Committee clears state grant to expand immigrant economic‑inclusion work

The Budget and Finance Committee on Feb. 7 voted to send to the full Board of Supervisors an ordinance authorizing the Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs to accept a roughly $166,000 grant from the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development.

Richard Whipple, deputy director of the office, told the committee the one‑year award would fund an “immigrant economic inclusion” project to develop a local toolkit, support cooperatives and incubate new models connecting newcomers to jobs and training. Whipple said the grant would also allow the city to add a grant‑funded temporary analyst for the project through Feb. 28, 2025.

Whipple cited recent demand: “Last year the school district reported over 1,500 newcomer students and nearly 1,000 so far this year,” he said, and noted nonprofit partners had reported a legal‑defense wait list of more than 600 people needing immigration representation. The office said the state funding is targeted at economic inclusion and will be coordinated with other city departments such as OEWD and HSA to avoid duplicating services.

Supervisor Melgar thanked the office and asked whether the grant could help connect newcomers to stable housing, noting vehicle dwelling among newcomers in District 7. Whipple said the state grant is specifically for economic inclusion but that his staff are coordinating with homelessness and shelter providers and would fold housing planning and temporary‑placement strategies into the project where feasible.

There were no members of the public signed up to speak on the item. Chair Chan moved to forward the ordinance with a positive recommendation; the roll call vote recorded Mandelmann, Melgar and Chan in favor.

Next steps: the ordinance will appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda for final action.