The County of Santa Clara is pleased to present its Children's Budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022-23 of all youth-oriented programs and services.  We are providing this budget to inform our residents of the vast array of services the County offers to support our children and youth.  In collaboration with community partners, the Children's Budget shows programs across the entire County that emphasize supporting the needs of our youth through four general categories of children's well-being:

After two years of addressing the pandemic, the County continues its efforts in response to the long-lasting impacts that our community experiences as a result of COVID. There have been structural changes within the County to ensure our workforce is capable of being flexible, agile, and responsive to an unknown future and unexpected hardships. We have further learned the extent to which the County touches the lives of all members of our community. The disparities within our social structure have led to fundamental problems and demand attention in our own County operations, and to that end we are incorporating principles of equity in policy and budget decisions across all County departments. In the coming year, we will continue to play a critical role in the pandemic response along with focusing our attention on safety net services for our community.

Despite the impact of the pandemic, I am pleased to report that the FY 2022-23 budget included some exciting new developments related to children, youth, and families, including funding for the following:

EMPLOYEE CHILDCARE ASSISTANCE PILOT PROGRAM

The FY 2022-23 budget established a pilot program within the Employee Services Agency for a Childcare Assistance Program that will provide assistance with childcare expenses. Due to the pandemic, many families have spent most of their time isolating at home and no longer requiring childcare. However, with parents returning to work in-person, it has been difficult on many families to secure affordable childcare. This Pilot program will serve to provide children a safe and enriching environment while their parents are away for work.

DOWNTOWN YOUTH DROP-IN CENTER The FY 2022-2023 budget also provided over $1 million on an ongoing basis to develop a youth drop-in center in Downtown San Jose to support youth in navigating and accessing services across systems. The funding provides for a full-time Program Manager, Psychiatric Social Worker, Health Services Representative, and a Rehabilitative Counselor position to serve adolescent and transitional age youth (ages 12-25) with peer support, mentoring, support in navigating resources and referrals, social and psychoeducational activities, and employment and education supports. The geographic location of the Center will enable linkages to youth-oriented medical services and behavioral health clinical services. The Center aims to foster an inclusive and welcoming environment and will address service and access barriers.

SUMMER CAMP AND ENRICHMENT PROGRAM

The FY 2022-2023 budget expanded the Summer Camp and Enrichment Program by providing nearly half of $1 million on an ongoing basis. The program includes various summer camps and enrichment activities for kinship and foster care youth, low-income youth, and youth who are otherwise engaging in services from the County through the Department of Family and Children’s Services.

Based on the FY 2022-23 Adopted Budget, the County will spend approximately $1.09 billion on Children, Youth, and Family Programs. The County will receive approximately $866.3 million in funding from state, federal, and other sources for Children, Youth, and Family Programs in FY 2022-23, yielding a net cost to the County of approximately $220.2 million.

To put these numbers in context, the FY 2022-23 Adopted Budget authorizes spending of $10.89 billion, which means that approximately 10% of total County spending is for these types of programs. This amount of spending on Children, Youth, and Family Programs described in this Children’s Budget also understates the amount that the County spends on programs benefiting children and youth for another reason, which is because programs that benefit the general public and capital projects are both excluded from the definition.

Every child safe category reflects programs that address issues of food insecurity and hunger, children living in safe and stable families, and juvenile arrests.  The estimated spending for FY 2022-23 in this category is $602.4 million.

Every child healthy category comprises programs that address routine access to health care, healthy lifestyle, early social emotional development, a developmental asset.   The estimated spending for FY 2022-23 in this category is $451.0 million.

Every child successful in learning consists of programs that address school readiness, third grade reading proficiency, and middle school math proficiency.  The estimated spending for FY 2022-23 in this category is $22.8 million.

Every child successful in life entails programs that address high school graduation rates, children fluent in at least two languages, and youth feel valued by the community.  The estimated spending for FY 2022-23 in this category is $10.3 million.