San Francisco Youth Commission
Minutes
Monday, December 3, 2012
5:15pm-8:00pm
City Hall, Room 416
1. Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Pl.
San Francisco, CA 94102

There will be public comment on each item.

Mia Shackelford, Chair,
Nicholas Persky, Vice Chair, Paul Monge-Rodriguez, Co-Legislative Affairs Officer, Rachel Brodwin, Co-Legislative Affairs Officer, Vanessa Warri, Communications & Outreach Officer Sarah Armstrong, Angel Carrion, Brian Chu, Kyron Covington, Ramon Gomez, Alex Guzman-Ramos, Christine Huynh, Lily Marshall-Fricker, Mia Tu Mutch, Vee Taumoepeau, Eric Wu, Ariel Yu

1. Call to Order and Roll Call

Chairwoman Mia Shackelford called the meeting to order at 5: 22 p.m.
The roll was called. Commissioners present: Sarah Armstrong, Brian Chu, Ramon Gomez, Iris Alejandra Guzman-Ramos, Christine Huynh, Lily Marshall-Fricker, Paul Monge-Rodriguez, Mia Tu Mutch, Nicholas Persky, Mia Shackelford, Vee Taumoepeau, Eric Wu, and Ariel Yu. Commissioners absent: Rachel Brodwin, Angel Carrion, Kyron Covington, and Vanessa Warri. Staff present: Mario Yedidia, Phimy Truong.

There was quorum.

2. Approval of Agenda (Action Item)

There was no public comment.

Commissioner Chu, seconded by Commissioner Marshall-Fricker, moved to approve the agenda. The agenda was approved by acclamation.

3. Approval of Minutes (Action Item)

A. November 5, 2012
(Document A)

There was no public comment.

Commissioner Yu, seconded by Commissioner Tu Mutch, moved to approve the minutes to the meeting of November 5, 2012. The minutes were approved by acclamation.

4. Public Comment on Items not on Agenda (Discussion Only)

There were none.

5. Staff Report (Discussion Only)

The Youth Commission’s Coordinator of Youth Development and Administration, Phimy Truong, gave a staff report to commissioners. Ms. Truong started by giving an overview of the Youth Commission’s third staff position. Since its first year (fiscal year 1996-1997) and up until November 2008, the Board of Supervisors had budged three full time staff to help the commission carry out its chartered duties. The Youth Commission office had advocated for the third position for the 2012-2013 year. The office received a total of 106 applications for the position. The Youth Commission staff planned on scheduling interviews for the week of December 10th, and making a decision by December 17th. Ms. Truong thanked commissioners for their support and outreach. Ms. Truong also reminded commissioners that the midyear retreat dates are January 12th and 13th, 2013. Ms. Truong shared that staff will be updating the Youth Commission’s 2013 committee meeting calendar and would be sending that out to commissioners before the holiday break.

The Youth Commission also welcomed back Mario Yedidia, the Director of the Youth Commission. Mr. Yedidia expressed his gratitude to commissioners and shared that he was impressed with the work of the commission during his leave of absence.

There was no public comment.

6. Legislative Affairs Officers Report (Discussion Only)

Legislative Affairs Officer Monge-Rodriguez gave detailed updates on the following Youth Commission legislative work: Supervisor Kim’s budget supplemental proposal to give $2.7 million to the San Francisco Unified School District will be heard at the Board of Supervisor’s meeting of Tuesday, December 4th, at 3pm. Community advocates, the joint Youth Commission and Student Advisory Council Education committee, and Board of Education members have reached out to Supervisors to express their support. Commissioner Monge-Rodriguez will be at the meeting on December 4th, and urged his colleagues to join him in supporting the legislation they supported in October.

Commissioner Monge Rodriguez also gave an update on the free MUNI for youth campaign. The final vote for the pilot program will take place at the MTA Board of Directors meeting of Tuesday, December 4th, at 1pm. This will be the final vote to approve the pilot program, after three years of Youth Commission’s work on this issue with community members and allies. Commissioner Monge-Rodriguez thanked his colleagues for their work, and urged commissioners to join him at the MTA Board meeting.

Commissioners asked clarifying questions.

There was no public comment.

7. Legislation Referred from the Board of Supervisors (All Items to Follow Discussion and Possible Action)

There were none.

