Laura Abrams

Laura Abrams is a Professor of Social Welfare at UCLA's Luskin School of Public Affairs, where she leads groundbreaking research on youth and adult criminal legal systems, reentry processes, and health disparities. Her ethnographic scholarship has directly influenced California legislation banning juvenile jurisdiction for children under 12, and she co-directs the UCLA Life Course Intervention Research Network – Youth Justice Node.

Her educational background:

• PhD, UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare
• MSW, UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare
• BA, Brandeis University

Professor Abrams' research centers on criminal justice system impacts through intersecting lenses of race, gender, and health. She examines desistance pathways for formerly incarcerated youth, institutional responses to juvenile justice involvement, and structural barriers to reentry success. Her work reveals how marginalized youth navigate identity reconstruction amid systemic constraints, with emphasis on community-based solutions and policy reform.

Recent publications (2023-2025) demonstrate escalating focus on juvenile life without parole reform, racial justice in youth corrections, and health equity during reentry. Her interdisciplinary approach bridges criminology, public health, and social work to analyze systemic inequities in youth justice systems globally, with particular attention to gendered experiences and anti-racist interventions.

Major recognitions:

• SSWR best scholarly book award (2020)
• Frank R. Bruel prize (2013)
• American Academy for Social Work induction (2020)
• UCLA Public Impact Award (2022)
• UCLA Faculty Mentoring Honor Society (2022)

As a dedicated mentor, she guides emerging scholars through the UCLA Life Course Intervention Research Network while securing major grants examining youth justice models across four countries and health outcomes during jail reentry. Her community engagement includes expert testimony in death penalty appeals and congressional briefings on juvenile justice reforms.

She co-directs the UCLA Life Course Intervention Research Network – Youth Justice Node, fostering collaboration between scholars, students, and community partners to advance evidence-based youth justice reforms. Her international research teams examine minimum age laws for juvenile jurisdiction and lead national coalitions advocating for trauma-informed reentry systems.