UCLA Juvenile Justice Project

Learning Rights Law Center is a community partner of UCLA. Through the Juvenile JusticeProject, UCLA School of Law Professor Jyoti Nanda jointly supervises law students with Learning Rights Law Center staff members to address the needs of youth involved in the juvenile justice system.

Los Angeles County has one of the highest youth incarceration rates in the country. Up to 90% of the county's juvenile justice youth are Latino or African American, and up to 70% of incarcerated youth nationally are said to have some kind of disability. In recent reports, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has highlighted the need for community based partnership programs as a viable option to lower incarceration and recidivism rates. In response to this need, the Los Angeles Probation Commission, acting under the Board of Supervisors, is affirmatively committed to implementing community-based measures that focus on prevention and avert entrance into the juvenile justice system rather than on punitive strategies. The purpose of the Juvenile Justice Project (JJP) is to prevent entry into the juvenile justice system. Utilizing the resources of UCLA Law School, the JJP will alleviate demand for critical services and create diverse career options for UC-LAW graduates. The JJP will provide law students with critical practical experience in an area of unprecedented need. Students will research the juvenile justice system in order to examine pertinent civil rights issues and to publish effective advocacy tools for parents of at-risk youth. Students will also engage in educational advocacy for disadvantaged, low-income, special needs children. The JJP will culminate with student research presentations at forums such as the UCLA Critical Race Symposium to promote cross-disciplinary community dialogue about civil rights issues relevant to the delinquency system and to train educational advocates.

http://la.ucla.edu/grants/2008/learninglaw.shtml