I'd like to call to order this meeting of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors for Tuesday.

Please call the role and establish a quorum.

Good morning, Supervisors Kennedy.

Desmond Rodriguez.

Here.

Hugh.

Chair Cerna.

Here.

We do have a quorum.

Thank you.

Can please read our statement.

This meeting of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors is live and recorded with closed captioning.

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Once posted, the recording of this meeting can be viewed on demand at YouTube.com slash Metro Cable 14.

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Thank you in advance for your courtesy and understanding of the meeting procedures.

Very good.

If you would please rise and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Again, I'd like to welcome everyone to today's Sacramento County Board of Supervisors proceedings.

Another friendly reminder that uh if you choose to address the board on any matter that's on our posted agenda or any matter that's not on our agenda, certainly welcome to do so.

We ask that you please complete a speaker slip, get that speaker slip to the clerk.

Uh you can give it to her staff and the backup chambers.

Uh I will call you in order that I receive those slips.

And uh if we could please keep your testimony to two minutes, we would greatly appreciate it.

That way anyone who wishes to address the board has that opportunity to do so.

All right.

With that, Madam Clerk, our first item.

Item number one is public comments relating to manners not on the posted agenda.

We have not received any public comment requests.

Very good, thank you.

Next item.

Next item we'll take our consent calendar items three through 44.

And I have click notes for three items.

Item number eight is to adopt an ordinance amending section 2.100.080 of the Sacramento County Code relating to management time.

We waive full reading and continue this item from the meeting of October the 21st.

Also, for item number 23, we'll be adopting county ordinances granting a franchise for California American Water Company and Golden State Water Company to install and operate water facilities in unincorporated Sacramento County.

We weigh full reading and continue this item from October 21st.

And lastly, item number 37 is to adopt an ordinance amending Sacramento County Code Title Six, Chapter 6.28, Section 120 related to wells and pumps enforcement.

Weigh full reading and continue this item from October 21st.

Additionally, Chair, we do have public comment for item number 17.

Okay, very good.

Um let me just uh ask my uh colleagues here if they have any uh desire to pull an item for separate vote or consideration question or comment.

I see Supervisor Desmond in the Hume in the queue, and then we'll go to others.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

I just had a uh quick question on item seven.

So I will read item number seven in the record.

Item number seven is contract number eight one seven oh six is to approve the second amendment to the agreement with NORR associates, incorporated for construction support services on Watt Avenue Service Center and stay fit stay safe community safe stay, my apologies, community, to increase the contract authority from three million two hundred and five thousand fourteen four hundred and nineteen dollars to three million four hundred and twenty-nine thousand seven hundred and eighty-three dollars.

Thank you, and uh um we had a recently had a tour out at the uh Watt Avenue Safe Stay, and uh we talked about this issue with the fire suppression system.

I just want to see if I can get a response, maybe Siobhan or or from uh Josh about what this does to our time frame for opening the shelter now.

What's kind of the latest update?

Supervisor, I'll ask Josh to come up and update.

Good morning, Chair Cerna, members of the board.

Um Josh Green, I'm your director of general services.

Uh so in uh item seven today with NOR architects.

Um this is an expansion of their existing contract to do some additional design work for some of the unforeseen items that came up with the existing facility there at the Watt Avenue site.

Uh timeline wise, and in terms of the fire suppression system, we're still working with the um contractor on site to determine what those impacts are.

In addition to looking at the demolition and and rebuild of the existing fire suppression system, we're also getting some additional opinions on if there's a ways to uh move forward without redesigning and rebuilding the entire system in order to try to maintain the timeline.

Our contract our contractual timeline with Thompson continues to be February.

Um their construction timeline, as you know, has slipped a little bit from that related to some of the additional items that they have been working through.

So we're hoping to um in terms of the uh fire suppression system have some movement on that here before the end of the week, and um that will give us a better idea of what that actual construction calendar looks like.

Okay, but we're looking, we're looking at the spring for sure.

I think we had talked about that.

And one thing I would ask, and and thank you, Josh.

One thing I would ask is that uh when when they're redoing the fire suppression system, making the changes is to keep in mind the ability to maybe do some innovative things.

I remember when we first started talking about the Watt Avenue Safe State, we had explored possibly doing some kind of partitioned area inside the building, but we realized we couldn't do it with that antiquated fire suppression system.

So I would just ask to maybe keep that in mind, having a system in place that would allow us to maybe do some innovative things inside the building if if we decide to do that in the future.

Okay, all right, thank you.

Thank you.

And supervisor, once we get uh updated time frame, we'll be sure to share it with the entire board.

Thank you, and thank you for everybody's work on this.

I understand these things come up, but we're all eager to see this additional capacity come online.

We are too.

Good questions.

And uh, I would just uh add to that uh I think going into the project.

Uh someone that has some background in construction.

Um, and I know others on the board also have um similar knowledge.

You know, when you take a building that was never designed for habitation and turn it into one, especially as it regards fire life safety, there are gonna be some unique challenges.

So um, certainly not trying to make excuses on the on the schedule, but uh um uh at the very outset, I knew we had some interesting discussions with the fire marshal and the like, so uh again uh hats off to our staff who are I think are doing a phenomenal job managing the uniqueness of this project.

Supervisor Hume.

Thank you, Chair.

I have a couple of clarifying questions or clarifying question on item 13 and item uh 32.

I'll read them both into the record for you, supervisor.

Item number 13 is to approve the Oxform property final map and subdivision improvement agreement.

Item number 32.

Is retroact authorization to execute a memorandum of understanding with the city of Sacramento for the community prosecution program from September 22nd, 2025 through September 21st, 2026?

Thank you.

So for item 13, uh it's just one of curiosity.

In looking at the vicinity map, the uh parcel to the immediate north of this uh consideration is zoned RD3, and this is an RD7 map, and so it seemed to be somewhat incompatible to uh have those two abutting, but then in pulling up the actual final map, it looks like the parcel to the north has been mapped in something that is consistent with an RD7 standard.

Is that a map that has been approved or is that in process or why the uh what seemed to be a disparity in in the two exhibits?

Looks like Claudia Wade's gonna jump up.

Okay.

I will need to call the uh county surveyor John Scarpa up here to answer that question on the mapping.

Okay, and run and get them.

Um back to it in a few minutes.

Uh it's not that important.

It was more of a curiosity.

It seems like just one exhibit hasn't kept pace with the other or one's out in front, but it looks like everything will be more or less uh conforming and contiguous.

That's my understanding, yes, but we can get back to you on that with detail.

Okay, offline will be fine.

Thank you.

And then on item 32, my question is the uh board letter says no no net county cost, because it was already appropriated in the in the regular budget.

But is there a cost that the either the county or the district attorney's office is bearing in order to provide this community prosecutor?

So Eric Jones, uh Deputy County Executive, Public Safety and Justice.

So, no, that the position, the full-time equivalent position was approved during the last budget hearing, and the other um costs were uh vehicle related, and that's being covered by the city of Sacramento.

Very good.

Thank you, Chair.

Very good, thank you.

Uh Vice Chair Rodriguez.

Uh, my question is also on 32.

Um, the question I have a question and a comment on that one.

The question is that it was um when we talked about this during the budget, it was for one year, and the recommended action here is for uh option to renew the agreement for a four one year period for a total of five years.

Is the first year covered by the county, but the option to for the other four years is that would be the city of Sacramento's responsibility?

I would say it would not be the county.

It could be the city of Sacramento, yes.

Yeah, so it would be the first year of the county and the other two.

Okay, and then that first year started about mid-September, I think it was the date.

Okay.

Because at that point, the state of Sacramento can just have their own contract with the DA.

Is that right?

That is correct.

So then I was just curious why we added the other four years.

Or does it uh supervisor?

I believe that's standard contract language and it just gives the option um for it when it if it were to be readdressed after the one-year period.

Okay, and then on this item, I just want to uh uh make the record that I I did not support this during the budget, and I don't want to support it now just to be consistent.

So do you want to separate this item, Chair?

Or include it.

If that's your pleasure, we can do that.

Okay.

Would you like us to record that just as a no vote for you?

Would you like to take a separate vote?

That would be great.

Thank you.

Yes, okay.

No, let's just record it as a noble.

Yeah, thank you.

It's easier.

Uh okay.

Seeing no other uh colleagues in the queue.

Madam Clerk, uh, can you please call the public speaker and read the item that uh that public speaker would like to address?

