Santa Clara County Would Spend $170m In New Children's Budget

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — Santa Clara County legislators on Monday announced the county's proposed Children's Budget, which details future investment of millions of dollars in local children and families.

Supervisors Susan Ellenberg and Cindy Chavez briefed members of the media on the new budget Monday morning outside the County Government Center in San Jose, and the county's Board of Supervisors will discuss the plan during its Tuesday board meeting.

The budget proposes spending $170 million in county funds on children, youth and family programs this fiscal year and about $859 million total when accounting for funding from state, federal and other sources.

County Executive Jeffrey Smith said Monday the budget will help the county plan for the future, since county staff couldn't identify specifically "where we could actually look at the full span of services so we could identify where there are weaknesses, where there are strengths, what needed attention, what was going pretty well" with children's services and programs.

"The population of children in the county is increasing, but there's also an increasing need for our services as more and more children have challenges with homelessness, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, depression, suicide -- those kinds of problems that really need the county's attention," Smith said.

According to the county, about 450,000 of the county's 2 million residents are under the age of 18.

"Santa Clara County needs to prioritize children because doing so is the single most vital investment we can make in the future of our community," Ellenberg said.

Ellenberg and Chavez, while presenting the new children's budget during the board's Tuesday meeting, will also be asking for the county to set aside a $3 million reserve fund for childcare services and facilities within the county that need improvements or further investments.

Ellenberg said the county must commit to investing in its childcare professionals and paying them a "living wage", many of whom are women of color, because "childcare is not about babysitting, childcare is economic empowerment."

Chavez said she hopes to see "performance metrics" in the near future regarding how well the county's investments in children's and family services and programs work to aid local residents.

"If we think about the future of the valley, if we think about the future really of our entire country, it really rests on whether or not we are raising healthy children who are ready to be a part of our society," Chavez said. "When we plan for the most vulnerable part of our population, we actually plan better for everyone."

—Bay City News Service