Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Public defenders, advocates press board not to cut juvenile social‑work staff; supervisors seek budget information
Summary
Public defenders, juvenile advocates and community speakers urged the board not to cut social‑work staff in the Public Defender's juvenile unit; Supervisor Ellsberg said he will request detailed fiscal information from the controller for use during the June budget process.
Several speakers at public comment and multiple supervisors addressed proposed or potential reductions to social‑work positions in the juvenile public defender's office and urged the board to preserve those positions.
Advocates and attorneys described social workers as essential to effective juvenile defense and cost‑saving for the city. Sue Burrell, staff attorney at the Youth Law Center, told the board that “social workers are essential” and said national professional guidelines consider social‑work services part of competent juvenile defense. Abigail Trillin, managing attorney at Legal Services for Children, said social workers “save money…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
