As the fall quarter begins, we can't wait to see our students, faculty, and staff back on campus. We're starting the school year off strong—read more to see what we've been up to and what's coming next!

In community,

The UCLA Pritzker Center Team

Join us for an eye-opening film screening and panel discussion on Birthing Justice at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center on November 16!

Last month, members of the UCLA Pritzker Center team had the honor of visiting the Edmund D. Edelman Children's Court for a tour. Many thanks to the bench officers who hosted us in their courtrooms. 

UCLA Pritzker Center Director, Dr. Tyrone Howard, kicked off the week-long 2023 Centering Black Children in Education Conference with his opening keynote, "Race, Foster Care, and Education: An Unkind Trifecta" in August.

In partnership with the Children's Institute (CII), the UCLA Pritzker Center hosted the 2023 Trauma-Informed Care Conference on Tuesday, September 26 at CII's Otis Booth Campus in Echo Park. The conference featured a conversation with California Surgeon General Diana Ramos, MD, and UCLA Professor of Psychiatry, Eraka Bath, MD, moderated by LAist Senior Reporter Mariana Dale, as well as keynote speaker, New York Times best-selling author of The Body Keeps the Score and trauma research pioneer, Bessel van der Kolk, MD. UCLA Pritzker Center undergraduate student researcher, Kahlila Williams, and doctoral researcher, Demontea Thompson, were among those invited to speak at the conference. 

In May, our Medical Student Researcher, Taylor Thaxton, placed 3rd in the research competition with her poster, "A Balancing Act: How Professionals in the Foster Care System Balance the Harm of Intimate Partner Violence with the Harm of Child Removal" at the University of California Community Health Conference, hosted at the UC Davis School of Medicine. We're proud to see Taylor's work with us being shared in the medical field! Congratulations Taylor!

Our doctoral researcher, Demontea Thompson, was one of the participants at the annual American Eduation Research Assocation (AERA) earlier this year in Chicago, where he presented 'Educational Journeys of Foster Youth in California: Preliminary Findings of a Statewide Study,' in a roundtable session.

Matthew Ruderman, Ph.D., Kenyon Lee Whitman, Ph.D., Vanessa Perez, Jill Waterman, Ph.D., Todd Franke, Ph.D., Audra Langley, Ph.D.

In this research article, resource parents in Los Angeles County were surveyed about their experiences with COVID-19, comparing the beginning of “Safer-at-Home” to over a year later.

The UCLA Pritzker Center research team is nearly finished collecting the first round of data for our study on child welfare and domestic violence in the Antelope Valley. We recently presented preliminary findings from our analysis of focus group data to our partners at the DCFS Lancaster Regional Office and Valley Oasis. Planning is underway for cross-system training, consultations, referral processes, and co-located services designed to promote safety and supported connections between parents, their children, and local service providers.

"I was selected as one of fifty student leaders to participate in the inaugural UCLA Student Leadership Academy – an immersive residential leadership development experience taking place at the UCLA South Bay campus. Not only were we the first group of student leaders to experience life at UCLA South Bay, we also engaged in a smorgasbord of development competencies, from meeting campus leadership, alumni and community leaders, to cultivating our leadership skills, networking, and growing as Bruins in all facets."

"UniCamp was the most impactful experience of my freshman year of college.  I found a wonderful community in my co-counselors and UniCamp as a whole. It was so special to play a role in facilitating an environment where kids can just be kids and have fun, feeling accepted and celebrated as they are. My favorite moments were the camper talent show, canoeing with the kids, and of course, singing camp songs! Thank you, UniCamp - I cannot wait for next year!"

"Given the title as a camp counselor I thought we were going to teach, but really I learned so much through these kids. While being at camp a few of our campers were foster youth and when they’d sit alone I’d go up to them when they’d shared a bit, not because I asked but because they felt safe. Through them I learned that we need to be patient with children yet simultaneously push these systems to enact change. Youth deserve resources and we can pave the way for establishing those supports."