We are proud to announce six new research grants, totaling over $3.2 million, in support of five studies on programs, policies, and practices with potential to reduce inequality in youth outcomes and one study on strategies for improving the use of research evidence in ways that benefit young people. Approved at the most recent meeting of the Foundation’s Trustees, these grants will help build theory and empirical evidence in our two focus areas.
In the reducing inequality focus area, studies will examine how schools can effectively implement restorative justice practices; whether the development of an affirmative parenting measure may improve mental health outcomes for sexual and gender minority youth; whether a culturally responsive, trauma-informed intervention can mitigate the effects of violence and discrimination among Latinx families; whether a school-level intervention reduces violence and suicidality among Black youth; and how bail reform may reduce racial and ethnic disparities in criminal justice, health, and housing outcomes.
The study in the use of research evidence focus area proposes the first randomized-controlled trial examining whether and how youth participatory action research (YPAR) improves research use and whether it affects school-wide youth outcomes, not just for students who participate in the YPAR process.
“From developing parenting measures to examining whether interventions reduce the harms of violence, this cohort of studies will deepen our understanding of strategies to support youth and their families and ultimately reduce inequality in youth outcomes. We are proud to support these grantees as they advance research to improve the lives of young people,” said Senior Program Officer Jenny Irons, who oversees grants in the reducing inequality focus area.
“The evidence is clear: Youth participatory action research effectively engages and empowers students while equipping school leaders with relevant evidence to inform their decision-making. We are excited by the rigorous assessment of YPAR proposed by Kornbluh and colleagues, which will examine conditions to improve research use and student outcomes,” said Program Officer Anupreet Sidhu, who oversees grants on improving the use of research evidence.
Focus Area: Reducing Inequality
Navigating Turbulent Waters: Redressing Educational Inequality Through Restorative Practices in a Changing Sociopolitical Environment
Tasminda Dhaliwal and Jerome Graham, Dept. of Educational Administration, Michigan State University; Kaitlin P. Anderson, American Institutes for Research
$599,062, 7/1/2026 – 6/30/2028
How can schools effectively implement restorative justice practices that reduce racial and disability status inequalities in school discipline?
Students of color and students with disabilities are disproportionately suspended or expelled from school compared to their peers. Restorative practices, which emphasize relationship-building, reparation of harm, and non-punitive responses to behavior, hold promise for reducing exclusionary discipline overall, but evidence is mixed on whether the approach reduces inequalities. In partnership with three Michigan school districts that adopted the same restorative practices approach in 2022 with an explicit commitment to reducing exclusionary discipline disparities by race and disability status, Dhaliwal and colleagues will use a qualitative comparative case study design to examine how the organizational-level execution of the approach may reduce inequalities. Over two years, they will conduct observations, interviews with teachers, and focus groups with students, along with document analysis, to examine how the schools, which vary in terms of student demographics, disciplinary inequalities, and political context, are making progress toward reducing inequalities in discipline by race and disability status and how this process is perceived by teachers and students. Findings will provide insight into the mechanisms through which restorative practices may reduce inequalities and into how students experience the approach.
Addressing Inequality in Mental Health by Developing a Measure of Affirmative Parenting of Sexual and Gender Minority Youth
Melissa Lippold and William J. Hall, School of Social Work, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; W. Roger Mills-Koonce, School of Education, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
$599,817, 9/1/2026 – 8/31/2029
Can the development of a parenting measure capture affirmative behaviors that may improve mental health outcomes for LGBTQ+ youth?
LGBTQ+ youth experience significant inequality in mental health challenges compared to their heterosexual and cisgender peers, which can have long-term negative consequences. While parenting is a key protective factor that can promote resilience against such stressors, existing research on parenting is largely focused on general populations with a cis- or heteronormative lens, tends to focus on negative parental behaviors toward LGBTQ+ youth, and/or assumes a deficit approach. Building on pilot work, Lippold and colleagues will develop a measure of affirmative parenting of LGBTQ+ youth to identify strengths-based parenting strategies that can improve mental health outcomes.. The team will draft an initial scale based on pilot findings and prior literature. They will then seek independent feedback from a Delphi panel of four experts and conduct cognitive interviews with 20 LGBTQ+ youth. They will evaluate the structure, validity, and reliability of the measure and its association with other aspects of parenting and youth mental health. Finally, they will test for measurement equivalence of the AP-SYGMY by race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, and gender identity. The study may inform research and intervention development on affirmative parenting of LGBTQ+ youth.
Trauma-informed Understanding and Violence Intervention with Discrimination Awareness to Take Action (TUVIDA) for Youth and Caregivers: Empowering Latinx Families against Violence and Discrimination
Roberto Lopez-Tamayo and Liza Suarez, Institute of Juvenile Research, Dept. of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago
$449,902, 7/1/2026 – 6/30/2029
Is a culturally responsive, trauma-informed intervention a feasible and acceptable approach to mitigating the effects of violence and discrimination among Latinx families?
