NOVEMBER 2024 VOTER GUIDE
YES ON PROP J
Funding Programs Serving Children, Youth, and Their Families
ENDORSE-O-METER SAYS: YES
San Francisco spends a lot of money in almost every city department on children and families, but the city doesn’t do a great job of tracking whether that money is being spent effectively. Supervisor Myrna Melgar’s measure seeks to fix that, by enhancing the fiscal transparency around youth spending and forcing city departments to work together to spend existing funds more efficiently. We’re voting yes on Proposition J because we want to make sure the money we’re spending on San Francisco’s kids is actually getting results.
The Context
San Francisco spends a lot on the city’s kids and their families, with money for children flowing through almost every city department. Unfortunately, this spending is poorly tracked, and there’s not really a cohesive plan to make sure that money is spent effectively. Supervisor Myrna Melgar’s measure attempts to fix this by requiring all the disparate youth spending plans from different city departments to consolidate under the comprehensive DCYF process. The goal is to make sure that funding from different departments is being spent on effective programs that tangibly benefit children, isn’t duplicating existing efforts, and actually funds nonprofits and organizations that have metrics-based goals that can be assessed. It’s going to be a big project—this measure would go into effect next fiscal year, and after a five-year cycle where all departments come into alignment, accountability metrics kick in.
Prop J also fixes the broken accounting measure known as the “children’s baseline.” San Francisco set a baseline of approximately $200 million—the city needs to spend at least that amount annually on children. But currently, the city’s budget department just picks money from different city department budgets and applies it to the baseline, even if it doesn’t really produce outcomes or go to good programs. Supervisor Melgar’s measure makes sure that funding that’s being applied to the baseline is actually spent on kids in a meaningful way.
The Money
The Controller’s fiscal analysis found that implementing this measure would cost approximately $140,000 to $570,000 annually for the salary and benefits of one to three additional staff in the Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families. This staff would be in charge of making sure the roughly $200 million the city spends on children and families each year is being spent effectively. It’s a small price to pay for such in-depth work.
Support & Opposition
This measure’s sponsors include almost every member of the Board of Supervisors: Supervisors Myrna Melgar, Hillary Ronen, Shamann Walton, Catherine Stefani, Ahsha Safaí, Matt Dorsey, Joel Engardio, Dean Preston. There is no significant opposition to this measure at this time.
Other Organizations That Share Our Endorsement: The San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee.
Paid for by TogetherSF Action. Not authorized by any candidate or a committee controlled by a candidate. Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org.