Tag Archive for: equity

Posts

Akee and Ong on Long-Overdue Tuition Scholarships for Native Students

/0 Comments/in , /by

Associate Professor of Public Policy Randall Akee and Research Professor Paul Ong co-authored a commentary in Indian Country Today about the University of California’s decision to waive tuition for Native American students. “Not only will the plan begin to address some of the education barriers that marginalize American Indian and Alaska Native people, it is also an acknowledgement that UC has benefited enormously from the sale of lands that were stolen through various means from Indigenous peoples,” they wrote. Campuses in the UC system are located on parcels that rightfully belong to tribal nations and communities, they wrote, noting the role of the Morrill Act in the creation of land-grant colleges resourced by the sale of federal lands. The authors hope that the new program will “help to close the persistent educational attainment gap suffered by American Indians and Alaska Natives” and serve as a call to action to other public, land-grant institutions in the United States.

Read the commentary

Gilens on Stalled Attempts to Tax the Rich

/0 Comments/in /by

A story in The Hill about the forces preventing adoption of new taxes on super-rich Americans quoted Public Policy chair Martin Gilens. Polls show that a majority of voters — both Democrats and Republicans — believe the country’s billionaires should pay more in taxes. Democrats in the White House and Congress have put forth several proposals for progressive taxation on the wealthy, but their chances are “slim to none in the short term and even perhaps the medium term,” said Gilens, co-author of a 2014 study showing the outsize influence of rich people and trade groups on U.S. government policies. Elected representatives spend an enormous amount of time with wealthy constituents or potential donors, and this “creates a sense of distortion about both what the public wants and what seems reasonable,” he said. “Whether taxing wealth seems like a reasonable thing to do might depend on whether you spend a lot of time hanging out with wealthy people.” 

Read the article

 

Tilly on Gap Between Salary Expectations and Reality

/0 Comments/in /by

A USA Today story about a survey showing that college students expect to make more than $100,000 in their first post-graduation jobs cited Urban Planning chair Chris Tilly, an authority on labor markets and equity. The actual average starting salary for new graduates is $55,260, the story said. But experts say that, in some parts of the country, six-figure incomes are necessary to cover the basic cost of living, which has greatly outpaced the growth of wages and salaries over the last five decades. “The federal minimum wage is, in inflation-adjusted terms, much lower than it was in the early ’70s,” Tilly said. “Wages and salaries have not kept up with housing costs, have not kept up with higher education, tuition costs. And so that sort of disjuncture, that mismatch between the reality of costs and their reality of pay, I think is distorting the way that a lot of young people are looking at the world.”

Read the article

 

Akee, Ong on Creating Educational Opportunities for Native American Students

/0 Comments/in , /by

Associate Professor of Public Policy Randall Akee spoke to CNN about the University of California’s recent decision to waive tuition for Native American students in an effort to make the university system more affordable and accessible. As part of the UC Native American Opportunity Plan, tuition and fees will be waived for California residents who are members of federally recognized Native American, American Indian and Alaska Native tribes. Akee collaborated with UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge Director Paul Ong and other scholars on a soon-to-be-published op-ed urging other land-grant universities to follow UC’s lead. “The UC system is leading the way in acknowledging its place and role in educating Indigenous people,” the authors wrote. “In the absence of similar programs in other locations, the UC system as a whole will gain a significant advantage in recruiting the best and brightest [American Indian or Alaska Native] students from around the country.”

Read the article

Student Debt Is a Policy Failure, Appel Says

/0 Comments/in /by

In a recent Marketplace interview, Hannah Appel, associate faculty director of the UCLA Luskin Institute on Inequality and Democracy, said that “canceling student debt is the quickest way to narrow the racial wealth gap.” The Department of Education announced a plan to change the federal student loan system to make it easier for lower-income student loan borrowers to have their debt forgiven, prompting discussions about canceling all student loan debt. The vast majority of student loans are “simply uncollectable,” Appel said, adding that the impact of student loan debt falls disproportionately on people of color. She explained that student loan debt is unique because it’s held 95%-plus by the federal government. “We’ve seen the most progress and we’ve been able to build the most power around student debt, because it plainly is a policy failure for which we can hold the government accountable, and they can reverse course,” she said.

