Projects addressing early AI literacy, care for the homeless awarded CTSI community partnership grants

University-community partnerships focused on AI literacy for children and on the establishment of a community advisory board related to care for the homeless are the focus of two unique projects awarded University at Buffalo Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) funding from the CTSI Community Partnership Development Seed Grant Program.

Roots of Resilience: Building a University–School–Community Partnership for Child Well-being and Early AI Literacy

University Lead: X. Christine Wang, PhD, Professor and Director, Fisher-Price Endowed Early Childhood Research Center, Senior Associate Dean for Interdisciplinary Research, Graduate School of Education

Community Leads: Thomas Beauford Jr., President and CEO, Buffalo Urban League; Kathleen Sciolino, Principal, Buffalo Public School #99 — Stanley M. Makowski Early Childhood Center

The “Roots of Resilience” project proposes to build a sustainable school–community–university partnership among UB’s PlayfulAI Learning and Design Lab, Stanley M. Makowski Early Childhood Center (Buffalo Public School #99), and the Buffalo Urban League. The goal is to promote the well-being, resilience, and digital empowerment of children through playful learning and early AI literacy.

UB’s X. Christine Wang, PhD, says the UB team has previously worked with educators at Buffalo Public School #99 through ongoing early-learning initiatives, while the Buffalo Urban League “has deep roots and longstanding trust within Buffalo’s East Side community. This project is a natural opportunity to align school-based innovation with broader community engagement.”

Wang adds that artificial intelligence is already part of young children’s everyday lives, from voice assistants and recommendation systems to educational apps and smart toys. Early AI literacy will help them begin to understand how these technologies work and can be used responsibly.

“When introduced through play and conversation, AI literacy supports curiosity, critical thinking, and a sense of agency, especially important for children growing up in communities that have historically had less influence over how new technologies are designed and deployed,” Wang explains.

Buffalo Urban League President/CEO Thomas Beauford Jr., says, “AI literacy is critical to ensure that grade school students in the communities we serve are not just passive users of AI technology, but can begin to knowingly shape the input, discern misrepresented information and imagery, and be included in the pipeline to future opportunities. AI literacy can also help close the academic achievement gap in the short term and the longer term gap resulting from social determinants of health and wealth.”

The seed grant-awarded project will focus on relationship-building by creating space for educators, families, and community partners to come together, share perspectives, and co-design developmentally appropriate AI learning experiences that center children’s well-being.

“The seed grant will help students develop confidence, curiosity, and critical thinking around AI rather than fear or passive consumption,” says Buffalo Public School #99 Principal Kathleen Sciolino. “Ultimately, the grant strengthens our school’s capacity to intentionally design learning experiences that empower children to engage with emerging technologies thoughtfully, responsibly, and with resilience.”

Capacity Building Through the Establishment of a Community Advisory Board for Buffalo’s Only Medical Respite Unit for the Homeless

University Lead: Daniel Smith, PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Nursing

Community Lead: Allana Krolikowski, MD, CEO, Jericho Road Community Health Center

This project will create a community advisory board of people who have experienced homelessness, healthcare providers, researchers, and leaders from Jericho Road Community Health Center, the Buffalo City Mission, and other local groups. The goal is to increase community involvement in the Recuperative Care Unit (RCU) — Buffalo’s only medical respite program — at the Buffalo City Mission and build stronger teamwork between healthcare, social service, and community groups.

UB’s Daniel Smith, PhD, explains that the RCU is a short-term medical respite program for people without housing who are too ill to stay in shelters but not sick enough to remain in the hospital.

“The unit’s success depends on strong coordination between hospitals, primary care clinics, social service agencies, and community organizations, but there is no formal way to include the voices of people who have experienced homelessness in shaping care,” he says.

This, Smith says, can lead to loss of trust between systems and the community.

“Establishing a community advisory board will address these gaps by creating a formal structure for collaboration and shared decision-making. The board will bring together people with lived experience of homelessness, health care providers, researchers, and community leaders to identify what works, what does not, and how care can be improved. It will also ensure that people who use the RCU have an active role in shaping its operations and evaluating its impact.”

Allana Krolikowski, MD, CEO, Jericho Road Community Health Center, says the RCU “helps the community deliver the right care in the right space to keep hospital beds open for people who need immediate acute care.”

Krolikowski says long-term project goals are to improve health outcomes for unsheltered people with medical conditions and to reduce health care system costs.

“The seed grant gives us an opportunity to engage fruitfully in these efforts, which are so critical to advancing care in our community.”

Smith adds that “seed funding will support participant stipends, meeting materials, and facilitation costs to ensure equitable engagement and efficient use of resources. Funds will also support staff training modules on collaborative leadership, data literacy, and ethical research participation to sustain engagement beyond the seed grant.”

“A win-win”

CTSI seed grants support the planning of community-based participatory research partnerships and engagement of communities in research. CTSI Community Engagement Core Director Laurene M. Tumiel-Berhalter, PhD, Director of Community Translational Research, Department of Family Medicine, Jacobs School, says the partnerships are unique in that both the community and academic partners play essential roles in the project.

“The academic-community partners work together to co-lead all activities,” she says. “By bridging research with lived experience, the awarded teams have a greater chance of making a positive impact on the community and receiving additional funding. These partnerships are truly a win-win.”

Visit the CTSI website for a complete list of current and past CTSI Community Partnership Development Seed Grant awardees.