Spring 2026 Projects

Enabled Talent is expanding its operations into North Carolina and seeks to understand the state's inclusive employment landscape. This project aims to explore how organizations in Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, Greensboro, and rural areas approach disability inclusion. Over six weeks, student teams will map key stakeholders, including employers, colleges, workforce development boards, and disability-serving nonprofits. They will evaluate potential partnerships with groups like the North Carolina Business Committee for Education and Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont. The project involves data collection on regional labor market trends, employer sentiment, and inclusive hiring gaps. Students will synthesize interviews, surveys, and secondary research to identify barriers and opportunities, ultimately helping Enabled Talent enter the state with clarity and impact.

The project will result in several key deliverables: a stakeholder analysis, a prospective partner map, and data-backed insights. Additionally, students will create employer and college personas, a regional outreach strategy, and a North Carolina inclusion readiness brief. These deliverables will provide Enabled Talent with actionable strategies and engagement plans tailored to the state's unique landscape.

Proposed Plan:

1. Team Setup: 3-4 students working on tasks.
2. Timeline: Two (2-week) sprints over the 6-week period.

Details

In a city defined by banking towers where cash is king, it is the hidden Cache that empowers our streets. Charlotte currently possesses a vast inventory of economic value—independent talent and small businesses—that remains unmapped and underutilized. The Cacheconomy is a groundbreaking initiative to turn these "hidden stores" into Verified Assets. We are looking for ambitious UNC Charlotte students to work behind the scenes to help build the infrastructure that makes information a new currency in the Queen City.

Mission:

This project aims to move Charlotte beyond economic "estimation" based on outdated or inaccurate digital footprints—what we call digital ghosts—toward Ground Truth. We are developing the Vault, a high-speed utility that transforms messy, raw data into a secure, accessible, and verified economic index. Your role is essential in adding verified businesses to the Vault.

Deliverables

Project Scope

• Ground Truth Auditing: Perform high-fidelity data scrubbing to remove duplicates and "digital ghosts" from raw city datasets.
• Dataset Integration: Research and execute methods to merge disparate raw datasets into a single, cohesive Ecosystem Index.
• Validation & Verification: Manually validate hidden business data points to ensure the Inventory is accurate and inclusive.

Deliverables

• The Cleaned Index: A high-fidelity, validated dataset of neighborhood businesses, ready for integration into the Vault.

Pattern Detection Audit: A report identifying previous gaps and connections that traditional algorithms missed.

1. Team Setup: 3-4 students working on tasks.
2. Timeline: Two (2-week) sprints over the 6-week period.

Mentorship

Students will receive hands-on support and mentorship, including:

• Domain Expertise: Training in urban economic models and secure data governance.
• Professional Tools: Access to the Cache Vault and other data tools.
• The Navigator Method: Specialized training in the human-led "Ground Truth" methodology that identifies gaps algorithms miss.

Regular meetings: Scheduled check-ins to discuss progress, address challenges, and provide feedback.

Advocations, in partnership with Case Western Reserve University’s Law School, aims to protect transition-aged youth from the "Age 18 Redetermination Cliff." Currently, the Social Security Administration (SSA) re-evaluates childhood Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries at age 18 using stricter adult disability criteria. This process has a 40% failure rate, frequently removing youth with non-visible disabilities like Autism and ADHD who lack the medical evidence to prove they cannot work.

The Data: A Pipeline to Prison
Youth removed from SSI are twice as likely to commit crimes to replace lost benefits than find steady employment, with these effects lasting over two decades. SSI removal leads to a 60% increase in the annual likelihood of incarceration, with even higher rates for women.

Research Link: Does Welfare Prevent Crime? The Criminal Justice Outcomes of Youth Removed from SSI, 137 Q.J. Econ. 2263 (2022).

Project Overview & Student Goals

We are seeking UNC Charlotte students who are passionate about social justice, law, and disability inclusion to join our project. The initiative focuses on proactively identifying youth receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) before their age 18 re-determination. This timely intervention will immediately connect them with free services and legal protections. Our goal is to enable at-risk youth to maintain their SSI payments and Medicaid benefits until age 22. By extending these critical benefits for four years, we aim to prevent income-generating crime and significantly change lives.

Student Responsibilities

• Stakeholder Identification: Review existing community partner lists (schools, foster care, medical offices) to establish direct connections with youth receiving SSI.
• Out-of-the-box Outreach: Uncover new leads—local churches, community centers, and transition coordinators—to vet opportunities for engagement with eligible families.
• Engagement Strategy: Develop a stakeholder strategy tailored to the unique needs of those with non-visible disabilities and their guardians.

Deliverables

• Key Contact Report: A detailed report of identified contacts and updated info for existing leads in CRM.
• Stakeholder Engagement Strategy: A document outlining methods for converting leads into active referrals and outreach protocols.

Educational Toolkits: Tangible materials (flyers, digital guides) used to explain the "cliff”, appeal rights, and options.

1. Team Setup: 3-4 students working on tasks.
2. Timeline: Two (2-week) sprints over the 6-week period.

Mentorship

Expert Perspective: 
Sharing our deep understanding of the industry to help guide the project’s direction.

Skill Development: 
Equipping students with the technical "know-how" and methodologies they need.

Active Mentorship: 
Rolling up our sleeves to provide real-time guidance and support on project tasks.

Enablement Tools: 
Ensuring everyone has the resources and technology to work efficiently.

Ongoing Alignment: 
Meeting regularly to stay connected, celebrate wins, and tackle hurdles together.