Community leaders, youth and providers urge supervisors to restore proposed cuts to youth and immigrant services

San Francisco — Hundreds of residents and nonprofit leaders filled the chamber at a May 8 Board of Supervisors Appropriations Committee hearing to press elected officials to restore proposed budget cuts to youth programs, workforce development and immigrant services.

The committee’s chair, Supervisor Connie Chan, opened the session by saying the hearing—one of three set to inform the annual budget—would focus on community safety and services for youth, families, seniors and limited English proficient residents. After department presentations, the meeting moved to an extended public comment period in which young people and staff from organizations including Horizons, Larkin Street Youth Services, the SF LGBT Center and CARC (Central American Resource Center) described programs that would shrink or end under current funding recommendations.

Maria Sue, director of the Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families (DCYF), told the panel DCYF’s operating budget for 2023–24 is closer to $210,000,000. She said the department’s proposed budget for the coming year falls to $182,000,000, driven mainly by reductions in personnel and grants as one‑time pandemic and philanthropic add‑backs disappear. As part of a new five‑year grant allocation cycle, DCYF said it received 700 proposals requesting roughly $114,700,000 annually (total proposals about $414,000,000) and ultimately awarded $92,000,000 per year across 142 agencies and 231 programs.

Community speakers said those reductions will close drop‑in centers, workforce placements and arts and leadership programs that provide safe spaces and job training for transitional‑age youth. “These programs save lives and create productive citizens,” Horizons board member Brandon Lara Gutierrez said during public comment. Multiple youth speakers said cuts to after‑school and summer programs will leave neighborhoods without supervised activities and make it harder for families to work.

Advocates for immigrant legal services also urged the board to preserve grant funding. Sheila Nicholas of the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) said two city‑funded collaborations—the San Francisco Immigrant Legal and Education Network and the San Francisco Immigrant Legal Defense Collaborative—receive $1.9 million and $6.6 million respectively this year, a combined $8.5 million, and that MOHCD’s preliminary proposal includes no general‑fund decreases for ongoing service grants pending the mayor’s final budget. Attorneys with the Justice & Diversity Center and KIND (Kids in Need of Defense) told supervisors legal representation increases immigrants’ chances of relief and strengthens public safety.

A sizable contingent of witnesses also addressed the city’s community‑based public‑safety programs. Some witnesses raised labor concerns about contracted providers; others—many of them practitioners for Urban Alchemy—defended the work of street‑based teams who said they perform de‑escalations and outreach. Labor and union representatives asked the city to consider transitioning practitioners into city jobs rather than continuing certain contracts.

City departments acknowledged the difficult tradeoffs. Cruz Iitano of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) said OEWD identified $4.4 million in proposed general‑fund reductions across business development, community economic development, film, small business and workforce programs, and estimated an immediate cut would reduce services to roughly 102 clients in affected programs. DCYF staff said they were reviewing 130 RFP appeals with the City Attorney and expected to finish that review before final budget negotiations.

After questioning and brief deliberation, Chair Chan moved to file the hearing. The committee approved the motion in a roll call vote: Supervisors Malgar, Walton and Chan voted aye; two members were absent. The motion carried and the meeting was adjourned.

The mayor’s budget office will make final decisions in the weeks ahead; supervisors indicated they will continue oversight and negotiation as the June budget process proceeds.