March 01, 1999

The meeting was called to order at 5:05 PM. Commissioners present: Aliga, Anderson, Barraza, Blake, Castillo, Castro, Cottonham, DeVries, Isner, Lugo Siu, Turner (12). Commissioners excused: Eliapo and Joun (2) Commissioners Absent: Crane, Mak, Ramlochan (3). Youth Commission staff Susan Kim, Camille Broussard and Joshua Todd present.

2. Motion to approve agenda: Seconded and approved.

3. Motion to approve minutes of February 1: Seconded and approved.

4. Staff Report:
Susan Kim- Budget hearing will be this Wednesday in Room 263 of City Hall. Everyone is encouraged to attend.

5. Working Group Reports

Legislative Action- Next meeting will be tomorrow at 4pm

Community Outreach and Input- Meetings are 4:30-6:30 every Friday at DCYF outreach packet will be going out this week.

Sexual Assault Task Force- The Task Force has been selected to present at the upcoming CCYFC conference and will be presenting their curriculum and task force model. Their next meeting will be March 8, at 5pm, 25 Van Ness Room 330A.

LGBTQQ Youth Task Force- The temporary emergency shelter should be opening with the next week. Our next meeting will be March 10, 1999.

6. New Business:

A. Discussion and possible action re: Presentation of the Children’s Service Plan by Deborah Alvarez, Director of Dept. of Children, Youth and their Families. Ms. Alvarez provided a disclaimer that the Child Services Plan (CSP) is not a plan for all money spent in the City but money specifically from Prop J funds. The CSP is restricted in providing any services to youth over 18 years old by the law which governs the Prop J funding. Commissioner Aliga requested information about how children are directly affected by this money. Prop J funds are not allowed to be used for direct services and a majority of the money has to go to community based organizations and DCYF works directly with agencies that provide direct services and those agencies receive money. Some direct funds are used for employment programs like MYEEP and YIP. By law they cannot give dollars to an entity that is not a government agency or 501c non profit. Requirements for funding say that the Mayor can choose who administers the money and he must submit the plan for how the money will be spent to the Board of Supervisors. There are only a few commissions which the CSP must be presented to but DCYF has decided to present the CSP to other commissions and has held 11 public meetings. Commissioner Barraza inquired where money is spent around health care. DCYF has switched over to two year funding cycles and is doing this to try and link funding to outcomes. Due to this almost all agencies funded last year will be funded this year and when the new funding cycle comes an outcome has been added which talks about health issues. This year DCYF is allocating 800,000.00 for mental health services. Commissioner Barraza also brought up the issue of placing health clinics in high schools. Ms. Alravez stated that in theory she is supportive of health care services in schools and DCYF is working on satellite clinics and is supportive of increased access to wellness centers but does not want to place health care in schools if it is sub-adequate health care. Ms. Alvarez is supportive of increased health services in schools but wants to make sure those services are of the highest quality. Since the funding cycle was switched to two years DCYF could not ask the Health Department to switch their focus for this year because their efforts are being guided by the funding agreement last year.

Commissioner Siu inquired if action has been taken by the SFUSD around health issues and increased services within the School System. Ms. Alvarez said that action is being taken but did not comment on specific examples. Commissioner Anderson wanted to know what the goals of DCYF are and how the YC help? DCYF is working to establish guidelines on how money is spent and work on maximizing how much bang we get for our buck from the Children’s fund. The second is to develop a plan that is a coherent and Cohesive and a strategic plan for the Children’s fund. Also all funded programs will be evaluated to determine the impact of funds being used and also mandating that any program that is funded for 99-00 will have to develop a plan for meaningful youth involvement within their organizations and finally that all future funding will be attached to outcomes. Benchmarks have been established for where we want to be but they will now develop indicators to demonstrate that the benchmarks are being achieved. The CSP is trying also to move away from deficit assessments of communities and look toward assets, what the community has and how to build instead of problems and how to correct. Susan Kim wanted to know if the CSP focuses only on children or can all areas incorporate youth as well. Ms. Alvarez stated that when possible youth are incorporated but some areas only address children i.e. readiness for school is directed at preschoolers. Ms. Kim also applauded DCYF from moving away from deficit based assessment but pointed out that in the youth sections assessment is still very focused on deficits and should look more for assets.

