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Youth Commission urges funding for voter outreach, mental health, housing and to reallocate policing funds
Summary
Youth commissioners presented budget priorities calling for youth voter outreach, expanded DCYF services, technology access, juvenile justice supports, housing for homeless youth, and recommended shifting funds from police to community and mental-health programs.
The Youth Commission presented its preliminary budget priorities for FY2021–22 and FY2022–23 to the Budget and Appropriations Committee, outlining recommendations developed through town halls and community outreach.
Calvin Quick (District 5) framed the presentation and said recommendations are intended to guide supervisors during the budget process. Commissioners asked the Department of Elections to fund youth voter outreach and preregistration and urged the Department of Children, Youth and Their Families (DCYF) to expand programs supporting young people’s physical and mental health, including technology access for distance learning and removing financial barriers to IDs or driver’s licenses.
On public-safety and justice issues, commissioners urged investments in restorative justice and juvenile services so that youth in contact with the justice system can be served in-city with housing and rehabilitative services rather than being placed out of county. A presenter recommended cutting police funding "by at least 50%" and reallocating those dollars to noncarceral, community-centered programs, mental-health first responders and youth employment supports.
For housing, the commission recommended reserving permanent supportive housing units and expanding youth-targeted shelter and navigation services; it also proposed piloting municipal housing strategies such as community land trusts and small-site acquisitions. For transportation, commissioners urged expanding Free Muni for Youth enrollment, eliminating the nominal youth fare, improving school-serving lines such as the 29 Sunset, and funding a youth transportation advisory board with dedicated staff.
The commission also requested higher staff salaries and stipends so youth commissioners and staff can participate equitably. Supervisors thanked commissioners for the work, asked for clearer costing of recommendations and discussed ways the Board can integrate youth proposals into department budget hearings. Public commenter Eldey Johnson, a social worker with San Francisco DPH, urged ending the MOU between SFPH and the Sheriff’s Department and reallocating those resources to community-based behavioral-health responses: "We don't need sheriffs. We need skilled clinicians." The committee voted to file the hearing.
