San Francisco Schools: Concerns re: the DCYF Budget & Children's Fund

The following message was posted to the SfSchools list and is republished here with author's permission:

Hello Everyone-

I'm a new member of the Department of Children Youth and their Families (DCYF) Community Advisory Committee (CAC) and we were privy to their proposed budget at our last meeting. I have some major concerns regarding the budget, as do other members of the CAC.

As background, DCYF receives well over half its funding through the Children's Fund. This fund, passed as the Children's Amendment in 1991 & reauthorized in 2000 (Prop. D) to remain effective through 2015, established a dedicated funding stream for children's services in San Francisco, known as the Children's Fund - .03 on every $100 of property tax. You can read the actual Children's Amendment by going to the City's Charter http://www.municode.com/Resources/gateway.asp?pid=14130&sid=5 and searching for Section 16.108 (July 1, 2001).

In brief, the Children's Amendment requires that monies from the Children's Fund be spent "exclusively for the costs of services to children less than 18 years old" and on a list of eligible items (in summary - child care, recreation, health services, job training, leadership development, violence prevention, educational enrichment). It also requires that funding priorities are set by community assessment and that there be a public hearing on all allocations of funds for new programming.

The concerns of the CAC are as follows:

The Mayor, in the last moments of the fiscal year, inserted and deleted a number of items in the DCYF budget without public hearing and/or input from the Community Advisory Committee. The CAC feels that it is better public policy and that more children and families will be better served by following the mandated process.

My personal concerns are definitely about the process, but also about the cost and nature of the items the Mayor inserted into the budget. In particular, there is a 1,478,500 line item for a Baby Bond program (this is only for 6 months, the cost will double next year), which aims to set every newborn in SF with a $250 saving account from this day forward.

Another line item is $375,000 to offer $75 "Cultural Vouchers" to all 6th graders in the city to attend art and cultural events in the city.

Neither of these is necessarily a bad idea, but there has been very little background to explain the value of each program and there certainly hasn't been a public hearing. Not to mention that the Baby Bond initiative doesn't even fit within the charter of the Children's Fund & the Cultural Vouchers are a questionable fit.

All this when departments are being asked to make deep cuts. The Mayor is funding his $3, 743, 500 in new programming by using previously unplanned growth in the Children's Fund & by making 15% cuts to 14 grants made during the add-back process last year. I'm still trying to wrap my head around all of this, but basically it seems to me a use of funds in a way not intended by the voters in 2000. If the newly proposed programs have substance behind them, then let the Mayor go through a public hearing as called for in the charter. If not, than perhaps it is best to wait for flush economic times before funding such long term and costly programs.

If you share any or all of the concerns listed below, please contact your supervisor to let he/she know. Budget committee supervisors are McGoldrik (chair), Elsbernd, Mirkarimi, Daly & Chu.

The public hearing on the full SF budget is this Thursday at 5:00 p.m. at City Hall, Room 250.

Thanks for listening....

Stefanie