County presents expanded children's budget inventory and plans for standardized outcomes; committee agrees to less frequent updates

The Office of Children & Families Policy told the Finance & Government Operations Committee on Jan. 20, 2026, that the FY25‑26 children's budget now includes 283 programs countywide and that staff are working to standardize program definitions and incorporate contract and population‑level outcome data.

Director Heidi Emberling reported that the inventory—developed as an expansion of a pilot begun in 2024—found 283 programs included in the children's budget. Probation reported the largest number of programs at 109; the Social Services Agency reported the largest total spending. "As we can see, the overall funding amount allotted per department does not necessarily align with the number of programs reported," Emberling said.

Committee members emphasized measuring outcomes, not only outputs. Supervisor Ellenberg asked whether the county could move from counting how many children were served to measuring impact on child outcomes; Emberling said staff plan to look at both outputs and population‑level outcomes and will research which indicators are available. Supervisor Ellenberg moved to receive future children's budget updates twice a year rather than quarterly; the committee approved the motion.

Staff said next steps include refining the program definition consistently across departments, eliciting departmental feedback to inform future data collection, and developing an outcomes plan for population indicators such as food insecurity and housing instability.