So item number 17 is PLMP 2025-00124 Oveha Branch Solar Board Review.

A board review to amend three agricultural preserve resolutions to allow sort of solar, photovoltaic, and battery energy storage as a compatible use for properties located at 7266, 7700 Eagle's Nest Road and 10950, Gerber Road on the southwest corner of Florin Road and Eagles Nest Road, approximately 1,207 feet west of the intersection of Slew House Road and Eagles Nest Road in the Vineyard Community.

The applicant is Sacramento Municipal Utility Districts.

The environmental document is environmental impact report.

And our first speaker is Rodrigo Arbancipia.

Hi, uh good morning, everyone.

I just want to say that this is a good issue that we're worried about.

You know, clean energy is always going to be important, and I'm very thankful that we are making the right steps towards developing clean solar energy.

But I do believe that this is the uh wrong way to go about this because there are many environmental impacts that would be uh pretty uh that would be destroyed because of these uh the creation of solar panels in this area.

So I would urge you guys to, if possible, somehow uh maybe allocate uh resources towards maybe finding other locations suitable for solar energy, because that's it's it's a good cause.

I do agree with it.

Um, and that's pretty much all I have to say.

Thank you guys.

Thank you.

And Darcyla Rittwright.

Hi, good morning.

My name is Darcella, and I've been a resident of Sacramento as I was born here.

Um, as someone born and raised in Sacramento, I oppose the solar project on Coyote Creek.

I believe it's item 17.

However, I could be wrong.

Uh it doesn't make any sense to me why we would choose to disrupt natural habitat for a solar farm when we have plenty of parking lots that could produce energy while providing shade to shoppers.

And uh our very own intel in Folsom has one of the largest solar carports in the United States, covering 2,850 parking lot spaces.

I was just wondering why can't Sacramento continue to break new records with additional solar carports around the city instead of disrupting natural habitat and about 3,000 oak trees that cannot simply be replanted.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And uh Mr.

DeFonte, I don't believe uh the speaker is addressing the correct project.

No, uh item 17 is the Oveha proposed uh project.

Um, Coyote Creek will come to the board tentatively on November 18th.

Yeah, so stay tuned.

Okay, uh Madam Clark, that concludes our public speakers on consent matters.

Second okay, is it uh motion and second?

Uh Mr.

Villanueva, for after your vote.

Okay.

Uh Mr.

Kennedy, did you have a comment?

Okay.

All right, thank you.

Mr.

CEO.

Thank you, Chair Serna.

Um, in your uh approval of the consent agenda, you have two items on there, item number 14 and item number four.

Um, item number 14 is the um appointment of a county surveyor.

And um, I'd like to ask Mr.

DeFonte to introduce uh Brian and give him a chance to say something.

Sure.

Very happy to.

So Dave DeFonte, Deputy County Executive here to introduce Brian Gluley.

Um, so appreciate your appointment of him on your consent calendar.

As you'd imagine, he is a licensed surveyor, um, with more than 25 years experience spanning both the public and private sector.

Uh, most recently, he was the business development leader and senior associate uh David Evans and Associates.

He managed offices across the western U.S.

from Colorado, Utah, and California.

Tons of technical experience, leadership experience.

Um, I was on one of his interview panels and uh was really pleased to see his um extreme passion for surveying generally his customer service focus, etc.

So, very happy to have him on board and wanted to see if he could come up and just say a few words and introduce himself.

Also in the running for most impressive beard in Sacramento County now.

But he does have some stiff competition.

We know that.

Maybe we need a side-line sign here.

Well, good morning, everybody, and uh thanks for the introduction.

Um, is Brian Galuli.

I've been surveying for 25 years.

Um, I'm very passionate about that.

I'm I'm surveying, I'm licensed in California, Washington, and Oregon.

I'm passionate about bringing people into the profession in general and also just providing support and guidance as needed.

Um surveying's been a long passion of mine.

I kind of just fell into it, and um I'm looking forward to this opportunity to be able to serve as county surveyor, and uh yeah, I'm excited and look forward to getting started.

All right, very good.

Well, welcome.

Welcome.

Thank you.

Thank you, Supervisor.

One other introduction.

So, in addition, item number four was your appointment of a new uh clerk of the board.

Um, Todd Sturmer has uh been uh has 17 years of municipal government experience and is most recently been in the city of Fresno as the city clerk.

Uh Todd has also been an active leader in professional organizations, including the Central California Clerks Association, the International Institute of Municipal Court Clerks, the California Municipal Clerks Association, and Master Municipal.

He's also a master municipal clerk and a notary of um uh public.

Um in addition, Todd has his bachelor's degree in philosophy, his master's degree in public administration, and he also has um his jurisdictorate in law.

Um we're fortunate to have Todd join us, and although he's not sporting a beard, um he has time to uh to work on that.

Um we didn't have that as part of the prerequisites.

So with that, I'd like him to come up and introduce himself.

And before and before he starts to speak, I just want to give a sincere thank you to Nicole Lee for her uh support of the board and her activities um here in the board chambers, and then also thank Hang Nguyen who can be here today.

She has another little activity going on as the voter registrar, and she is uh holding down the fort at the voter registrar's office counting votes sometime today.

So with that, I'll turn it over to Todd.

And his beard and his lack of beard.

No, no, no, he doesn't not as big as beard, yeah.

His defense, I grew it in the moment since that speech.

So you ask for it, I will deliver.

So, yes, uh, I'd like to thank David.

I'd like to thank all the members of the executive office and all the department heads for uh for all the guidance, and I hope I'm as impressive to the board as I was to you.

Uh I'd like to thank my wife and family that are in the audience.

But I am ready to hit the ground running.

I know I've got big shoes to fill.

Uh, Flo who did this for more than or about 14 years, and Hang, who was the interim, kept the department going, and of course, Nicole.

Nicole, I am thrilled to have you in my management team so that we can do great things for this department.

So um, happy to answer any questions if you guys have any.

Any questions?

Welcome.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right, thank you, supervisors.

All right, very good.

Thank you.

Uh all right.

Um, let's see.

Uh Madam Clerk, how would you like to proceed?

We can do boards and commissions, nominations and appointments.

Okay.

We're taking item number 52.

Continuing to November 18th, 2025 is the cemetery advisory commission, the Fair Oaks Community Planning Advisory Council, the Natoma Community Planning Advisory Council, the North Islands Community Planning Advisory Council, the Sacramento County Behavioral Health Youth Advisory Board, Sacramento County Employees Retirement Board, the Sacramento County Youth Commission, and the South Sacramento Area Community Planning Advisory Council.

Continuing to know December 9th, 2025 is the assessment appeals board, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Citizens Advisory Committee, the Cordova Community Planning Advisory Council, the County Service Area Number 4B.

Slowhouse Wilton Casumnus County Service Area C, Delta, the Equal Employment Opportunity Advisory Committee, and the Ogeville Community Planning Advisory Council.

Today's items is the Adult and Aging Commission, Chair Cerna.

There are 13 seats.

Chief, recommending the nomination of Dolores Uh Diaz, and continue the remainder to December 16th, please.

Thank you.

For the Foothill Farms Community Planning Advisory Council Supervisor Desmond, there's two district three seats.

Please nominate Jordan Boyer and continue the remainder to December 9th.

Thank you.

For the public financing authority of the County of Sacramento, Metro Air Park Intant Infrastructure Financing District.

There are two general public seats.

Chair Cerna.

Chiefs recommend reappointing Mike Whipple and continue the remainder until December 16th, please.

Thank you.

For the public health advisory board, Chair Cerner, there are two community member seats.

Chiefs recommend nominating Nathaniel Bailey and continue the remainder to November 18th.

And lastly, the Sacramento County Behavioral Health Commission.

Supervisor Desmond, there's one district three C.

Please nominate Tyler Walter.

Thank you.

That concludes our nominations and appointment are we can take at 10 o'clock.

We can start with our timed items if you like.

Okay, very good.

Thank you, madam clerk.

Uh therefore we will stand in recess for five minutes.

Okay, I'd like to call back to order this meeting of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors for Tuesday, November 4th, 2025.

Madam Clerk, we please call the roll and reestablish a quorum.

Thank you.

Members Kennedy here.

Desmond.

Rosario Rodriguez here.

Hume here and Chair Cerna.

Here.

You have a quorum.

Very good.

Next item, please.

