Jackson Selected as American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare Fellow

Professor Emerita of Social Welfare Aurora Jackson was elected as a 2022 fellow by the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare. The academy is a prestigious society of distinguished scholars and practitioners dedicated to achieving excellence in the field of social work and social welfare through high-impact work that advances social good. The fellowship program recognizes and celebrates outstanding social work and social welfare research, scholarship and practice. Jackson’s scholarship examines the interrelationships among economic hardship, parental psychological well-being, parenting in the home environment, and child developmental outcomes in families headed by low-income, single-parent mothers with young children. When she is formally inducted with 15 other fellows in January 2022, Jackson will become the second woman from UCLA to join the academy, following the induction of Social Welfare Chair Laura Abrams in 2020. Academy fellows are nominated confidentially, then confirmed by a supermajority of current academy members. “Being a member of the academy is the highest honor the profession can bestow on a scholar,” said Social Welfare Professor Ron Avi Astor, who was inducted into the academy in 2017. Jackson will contribute to the growing list of UCLA Luskin Social Welfare scholars who have been inducted as academy fellows. In addition to Abrams and Astor, they include Distinguished Professor Emeritus Stuart A. Kirk (2010), Professor Emeritus James Lubben (2011), Professor Emeritus Robert Schilling (2011) and the late Professor Yeheskel “Zeke” Hasenfeld (2013). — Zoe Day


Santos Takes Leadership Role at Hub for Latinx Scholars

Associate Professor of Social Welfare Carlos Santos has been named associate director of UCLA’s Chicano Studies Research Center. The center, part of UCLA’s Institute of American Cultures, supports intersectional research, programming and advocacy related to Chicano, Latino and Indigenous communities. “For decades, UCLA’s Chicano Studies Research Center has been a central hub for Latinx scholars and those studying issues affecting Latinx communities,” Santos said. “As part of UCLA’s commitment to become a Hispanic Serving Institution by 2025, we will help administer the hiring of several faculty, post-doc fellows and seed research grants. I am honored to support these and other exciting CSRC efforts intended to uplift Latinx communities.” Santos’ research explores ethnic-racial, gender and sexual minority identity among Latinx youth and young adults using an intersectional approach. He studies the contexts within which identities are formed, develop and change over time as well as the impact of discrimination and oppressive forces associated with these identities. Santos has received several early-career awards for achievement in research. He earned a doctorate in developmental psychology from New York University, a master’s degree in education from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree from New York University. The Chicano Studies Research Center was established in 1969 to have a systemic impact on UCLA’s campus, within higher education and across society through original research on the Chicano and Latino communities in the United States. The center is now home to one of the most robust archives of Latino and Chicano materials in the country.


New Paper Analyzes Impact of School Closures on Families

Social Welfare Professor Ron Avi Astor and doctoral student Kate Watson collaborated on a new paper highlighting the needs of children and families during school closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper, published in Social Work, analyzed responses to a nationwide survey of 1,275 school social workers who reported on their clients, including schools, children and families, during the COVID-19 school closures in spring 2020. While other reports have focused on academic challenges facing students during the pandemic as well as the effects of online learning on academic success, the authors identified a knowledge gap in understanding the needs and difficulties of K-12 students and their families from a social work perspective. In their responses to the survey, school social workers indicated that the children and families they served had significant unmet basic needs, including for food, health care and housing. “Poverty and mental health compounded pandemic difficulties, which were associated with the sociodemographic makeup of schools,” wrote Watson, the paper’s lead author, with co-authors Astor and colleagues from Hebrew University, Cal State Fullerton and Loyola University Chicago. Based on the survey results, the authors identified several policy and practice implications for the future. They highlighted the need for “additional services for students and families, a plan to address structural inequities in our schools and communities, coordinated outreach to reengage missing students, and recognition of the strong work being done by school staff coupled with a need for additional supports and resources to combat persistent inequality.” — Zoe Day