Listen to the interview

Yin on Policy Changes to Reduce Medical Debt

/0 Comments/in /by

Associate Professor of Public Policy Wesley Yin was cited in a Health Care Journalism article about the burden of medical debt in the United States. Yin said that medical debt, totaling at least $140 billion, is the single largest source of consumer debt in the United States. To address this issue, the White House announced four steps to ease the burden of medical debt on health care consumers, including holding medical providers and debt collectors accountable for harmful practices and forgiving debt for low-income veterans. “Just shining a light on that type of behavior might lead to reducing the most egregious practices from providers,” Yin said. He expressed hope that the “White House’s actions to shine a light on charity care practices will have a positive effect for low-income individuals.” The policy changes may also “nudge providers to be stronger advocates for increased subsidies for health insurance and Medicaid expansion,” he said.

Read the article

ITS Study Offers Strategy for Freeway Congestion Pricing A new report by UCLA transportation experts outlines ways that California could implement congestion pricing while minimizing the financial burden on low-income residents

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , /by
By Claudia Bustamante

Among transportation experts, congestion pricing is the gold standard policy for managing traffic on freeways and highways. The strategy involves charging drivers tolls to use a road, and charging more during the busiest times — morning and evening rush hours, for example.

The intention is to discourage drivers from using their own cars and nudge them toward alternative forms of transportation, thereby unclogging traffic. But charging people to use busy roads raises questions about fairness, especially for low-income drivers.

A new report by UCLA transportation experts outlines ways that California could implement congestion pricing while minimizing the financial burden on those residents.

The study suggests that if congesting pricing were enacted in California’s six largest urban areas, about 13% of households in those areas might be unduly burdened because of the combination of their travel habits and low incomes. But while tolls could create an equity problem, the report suggests that the revenue generated by tolls could ultimately solve that problem.

The report was produced by the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies, and its authors are Michael Manville, an associate professor at UCLA Luskin; Gregory Pierce, co-director of the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation; and Bryan Graveline, a UCLA graduate student.

“Traffic congestion imposes real costs on a wide segment of society, with some of the most severe consequences falling disproportionately on the most vulnerable people,” Manville said. “Congestion pricing has the potential to alleviate many of those harms. But it’s important when we price roads to do so in a way that won’t unfairly burden low-income people. Fortunately, with a little political will, we should be able to do that.”

In the report, the authors defined “vulnerable” residents as those with household income below 200% of the federal poverty level (for example, $55,500 or less for a family of four) and at least one household member driving during peak congestion periods on a freeway. The study focused on Los Angeles, San Francisco, the Inland Empire, San Jose, San Diego and Sacramento.

The authors write that some of the ways to mitigate cost burdens on low-income drivers would come with pitfalls that dilute the goal of reducing traffic. For example, subsidizing public transportation and providing free transit passes for low-income residents wouldn’t help those who must still drive.

Another option would be lowering toll prices or making them free for low-income drivers, but that would risk negating the primary goal of congestion pricing: If the cost of driving isn’t high enough, people would likely continue to use their vehicles.

The most promising solution, they write, would be to provide direct cash assistance to low-income residents from revenue collected by the tolls.

“Similar policies already exist that help low-income people afford crucial goods and services, such as California’s CARE for energy, the federal SNAP program for food and groceries, and vouchers for housing,” Pierce said. “We should build on these models rather than reinvent the wheel.”

Another benefit of the strategy, the authors write, is that residents who receive money through the program could use the funds for any number of purposes — helping to cover the costs of congestion pricing when they drive or paying for public transit or other alternate transportation if they’re able to switch.

The report also suggests that county governments could identify people who are eligible for such a program by looking at which households are eligible for existing programs like SNAP or housing and utilities subsidies.

The authors acknowledge that there would be administrative and political hurdles to beginning a cash assistance program for transportation costs. They write that introducing congestion pricing to roadways one lane at a time would help demonstrate the strategy’s benefits, which could help overcome public skepticism about the policy.

UCLA Luskin Team Tapped to Evaluate National Violence Intervention Initiative  Researchers will analyze implementation of a White House program to equip community leaders and nonprofits to combat gun violence

/0 Comments/in , , , , , /by

By Mary Braswell

Two researchers from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs have received $250,000 in funding to conduct an evaluation of a White House initiative designed to bolster the capacity of grassroots organizations to combat violence in their communities.