Item number 45, Mr.

Chair's County Service Area Number One, Zone Number One, Public Hearing on the Benefit Category Change and Levy of Increased Service Charge for the New Green Apartments Project.

Hello.

Good morning, board members.

I'm Don Pimentel with County Engineering.

The new Green Apartments Project is situated on the west side of West Avenue, roughly 300 feet south of Larchmont Drive.

The development includes eight three-story apartment buildings totaling 172 units, a two-story clubhouse, and related site improvements.

This project was approved through a development plan review, special development permit, and design review on June 24th, 2024.

To satisfy condition of approval required before the building permit issuance, the project proponents submitted an application to initiate the benefit category change process.

Following that submission, a notice and proposition 218 protest ballot was sent to the property owner on September 19th, 2025.

Currently, the project parcel is classified under the safety light only category with an annual assessment of $2.56 upon changing to the enhanced street and safety light non-residential category.

The annual service charge will increase to approximately 470 dollars and 98 cents.

If the board has no questions, staff recommends opening the public hearing, receiving written and oral testimony along with any objections and protests, closing the public hearing, and then directing the clerk of the board to tabulate the return protest ballot.

Very good.

Thank you.

Uh will the clerk please uh tabulate.

And I assume we do not have any public speakers.

We do not have any public speakers, so we have the clerk's office received uh one ballot.

It's uh from the legal owner New Green Properties LLC, parcel number 2080122-067.

Site addresses Watt Avenue North Highlands, California 95660.

And it's recorded as a yes vote.

Thank you.

Since there is no majority protest, we request the board adopt the attached resolution to confirm the levy of increased service charges for the new green apartments project.

And I would like to read in the recordings for the resolution.

Please.

In section two, at the close of the hearing, the board received zero written protests.

At the close, and in section three, at the close of the tabulation, the board received one protest ballot totaling 100% of the total service charges to be levied, of which 100% was in favor of the charge of the benefit category, in sorry, change of the benefit category, and zero percent were in opposition to the change of the benefit category.

All right, very good.

Uh all right.

Uh at this point, we don't have any public speakers.

Uh, entertain a motion.

I'll go ahead and move to approve the recommended action for number 45.

Okay, it's been moved and seconded.

Please vote.

And the item does pass unanimously.

Very good.

Thank you.

Next item, please.

The next item is item number 46.

This is the approval of the 2026 housing and redevelopment agency proposed budget and adopting a multifamily loan and mortgage revenue bond application schedule.

Good morning.

Good morning.

How do you lower this?

I'm so sorry.

Thank you so much.

Uh good morning, Chair, members of the board.

My name is Kay Junta.

I'm the assistant director of finance at Sacramento Housing Redevelopment Agency.

And I am pleased to share with you the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency's 2026 proposed proposed budget reflecting the balance plan that supports our mission to expand affordable housing opportunities and strengthen community revitalization throughout the city and county of Sacramento.

The budget brings together resources from federal, state, and local partners, and it represents a careful alignment of revenues and expenditures to ensure financial stability.

As we walk through the details today, you will learn about both our funding priorities and the programs that have the greatest impact on the families and neighborhoods we serve.

I'm sorry, I'm clicking the wrong button.

Thank you.

Sorry about that.

Uh for the coming year, SHRA anticipates approximately 341 million dollars in new resources.

These resources represent the foundation of our budget and support the wide range of housing and community development programs we deliver throughout our communities.

The majority of these resources is derived from federal funding, which accounts for over 70% of our budget, and it's primarily through the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

These dollars are critical in sustaining our largest programs, especially the housing choice voucher program and the public housing program.

The remaining 30% come from state and local sources, including state and local housing trust funds, homeless housing assistance and prevention funding, permanent local housing allocation, as well as new opportunities such as pro-incentive housing and green means go.

Here's how our funds are allocated across our programs and operations.

216 million is dedicated to HAP, which is the cornerstone of our housing choice voucher program and provides the right rental support to families in need.

60.7 million is expected to go towards capital projects, ensuring we continue to invest in new housing development, rehabilitation rehabilitation of existing units and community revitalization initiatives.

Is for the dedicated staff who administer these programs and deliver services across Sacramento.

19.2 million towards services and supplies supports the day-to-day costs that keep the agency running efficiently.

5.5 public goes towards public services, which uh goes towards targeted programs that strengthen neighborhoods and support residents, and then 2.5 million in debt services allow us to responsibly manage long-term financial obligations.

This distribution demonstrates how SHRA balances operational needs with program investments while ensuring the majority of our dollars go directly into housing assistance and community development.

Now let's take a look at how the agency has trended since 2023.

Before you do that, if you can go back to the previous slide, please.

I think that that's probably uh structurally one of the um shortcomings to be candid.

This is not the city council, this is the county board of supervisors.

But we I think have a particular interest in understanding how SHRA resources are being collected and thoughtfully expended within the county of Sacramento, the unincorporated county were reminded about that political geography every time we get briefings on, for instance, uh community development block funding, the fact that we have to think uh with the the um the reminder in the back of our minds that it's uh just about the unincorporated county, and for uh a couple of us who represent uh big chunks of our largest city um that could be a challenge.

So I think uh for the future, at least foreseeable future, I think that would be a good takeaway for staff is to understand uh maybe the audience uh to whom you're presenting a little bit closer so that we uh get that palpable sense of of again uh budget implications as it relates to the county of Sacramento.

Yes, sir.

Thank you.

Um so uh operations have steadily grown from 250.7 million in 2023 to 28.8 million proposed in 2026.

This represents a 12 percent increase over four years, driven primarily by the growth in housing assistance payments.

Uh capital projects by contrast have declined from 89.4 million in 2023 to $60.7 million in 2026, a 32% reduction, and this reflects our uh closeout of major construction projects such as the completion of Marisol Village.

Housing assistance payments shows a steady rise, primarily driven by increase in per unit housing costs, reflecting inflationary pressures and rising market rents rather than a significant change in the number of assisted households.

Um and then by 2026, nearly four out of every five dollars in operations growth are directed to housing assistance.

Our major program is a housing choice voucher program.

This slide highlights the trend in housing assistance payments or HAP alongside related expenses and reserves over the past several years.

What you're really seeing here is not a sudden jump in the number of vouchers we administer.

SHRA has long managed voucher utilization at a consistently high level.

Um but this instead is the upward curve reflects the steady rise in Sacramento's housing cost.

As rents climb, the cost of providing assistance rises right along with them.

Funding for this program is tied to how many families we assist, but it is also shaped by the federal appropriations process.

Even when eligibility is strong, the dollars available depend on how much Congress allocates, and that's where the proration comes into play.

In previous years, HAP funding was essentially fully covered, close to 100%, while administrative fees were supported in the 90% range.

For 2026, however, both are projected to be in the 80s, meaning we will receive less than the full cost of providing these services.

This forces us to request and compete for additional funds as demanding costs grow.

Can again before you leave that slide.

I mean, obviously, what jumps out probably the most on this chart is 2024.

Can you can you explain a little bit what uh what happened where we had, and I'm not complaining, uh where we had uh uh relatively speaking, uh sizable uh revenue over expense?

Yes, so that's where the pro ration really impacts um how much we receive.

The paration fact uh the paration rate is not the same year over year, um, and so in 2024, there was a higher probation than what is expected uh that what we received this year, and then what is expected in uh next year as well.

So is the readers' digest version of the answer it was uh congressional appropriations decision?

That is correct, okay.

Okay, right, thank you.

No worries, uh and now this chart shows the revenue history of agency of the agency's public housing program and how its role in our overall budget has shifted over time.

Uh back in 2020, total revenues for the city and county public housing authorities reached 21.6 million dollars.

That was a temporary peak driven by one-time federal relief.

Since then, revenues have steadily declined, and the biggest factor is the reduction of operating subsidies, which continue to shrink each year.

In 2026, we anticipate our biggest decline in support, estimating a paration of approximately 88 percent.

In 2025, subsidies totaled 9.3 million dollars, but for 2026, there are projected to fall further to 7 million.

This reflects both the declining number of public housing units and declining federal paration, which reduces the percentage of costs that are reimbursed even when we remain eligible.

At the same time, tenant rental revenues are showing slight growth in 2025.

Tenant rents brought in $7.7 million, and for 2026, we expect that to increase to $7.9 million.

This modest improvement comes from stronger rent collection efforts as the agency has focused on ensuring resident contributions are collected consistently and on time.

