Tranishia James

Tranishia James is a Consultant Lecturer in the Department of Social Welfare at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, serving as a Practicum Education Consultant for the California Social Work Education Center (Cal-SWEC) program. She trains first and second year social work students to become professional public child welfare social workers and recruits child welfare candidates through this state-funded initiative.

Her academic credentials include a Master of Social Work (M.S.W.) from California State University, Dominguez Hills and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) from the University of California, Riverside. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with specialized field expertise.

Her research and practice focus intensely on eliminating racial disproportionality in child welfare systems, implementing trauma-informed care frameworks, and creating educational pathways for marginalized adolescents. She integrates critical analysis of cultural dynamics and systemic inequities into social work pedagogy and field practice, with particular emphasis on institutional racism within child protection services.

Ms. James actively supervises MSW students during practicum placements, drawing from her decade of frontline experience at Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Her mentorship combines direct field supervision with curriculum development for public child welfare training programs, influencing the next generation of social work practitioners through applied learning models.