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.
Related Work
Care First L.A.: Tracking Jail Decarceration
Explore data on the people incarcerated in the Los Angeles County jail system. Track the county's progress in reducing its jail population.
Vera California
After decades of laws, policies, and funding that have fueled mass incarceration across the state, millions of Californians and many government officials have signaled a readiness for change. Vera California works with community and government stakeholders to spark momentum for decarceration and investments in the long-underfunded community-based s ...
Project
Michelle Parris
Opening Doors to Public Housing
Expanding Access for People with Conviction Histories
Access to safe, affordable housing is essential to the success of people in reentry and their families. For people leaving prison or jail or those with conviction histories who want to reunify with their family members in public housing or apply for housing themselves, admissions criteria can be a serious barrier. Federal guidelines leave many poli ...
Project
Margaret diZerega
College in Prison
Postsecondary education opportunities for incarcerated people
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. To improve the lives of incarcerated people and decrease the collateral consequences of incarceration, Vera works nationwid ...
Project
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
Danny Murillo
National Qualified Representative Program
Providing zealous, independent, person-centered representation to immigrants with mental health conditions
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 ...
Project
Michael Corradini
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
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
Leandra Naranjo
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 ...