And now uh executive director James Shields will provide additional updates impacting 2026.

Very good, thank you.

Morning, Chair, morning, good morning, board.

Uh Jim Shields, acting executive director, and uh before I start, uh, I would like to say that we're going to take this budget and we will split it up and get it back to you in the next couple weeks.

Terrific.

Thank you.

Absolutely, we'll get it back to you.

Absolutely.

So what I do is like to spend some time on uh talking a little bit about the um state and federal issues that are affecting uh housing in general.

On the state side, uh affordable housing support.

Um the governor has uh put in his budget and finalized four billion in resources to address housing affordability and homelessness.

The budget includes one billion for new house homeless housing assistance and prevention programs.

This program is specifically targeted to provide permanent housing, rental assistance, and navigation services to reduce homelessness, these funds are the funds that the city and county depend on to create shelters and support them.

Additional housing investments, $500 million added to the low income housing tax credit program, and $418 million for the competitive multifamily housing supernova for HCD, which includes infrastructure, infill grant program, and the multifamily housing program.

And finally, $2.2 billion in grants for the home key program, which has helped home build homes for approximately 16,000 people over the period of uh a few years that the home key program has been in place.

On the federal side, I know I briefed all of you on that, uh, but I'd like to go into that a little bit further.

Uh we're in day 35, as you all know, uh, with no end in sight.

Um it's very difficult to try to look and see what's happening in the future.

However, we do know that um HUD has um given us our funding for this month.

We receive our funding for the HAP program at the beginning of each month.

We did receive our funding, and we did send out all the checks to the um landlords, so they've all received their funding for that.

So that's good news.

We've been told that we will get our funding for uh the month of December as well for both our housing programs and for the public housing programs as well.

Can I ask the dumb question here?

Um Supervisor Kennedy is gonna follow up with hopefully not a dumb question, but a smart question.

But my my dumb question is uh we've seen as recently as late last week what uh the courts had to say about the use of emergency funding as it relates to SNAP uh benefits.

Yes.

Is there anything comparable that legally can and should or is being pursued at the federal level uh as it relates to ensuring housing assistance dollars flow?

There are some of the trade groups that we work with, uh CLAFA and NARO are looking at doing something like that.

So we've we're getting some information that they are trying to look at that because they are emergency grants and they're for life and safety.

Uh and so uh they they're supposed to be going forward, you know.

They're supposed to fund those life and safety issues.

So uh I'll keep my eye on that though.

Do you know if it's it's risen to the level of uh preparing legal action?

No, not there yet.

No, no, not yet.

Okay, uh Supervisor King.

And a similar stupid question.

Okay, they're not stupid.

No, no, no.

Great great minds a lot.

Uh thank a lot.

All right.

Sorry to interrupt your flow.

Um, okay, so another issue uh is uh uh the impact on our um emergency housing vouchers.

Uh it's a big issue.

We were we received 494.

It was supposed to be for 10-year program, it's now in year four, and it's running out of money at the at the middle of next year.

Um we've gone to HUD and asked for waivers to put them on the top of the list for our voucher program, which they agreed to.

Uh unfortunately, we don't have any open vouchers, but when we do, they'll be at the top of the list.

We've also asked for a waiver to put them on the list to be at the top of public housing.

And uh again, there's nobody there to review the waiver, so we haven't received an answer, but we hope to get an answer to that soon when they come back so that we can put them on the list.

There's no end in sight for voucher uh for these vouchers for funding, either from the Senate appropriations or from the uh house appropriations.

So we're not quite sure where this is gonna be going.

Um so the other issue we have with HUD is that they have going through some major issues with their financial systems, and they're they're upgrading their systems, so it's causing delays sometimes in payments, and so we're having to live with that as well.

So hopefully they get through with the bugs that they're doing with putting in their new system.

All right, the approach to our uh budget is as case said it's very conservative.

Uh we're basing it on 2025 numbers, um, because that's uh a very conservative number.

And um the uh again the appropriations committees have have voted pretty close to the 2025 number.

So uh we went with that number.

The um biggest issue that we have going on for us on when it comes to technology is uh as I've told you all that we're into year two of a change in technology.

Uh the operations technology already is uh end of life, and we're going to a new system, Voyager 8, which will help alleviate a lot of the issues that we have today and make it easier for the public to get hold of us to process their claims, to process their applications, and everything will be online.

So it'll be a big change for them, an upgrade for them, and also a pretty big savings to both the city and the county, as far as funding.

It's a lot cheaper there.

And um, so the other thing I want to talk about is the uh 10-year roadmap, which was the last time it was done was 10 years, uh excuse me, 2010.

And that really is a 10-year roadmap on sustainability for public housing.

Um back then, um, which means it's how much money does it take to continue public housing?

It was $26 billion back then for all of public housing, and now it's about $169 billion.

Our take on that is about a hundred and thirty million dollars for uh both the city and the county.

And again, you'll see the breakdown when I when I break it down by city and county.

The uh this isn't working.

Here we go.

Homeless response.

The uh emergency rental program ended, and um we were able to distribute 185 million dollars to sixteen thousand households.

And you can see the breakdown there with the city and the county, and it was a very huge success, and thank you to the county and the state for uh the funding resources that we received.

It meant it meant a lot to the residents of the city and the county on homelessness.

The uh agency was asked by the city to take up uh three shelters a few years ago, and we started with um the emergency shelter, the uh for transition age youth, and uh we've been very successful there with um since since that beginning and through April of this year.

That's when we relinquish it back to the city.

Uh we work with 759 individuals, and 60 percent of them were able to find uh homes, and a lot of those young Tays were also able to find jobs as well.

So it's a pretty successful.

Can you dig a little deeper here on this?

Yes.

What was the funding source within the budget for the agency to do the to stand this up?

Christine?

Do we know?

Can I ask Mary Lizda?

Please, that's it.

Most of the funds that came for to support the shelters came from the state.

Oops, came from the state.

Um, and it was called Hapitz, homeless and housing assistance program.

I'm familiar with it.

Um was that an application that was made by the agency to the state or through the city?

We worked with the city and the city was the grantee received the funds, and then we administered that for a portion of the funds for the shelters.

Is there a comparable uh or was there a comparable opportunity to do the same thing?

And maybe Siobhan, you can chime in to do the same thing as it relates to our flavor of sheltering, which which is our safe stay communities.

I can weigh into that.

So the county also receives HAP funding, which is this what the city used for that.

So we have used it to establish shelters.

I think the distinction here is that SHRA was administering those shelter operations on behalf of the city, whereas we administer our own shelter operations through contracts with CBOs.

Gotcha.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Just for clarification, emergency bridge housing.

Is that BHBH?

No, I didn't think so.

Okay.

Okay, so then we also we also manage the uh Meadowview and X Street.

MetaView was for uh a women's shelter and Xtreet is for all guests.

The uh housing for um Meadowview, 32 percent of the um participants uh found permanent housing and Xtreet so far, uh 1,446 guests, 33 percent have been housed.

Housing finance analyst uh housing finance division.

You can see that uh uh again the breakdown of the funding sources that we do receive.

It's the home HTF mixed income affordable housing, uh $15 million were distributed in loans for uh 2025.

A thousand newer or renovated housing units were supported, and six home key projects were completed uh pending uh delivery of six hundred and twenty new units uh this year.

We have received 18.6 million dollars allocated of federal funds.

Uh I'm on the wrong slide, not gonna get this one.

There.

18.6 million dollars.

These are the safety net programs that we have, which include the uh meals on wheels, um rapid rehousing.

They also uh are the infrastructure projects which we go over with you and get your approval for the your county projects like the Fruit Ridge sidewalk Improvements and the program that we go over with you.

These are some of the infrastructure projects uh that were paid for on the federal side.

We've gone we've gone through these with you before and an asset repositioning.

Um we started uh seven years ago uh with your approval to provide um asset repositioning.

As I said, we're 130 million dollars uh that we would need to provide uh so that we could continue our public housing units, and this was the avenue to be able to afford and fund upgrades to the public housing.

So um this next year uh we are starting on working on the three three county, so we're gonna be looking at um see we have rad four, which is the Auburn Falls.

Um we're gonna be going to big trees.

We have Greenback Grove, and so um they make a big difference, they make a big difference for the residents.

These are old units, um, they they get to stay in their units.

We we move them out and we and they come back, and they really appreciate that.

