The City of Birmingham, FUSE, and Woodlawn United are working together to make it easier for families in Woodlawn-Kingston to reach the education, health, housing, and social supports they need. Over more than a decade, Woodlawn United has built a strong local ecosystem of schools, youth organizations, housing partners, and city stakeholders, and the City is advancing its own broader cradle-to-career strategy. As these efforts grow, partners see a clear opportunity to align programs more tightly, improve how families connect to services, and use shared data to guide decisions. Woodlawn United will serve as the backbone place-based partner, with the Fellow embedded at the City and holding a formal dotted-line relationship with Woodlawn United.
Starting in Fall 2026, FUSE Executive Fellow April Young will lead a 90-day listening tour with Woodlawn United, city departments, Birmingham City Schools, charter leaders, youth-serving groups, housing partners, and residents, while studying national place-based models. Young will then design a cradle-to-career coordination framework that defines partner roles and accountability, stand up a centralized family navigation system with clear intake and referral pathways, and help partners agree on shared indicators such as attendance and engagement. By Fall 2027, deliverables will include the coordination framework, the family navigation system, shared data and performance systems, stronger partnership convening structures, and a sustainability and replication strategy. These pieces will leave Birmingham and its partners with clear ownership of coordination functions and a model ready to scale citywide.
