Our Journey
How formerly incarcerated people and former detention staff
are coming together to build a future of work without youth incarceration
Meet the UCLA Research Team
Campus Collaborators
We collaborate to bring people together who have worked in youth correctional spaces and people who were once incarcerated in youth correctional spaces, to create knowledge about, heal from, and work together to identify pathways away from youth incarceration in California.
Saúl Sarabia
Academic Coordinator UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE)
Dr. Kelly Lytle Hernández
Faculty Director Million Dollar Hoods Program
Dr. Nina Monet Reynoso
Project Manager Million Dollar Hoods Program
Michael Z. Dean
Graduate Student Researcher UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment
Mariah Tso
GIS Specialist Million Dollar Hoods Program
Eric Lee
Senior Data Analyst Million Dollar Hoods Program
Our Purpose
This collaborative is an initiative of UCLA’s Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE) and the Million Dollar Hoods (MDH) Program at UCLA. At IRLE, the Labor and Decarceration initiative focuses on creating a future of work without youth incarceration in California. We elevate the voices of people who have worked in youth detention settings and build bridges between these workers, formerly incarcerated people, and community groups working to decarcerate juvenile justice.
Million Dollar Hoods (MDH) maps and documents the fiscal costs of mass incarceration in Los Angeles and beyond. MDH believes in centering the voices of those directly impacted by policing and incarceration and produces research in response to community-identified needs. MDH’s objectives include building the capacity of communities and students to understand and conduct research around mass incarceration and to contribute to community efforts around decarceration.
Civil Rights Research Collaborators
Patricia Soung
Board Member
Dr. Danielle Dupuy-Watson
Executive Director
The participatory action research activities of this collaborative have been designed and executed with leadership from community grounded researchers in social change organizations
Tshaka Barrows
Executive Director
Centering Healing Justice in the Just Transition from Youth Incarceration
We have had the privilege of hosting courageous dialogues, healing circles, learning exchanges, and community building for formerly incarcerated youth and former staff in correctional settings who are committed to the decarceration of the juvenile justice system
Oct. 13-15th | 2023 Land and Liberation Retreat
Sept. 16th | 2023 Learning Exchange Launch and Circle
May 2nd | 2023 Healing Circle
Philanthropic Supporters