Reber Assesses Federal COVID-19 Aid for Schools

Associate Professor of Public Policy Sarah Reber co-authored a new working paper in the National Bureau of Economic Research assessing the federal relief bills created for schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper, a joint project by Reber and Nora Gordon, a professor of public policy at Georgetown University, explored whether federal COVID relief funds for schools were sufficient. Congress responded to the disruptions caused by the pandemic by distributing $200 billion in federal aid for schools through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds. While this amount is about 12 times more than the typical level of funding distributed through Title I, Reber noted that the amount of per-pupil federal aid that schools received varied considerably across districts. For example, some districts in Detroit received $6,000 per pupil while districts like nearby Bloomfield Hills received less than $100 per pupil. The authors pointed out that different districts faced different costs for COVID-19 mitigation and recovery. Reber and Gordon estimated the net fiscal impact of COVID-19 and the federal relief by taking into consideration how much COVID-19 affected costs for schools, how those costs depend on child poverty rates, and the effect of the pandemic on state aid to school districts. Federal aid was distributed based on Title I proportions, sending more money per pupil to higher-poverty districts. “Low-poverty districts are therefore projected to face some budgetary shortfalls, while many higher-poverty districts are projected to have excess funds, which they could direct towards long-standing challenges,” Reber explained. — Zoe Day


CEO Tells Why Weingart Foundation Supports Latino Data Initiatives

The UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative (UCLA LPPI) has received $125,000 in general funding over two years from the Weingart Foundation. It’s a commitment that CEO Miguel Santana said is representative of the organization’s effort to advance social and racial justice in Southern California. Not only is the grant recipient helmed by the “best and brightest of the Latino community,” Santana said, but “UCLA LPPI, along with the Luskin School, are leading in the effort to confront inequities in Los Angeles through research and analysis.” The Weingart Foundation advocates for empowering affected communities and basing social justice on robust data, choosing not to be prescriptive with its grants. Rather, Santana stressed, they “support organizations in Southern California based on the idea that they know best how to use their dollars.” Santana is one of the few Latino leaders of a philanthropic foundation. He previously served on the Luskin School’s Board of Advisors and continues to chair the Committee for Greater LA, where he and other civic leaders worked on the landmark report, “No Going Back: Together for an Equitable and Inclusive Los Angeles,” with UCLA Luskin Dean Gary Segura and professor Manuel Pastor of USC’s Equity Research Institute. “I was very fortunate to work closely with Dean Segura during my time as a board member,” Santana said. “He is a thought leader on issues for the future of SoCal, and Angelenos are lucky to have him.” —Alise Brillault


Hecht on Threats to the Vital Amazon Rainforest

Senior Fellows Leadership Program Launches 25th Year

The Senior Fellows Leadership Program at UCLA Luskin kicked off its 25th year with a welcome breakfast that brought graduate students together with their new mentors — all leaders in the public, private and nonprofit arenas. The Oct. 21 gathering featured remarks from Ken Bernstein, principal city planner for the city of Los Angeles, and public policy student Steven King, who also participated in the Senior Fellows program last year. Bernstein, a national advocate for historic preservation, spoke of the region’s rich architectural resources, highlighted in his new book “Preserving Los Angeles: How Historic Places Can Transform America’s Cities.” Each attendee at the breakfast received a copy, and Bernstein encouraged both students and Senior Fellows to seek out unexplored corners of Los Angeles to understand that it is more than “just a bunch of bright lights and undifferentiated sprawl.” “Historical preservation has been a driving engine for change in Los Angeles, whether you are working in public policy or planning or social welfare,” Bernstein said. “There’s so much rich work that’s happening at the grassroots level, at the local level, and there are few places more interesting than Los Angeles in terms of really making a difference.” King described last year’s rewarding experience with a mentor who was willing to answer any question, discuss current legislation, provide access to meetings between policymakers and advocates, and offer advice about choosing classes and pursuing internships. He said the Senior Fellows program is helping him to “gain valuable lifelong skills to help me become a successful advocate and leader in the world.”

View photos from the event

Senior Fellows Breakfast 2021