Sacramento Children's Fund Planning and Oversight Commission Meeting - June 4, 2026

This regular meeting of the Sacramento Children's Fund Planning and Oversight Commission took place on June 4, 2026, from 10:07 AM to 12:00 PM at City Hall. Commissioners reviewed target populations and mental health programming, discussed improvements for the next RFP cycle, and heard public testimony on cannabis zoning. The meeting was extended past two hours to accommodate full discussion.

Consent Calendar

• Approval of May 7, 2026 Meeting Minutes (File ID: 2026-00025) and Follow-Up Log (File ID: 2026-00274) were approved unanimously by voice vote on a motion by Vice Chair Ghafari, seconded by Commissioner Ruelas Mares. All six present commissioners voted aye; Commissioner Volcy was absent.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Carla (member of the public) urged the commission to publicly agendize and discuss the city's proposed Title 17 cannabis zoning changes, which she said would allow cannabis businesses closer to parks and youth-serving spaces. She cited risks of violence and impaired driving and argued the commission should separate funding from safety responsibilities.
• Zeus (age 9) spoke about playing baseball at parks and asked the commission to protect kids by discussing the zoning changes, noting cannabis businesses have been linked to robberies and violence.
• A third speaker (Mercedes) was not present.

Discussion Items

1. Sacramento Children's Fund Target Populations (File ID: 2026-01127)

• The Ad Hoc Committee on Target Populations led a presentation proposing changes to the RFP to better reach youth most impacted by poverty, trauma, and violence. Key ideas included creating a dedicated priority-population scoring criteria (separate from program design), requiring evidence of serving “crossover youth” facing multiple co-occurring challenges, and using a tiered evaluation system for depth of engagement.
• Committee members (Commissioners Kravitz-Wirtz, Ruelas Mares, and Williams) emphasized that the recommendation is to make priority populations an independently scored component of future RFPs, not merely embedded in broader categories.
• City staff (Julie Garen) noted the city must stay within Prop 209 bounds but found the strategies doable. She cautioned that requiring detailed data could disadvantage smaller CBOs and suggested working with the ad hoc to refine language.
• City Attorney Gill stated she would review the proposals for legal compliance and brainstorm alternative preference points where race-based criteria are not allowed. Commissioners agreed the ad hoc should meet with city attorney and bring back two to three concrete scenarios for the August meeting.

2. Sacramento Children's Fund Strategic Investment Plan Third Year Review (File ID: 2026-01125)

• Vice Chair Ghafari and Commissioner Thomas presented on mental health programming, distinguishing primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention. They noted that most funded mental health programs fell under primary prevention (e.g., school-based emotional regulation) and that no secondary prevention programs were funded. They proposed focusing future RFPs on secondary and tertiary prevention to better serve youth in active crisis.
• Discussion included concerns about overly broad definitions of mental health in the previous cycle (e.g., infrastructure projects like a skate park funded under mental health). Commissioners supported shifting preference toward secondary/tertiary interventions but acknowledged the SIP limits mandating specific levels of prevention.
• City staff indicated they could work with city attorney to create preference points for prevention levels, and recommended the ad hoc bring back sample questions or rubric changes for the August meeting.
• Commissioners also raised the need to address substance abuse, violence prevention, and early development (0–5) with similar specificity, and staff agreed to present options for preference points across all fund goals.

Key Outcomes

• Consent Calendar approved unanimously.
• Motion to extend meeting past 2 hours passed unanimously.
• Target Populations Ad Hoc will meet at least twice before August, include city attorney, and bring back two to three RFP scenarios for commission discussion at the next regular meeting (August 6, 2026).
• Mental Health Ad Hoc will bring specific recommendations for preference points and RFP language focusing on secondary and tertiary prevention, also for the August meeting.
• Staff to provide: (1) previous RFP questions for review, (2) analysis of possible preference points for prevention levels, (3) legal guidance on Prop 209 constraints.
• Follow-up log will include a request from Commissioner Ruelas Mares to consider whether the commission should discuss the Title 17 cannabis zoning changes (staff to determine if within purview and direct to appropriate channels if not).
• The commission acknowledged Commissioner Thomas’s candidacy for the County Board of Education and expressed continued commitment to refining future RFPs to better serve Sacramento's most vulnerable youth.