This charter amendment aims to create a new Children's Agency in San Francisco to improve services for children, youth, and families by coordinating existing departments and establishing new ones. It also proposes changes to funding processes for children's services and requires the Board of Education to meet certain governance standards before receiving city funds.
Charter Amendment (First Draft) to amend the Charter of the City and County of San Francisco to 1) establish a new Children’s Agency responsible for overseeing, aligning, and coordinating the development of systems, services, policies, and planning strategies to strengthen the City’s services for children, youth, and families; 2) authorize the Agency to include the Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families, which is responsible for administering the City’s Children and Youth Fund and promoting the development of programs and planning strategies to enhance services for children, youth, and their families; 3) authorize the Agency to include a new Department of Early Childhood, which will assume the duties previously assigned to the Office of Early Care and Education promoting the development of programs, policies, and strategies to enhance services for children ages 0-5; 4) establish a Children’s Commission to oversee the Agency; 5) modify the process for expending funds in the Children and Youth Fund to support services for children; 6) modify the process for expending funds in the Public Education Enrichment Fund to support the San Francisco Unified School District; and 7) require the Board of Education to submit a certification of compliance with specified governance requirements before the City appropriates funds to the San Francisco Unified School District not otherwise required by the Charter or State law; at an election to be held on June 7, 2022.
How it got here
The Charter Amendment to establish a new Children's Agency in San Francisco originated from a need to improve services for children, youth, and families, driven by the Mayor's office and supported by specific Supervisors.
The Mayor's Office introduced a Charter Amendment to establish a new Children's Agency and Commission, aiming to enhance services for children and families in San Francisco.
The Board of Supervisors assigned the Charter Amendment to the Rules Committee for review under the 30-day rule.
The proposed Charter Amendment was referred to the Planning Department for environmental review.
The Board of Supervisors referred the Charter Amendment to the Youth Commission for comments and recommendations.
The Planning Department provided a response regarding the environmental review of the Charter Amendment.
Public comments were received expressing concerns about the lack of community involvement in the development of the Charter Amendment.
The Charter Amendment was filed to be placed on the ballot for the June 7, 2022 election.
Reconstructed from attached documents & the official record
