Richmond City Council Education and Human Services Standing Committee Meeting – September 10, 2026

The Education and Human Services (EHS) Standing Committee met on September 10, 2026. The supplied timestamp indicates a 9:00 a.m. start, although several speakers in the transcript say "Good afternoon." Vice Chair/Acting Chair Jones presided, and Councilmember Breton was present. All committee members were present except Ms. Lynch, and the committee had a quorum. No agenda or minutes were available, so this summary is based on the raw transcript. The meeting included public comment, approval of the July 9, 2026 meeting minutes, a Richmond Thrives Grant Program presentation, a Richmond Public Schools facilities modernization update, an ordinance to accept juvenile detention center grant funds, and closing human services updates.

Public Comments & Testimony

• The public comment period for items not on the agenda was opened and closed with no speakers.
• The public hearing for Ordinance 2026-191 was opened; no one spoke in opposition or in support.

Discussion Items

• Richmond Thrives Grant Program — Dominic Barrett, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of the DCO for Human Services. Barrett described the new competitive grant-making process replacing the former non-departmental grant process, with four priority areas (arts and culture; children and families; economic mobility; health) managed by three external grantmakers, including CultureWorks and United Way. He said the first two application windows close on September 11, 2026, and the new timeline from application closing to fund disbursement is about three to four months, compared with roughly 10 months under the previous model. Administrative costs were capped at 15% in the RFP process and are coming in closer to 10% across all four priority areas. The city will co-create guidelines, review applications for duplication, monitor grantmakers, report outcomes, and refine the process; grantmakers will provide equitable applications, community advisory input, and aggregate reporting. Grantees are expected to be announced in December, with an initial investment summary provided to council. A councilmember praised the program for increasing accountability and accessibility and suggested reviving a capacity-building training program for nonprofits; Barrett said the feedback was well received and that there remains a role for the city in supporting nonprofit training.

• Richmond Public Schools Facilities Modernization — Patrick Harrell, Chief Operating Officer, with RPS Board Chair Fernandez. The superintendent sent apologies. RPS has held two community prioritization sessions and has seven remaining; the next is September 15 for District 9. Phase one is about prioritizing schools for modernization, not consolidation, rezoning, or specific capital projects; phase two would address implementation questions such as new construction versus renovation. Data cited by Harrell: enrollment is up about 1.8%; average building age is 62 years; over 20% of buildings are at least 100 years old. The transcript's sentence about buildings over 50 years old is garbled ("over 69% of our buildings, 36% of our buildings are over 50 years old"), so the exact percentage is unclear. An independent assessment identifies about $680 million in maintenance needs over 20 years, while projected annual funding is about $2.5 million; the nearly $10 million capital allocation from council averages out to about $2.5 million per year. Harrell credited meals tax funding for recent school construction and referenced the proposed 1% sales tax as a potential source. In the community activity, tables sort 26 school cards into high, medium, or low priority using building condition, enrollment trends, student need concentration, and historical context. Harrell and Fernandez said some parents and principals who arrived to advocate for their own schools instead recognized greater needs at other schools. Councilmember Breton, who attended a session, praised the activity and reported hearing an attendee say, "You convinced me, I'll vote yes." Acting Chair Jones said she planned to attend the District 9 session.

• Ordinance 2026-191 — Juvenile Detention Center JAG Grant (Department of Justice Services Director Greg Hopkins). The ordinance authorizes the Chief Administrative Officer to accept $137,038 from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services and to create and appropriate a new special fund for a juvenile detention center program. The transcript contains an amount discrepancy: it reads $137,038 for the accepted funds but $137,003 for the appropriation. Hopkins said the one-time grant would fund equipment, staff training, and facility upgrades to make the detention center more trauma-informed and youth-friendly, including replacing furniture that has not been upgraded since 2011 and improving intake and visitation areas. He noted that Richmond offers post-dispositional services, and youth can remain in custody for up to six months; he cited Cook County Juvenile Detention Center as a best-practice model. A councilmember asked whether the funding was for one-time activities; Hopkins confirmed it was. The public hearing had no speakers.

• Human Services Office Updates — DCAO Ms. Popovich. Popovich introduced Lamont Barnes as the new Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, described his previous work in violence prevention, juvenile behavioral health, and youth workforce development, and noted that the post-dispositional program recently visited the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. She highlighted September as Library Card Month, a 35% increase in summer reading participation over four years with support from the Shea Berg Foundation, and the launch of the Central VA Resource Navigator website (centralvaresourcenavigator.org), a substance use and behavioral health resource hub developed with 1,500 hours of work by Monica Kelly and more than 130 organizations, in partnership with Henrico County and regional partners, during National Recovery Month. Acting Chair Jones praised the updates and introduced her liaison, Catherine Brown.

Key Outcomes

• The July 9, 2026 EHS meeting minutes, held at 2 p.m., were approved as presented.
• The committee approved a motion to recommend approval of Ordinance 2026-191; no vote tally was recorded in the transcript.
• No key action items or follow-up items were recorded in the staff report.
• Next steps for Richmond Thrives: first application windows close September 11, 2026; grantees announced in December; an initial summary report to council; and the mayor's FY28 budget in March would propose allocations to the four priority areas.
• The next EHS committee meeting is scheduled for October 8, 2026, with anticipated updates on early childhood enrollment from the Office of Children and Families and homeless services strategic planning.