Rosina Becerra

(310) 206-7975
, Ext. 67975
rbecerra@ucla.edu 

Education

Ph. D., Social Policy and Research, Brandeis University, 1976.
M. B. A., Management, Pepperdine University, 1981.
M. S. W., Social Work, San Diego State University, 1971.
B. A., Mathematics and Chemistry, San Diego State University, 1961.

Research Interests

Social gerontology; Child welfare; Evaluation of welfare reform; Policy issues in health and mental health over the lifespan; Relationship between social work and ethnic communities

Biography and Interests

Professor Rosina Becerra's research focuses on policy issues in health and mental health over the life span, with particular emphasis in social gerontology and child welfare. She is the principal investigator for a State of California Department of Social Services five-year study of welfare reform in California. She also is working on an National Institute of Health/National Institute on Aging four-year panel study of the Mexican American elderly entitled, "Health Care Use and Social Support." She served as the keynote speaker at a symposium on the urban elderly sponsored by the 1995 White House Conference on Aging. 

In her latest book, Social Services and the Ethnic Community, Dr. Becerra documents the relationship between the social work profession and ethnic communities, showing why and how ethnic minority agencies have played a pivotal role in their communities by filling the gaps left by mainstream social service agencies. 

In addition to her research and publications, Dr. Becerra has worked as a child therapist, a drug counselor, a psychiatric social worker and a probation officer. Professor Becerra also holds an MBA from Pepperdine and has served on the boards of several social service groups, most recently acting as chair of strategic planning for the YWCA of Greater Los Angeles. She also has advised a wide variety of government agencies and non-profit organizations, including the NIH, the U.S. General Accounting Office, the U. S. Commission on Civil Rights, the American Association of Retired People and the American Cancer Society. 

In 2002, Professor Becerra was named Associate Vice Chancellor of Faculty Diversity. She began the new post on July 1, 2002.

Selected Publications

California Work Pays Demonstration Project: 40 Months Report. UCLA School of Public Policy and Social Research, August 1998.

"La Gestione Elettronica dell'erogazione delle Prestazioni Assistenziali negli USA" (Electronic Benefits Transfers in Public Assistance in the USA), with Aldobrandini, G., Empoli, G., and Morley-Fletcher, E.; Consiglio Nazionale Dell'Economia e del Lavoro. (Report to the President, Sept. 9, 1998).

"Race, Ethnicity and Nativity, Family Structure, Socio-Economic Status and Welfare Dependency," with Ono, Hiromi, Journal of International Migration, in press.