Budget panel forwards $164.3 million early‑care workforce grant to full board after BLA reconciliation amendment

The Budget and Finance Committee on April 12 voted to forward to the full Board of Supervisors a resolution retroactively approving a grant agreement between the City and County of San Francisco and the Children’s Council of San Francisco to administer early‑care workforce compensation and related services through June 30, 2025. Chair Supervisor Connie Chan made the motions and the committee recorded a unanimous 3‑0 vote to accept the item as amended.

Ingrid Mesquita, executive director of the Department of Early Childhood, said the $164,300,000 program — funded principally by the commercial rent tax known in the legislation and presentations as “Baby Prop C” — will distribute wage augmentations and training across multiple phases and pass funds through nonprofit employers and family‑childcare providers. Mesquita said the city delayed final approval to ensure accounting and program details were correct and that the Children’s Council will administer payments, monitor eligibility, and support data collection and reporting.

Nick Menard of the Budget and Legislative Analyst’s office recommended two amendments the committee adopted: a June report from the Department of Early Childhood to reconcile disbursements between related Children’s Council agreements (how many providers and educators received stipends versus wage enhancements and overlapping eligibility) and technical assistance from the Controller’s Office to assess internal controls and disbursement processes. Menard said the BLA’s review showed the grant is “primarily” funded by Baby Prop C and that reconciliation is needed because prior stipends and the wage‑enhancement program draw on the same revenue source.

Supervisors Asha Safai and Rafael Mendelmann asked for cosponsorship and stressed the urgency of wage increases for educators; Safai also urged the department to track how many teams and trainings are implemented and how community‑based interrupters and SFUSD staff are deployed. Mesquita said the city uses a statewide workforce registry to track individual wage changes and that roughly 2,600 classroom educators and approximately 40 nonprofit providers plus 350 family‑childcare homes will be covered.

The committee passed the amendment to request the reconciliation report and Controller assistance, then voted to forward the amended resolution to the full Board with a positive recommendation. The item is slated to appear on the full Board agenda on April 18 unless otherwise noted.