Jorja Leap ’78, MSW ’80, PhD anthropology ’88 and Karrah Lompa MSW ’13, who lead the Social Justice Research Partnership based at UCLA Luskin Social Welfare, will conduct an in-depth evaluation to document implementation of the Community Violence Intervention Collaborative (CVIC), launched by the Biden-Harris administration in July 2021.

The 18-month effort aims to equip community leaders and nonprofit organizations in 16 jurisdictions, including Los Angeles, with increased funding, training and technical assistance to reduce gun crime and increase public safety.

The collaborative brings together White House officials, mayors, law enforcement, experts in community violence intervention and philanthropic institutions to share ideas, spur innovation, and scale and strengthen the infrastructure that supports community-led efforts to increase public safety.

Hyphen, the anchor organization managing the public-philanthropic collaboration, selected Leap and Lompa to document CVIC’s activities, including the identification of partner organizations in each jurisdiction, the provision of training and technical support, and the development of a nationwide community violence intervention network. Their research will establish the strategies that have proven most successful over time and recommend approaches for sharing them nationwide.

Over the next year, Leap, an adjunct professor of social welfare, and Lompa will engage in community-based participatory research, including several visits to all 16 jurisdictions. Driven by on-the-ground, ethnographic research, this rigorous effort will produce a documentary narrative as well as recommendations that will guide the initiative’s ongoing efforts. UCLA Luskin graduate and undergraduate students will be actively involved in the evaluation effort.

“Our engagement in this initiative reflects how deeply CVIC understands the need for rigorous evaluation from Day One of their efforts,” Leap said. “Consistent with the values of UCLA Luskin Social Welfare, we are committed to delivering participatory research that actively involves community members in the research process. They are partners, not just participants.”

A White House statement in February described the Community Violence Intervention Collaborative as one element in a broad strategy to address the nationwide spike in gun crime since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The collaborative was launched to “help communities assess their existing public safety ecosystem, identify gaps and build the capacity to expand programming that saves lives,” the statement said.

Racial justice, equity and community leadership are central to the initiative, according to the Hyphen team anchoring the program.

“The Community Violence Intervention Collaborative presents an unprecedented opportunity to establish a learning network that dramatically improves our country’s response to violence and reimagines and enhances public safety, ” according to Aqeela Sherrills, the initiative’s collaborative advisor.

The 16 jurisdictions in the Community Violence Intervention Collaborative were selected for their high rates of crime but also their strong support from civic and philanthropic leaders. In addition to Los Angeles, they include Atlanta, Georgia; Austin, Texas; Baltimore, Maryland; Baton Rouge, Louisiana.; Chicago, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan; Memphis, Tennessee; Miami-Dade, Florida.; Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota; Newark, New Jersey; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Rapid City, South Dakota; King County, Washington; St. Louis, Missouri; and Washington, D.C.

Leap, a recognized expert in gangs, violence and systems change, develops and coordinates community-based efforts that involve research, evaluation and policy recommendations at the local, state and national level. Lompa has extensive knowledge of nonprofit organizations and capacity building developed over her career in the nonprofit sector, including having served as executive director of a nonprofit organization.

Leap and Lompa are also co-founders of the Watts Leadership Institute, a 10-year initiative to provide grassroots leaders and nonprofits with the training, technical assistance and resources needed to build their infrastructure and knowledge to help advance positive community change. In a meaningful coincidence, the Watts Leadership Institute represents a local version of what CVIC strives to achieve nationally.

Report Highlights COVID’s Impact on Higher Education Goals

/0 Comments/in /by

Inside Higher Ed and Axios highlighted the findings of a policy report from the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative about the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Black and Latino students. According to the report, Black and Latino students were more likely than others to cancel or postpone their higher education plans during the COVID-19 pandemic. This trend persisted even after vaccines were made widely available. “Higher education attainment is an important pathway to social and economic mobility and has cascading effects across a person’s lifespan,” explained  Rodrigo Dominguez-Villegas, the initiative’s director of research. “Given Latinos’ position as the future workforce of America, addressing this disparity is critical to the prosperity of our nation.”