And they all have vouchers-either rad vouchers and/or uh there are some project-based vouchers that go in these, and that's really helped sustain the projects going long term.

They would not be sustainable with just capital funds, and that's why we've gone with that program.

What happened to the big trees?

Uh well um they got cut down.

And and I know we didn't want to do that, but the roots, the root systems were too close to the buildings.

Might want to think about a different branding approach.

Yeah, where's Mark?

Yes, thank you, Chair.

All right.

So here they are, Auburn Falls, Greenback, and uh, and of course, this is a lot of it's done by tax credit, so get that.

And so this is this is the unit that takes over all these units.

It's the Sharp properties, it's the LLCs, and we'll spend a lot more time in in not today, but in briefings with you to help you understand better what's happening with the public housing units.

They are going into all LLCs.

We have 11 now, and uh they're up there uh under the Sharp.

We also have those three nonprofits, which are Sharp, Sass, Shasta, and Norwood Avenue, which total about 1,400 units, and they're sustained through through private part private government partnerships, and that's where they get sustainability.

They're run like a private sector, but they're you know they're owned by the private sector, but we own the land, the county owns the land, uh, and it's uh uh we run the property management for them.

And the last one is uh what I'd like to say about that is that it's been over 10 years with Marisol Village, and I really want to thank this this board, especially uh Chairman Cerner for his drive and effort and and special funding that he was able to provide this to get this over the finish line.

And we're at the very end of it right now, and so um we went from 215 public housing units to 487 units of both affordable and um market rate units.

It's very sustainable and it's working very well, and I want to thank you all that for that very much.

It's a big deal.

Supervisor Rodriguez.

I just want to give a comment on the Marisala Village.

I um used to go to restaurant depot over by um Vine, and I watched this pro I remember this project before it went under construction, and it just didn't have it wasn't visually appealing.

You can tell that there were just it was uh sort of like uh very unattractive, and then it got torn down and it got rebuilt, and I just remember thinking how beautiful it looked and the services that it provided, and so this is a project that I always look to when I think of of uh reconstruction and and making something better, especially when it comes to the housing portion.

And so it it actually is an incredibly beautiful project.

Thank you.

Yeah, and I will say that uh, you know, some of you on the on are on the RT board, and we've worked really close with the RT to get that um RT across the street, and that's that's really come a long way as well at rail station, yeah.

Yeah, thank you all very much for that.

That concludes my presentation.

Thank you.

Uh any uh anything you want to share um just because I I know it well and once lived there as a as a young, very young child.

Uh and I hear about it a little bit more and more every year, which is the the aging uh Marina Vista Alder Grove campus.

Uh that's I want to say it was probably built not too long after the original um uh those Rio site uh post-war public housing um and it's showing its age.

So um I know that there's been all kinds of um history relative to um uh some of our constituents that have a pension for um uh not touching historic what they believe to be historically significant uh structures and architecture.

Uh but again uh I hear more and more from uh my constituents in that part of the district uh of their concerns about the nature and uh condition of the campus.

So any thoughts you want to share?

Well, we we're very concerned.

Um we we spent a lot of time on safety security issues, uh a lot of money on that.

And it's time we understand that completely.

Um we are trying to come up with a plan, a long-term plan for both of those.

That but they're both very different.

Alder Grove is the one with the historical, and that's caused we have some real challenges with that.

So um, and it's all about what do we want to put there?

Do we want to look at have look look like a marina vista where it's both um affordable and for um uh you know, for all different types of income, or keep it the way it is, because the the property is massive as you know, and there's 750 units in both of them.

So we're we are thinking about a plan.

Of course, we will never do anything without your approval.

You know, we need to come back, but it's really the funding.

It's really you know, are tax credits available?

Is there a div is there a developer uh willing to come out and do that?

And so um that's the next step because we know that that's really the two projects that we need to take care of.

And for those that are aren't familiar with the projects by or the campuses by by uh name, uh this is the um public housing that is uh located roughly at ninth and Broadway, yes.

Correct, thank you.

Uh Supervisor Hume.

Thank you, Chair.

Um thank you for the presentation to both of you.

Uh I just had a couple of questions.

And first I want to make sure I have the numbers that I asked you about during our briefing uh correct.

Uh SHRA manages about 13,500 vouchers, give or take.

Yes.

And the total number of units of public housing is about 3500, is that correct?

32-ish.

32-ish, yeah.

Okay, thank you.

And so my question is if you look at the proposed budget and and sort of how the funds will be used, the 60.7 million in capital projects.

Do you have a breakdown of um that by like and for lack of a better term, category type, and so new projects that SHRA is is taking from ground up, um projects that's that SHRA is managing the conversion of uh properties, um the uh projects that are maybe loans or subsidies going to other NGOs to do their projects, and then the rehab project.

Do we have that level of detail available?

Um we do yes, we do.

I'll have to get back to you, but yeah, absolutely, we can get that for you.

Okay, I'd be I'd be interested in those numbers just so I can kind of see, like, you know, as far as the different uh tranches, if you will.

And then you mentioned uh braiding voucher and capital funds uh in order to make projects more sustainable.

Yes.

Walk me through that a little bit.

How do you take uh sort of one-time capital funding and then ongoing voucher income?

Uh what is the braiding of that look like?

You mean when we do a rad project?

Um is that typically just for a RAD project?

Yeah, they're for the RAD projects.

We will we will we have RAD.

Um they're just like a uh a voucher, but they're special um the RAD projects, and then we don't put all the RAD projects in it, we take um project-based vouchers and and have them in there as well.

So uh project based vouchers pay a little bit more money, and the rent is a little bit more sustainable with those numbers.

Okay, and just for everyone else's edification, rad is rental assistance demonstration.

That's what I thought.

Yes, correct.

And then my last question is um you mentioned on on one of those uh projects that you put up the sort of a P3 partnership of uh public private, and you said that the land is owned by the county or a public agency.

Yes, property management is done by SHRA, and then you mentioned uh uh operations by a private entity.

The uh the way it works is uh I want to get this to be very simple.

Um, the developers come in, they own the pro they own the buildings, the housing authority owns the land, and uh SHRA provides the property management.

Okay.

So is that a long-term lease by the developer?

Yeah, they are they are a lease, right?

Yeah, it's a lease, yeah.

Yeah, okay.

And so then at some point when those uh properties need to be rehabbed, that would be borne by the private developer, that would be borne by SHRA.

Well, at 15 years, there's an opportunity for us to either take it over or they can recapitalize.

So I'm not sure, but we could take we could take it over, or they could recapitalize and continue the operations the way it is.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you.

Supervisor Kennedy.

Thank you, Chair.

Um, I too look forward to the separation of the two uh fundings.

Um since the chair brought up uh a specific property, I will too.

One that is I've been watching and I've been hearing complaints about, and that's the uh St.

Clair at Capitol Park.

Um you know, I it in speaking with the district attorney recently.

Uh he threw out a number somewhere around over 700 calls for service at that property.

And I realize this is a uh uh difficult population to deal with, and I know that.

Um, but that seems excessive, and um, you know, kind of counter uh what we're trying to achieve in the downtown core.

It you know, who is responsible ultimately for enforcing a good neighbor policy in ensuring that those I believe it's uh Mercy Housing that that operates that is it Mercy Housing?

Yes, is it the agency who mercy housing is the owner and the operator?

Okay, we're the ones that hold them accountable, and we've had multiple meetings with them, and uh there's lots of issues, but uh one of the issues that we get is a lot of loitering, a lot of people out in the streets.

Um, and so um we've got requests to because they go out and smoke, they go out there and just because they can't smoke in the building.

So we have to figure out what do we do with that.

Then there's dogs, and they want to make sure that their dogs are able to go out and you know um take to do what dogs do.

Do it do what dogs do, that's correct.

So do people, by the way.

So do people, yes.

Yeah, and so we have those are the kind of issues that we deal with, and we know we're working with Mercy, um, and those are those are some of the basic things that we we can try to work on.

So um, but we're very aware of that, absolutely.

So we will we continue to work with Mercy, we continue to push them because it has to be it has to be dealt with.

Absolutely.

Yeah, I mean, I I can't implore upon you enough that we need to get our arms around it.

If we don't do it, we're gonna find ourselves um talking about it in a in a courtroom, and that's not ideas.

I agree.

I totally yes, thank you.

Supervisor Kennedy.

Absolutely.