B. Discussion and possible action re: Resolution supporting Francisco Castillo’s travel to Africa with the Mayor. Francisco has been asked by the Mayor’s office to represent the Youth Commission on the upcoming Trade and Friendship Mission to Africa. Francisco will meet with the Chair of the National Youth Commission of South Africa to discuss what common issues South Africa and San Francisco have. The trip costs $5,000.00 and Francisco is working to raise funds now. If the resolution is approved Francisco will function as the official representative of the Youth Commission and speak on its behalf. Commissioner Isner was interested what follow up or report Commissioner Castillo will do when he returns. Francisco will report back to the Youth Commission as well as other bodies. Commissioner Turner motioned to approve Commissioner Castillo’s trip seconded with no objections. The resolution was approved with clerical amendments.

C. Discussion and possible action re: Appointment of members to the Student Advisory Council of the San Francisco Unified School District. The Student Advisory Council has been experiencing membership difficulties and is currently looking for members from various community based organizations. The SAC would like one Youth Commissioner to sit on this Council as well as contact names for any youth, Commissioners would like to appoint. This body is similar to the Youth Commission in that it serves as a bridge for youth although the SAC works with the SFUSD not the Board of Supervisors and Mayor. Members serve to bring individual school concerns to the council so they can work to have the School District make changes. The Council meets the first and third Tuesdays from 4:15-5:45, in room 210 of 135 Van Ness Ave. Only high school students from within the District can be appointed. Commissioner Blake and Aliga were interested in being a part of the SAC. Commissioner Blake will serve as another representative to the SAC.

D. Discussion and possible action re: Appointment of member to the LGBTQQ Youth Task Force to fill seat vacated by Sky Rodgers. Michael Johnson was not able to be reached regarding appointment to the Task Force therefore his application was withdrawn. Motion to appoint Molly Ingraham to the LGBTQQ Youth Task Force seconded with no objections.

E. Discussion and possible action re: Youth Commissioners currently in violation of the attendance policy. Commissioners Castro and Lugo were placed on the agenda as stated in the by laws since they have missed three meetings. Commissioner Castro stated that she was in the building for our last meeting but did not know where the meeting was held since our meeting room was changed. Commissioner Isner inquired whether Commissioner Castro wanted to remain on the Commission. Commissioner Castro stated that she is interested in staying on the Commission. Commissioner Turner motioned to excuse Commissioner Castro’s last absence seconded with no objections. Commissioner Lugo stated that she has been having difficulties personally in the last several months but she is still very interested in staying on the Commission. Commissioner Turner reminded everyone that when we excuse the last absence their names will still appear on the agendas if they miss further meetings. Commissioner Turner wanted to know if the lack of attendance was due to other issues and if so how can we get everyone involved. If you are just coming to meetings you are not doing your full duties as a Youth Commissioner, everyone should be involved with projects. Commissioner Aliga inquired whether or not there was a time limit on how long Commissioners and members of the public can speak and whether presentations could be limited to 5 minutes? Commissioner Castillo stated that a time limit of 5 minutes would be hard for many people to present within and that these are opportunities for the Commission to give youth input when people come to speak. Commissioner DeVries stated that time limits can help to streamline agendas and that we should feel free to ask presenters to wrap up their presentations if they go over. Motion to excuse Commissioner Lugo’s last absence, seconded and approved with no objections.

F. Discussion and possible action re: Setting the next meeting’s agenda.
-Commissioner Castillo requested that an agenda item be added to our agendas which allow for open discussion among Youth Commissioners around current events, this should be placed earlier in the agenda.

-Discussion around Dolores Park project re: possible development of a youth café in the Park.

-Commissioner Isner would like Commissioners articulate why they are on the Youth Commission.

- Overview of the Conference and how it is progressing.

-The Trauma Foundation will be going to Sacramento for the next several Tuesday’s to attend the Public Safety Committee to testify on gun control bills before the Committee. They have requested that Youth Commissioners come to Sacramento to testify to the need for gun control.

-General office protocols have been developed. This is an attempt to prevent any problems which may occur due to increased office use during the Youth Empowerment Conference and Violence Prevention Lobby Day. Web access, phone use and use of office supplies need to be Commission business related. If you have any personal business to attend to you must clear that through Susan.

-Commissioner Barraza encouraged that all Youth Commissioner come to the Youth Empowerment Conference and that they get involved in the planning meetings.

-On March 15, 9:15am will be an interview on KFOG around the Gun Lobby Day and the Youth Empowerment Conference.
-SFWAR is doing a poetry reading at the African and African American Center of the Arts

8. Public Comment- There was no public comment.

9. Adjournment: Motion to adjourn, seconded with no objections. Meeting adjourned at 7:05 PM.