DCYF defends funding shifts after two-year equity review; plans phased RFPs

During the committee hearing Maria, representing the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF), outlined why the department changed funding priorities after a two-year reauthorization and equity analysis. She said the reauthorization directed DCYF to serve youth up to age 24 and to conduct an equity analysis of outcomes; the department spent two years surveying community needs and designing a targeted allocation plan.

Maria described the RFP outcomes: "We had well over 800 proposals...We had, over $130,000,000 of request that came in. We only had $76,000,000 available," which DCYF said forced a competitive process and prompted investments in capacity-building and technical assistance for smaller community-based organizations. Maria said the department engaged roughly 250 readers locally and some national experts to score applications and emphasized plans for broader, collaborative RFPs later in the year that are ethnically targeted (e.g., Spanish-speaking, African American, Pacific Islander initiatives).

DCYF also announced a capacity-building initiative called "DCYF University," in partnership with San Francisco State University, to offer credit-bearing training for youth workers. Supervisors pressed DCYF on gaps created for organizations that did not receive awards; DCYF said some dollars have already gone out for family engagement and that other RFPs will be phased over several months.

The committee did not object to the department's baseline acceptance but asked the mayor's office and BLA to continue to monitor contract rollouts, technical-assistance funding, and the timeline for subsequent RFPs.