Latino adolescents from immigrant and economically disadvantaged families may experience elevated exposure to community violence, family stress, unfair treatment, and limited access to supportive resources. These experiences can increase the risk of youth aggression, family conflict, and difficulties in caregiver–youth relationships. Lopez-Tamayo and colleagues will evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary outcomes of a culturally and linguistically tailored, trauma-informed intervention designed to strengthen protective skills among Latino adolescents and their caregivers. The research team will conduct a two-arm pilot randomized controlled trial using a wait-list delayed-intervention design. Preliminary outcome analyses will estimate changes in youth aggression, family conflict, and caregiver–youth relationship quality. The team will also collect qualitative data through bilingual focus groups with adolescents and caregivers and through open-ended survey responses. Findings will inform the potential integration of TUVIDA into community-based organizations, after-school programs, and schools serving Latino families and will provide the feasibility and preliminary outcome data needed to design a subsequent, adequately powered effectiveness trial.
Strengthening Opportunities for Achievement and Resilience (SOAR): Implementation and Evaluation of a School-Level Intervention to Reduce Disparities in Youth Violence and Suicidality
Krista Mehari, Dept. of Public Health, Michigan State University; Benterah Morton, Perspectives Education and Leadership Consulting; Albert Farrell, Dept. of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University
$599,150, 2/01/2027 – 7/31/2028
Can a school-level intervention reduce violence and suicidality among Black youth by increasing equity in disciplinary practices and curriculum?
Violence and suicide disproportionately affect Black youth. Interpersonal violence accounts for 42% of deaths among Black youth and 8% of deaths among White youth ages 15-19, and suicide rates increased 250% among Black youth from 2001-2020. However, current violence and suicide prevention strategies have limited effectiveness in predominantly Black communities and among Black youth, likely due to their focus on the individual level and their failure to address youths’ social contexts. This study will examine whether SOAR (Strengthening Opportunities for Achievement and Resilience), a school-level intervention, can reduce violence and suicidality by promoting school climate and student engagement. Using a school-level multiple baseline design, the team will combine data on discipline, violence, suicidal ideation, and completed suicides with survey data from school personnel and students to examine intervention effects. Findings may provide a novel strategy for reducing violence and suicide among Black youth.
The Impact of Pretrial Detention on Youth Justice, Health Equity, Eviction, and Racial/Ethnic Disparities: Evidence from the SAFE-T Act in Illinois
Susan Parker and Alexander Lundberg, Dept. of Emergency Medicine, Northwestern University
$437,175, 7/01/2026 – 6/30/2029
What is the impact of bail reform on reducing racial and ethnic disparities in criminal justice, health, and housing outcomes?
By age 23, nearly one in three Americans will have been arrested, with Black youth experiencing disproportionately high rates of contact with the justice system. While bail is meant to ensure defendants show up to court, many cannot afford it and end up in pretrial detention, which is linked to worse outcomes in the justice system. In 2023, Illinois became the first state in the nation to abolish monetary bail and redirect lower-level misdemeanor arrests away from pretrial detention entirely. Lundberg and Parker will examine whether and how monetary bail reform reduces racial and ethnic inequalities in criminal justice, health, and eviction outcomes for young people. They will use a difference-in-differences approach to estimate reform impacts on criminal justice, health, and housing outcomes using a novel linkage of individual-level court and health records. They will use an expanded triple difference-in-differences model to examine whether bail reform reduces inequality between Blacks and Hispanic young adults compared to White young adults across each outcome domain. Findings can inform policymakers as jurisdictions around the country consider potential reforms to monetary bail.
Focus Area: Improving the Use of Research Evidence
Can a youth participatory action research intervention successfully improve the use of youth-generated research evidence in school decision-making to influence school climate outcomes for youth?
Mariah Kornbluh, Dept. of Psychology, University of Oregon; Michelle Abraczinskas, Dept. of Family, Youth, and Community Sciences, University of Florida; Jennifer Watling Neal, Dept. of Psychology, Michigan State University; Henry May, Center for Research in Education and Social Policy (CRESP) University of Delaware
$849,007, 7/01/2026 – 6/30/2030
Can a youth participatory action research intervention successfully improve the use of youth-generated research evidence in school decision-making to influence school climate outcomes for youth?
Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) is a form of community-based participatory research that centers youth voices in identifying research problems, helps generate localized knowledge, and promotes positive youth development. Prior research shows that YPAR strengthens student engagement and agency while producing timely, accessible evidence. But little is known about how to encourage mid-level managers’ use of youth-generated research to shape school policies and practices or how that use affects student outcomes. Previous research on Peer Leaders Uniting Students (PLUS), a broad scale YPAR approach focused on improving school climate, identified optimal conditions to nurture research use for mid-level managers. Building on these findings, Kornbluh and colleagues propose the first randomized-controlled trial to examine whether and how youth-generated research improves research use and whether it also affects school-wide youth outcomes, not just for students who participate in the YPAR process. Findings will contribute to YPAR and use of research evidence literature by assessing impact on broader youth outcomes and factors that may contribute to it.
