Vera's Center on Immigration and Justice (CIJ) works with government, nonprofit organizations, and communities to improve government systems that affect immigrants and their families. CIJ focuses on two objectives: increasing detained immigrants’ access to legal information and counsel, and improving relationships between immigrant communities and law enforcement officials. The center oversees two major federal programs, develops and implements pilot programs, provides technical assistance, and conducts evaluation and empirical research.

Vera’s Center on Sentencing and Corrections (CSC) works with government leaders to advance criminal justice policies that promote fairness, protect public safety, and ensure that resources are used efficiently. The center draws on the skills and expertise of its staff, as well as the practical knowledge of working criminal justice professionals who face similar justice challenges.

Vera’s Center on Victimization and Safety (CVS) works with government and nonprofit organizations to enhance efforts to prevent and address interpersonal violence and related crimes, including domestic violence and sexual assault. The center specializes in fostering cross-disciplinary collaboration and promoting policies and practices that hold abusers accountable, prioritize safety, and also help survivors heal. By combining staff expertise and skills with the practical knowledge of professionals in the field, it provides technical assistance and guidance that is timely, relevant, and reflective of current best practices.

Vera’s Center on Youth Justice (CYJ) works with government to make juvenile justice systems equitable in policy and practice for youth, families, and communities. CYJ staff aim to reduce bias in juvenile justice systems, expand the use of community-based services, divert youth who may be more effectively served by other resources, and advance public safety.

Few states and counties have a sense of the return on investment they are getting for their criminal and juvenile justice system expenditures. Money is spent and assumptions are made about the effects—both financial and substantive—of policy and program choices, without much solid information on the real costs or benefits incurred. Yet this information is highly relevant to the decisions policymakers need to make, particularly in the currently challenging fiscal climate.

Vera's Family Justice Program provides training and technical assistance to help community-based organizations and government agencies—such as corrections, parole and probation, and juvenile justice entities—adapt case management styles that are strength-based and family focused. The Family Justice Program is an outgrowth of La Bodega de la Familia, a Vera spin-off that became the independent nonprofit organization Family Justice and broke new ground in leveraging families as a resource to break cycles of system involvement. The training and technical assistance work of Family Justice joined Vera as a new program in December 2009 when the former entity ceased operations.

Vera’s International Program collaborates with national governments, civil society leaders, and international agencies to improve systems people rely on for justice and safety, providing technical assistance on a wide range of topics including the development of rule of law indicators, the use of empirical research methods for justice reform in both common and civil law countries, and the development of participatory models of community accountability for criminal justice institutions. Vera is also a founding member of the Altus Global Alliance, a partnership of civil society organizations in Brazil, Chile, India, Nigeria, Russia, and the United States.

Vera’s Prosecution and Racial Justice Program (PRJ) has partnered with district attorneys in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin; Mecklenburg County, North Carolina; and San Diego County, California, to pilot an internal assessment and management procedure that is helping supervisors identify evidence of possible racial or ethnic bias in their staff’s aggregate decision making and respond appropriately when it is found. The procedure seeks to buttress the integrity of judicial outcomes and build public confidence in the criminal justice process.

Vera’s Substance Use and Mental Health Program (SUMH) conducts applied research to help public officials and community organizations develop empirically driven responses to the substance use and mental health needs of people involved in justice systems. SUMH staff collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative data and evaluate existing programs to understand the experiences of those affected by psychiatric disorders or substance use and policies that prolong their involvement in the justice system.