The Concord Project [1]is an international research, teaching, and action program whose mission is to strengthen “concord organizations,” which bring together people with fundamentally opposing views or identities for the purpose of promoting civil society while recognizing group differences. In research, the Project identifies, nationally and internationally, public and private concord organizations and investigates the characteristics that make them successful at creating “bridging social capital”– the human and organizational resources that span social differences. Ongoing research includes social and economic development and redevelopment strategies in divided communities. (Professor Barbara Nelson, Department of Public Policy)
The Leadership and Diversity Program [2] focuses on making the content of policy education more genuinely reflective of the diversity of the world’s peoples, policy concerns, and varied modes of problem solving. Its locus is the long history of the struggle to open up higher education in America to people from all socio-economic, ethnic and national backgrounds, and the parallel expansion of subject matter in the heuristic process to intentionally embrace this diversity. (Professor Barbara Nelson, Department of Public Policy)
The Program for the Study of Liberty [3]was founded in 2007 to promote scholarly and public discussion on liberty in modern society and its preconditions. It strives for an interdisciplinary perspective—including contributions from law, political science, history, philosophy, and public policy—and entertains a variety of political and ideological positions. Lecture Series The Program’s main public activity is a Lecture Series that brings leading scholars and public intellectuals to the UCLA campus. All Program lectures are free and open to the public. (Professor Andrew Sabl, Department of Public Policy)
Juvenile Justice and Reentry to Society [4]: Over 20,000 youth in Los Angeles County per year interface with the largest juvenile probation system in the nation. A large body of research demonstrates that formerly incarcerated youth face major challenges in achieving a successful and healthy transition back to the community and into young adulthood. Statistics show that 50- 80% of formerly incarcerated youth will have repeat contact with the juvenile or adult justice system within a few years of release1 and that less than 20% will earn a high school diploma2. The poor outcomes associated with youth reentry disproportionately and negatively impact families, schools, and communities in low-income and high crime neighborhoods. In response to these major concerns, a group of leading experts from the UCLA School of Public Affairs formed the Juvenile Justice and Reentry Project. The initial goals of the project were to understand the needs of returning youth offenders and the barriers they may face in meeting these needs, and then to apply these findings to reentry policy and practice. The JJRP envisions Los Angeles as a City and County where youth who exit the juvenile justice system are able to reintegrate successfully to their homes, schools, and neighborhoods and thrive in their transition to adulthood. (Associate Professor Laura Abrams, Department of Social Welfare)
Links:
[1] http://www.publicaffairs.ucla.edu/content/concord-project
[2] http://www.publicaffairs.ucla.edu/content/leadership-and-diversity-program
[3] http://publicaffairs.ucla.edu/content/program-study-liberty
[4] http://luskin.ucla.edu/../../content/juvenile-justice-and-reentry-society