8. Presentations (Discussion and Possible Action)

A. San Francisco District Attorney’s Office: An Overview of the department with a special focus on youth initiatives
Presenter: George Gascon, District Attorney
(Document B)

Chairwoman Shackelford explained that the District Attorney had a conflict in his schedule and had to cancel this presentation. The Youth Commission looked forward to a presentation from the District Attorney’s office at a future meeting.

There was no public comment.

B. Overview of the Department of Children, Youth, and their Families’ Request for Proposals for Available Funds for Children and Youth Services in San Francisco; the Youth Leadership, Empowerment, and Development Service Area (YLEAD)
Presenter: Prishni Murillo, Youth Empowerment Fund Manager, Department of Children, Youth, and their Families (DCYF)
(Documents C, D)

Prishni Murillo, Youth Empowerment Fund manager at the Department of Children, Youth, and their Families (DCYF), gave an overview of the $$22 million the department would be giving out in the request for proposals (RFP) process. The current RFPs had culminated from a three year developmental process, which included the department’s Community Needs Assessment and the Children’s Services Allocation Plan. Ms. Murillo spoke about the RFPs concerning two services areas: the Out of School Time area and the Youth, Leadership, Empowerment, and Development (Y-LEAD) service area. Ms. Murillo then gave a quick overview of the YLEAD strategies for teens. Ms. Murillo then gave an overview of the YLEAD strategies and projected that the department would receive about 600 requests for proposals. The deadline for the proposal would be on January 17, 2013.

Ms. Murillo then gave a quick overview of the Youth Empowerment Fund’s process of recruiting youth reviewers for the proposals received. She spoke about the importance of having youth perspective in the reviewing process. The criteria for youth reviewers included being between the ages of 14 and 21 years old, a resident of San Francisco, have experience in youth programs, and attend the required orientations and sign a conflict of interest forms stating commitment to be unbiased during the review process. The mandatory orientations would be on Wednesday, January 9, 2013 and Saturday, January 12, 2013. Ms. Murillo passed flyers out to commissioners, and urged them to outreach to their peers and to participate as a youth reviewer.

There was no public comment.

Chairwoman Shackelford thanked Ms. Murillo for her time and work with the Youth Commission. She urged her peers to help with outreach.

C. Presentation on Mission SF Federal Credit Union’s New Economic Rights for All (New ERA) and request for endorsement of New Era’s community campaign to urge youth to open savings accounts and raise awareness about the dangers of using payday lenders
Presenters: Margaret Libby, Executive Director, Mission SF; Glenda Flores, Mission SF; and New Economic Rights for All (New ERA) program participants
(Document E)

Chairwoman Shackelford welcomed Mission SF Federal Credit Union’s New Economic Rights for All (New ERA) to the meeting.

New ERA program participants introduced themselves and then provided background on the program. The program works to increase financial literacy among communities in San Francisco – in particular, vulnerable communities, from predatory payday lenders. The current cohort of the New ERA program participants is the third of its kind at Mission SF.
Youth participants then provided an overview on payday lenders and how their financial services are easily accessible to and purposefully prey on low income poor and working communities. These institutions provide loans that are, on average, 25 times higher than the average interest rates at non-predatory institutions. In San Francisco, most payday lenders are concentrated in the Tenderloin, Bayview/Hunter’s Point, Mission, and parts of the Excelsior district. Youth participants also underscored how low-income people with bad credit are especially targeted by payday lenders.

New ERA participants then spoke about the alternatives to using payday lenders, which include applying to use credit unions and/or local banks; personal budgeting; and being creative. Participants urged the Youth Commission to motion to support New ERA’s campaign which includes a petition urging San Francisco, DCYF, and youth employment agencies to discourage the use of payday lenders, and encourage all youth receiving stipends to open a savings account. Program participants also asked for the commission’s assistance in setting up meetings with Supervisors from Districts 6, 9, 10, and 11.

Commissioners Chu, Persky, and Monge-Rodriguez thanked New ERA program participants for their presentation. Commissioner Monge-Rodriguez committed to working with new ERA to develop legislation and further their work.

There was no public comment.

Commissioner Armstrong, seconded by Commissioner Huynh moved to support New ERA’s campaign which includes the petition urging San Francisco, DCYF, and youth employment agencies to discourage the use of payday lenders, and encourage youth receiving stipends to open a savings account. This motion was approved unanimously by acclamation.

