Board adopts Latino health assessment, directs community‑led implementation and legal review

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously accepted a long‑awaited Latino health assessment that documents wide disparities in income, housing, school readiness, chronic disease and access to care among Latino residents of Santa Clara County.

The study, produced by the County public health department with community partners and a community steering committee, calls for place‑based, culturally centered investments — including expanded promotora/community‑health‑worker programs, culturally responsive behavioral‑health services, youth centers in East San José and South County, and better coordination of schools and health services.

The board’s acceptance followed extensive public comment from community leaders, health‑care workers and promotores who urged the county to move from assessment into funded action. Board President Cindy Chavez said the findings “should be alarming to all residents” and called for urgency in implementing solutions. Supervisor Sylvia Arenas, who sponsored the referral that produced the assessment, moved to adopt the report and its recommendations.

The board added several direction items before voting 5‑0: staff will commission a legal analysis of proposed actions (off‑agenda, confidential where appropriate); Valley Medical Center’s newly integrated Regional Medical Center will be included in any county facility improvement planning; staff will assess underused county‑owned properties for community‑based health and youth facilities; and the county will work with cities where appropriate (for example, on tobacco‑retailer zoning) to align local actions with county goals.

Public health staff said the assessment combines quantitative data (county, state and national sources), service‑use records and community listening sessions. Key findings highlighted in the 200+‑page report include a younger Latino population, far higher rates of housing cost burden and overcrowding, large gaps in kindergarten readiness and third‑grade literacy, rising youth behavioral‑health needs and disproportionately high emergency department use for nonfatal firearm injuries in Latino neighborhoods.

The department said it will convene stakeholders and prepare a county‑community “health improvement plan” to sequence actions, and it will post a Spanish translation of the full report online. The board asked staff to return with a community engagement and implementation roadmap and indicated it wanted short‑term, mid‑term and long‑range milestones tied to funding strategies.

The vote was unanimous. Supervisors said the document must not sit on the shelf: they asked for a follow‑up process that is community‑driven and funded to begin now.