Fordham University and Graham Windham will partner to co-develop trauma-informed, career-connected pathways for young people in the Bronx ages 18–26 who have been impacted by the child welfare system. The partnership centers two complementary programs: Graham SLAM, a coaching and mentoring program, and Graham WORKS, a workforce development program that connects participants to microcredentials, training, and internships, including opportunities at the Bronx Green Jobs Community Center. The partnership will use a mixed-methods, participatory design to examine how these programs shape young people’s motivation, well-being, and how they see themselves in relation to potential career pathways. Youth and caregivers will play active roles in the research process, helping to shape questions, interpret findings, and guide program improvements. Real-time data dashboards will support ongoing decision-making and strengthen services as the work unfolds. The project will build research-use capacity at Graham by developing staff expertise in improvement science, trauma-responsive practices, and effective university partnering. At Fordham’s Graduate School of Education, the team will revise promotion and tenure guidelines to recognize youth-led, co-authored, and translational scholarship; reform IRB templates, consent forms, and authorship protocols; and seed new microcredentials to support doctoral students pursuing community-engaged research.
This grant will strengthen the partnership between Fordham University and Graham.
