Recent Work by Rooted-Growth
Alumni Study on Context, Strength-Based Resilience, and Educational, Sexual Health, and Economic Well-Being Outcomes
2019; 2023 – 2024 ~ Detroit, MI
Rooted-Growth was hired twice, five years apart, to assess a nonprofit’s impact on its alumni. This mixed methods evaluation looked at the impact of the nonprofit’s programming on key identified outcomes and what alumni prioritized as areas for focus going forward.
Most significant from the findings was the organization’s ability to create safe spaces to learn where students gained leadership skills and resilient developmental outcomes. Alumni attributed their positive self-concept and self-determination to this after-school program and shared that its impact lasted years long after they left the program.
When compared to their contextual counterparts, these alumni did better on educational, economic, and sexual health outcomes.
Equity in Education 10-Year Systems Change Study
2023 – 2024 ~ Denver, CO
Career Self-Efficacy Training, Culturally Informed Transitions, and Financial Literacy
2021 – 2024 ~ Detroit, MI
An urban nonprofit hired Rooted-Growth to assess career exploration and self-efficacy training, serving over 2,500 middle and high school youths over three years. The nonprofit used the Hats and Ladders app and developed a trauma-informed social-emotional learning and financial literacy curriculum. This federally funded evaluation looked at dosage, reach, fidelity to the model, quality, and outcomes across three years.
Youth Inclusive City Initiative
2021 – 2024 ~ Detroit, MI
An urban nonprofit engaged youth and community members to identify key systemic barriers that reduce the likelihood youth thrive. Youth and community members prioritized areas for change while the backbone organization increased outreach, awareness, and community engagement. This federally funded project resulted in a Detroit Youth Action Cabinet and Steering Committee, a Detroit Youth Action Plan, and a framework. The evaluation used the social determinants of health framework across the three years to guide the design, development of surveys, and qualitative analysis.
Operationalizing a Citywide Youth Inclusive Framework
2024 ~ Detroit, MI
Rooted-Growth was re-hired after the Youth Inclusive City federal grant initiative to operationalize the developed framework. Rooted-Growth identified measures and widely available statistics the city could monitor over the next few years as the initiative grows.