Thank you, Supervisor Kennedy, for raising that.

Um, and this is uh this stems from comments that the DA offered during last week's joint meeting um on the subject of homelessness, if I'm not mistaken.

And um to the to your response about mercy being uh held accountable and having the responsibility for on-site management.

If I heard you correctly, yes.

So I don't know.

I assume uh it's within the city, so I assume it is SAC PD that has to respond.

It's not gonna be the county sheriff's department.

Uh but it's uh, you know, I assume too that the DA was providing the anecdotes that he did, because it uh perhaps there's some burden on his office in terms of uh uh prosecution responsibilities following some of these incidences.

Uh but to what extent are is there an ongoing accounting for the cost of um response to some of these instances?

The DA mentioned someone throwing furniture out of a I don't know, a multi-story window, could have killed someone, I suppose.

Uh but um to what extent are we telling Mercy, listen, you figure out how to do a better job.

Uh uh, or uh either as a matter of set policy after so many calls, type of calls, what have you.

Uh guess what, guess who's gonna eat the cost of uh response.

Um, or uh you just you know make it part of their you know the expected scope of uh services for on-site management because I agree with Supervisor Kennedy.

This isn't the district I represent.

I agree with him.

This is it's not acceptable.

Um I understand the population perhaps is a difficult difficult population, um, in terms of um expected behaviors, and and you have things like you know, their um closeness with their their pets and they you know maybe they they smoke more than the average, you know the the population on average.

I understand all that.

Uh but uh we can't have uh hundreds of uh service calls to matters that are um perhaps even life and death uh issues.

So I would like to understand a little bit better how we're holding Mercy accountable.

And I see Christine moving up to the front, so she might be prepared to uh I was gonna have her come up, yeah.

Yeah, why don't we?

Yeah, come on, Christine.

And Christine Weigert with SHRA.

Um we are aware, and we're on constant conversations with uh Mercy Housing as Jim said.

Um I think Capitol Park has proven to be um, you know, the the residents there are the hardest of the hard, right?

They're coming right off the street.

Um they're being housed.

The funding that was provided to Mercy Housing for this project was called um the state program was no place like home, which meant 50 percent of the residents have um behavioral health and mental health challenges.

The other half are homeless, um, which are you know they're all homeless.

Um, you know, I think the 24 hour desk service is very important there that mercy provides, but a lot of times when they're having issues, they are calling the police, that's for sure, which is why there's such a high um level of calls for service.

Um I think resident service is really important.

The half the services are being provided uh through providers that the county has, and the other half are through um Mercy.

Um I think that's what we really need to focus on and making sure the residents are getting the the case management that they need.

And so we're gonna keep working with Mercy.

But that said, we are very engaged as Jim said.

We can um our ability to provide oversight really focuses on the physical um aspects of the property and the management.

So this does come under management.

But um, I don't know if there's to answer your question an accounting of how much this is costing the DA's office or the stack of the Sacramento Police department, but we could look into that.

Yeah, if there is if there isn't, um let's not waste any time.

Let's start accounting.

Yeah, okay.

Yeah, and we are meeting with them.

In fact, we have a meeting, I think I'm Friday about this.

Thank you.

Supervisor Desmond.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

I appreciate the conversation.

Just wanted to piggyback a little bit.

Obviously, in the downtown corps, you're seeing uh more challenges there.

But I also want to make sure, Jim, a follow-up on, I think I mentioned it during our briefing last week, the same thing about incorporating a good neighbor policy into the project.

I mean, obviously, if it's in the unincorporated area, by virtue of our, I think our closer relationship with maybe the sheriff's department, we can deal with some issues, but still we don't have a formal good neighbor policy, I believe, for instance, in the in the courtyard on Watt or the New Hope Landing on Hal or the upcoming Super Eight.

And I think those those policies are crucial in order for us to be able to stand in front of the public and say, you know what, we we are gonna we're put something, we're putting something in this community here, but it's gonna be an it's not gonna become a problem because we have a good neighbor policy in place, which which includes law enforcement representation and includes regular communication with business leaders and and residential leaders in the nearby community.

So I uh I think we're gonna be incorporating one in residence in with respect to the PICH there, that county project.

And obviously, we have them at our shelters um that we just brought online in the South County, and certainly we'll have one at the larger shelter on Watt Avenue.

But those good neighbor policies are I think are really crucial in building that public trust and having everything in place to deal with issues when they come up.

We're gonna we're gonna continue down that path.

Absolutely.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right, very good.

Uh I don't see anyone else in the queue.

Thank you.

One more thing.

Yes, please.

I'd like to thank David, Shabon, and David for their leadership and working us through this.

So thank you.

Thank you all very much.

I appreciate that.

Very good.

Thank you.

All right.

Um, there are no public comments on the recommended action.

Okay, Madam Clerk.

There are no public comments.

All right, very good.

We have a motion.

Chair, just real quick.

Oh, sorry.

Sorry.

Supervisor Kennedy.

Thank you, Chair.

Um, it's to David.

Um the RFP process for uh the agency.

Where's what's the status of that?

Um we've issued the RFP, and I'll let Siobhan add a little uh bit more detail to it.

But we're doing uh they've done interviews and we're getting a recommendation.

I'll be getting a recommendation this week, and I think it's tomorrow, and bringing something to the board, hopefully within the next two or three weeks.

Great.

Thank you.

Very good.

All right, we have a motion.

Is there a second?

Second.

Okay.

Uh multiple seconds.

Please vote.

And that item passes unanimously.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right, next item, please.

Chair, we're gonna go back on the agenda to item number two.

All right, and that is the presentation of service award recognizing Gary Hughes for 25 years of county service.

Good morning.

Uh my name is Andrew Kern, and I am a senior personnel analyst with the Department of Personal Services, and I am honored to be here today to recognize Gary Hughes for his remarkable 25 years of service with the county.

Gary grew up in Central Point, Oregon, uh, the oldest of two children in school.

He was most uh in most sports, except the one that everyone would expect given his height, which was basketball.

Um he was in wrestling, football, track, volleyball, and baseball.

Also in his youth, he was in karate, and he went to the dojo's that the dojo that his uncle owned.

Uh his uncle eventually became the stuntman for Chuck Norris on the show, Walker Texas Ranger.

Um, and his highest ranking achieved was a second degree green belt, which is two from Black Belt.

So don't mess with them, is what you're saying.

Yeah, exactly.

It's good to have in the office.

Uh Gary moved to Sacramento to live with his mother in 1988, and he got a job with Petland Pet Store and the Arden Fair Mall.

Uh after the closing of the store, he went to work at Sunglass Hut and then to Lynn's Crafters.

Uh, fortunately, he had the uh a great friend who worked for the county uh and suggested that he applied.

Uh he did so and began his career uh with Sacramento County at the Department of Child Support in October of 2000.

At the Department of Child Support, he began as an office specialist and moved through the rankings of child support officer one, two, and three, uh, and lastly promoted to a supervising child support officer.

He then had the opportunity to transfer to DPS uh as a personnel technician uh on our exam team, and he has been there ever since.

In his spare time, Gary enjoys dancing, and when he's alone, he sings.

Uh he loves to cook and try any recipe that sounds appetizing.

He also claims that he owns way too many kitchen gadgets for someone who lives in a one-bedroom apartment.

Gary is also an IVA traveler.

He has been to several states to attend Comic Cons and has met several uh folks from his favorite properties.

Um in the past few years, he has also had the opportunity to embark on international trips to Spain and Japan.

His other hobbies include k collecting Funko Pops, going to new restaurants, attending Giants games, uh, and spending time with his mother and grandmother, uh, who just reached her 97th birthday.

And is in attendance with us today.

All right.

Um, so I would like to present Gary with the service award and thank you so much for your service to the county.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Um I just want to thank everybody for showing up.

I know everybody's super busy.

Appreciate it.

Um, Gary, why don't you give my hand over here?

Yeah, there.

That way we can hear you.

I don't like microphones.

But anyway, um, I appreciate that they've all showed up and I really appreciate that my mom and grandma showed up.

All right, that's awesome.

That's awesome.

Um, I think that's all I got.

Well, thank you.

Well, thank you.

See I see our uh our speakers always leave too soon.

Uh anyhow, uh Gary, just wanted to say thank you for your quarter century of service.