9. Youth Commission Business (All Items to Follow Discussion and Possible Action)

A. Report analyzing the recreation-focused survey results of youth detained in the Juvenile Justice Center
Presenters: Commissioners Angel Carrion, Ramon Gomez, and Paul Monge-Rodriguez

Commissioners Monge-Rodriguez and Gomez read their draft email to Chief William Siffermann. Commissioners Cu, Armstrong, Shackelford, Tu Mutch and Yu asked clarifying questions. Youth Justice Committee members explained that they did not want the full Youth Commission to sign off on this document; rather, they plan to send the email to the Chief as a committee

There was no public comment.

There was no official action on this item.

10. Committee Reports (Discussion Only)

A. Executive Committee

Commissioner Persky invited his colleagues to attend the first planning meeting for the proposed regional youth commission action summit (to be held tentatively in spring 2013). This planning meeting will be Friday, December 7 at 5pm in the Youth Commission office (room 345 of City Hall).

B. Education Committee

Commissioner Chu explained to his colleagues that the committee had drafted a resolution regarding the achievement gap; this will likely be heard at the next full Youth Commission meeting of December 17.

The next Education Committee meeting is set for this Wednesday, December 5 at 5pm.

C. Employment Committee

Commissioner Huynh told her colleagues that, much like the Education Committee, the Employment Committee has recently completed a draft of a resolution. The Education Committee’s resolution calls on the City to continue Summer Jobs+.
Commissioner Persky told his colleagues that he and Commissioner Covington were beginning to talk about how to develop legislative work that would highlight how San Francisco could help implement the Obama Administration’s “deferred action” policy that provides young undocumented immigrants who came to the United States at an especially young age with a legal status.

The next Youth Employment committee meeting is set for tomorrow, Tuesday, December 4, at 5pm.

D. Housing, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning, and Transitional age Youth Issues Committee

Commissioner Tu Mutch updated her colleagues on the committee’s productive meeting last week. The committee has been working with the Department of Public Health to help implement Chapter 12N of the Administrative Code; the committee has agreed to pursue developing policy recommendations to help prohibit evictions or small site apartment complexes and to make intake forms used by social service agencies as LGBTQQ-friendly as possible.

E. Youth Justice Committee

Commissioner Monge-Rodriguez updated his colleagues on the committee’s meeting last week. The committee has been working on the report analyzing survey results of youth detained at juvenile hall, and planned on following up with Chief Siffermann.

The next Youth Justice committee meeting is set for Thursday, December 13; at 5pm.

F. Youth Advisory Council

Commissioner Yu updated her colleagues on the Youth Advisory Council’s work to be readers of the DCYF RFPs that Prishni Murillo spoke to earlier in the meeting.

There was no public comment.

11. Attendance Review (Action Item)

A. Commissioner Armstrong, Monday, November 5, 2012

Commissioner Armstrong explained that November 5 was the night of a school play in which she had a lead role.

Commissioner Chu, seconded by Commissioner Yu, moved to authorize this absence. This motion was approved unanimously by acclamation.

B. Commissioner Carrion, Monday, November 5, 2012

This item was tabled as Commissioner Carrion was not at the meeting.

C. Commissioner Gomez, Monday, November 5, 2012

Commissioner Gomez explained that he had a mandatory job interview for Juma Ventures the evening of November 5th.

Commissioner Tu Mutch, seconded by Commissioner Huynh, moved to authorize this absence. This motion was approved unanimously by acclamation.

D. Commissioner Monge-Rodriguez, Monday, November 5, 2012

Commissioner Monge-Rodriguez explained that he was working as a political organizer on a number of elections – and that November 5 was the night before Election Day.

Commissioner Guzman-Ramos, seconded by Commissioner Taumoepeau, moved to authorize this absence. This motion was approved unanimously by acclamation.

There was no public comment.

12. Announcements (This Includes Community Events)

Commissioner Tu Mutch invited her colleagues to a number of events: including a Gay Straight Alliance sponsored event at Mission High School and a holiday party at Lavender Youth Recreation Information Center (LYRIC) on December 19th from 5-7 p.m. for youth ages 24 and under. She also noted that December 17th is International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers.

Commissioner Shackelford invited everyone to a queer, Jewish Hanukkah party at the Contemporary Jewish Museum on December 14th.

Commissioner Monge-Rodriguez invited his colleagues to the “Next Stop: Justice” event this Thursday, December 6th at 6pm.

There was no public comment.

13. Adjournment

There being no more business before the Commission, Chair Shackelford adjourned the meeting at 6:52pm.