The UCLA Community Based Learning Program (CBL) was founded as a vehicle to bring the resources of the university, especially its faculty and students, to the under-served communities of Los Angeles. The mission of CBL is to assist youth, both teenagers and young adults, with the transition from youth to adulthood. This includes encouraging youth to move from secondary to post-secondary education and on to meaningful careers and productive adult lives. For the past 31 years, the program has worked with partners in the community, including schools, religious institutions and community-based organizations, to provide youth development activities, job training and educational services to young people throughout the City of Los Angeles. Historically, CBL has been engaged in communities of color with young people who have limited education and work experience. An important objective of the program is to introduce young people to cultural, educational, and work experiences that take them outside their immediate communities.
CBL provides a variety of programs that encourage youth to further their education, go on to meaningful careers, and lead productive adult lives. CBL receives funding from the City of Los Angeles through the federal Workforce Investment and Opportunity Act to provide the following services to youth ages 14-21:
- Basic skills remediation
- Work readiness training
- Work experience, internships, and job placement
- Preparation for post-secondary education
- Tutoring & homework assistance
- Youth leadership development
- Mentoring
- Computer Literacy
For a number of years, CBL has operated a summer youth employment program. In the summer of 2019, UCLA provided employment for 270 young people through the Mayor’s Hire LA initiative. The young people worked on the UCLA campus, in the community, and enjoyed six weeks of employment combined with educational enrichment activities.
This relatively new CBL project targets homeless youth and youth with unstable housing. The program is similar to the other workforce programs by providing a paid internship and support for youth to finish their high school education and/or continue on to higher education. In order to provide these youth with wrap-around services, CBL collaborates with its many partner agencies to provide mental health programs, housing, unsubsidized employment and other needed services.
In addition to youth workforce activities, CBL operates after school programs as part of California’s 21st Century After School Learning Programs and LAUSD’s Beyond the Bell Program. Activities include tutoring, preparation for post-secondary education, youth leadership development and other enrichment programs located in the following locations:
- Franklin High School
- Hamilton Senior High School
- University High School,
- Jefferson High School
- Dymally High School
- Nava High School
- Sotomayor Learning Academies
- UCLA Community School
CONTACT INFORMATION:
405 Hilgard Ave., 70 Powell
Los Angeles, CA 90095
Phone: 310-206-5130
UCLA CBL YOUTHSOURCE CENTER
3415 S. Sepulveda Blvd. Ste. 370
Los Angeles, CA 90034
Phone: 310-572-7680
TTY: 711
See more information about the UCLA YouthSource Program here.