And uh I think we all on the board um really enjoy the presentations when they do occur uh for um recognizing the tenure of our public servants and um I I appreciated uh the uh remarks uh introducing you that that about how uh you found uh county service and uh coming in with um uh a different department and then uh looking for other uh opportunities is not a foreign um uh experience that gets conveyed to us in terms of those that are celebrating 25, 30, 35, 40 years uh 40 years of service.

And I think uh when we do hear these accounts of um people that have served as long as you have, I think it really speaks to the fact that you you know you kind of have a professional love affair with what you do and and um that's how uh a county is becomes great, at least in my estimation, is the people behind it and um the people that uh invest themselves in their chosen profession, and it could be something uh that uh maybe the general public perceives as just uh a small part um in a large uh governmental uh mechanism.

Uh but I can tell you uh based on on my time here, um everyone contributes, and we don't function well as uh as a large organization that's dedicated to some of the most important aspects of people's lives without people like you.

So um I just wanted to make sure you heard from from me that uh this isn't just a you know incidental item on our agenda.

We take take this very seriously and and we really want to congratulate you and and thank you for uh all that you've done uh for the county and for the people of Sacramento County.

Thank you, Vice Chairman.

It's been an adventure.

Hopefully it's not over yet, right?

No, I I like to go on trips too much, so retirement keeps getting pushed back to later.

But you know what?

We have something in common here.

All right, all right.

Supervisor Rodriguez.

Gary, I just want to take this opportunity to say thank you for your 25 years of service.

I think whenever these um um items come up, it's always exciting because it really is a testament to the leadership in your department that you would want to stay with the county of Sacramento for 25 years, and sounds like there's many more years to come.

But thank you for your service, and thank you for all that you have done for the county.

Thank you very much.

Thank you again.

Thank you.

All right, Madam Clerk.

Next item, we'll jump back forward to item number 47.

That's to adopt a resolution approving the economic development strategic plan.

Update for Sacramento County and directing the Office of Economic Development to lead the county's implementation of the new five-year plan.

Morning, Crystal.

Good morning.

Thank you, Nicole.

Good morning, everyone.

Um I was gonna say this will be your most exciting presentation of the day, but you've had a few already.

Um, I am so pleased to be here, um, Chair Serna and members of the board.

My name is Crystal Bethke, your director of economic development.

Um, and today I'm really pleased to present the county's updated economic development strategic plan for your consideration.

The purpose of this updated strategic plan is to give the Office of Economic Development clear direction and a roadmap for how we prioritize investments, allocate our staff time, partner with other departments and agencies to support economic growth and job creation throughout Sacramento County.

The plan represents over a year's worth of data analysis, community engagement, and regional collaboration.

Um we're doing this because the county hasn't updated its strategic plan in over a decade.

Um, and since that time, a lot has changed, not only to our organizational structure, but um to our economy.

We've seen rapid shifts with technology change, and we have new expectations from our businesses in the community and how and where they operate.

This plan is going to ensure that Sacramento County stays competitive.

It gives us clear framework for investment and decision making, one that really prioritizes job creation, supports business growth in the unincorporated area, and strengthens our partnerships across the region.

Um, just as important, it clarifies our department's role in doing that.

Um developing this plan in itself was quite a collaborative exercise with our community and regional partners.

In 2024, the Office of Economic Development hired um very nationally known consultant HRNA advisors, our principal consultant Judy Taylor has joined me today, and she was really the driving force for this strategic plan process.

Um it was really structured around four phases.

So and the analysis analysis phase um HRNA conducted an in-depth look at our socioeconomic and marketing conditions, the engage phase, uh which was actually my favorite, I have to say, um, and I'll speak more about that in detail in the next slide.

Is where we heard directly from businesses, community members, regional partners about what's working, what's not, um, and where the county can make some great impact.

From there, we had our strategized phase, and with all that input, HRNA worked closely with our department to develop a set of goals and actions rooted in national best practices, um, also tailored though for Sacramento County's very specific needs, um, especially in the unincorporated area where no other entity is solely focused on economic development.

And finally, why we're here today, the report phase produced the document before you, which is a comprehensive plan of action that aligns data, community priorities, and achievable outcomes into one cohesive framework.

So stakeholder engagement.

Um this was very extensive and inclusive.

From the start, we wanted a strategy that reflected the Sacramento County economy as a whole.

Uh to achieve that, we convened a 10 member advisory committee.

Many of them you met at our uh workshop back in April, which represented our ecosystem.

Um it included people from workforce development, small business support, community development, real estate, tourism, arts, and local entrepreneurship.

They provided ongoing guidance throughout the process, even participating in focus groups and community meetings.

HRNA then led a robust public engagement effort.

They conducted eight interviews with county electeds and our executive leadership and other departments here at Sacramento County.

They held nine focus groups that included other economic development agencies, chambers of commerce, property and business improvement districts, workforce development providers, commercial brokers, developers, property owners, arts and entertainment, hospitality, and our rural and agricultural representatives.

They hosted three community meetings, which were held in the North County, the South County, and one virtually to make sure that this was accessible.

We also had a survey that was available online at a website that we've dedicated just towards this cause.

I know I'm making you yawn, Supervisor Cerna, but I I do I promise that this part was the most exciting to us, even though it was long, and that is actually what stretched out the process for this.

All together, we gathered hundreds of comments and ideas, and those insights were directly integrated into the strategies before you today.

So the feedback we heard throughout the engagement phase really was directly informed in the data analysis that HRA did for our work, and it helped us understand where Sacramento County's economy is strong and where we have a lot of room to grow as well.

When we combined community insight with HRA's market research, several key findings came to the forefront.

I'm just gonna go through a few of those, but there are several that are outlined in the full strategic plan.

Our economy is anchored by government and health care, which provides about 40% of our local jobs and gives us stability during downturns.

But our tradable sectors, industries like manufacturing, clean tech, ag tech, and logistics remain underdeveloped.

Expanding those will be key to creating higher wage jobs and diversifying our economy.

We also saw the income employment disparities across the county underscoring the need to keep equity central to our strategy.

About four and ten residents live in unincorporated areas, yet most commute elsewhere for work showing the need for more local job centers.

And while industrial demand is strong, our retail corridors face vacancy and reinvestment challenges, highlighting the importance of a coordinated commercial corridor revitalization strategy.

These findings shape the plan's three pillars resources, communication, and partnership.

With that foundation in mind, we took a step back and looked at how the Office of Economic Development functions across Sacramento County today.

You know, the slide really shows our ecosystem, the areas where we lead, where we're a partner and where we support others to drive growth.

There's five main areas of focus, small business support through programs like our small business liaison and our business environmental resource center, helping those entrepreneurs navigate permitting and environmental regulations, business attraction and development, working with site selectors, developers, other regional partners like GSEC to bring high wage and innovative industries into Sacramento County, workforce development where we partner with groups like the Sacramento Employment and Training Agency, Community Colleges, and nonprofits to align training with employer needs, community planning and commercial corridor support, coordinating with departments, specifically community development, department of transportation, working with our property and business improvement districts to improve infrastructure and attract investment to those areas.

And then arts, culture, and tourism, which is really promoting those local creatives, public art and cultural programming.

We do a lot of this work in partnership with Visit Sacramento.

Yes, sir.

I'm just curious how traditional or expected even is any local governments, uh interest and focus on art and culture in particular.

How unique is it to have it kind of housed in economic development for us here in Sacramento County?

Sure.

So when we have started the research on doing this, because with the dissolution of the Sacramento Arts Commission in 2020, we haven't had a centralized focus on that.

When a county does have its art own programming, it does reside within its economic development office typically, unless it has its separate division.

That is not the standard throughout the nation.

Again, we're doing current research on this.

Most counties, especially those in California, have an arts commission like what we previously had, where it's a coordinated effort.

You often see arts organizations that might reside within city boundaries, but their reach goes far beyond that.

And how since the disillusion of the commission five years ago, how would you say we flourished or not with it being under the rubric of economic development for the county?

Yeah, great question.

So SMACT dissolved three months before the pandemic started.

We hear it from the the community.

But I will say we do feel like that we have slightly lagged, and it is something that we have as an action item in 2026 to focus on.

And to that end, um remind me or remind us, when is the last time we uh reviewed or even considered overhauling whatever uh policies we have on the on the books relative to art in public places?

I know for specific county assets, most notably the airport, our international airport, that there are there's very specific uh policies surrounding uh what gets spent, how much gets spent in capital budgets, whatnot.

