on Economic Mobility between Poverty with several agencies in Detroit to help more help individuals and families escape poverty. Solutions and the City of Detroit Mayor’s Office, we have committed residents find family-supporting work. Some of Poverty Solutions is collaborating with the to making our work in Detroit a signature effort of our initiative. With our recent activities in the city: community to: staff members embedded at City Hall, others active in the community, and deeply engaged faculty from across U-M’s campus, we aim to be » Providing research and data analysis to » Evaluate a collective impact a backbone organization for working in partnership with Detroit support Detroit Employment Solutions neighborhood strategy to improve communities and the city to catalyze an anti-poverty agenda, build Corporation’s (DESC) workforce development third-grade reading outcomes. capacity to implement key elements of that agenda, and pursue an effort system redesign. to radically bolster economic mobility and reduce poverty citywide. » Help track the progress of the citywide » Analyzing completion and employment Campaign for Grade Level Reading. Partnership projects are already underway pairing dozens of U-M “We are beginning to make outcomes for individuals provided with a experts with the leadership of city departments including health, training voucher through DESC’s Detroit HOUSING: A STABLE PLACE TO » Set and track postsecondary completion