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Council approves staff recommendation to fund Sacramento Children’s Fund; advocates press for broader youth investment
Summary
The Sacramento City Council approved staff’s recommended awards for the Sacramento Children’s Fund on June 10 after extensive public comment and two weeks of follow-up work by staff and the fund’s oversight commission.
The Sacramento City Council approved staff’s recommended awards for the Sacramento Children’s Fund on June 10 after more than 28 members of the public spoke in support of specific programs and two weeks of follow-up work by staff and the Children’s Fund commission.
The funding decision determines which Measure L applicants receive grants for programs covering early childhood, youth mental health, violence prevention and homelessness prevention; staff had presented two scenarios and a third alternative circulated by councilmembers. Council member Mai Vang moved to adopt the staff’s scenario 1 recommendation; Council member Katie Maple seconded the motion and the item passed by voice vote after debate.
Why it matters: Measure L created a new, voter-approved funding stream for services for children and youth. City and nonprofit leaders said the awards are a step toward addressing youth mental health, violence prevention and early-childhood services, but many speakers and council members said the program’s three-year awards and the city’s general-fund choices are not a substitute for sustained, ongoing investment.
What the council decided - Motion: Move forward with staff-recommended “scenario 1” grant awards for the Sacramento Children’s Fund (Measure L). Moved by Council member Mai Vang; seconded by Council member Katie Maple. The motion passed by voice vote; the council did not record a roll-call breakdown in the transcript beyond the voice vote.
What advocates said - Jamie Gersick, chief program officer at the Sacramento LGBT Community Center, urged the council to fund mental-health services for LGBTQ+ youth and called the population “in crisis.” - Daryl Roberts, CEO of Roberts Family Development Center, said his organization was the top-ranked violence-prevention applicant and asked the council to consider adding money from vacant police positions to the violence-prevention line. - Multiple youth speakers and organizers asked the council to prioritize sustained funding rather than one-time grants and urged improved technical assistance for small, grassroots organizations that struggled with the application process.
How staff framed the awards - Renee Causon, Sacramento Children’s Fund program manager, told the council staff presented ranked lists, district overlays and a social vulnerability index (SVI) as additional context and that awards are expected to be contracted and disbursed in July 2025 for three-year grant periods through June 2028.
Next steps and council direction - Council directed staff to move forward with the selected award scenario and to return with more in-depth analysis and lessons learned on the RFP process to guide the next round in 2027. Several council members asked staff and the oversight commission to review the Strategic Investment Plan (SIP) and the scoring process to increase equity for smaller, grassroots organizations.
Ending: Council members and many public speakers said the awards are a start but not a long-term fix; several suggested the next budget cycle and the next Measure L allocation should prioritize sustained, citywide investments in youth prevention and services.
