Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities

WHO WE ARE The Center for Healthier Children, Families & Communities is a multidisciplinary, community-focused research, policy, and training center at UCLA. Established in 1996, we are a joint effort of the David Geffen School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics and the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. The Center also includes faculty from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Policy & Social Research, School of Law, and the College of Letters and Sciences. Integrating expertise across disciplines ensures that the solutions we develop are theoretically sound and highly practical. We also partner with leading organizations across the country to create and spread forward-thinking ideas and strategies. WHAT WE DO We gather data and experience. We synthesize for understanding and innovation. We spread skills and solutions. Many of the diseases that threaten the health of the entire population begin in childhood. By understanding how health develops across the span of an individual’s life, our projects point toward inventive solutions to urgent health problems. HOW WE WORK Our unique method unites pediatricians, public health experts, psychologists, economists, lawyers, and policy experts with local families, communities, and businesses to: Develop novel and responsive programs to improve children’s health. Increase the efficiency, effectiveness, and distribution of health and social services. Assist communities in transforming into healthier environments. Turn data into information that can be used to make decisions and implement action.