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City staff to pursue scope agreement with JED Foundation for youth mental‑health review; funding capacity identified
Summary
City staff said May 20 they will meet with the JED Foundation and local stakeholders to define a scope of work for a youth mental‑health review; staff indicated some funding is available in Community Services and the City Manager’s contingency if additional dollars are needed.
Finance Committee members heard an update May 20 on staff’s work to engage the JED Foundation for a community process on youth mental health and potential program alignment.
Lauren Lai and City Manager office staff said the city has ongoing funding in the Community Services Department for youth mental health and that, if additional funds are needed to secure JED’s services, staff can consider the CMO contingency appropriation. Lauren Lai said staff will schedule a meeting with Council members and JED to finalize the scope and then return to Council with a recommended agreement and associated funding request.
Why it matters: Youth mental health services and prevention efforts are a Council priority that involve city staff, school district partners, and local nonprofits. The JED Foundation typically performs gap analyses, community engagement and strategic recommendations; staff said they anticipate JED would work with existing local efforts (Project Safety Net, YCS and school district programs) rather than replace them.
Staff described next steps as defining scope, clarifying stakeholder roles and returning to Council with a proposed agreement and budget implications. Committee members asked whether the Palo Alto Unified School District intends to participate; staff said school participation and in‑kind contributions are expected to be part of scope discussions.
The committee did not appropriate new funds during the meeting but affirmed staff’s plan to finalize a scope with JED, and asked that staff provide a clear accounting of available CSD and contingency funding before returning with a contract recommendation.