Read the Inside Higher Ed article
Read the Axios article

Bills on Leveraging Data for Transportation Equity

/0 Comments/in /by

Assistant Professor of Public Policy Tierra Bills discussed her work on transportation demand, modeling and equity in an interview with SiliconAngle during a recent Women in Data Science event. Bills leverages data to understand how transportation decisions impact distinctive groups. New data analysis tools are key to understanding transportation equity and prioritizing the needs of vulnerable communities who often get left out of the conversation, she said. “Ignoring the conditions of vulnerable communities can lead to devastating outcomes,” she said, noting that some travel models might not paint a true picture due to issues of bias and underrepresentation. Bills, who has a joint appointment in the department of civil and environmental engineering, called for using new computational tools to pinpoint mobility constraints that people have. “Behavior change is tough, but it’s necessary,” she said. “It’s critical, especially if you’re going to improve conditions for vulnerable communities.”

Watch the interview

Events

Luskin Lecture: Mary Nichols

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , , /by

Mary Nichols’ Bold Roadmap to Cleaner Transportation

Monday, April 4, 6:15 p.m. Pacific time
Charles E. Young Grand Salon — Kerckhoff Hall on the UCLA campus

Environmentalist Mary Nichols helped lead California’s internationally recognized efforts to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions during four terms as chair of the California Air Resources Board. Her legacy has encouraged policymakers to cut emissions from the transportation sector — the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the state and nation. Learn from Nichols’ deep experience during this conversation about how government leaders should take bold, equity-focused action. Nichols will be joined by UCLA transportation equity scholar Tierra Bills and Colleen Callahan, the co-executive director of the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation.

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED

Nichols has held leadership roles with environmental agencies at the national level, and TIME magazine has included her among the world’s 100 most influential people. She is currently distinguished counsel at the UCLA School of Law and the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. Nichols was inaugural director of UCLA’s Institute of Environment and Sustainability and is a former advisory board member at the Luskin Center for Innovation.

Bills holds a joint faculty appointment at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and the Samueli School of Engineering. Callahan earned her master’s in urban planning at UCLA.

COVID Protocols

UCLA COVID protocols are in alignment with guidance from the California and Los Angeles County public health departments and in some cases surpass state and county requirements.

  • Face masks are mandatory at all indoor events. Attendees should also wear masks while waiting in line to enter the venue.
  • UCLA students, faculty and staff attending an indoor event must show their Symptom Monitoring Survey clearance certificate for that day to gain entry.
  • Non-affiliates — those attendees who are not members of the UCLA community — must show proof of being fully vaccinated or proof of a negative antigen test within 1 day, or PCR test within 2 days.
  • Results of both PCR and antigen tests are acceptable as proof.
  • Attendees showing proof of a negative test must provide a photo ID and documentation from a test provider or lab (either printed or on a smartphone) that includes the test result, the person’s name, the date of the test and the type of test.
  • Eating and drinking are prohibited at indoor events.

Parking and Transit

Getting to UCLA

UCLA Visitor Parking

Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr. Chair in Social Justice

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , /by

Celebrating a new endowed chair that recognizes the important contributions of our faculty to the cause of social justice and equity in the United States and around the world.

Honoring us with their presence:

  • Jacquelean and Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr., chancellor of the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and our former dean
  • Meyer and Renee Luskin, who established the endowed chair as part of their naming gift to the Luskin School in recognition of Frank Gilliam’s long and successful deanship

6-8 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 9

Luskin School of Public Affairs Rooftop Terrace

BY INVITATION ONLY. Please look for an email invitation in your inbox.

Contact events@luskin.ucla.edu for more information.

Discussion of Qualified Immunity and Police Violence

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , , /by

A panel of guest speakers from UCLA and the field of criminal justice will discuss qualified immunity and police violence in America.

RSVP NOW

PANELISTS:

Emily Weisburst, assistant professor of public policy, criminal justice expert and researcher

Connie Rice, civil rights lawyer and co-director of Advancement Project of Los Angeles

Joanna Schwartz, law professor and a leading expert on police misconduct

Steven Zipperstein, public policy lecturer, and a lawyer on criminal justice policy

 

Career Talk: What is Your Personal Mission?

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Community leader Marcia Choo discusses issues of equity, social justice and how they align with career decisions. Choo is vice president of community development at Wells Fargo Bank. Her experience includes facilitating policy initiatives between the city of Compton and the Samoan community following a double police shooting. She also engaged in training and community building efforts around boycotts, protests and public policy disputes in the aftermath of the 1992 riots and civil unrest in Los Angeles. Click here for full bio.

RSVP HERE by July 3 to receive ZOOM link.