SF Efforts for Children & Families Win National Recognition
An October, 2009, report by the National League of Cities called The State of City Leadership for Children and Families in 2009 recognizes San Francisco for its cutting-edge efforts to promote child and family well-being.
To read the full report, visit www.nlc.org. Among the highlights:
The Children’s Fund, including DCYF’s multi-year planning cycle, is named one of four “innovations for developing a local infrastructure for children, youth and families” in the country.
Healthy San Francisco is listed as one of the nation’s four “most innovative models for promoting community health and wellness.”
The Transitional Age Youth (TAY SF) initiative is presented as one of America’s three “most innovative models to support youth in transition.”
Other San Francisco initiatives featured in the report include:
• Beacon Centers
• Rec Connect
• Shape Up
• Bank On San Francisco
• SF Promise Fund
• Teacher Next Door loan program
• Working Families Tax Credit
• ParkScan
• Local policies requiring nutritional information on restaurant menus
In all, the report describes 32 local innovations and trends to support children and families through education, early childhood success, afterschool, youth in transition, youth violence prevention, community wellness, youth civic engagement, family economic success, cross-agency planning, data sharing, and creative financing. It shows that even as cities grapple with the worst budget outlook in decades, some mayors and municipal leaders have maintained a strong commitment to children, youth, and their families.
“In recent years, cities have tested creative approaches to some of the nation’s greatest challenges and achieved impressive results,” said Clifford M. Johnson, executive director of NLC’s Institute for Youth, Education, and Families (YEF Institute), which published the report. “NLC applauds municipal leaders in San Francisco for breaking new ground and inspiring other cities across the country to take their efforts to the next level.”
The innovations and trends included in the report were selected based on the YEF Institute’s intensive work with thousands of municipal officials in hundreds of cities over the past 10 years, as well as an open call for nominations and targeted outreach to other national organizations in the field. The National League of Cities is the nation’s oldest and largest organization devoted to strengthening and promoting cities as centers of opportunity, leadership, and governance. NLC is a resource and advocate for 19,000 cities, towns, and villages, representing more than 218 million Americans.
DCYF Contract Landscape
2007 - 2010
Number of grants: 362
Number of contracts: 310
Number of agencies: 211
Total grants allocation: $73 million
Children in SF: 110,000
Children & youth in DCYF programs: 37,500
Parents & caregivers in DCYF programs: 5,000
Contracts per program officer: 35 to 40
