California
At a time of unprecedented attention on justice issues, California is distinguishing itself as a leader in ending the era of mass incarceration and addressing attacks on immigrant families. In 2018, Vera expanded its California office and focus, building capacity in research, technical assistance, and strategic communications. Vera’s California team currently includes staff working on immigration, juvenile justice, reentry, policing, communications, and more, and is growing.
Featured
Safety and Fairness for Everyone (SAFE) Network
Local Leaders Keeping Immigrant Families Together and Communities Safe
In the face of stepped-up immigration enforcement, millions of non-citizens—many of them taxpaying lawful permanent residents—are at risk of extended detention and permanent separation from their families and communities. Expanding legal representation for immigrants facing detention and deportation has thus become a crucial last line of defense fo...
Project
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Annie Chen
Reshaping Prosecution
Across the country empowered communities have demanded a new approach to criminal justice by electing prosecutors committed to change. Standing on forward-looking platforms including promises of bail reform, diversion, and ending mass incarceration, a new generation of prosecutors in Chicago, Philadelphia, Jacksonville, Orlando, Contra Costa, Denve...
Project
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Jamila Hodge
The Initiative to End Girls’ Incarceration
The end of girls’ incarceration in the United States is within reach, and Vera is leading a national initiative to make it happen in 10 years. The number of youth in the girls’ side of the juvenile justice system is small, most girls are unjustly locked up to protect their safety or to address unmet needs, and jurisdictions across the country are f...
Project
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Lindsay Rosenthal
Related Work
Opening Doors to Public Housing
Expanding Access for People with Conviction Histories
Vera, which is guiding implementation of the largest public housing reentry pilot program in the country, is launching a national project to assist public housing authorities, community supervision agencies, and reentry service providers to work together to promote family reunification and successful reentry outcomes for formerly incarcerated peopl...
Project
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Margaret diZerega
College in Prison
Postsecondary education opportunities for incarcerated people
People involved in the criminal justice system have, on average, much lower education levels than the general population. Research suggests that education is key to improving many long-term outcomes for incarcerated people, their families, and their communities—including reducing recidivism and increasing employability and earnings after release. T...
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Margaret diZerega
Realizing my dreams in NYC
As I reflect upon my previous life where I was confined for up to 22 and half hours per day to an 8-by-10 foot prison cell in the Security Housing Unit at Pelican Bay State Prison in Crescent City, California, I recall that I would often get lost in my thoughts—hopelessly dreaming that one day I would live in New York City after my release. Althoug...
Blog Post
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Danny Murillo
National Qualified Representative Program
Providing legal representation for immigrants with mental health disorders.
The National Qualified Representative Program (NQRP) provides appointed legal representation for immigrants who are detained by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), unrepresented by counsel, and who have been found by an Immigration Judge or the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) to be incompetent to represent themselves in their immigration ...
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Gregory Pleasants
Los Angeles Jail to Community Reentry Project
The Los Angeles Jail to Community Reentry Project sought to inform improvements to reentry services for people returning to the community. This project expanded upon the Substance Use and Mental Health Program's work on jail reentry in New York City using empirical data to assess the existing range of reentry interventions, with a particular focus ...
Project
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Jim Parsons
Legal Services for Unaccompanied Children
Increasing legal representation for immigrant children facing deportation without a parent or legal guardian
Each year, thousands of unaccompanied children, many fleeing unspeakable violence in their own countries, enter the United States. Upon apprehension and after enduring a harrowing journey, they are detained in federal custody in facilities contracted by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), and immediately placed in removal (deportation) procee...
Project
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Shaina Aber
Reducing Jail Overcrowding in Los Angeles
Los Angeles County asked the Vera Institute to study its criminal justice system, identify inefficiencies, and recommend strategies to make better use of jail space. Vera staff analyzed the county’s jail data, examined policies and processes that affect the jail’s population size, and recommended steps the county can take to alleviate jail overcrow...