San Antonio officials outline 'Next Level' youth services and urge expanded mapping and funding

Rebeca Flores, speaking for the Department of Human Services, told the council the city's 'Next Level' initiative focuses on 'opportunity youth'—young people about 16–24 years old who are not in school or work—and aims to reconnect them to education and employment with wraparound supports. Flores said the program began around 2016, the city opened an Opportunity Center in 2019 in District 4 and partners include United Way, the YMCA of San Antonio and the Teles Foundation.

"Muchas de estas personas han estado desconectadas por años y... estamos proporcionando la... ayuda para llegar al siguiente nivel," Flores said, describing services that range from basic ID assistance to mental-health and medical support. She said more than half of program participants lack a high-school credential and that cohorts include individuals with housing instability, prior involvement with juvenile justice, or foster-care histories.

Kerly Kefler, manager with Municipal Courts, described court-linked diversion and prevention programs aimed at students with chronic absenteeism and those eligible for alternative dispositions. Kefler said diversion work has produced preliminary outcome measures: "79 por 100 de los casos que se han cerrado es o se han cerrado exitosamente," and that, of 900 students invited to a recent engagement, staff tracked 209 who reenrolled in some educational program.

"Tenemos un proceso donde tratamos de ayudar a que los jóvenes se reinscriban y evitemos que escalen a cargos mayores," Kefler said, noting the court team uses volunteers and community partners in mentorship roles and that more complete outcome reporting is pending as cases close.

A Parks & Recreation manager (name not given in the record) outlined the department's inventory and youth services: the presentation listed what the presenter described as 2,071 city parks, more than 260 miles of trails, roughly 186 playgrounds, 30 community centers (20 full-service), expanded opening hours, school-calendar-aligned camps and aquatics programs. The presenter described specialty offerings such as a Zero Robotics program run in partnership with MIT/NASA and emphasized recruitment and certification work for lifeguards and other entry-level youth employment.

Michael Selen, identified as an administrator with the Office of Workforce Development, summarized Ready to Work and allied training efforts for 18–24-year-olds, including sector training (health care, construction and technical trades) and reported a 64% completion rate for a cited 18–24 cohort. Selen told the council staff will submit a budget request of just under $300,000 next month for program components tied to training and placements.

Councilmembers greeted the presentations positively but pressed staff on gaps and measurement. Councilmember Munguía urged the city to expand the program maps and indicated some parts of the city lack community centers and summer programming. "Tenemos que ver todo el mapa completo... porque dejamos muchas partes de nuestra ciudad," Munguía said, arguing the city must align investments so underserved neighborhoods receive services.

Councilmember Castillo tied program expansion to public-safety aims and said investing upstream reduces later costs in criminal justice. Multiple members asked that staff work with school superintendents and provide ZIP-code-level enrollment and outcome data so the council can match investments to need.

Staff said several grants have ended or changed, creating funding gaps in some service lines, and that some outcome figures remain preliminary while cases or cohorts are still closing. No motions or votes were recorded on the presentations; staff committed to returning with more detailed data, ZIP-code and district breakdowns, and a longer follow-up presentation. The meeting adjourned at 11:42 a.m.