But um, you know, if I if I recall correctly, and perhaps Supervisor Kennedy can chime in, he might have a better recollection.

But I believe SMAC kind of operated as a as a city county entity, uh with under kind of the auspices of art in public places policies that were um administered or at least referenced by that uh advisory body.

Uh but what when's the last time we really we the board of supervisors really had a chance to reconsider or develop even new policies relative to how we value and hopefully inspire um great public art in all our public places, not just the airport.

Yeah, so I can't do you want to chime in before okay, great.

Um so we actually had drafted a new ordinance to bring to the board um back in 2020, um, and that is since it's been since that time, though we have have looked at updating that, which is why we know that we need to refocus on it.

The previous ordinance that we had for art and public places, um it did specifically list um SMAC, who is our JBA between the city and the county, as a point of contact liaison coordinator for those those activities.

We've been working with Shelley Willis, who is our art consultant.

Um, but again, that draft has not been reviewed by the board, but we did have one that had gone through county council in 2020.

Okay, went to county council, did it did, yeah.

We were ready to bring it back to the board.

Um, but again, so uh sorry to cut you off.

Um is it inappropriate for at least just the supervisor to think that perhaps it's stale and needs you are correct, it is stale.

All right, so this is the first time I get to say this.

So I'm on limited time here.

Uh I would I would like and I'm looking at and I'm looking at our county CEO at this point.

Uh I would very much like to see this um initiative started as immediately as we possibly can, not in the interest of adding more to Crystal's already overflowing plate, but hearing what I just heard, the response to my question, um, I would like to be part of this um this board relative to something that is personally very uh um important to me and of interest to me.

And uh I think that's something that can and should be brought uh back to this board that can be not just administratively reviewed and recommended, but acted on by this board in 2026.

Would you like to respond?

Yes.

I thought Supervisor Kennedy was gonna add to this.

Well, yeah, I just want to chime in real quick.

Yes, based upon the comments.

Uh, and that's just so when when we were when the city divorced us, um, and we got rid of SMAC and the JPA, it was really unfortunate because we were in the process of of having regular meetings, and and I'm glad to hear that Shelley's still here because she was leading those meetings.

Uh, but once she left the city's employment, it just went away.

And we were having two by twos between the city and the and the county at the time.

Um, but you know, with the direction of all right, if this isn't working, and it wasn't, uh, I don't know that the the city department that it was under was the appropriate place to put you know, arts and creativity.

Um, but you know, if with with that absent that we we had charged them with going and looking at what other cities and other counties and other jurisdictions have done.

Some do uh nonprofits, some do JPAs, some does a variety of ways of doing it.

And we were really close to you know having something to actually come before the body when it just dissolved it dissolved very quickly.

So you might want to consult with with Shelley on the work that's already been done on that.

Thank you.

And to respond to you, supervisor, yes, we can absolutely take a look at that and uh bring it back into 2026.

Very good.

Thank you.

Sorry.

And that is um in the strategic plan, that is the recommendation that we um have that framework completed in 2026.

Thank you, supervisor.

Um, so again, together these represent the full spectrum of economic development, um, from small business support to large-scale recruitment.

Um leads in some areas partners in others and serves as a convener to keep these efforts coordinated and not fragmented.

So moving along, we did update our economic development vision, which serves as the guiding statement for the entire plan.

It reflects everything we learn from the data, from our partners, from the community.

At its core, the vision is to build a resilient, equitable, and diversified economy by creating and maintaining a business environment that elevates businesses' ability to operate and grow, empowers entrepreneurs and small businesses, fosters thriving communities with a strong sense of place.

We think that this vision really captures both sides of economic development, the business growth that drives revenue and jobs, and the community investment that ensures that growth is inclusive and visible in every neighborhood.

It also defines OED's role going forward to serve as that connector convener and catalyst that links businesses, partners, other community departments to deliver measurable outcomes.

Again, the plan is centered on three overarching goals that guide every strategy and action, resources, communication, and partnerships.

Resources really focuses on connecting businesses with the tools and support they need to succeed.

Communication is about visibility, telling Sacramento County story is a great place to do business and ensuring that information about programming and opportunities reaches a wide audience and partnerships.

This emphasizes in our collaboration, bringing together county departments and regional partners around shared priorities that strengthen our economy.

Together, we feel like these goals create a clear actionable framework for implementation.

Um they make the plan measurable as well, which was really important to us.

Um they easily align with the board's priorities and current countywide initiatives as well.

So on this next few slides, I'm gonna be highlighting uh the key strategies under each goal.

Um I'm gonna preface with saying that the strategic matrix in the um strategic plan outlines the timelines, metrics, and responsible parties for each of these goals through 2030.

Each is then supported by two to four strategies and is paired with specific targeted actions that OED will undertake.

So goal one is resources.

This is about strengthening the foundation for business success.

Within the plan, each goal, including this one, like I said, is supported by strategies and action items that we're gonna measure so that we can track our results over time.

Um I think that this is really what makes our plan actionable.

It's telling us not just what to do, but how we'll measure it, and that progress and accountability is really important to us.

Then we're going to move into our second goal, which is communications.

This is really the shift from resources to visibility.

We know that even the best programs and incentives only work when people know about them.

And that's truly what we found in our stakeholder engagement.

Was there a lot of excellent programs, not only in the Office of Economic Development, but all throughout the county, which are not visible that community and businesses don't know exist, and that really needs to be a focus.

This is really about raising that awareness that the businesses we serve, promoting major investment opportunities and sharing sharing success stories that showcase Sacramento County in a competitive aspect, and then we'll be also through this launching a countywide market strategy that highlights Sacramento County's identity as a great place to do business, something that also has not been updated since 2015.

The third goal, which is partnerships, is how we recognize that we can't do this work alone.

We'll continue to convene partners across county departments.

Many that I've already talked about are with chambers, PBIDS, regional agencies, to move forward with shared priorities.

We're gonna work more with our support with workforce development initiatives and those coordinated efforts on infrastructure and site readiness, especially in our rural and industrial zones.

And we're also going to be working closely with community development, which they've already highlighted a new infield coordinator.

Um I think that these partnerships ensure that the county's role complements and never duplicates uh the efforts that are going on throughout the region already.

So that concludes my presentation today.

Um I am requesting that the board adopt the resolution approving the updated Sacramento County economic development strategic plan with our commitment to provide regular updates summarizing our measurable results.

I really do appreciate the guidance that you've provided throughout this process, and I'm happy to answer any questions.

Great.

Thank you, Crystal.

And and by the way, I wasn't yawning because of your presentation.

I just have a bad habit of yawning.

I understand.

We have a number of supervisors in the queue to uh provide comment.

Let me start by just saying uh thank you.

I know that this is uh kind of is has been your your baby, so to speak, and uh you should be uh proud of the work uh that um get you to this point today, um and listening to us.

Uh you mentioned that you uh you've met with us to get our input and um certainly I don't think any of us proclaim to be the be all end all to um how to develop a strategic a good economic development strategic plan.

Uh we gave you our thoughts and uh concerns and comments, but um I think um the outreach that you've done not just to the board members but uh elsewhere.

Uh you just concluded in fact, referencing uh can't doing not being able to do it alone and having some very critical partners uh to um implement what I'm sure is a um I'm confident is a very quality strategic plan for economic development for this county.

So I just wanted to start uh with uh my thanks to you for job well done.

And uh with that, we will go on to Supervisor Desmond.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair, and uh thank you, Crystal.

And I'll start off with that.

I mean, I it it is it's clear that this is such an informed plan, and I I appreciate so much the outreach, obviously to the five of us, but to so many other partners, not only unincorporated area, but countywide as part of that larger ecosystem.

And you and I have had a lot of discussions about this.

Um I I'm just I'm so proud of economic development and the work you've done, and I know we see Lindsay, Kelly, Jared up there, and I know you have other members of your team that have been doing such an outstanding job in terms of trying to lift up some of these unincorporated communities, provides the support, but also plugging into the larger ecosystem like you and I have discussed many, many times.

There's so many different players here.

Um I just think you know, I I encounter an awful lot of cynics and unincorporated Sacramento County who hate the county with every fiber of their being.

Uh primarily the people who who wanted to incorporate at one point.

And I wish they would pay more attention to efforts like this from the county because when you look at the investment in economic development uh combined with and complemented by the changes in our development process, um our infill coordinator Jesse sitting up there, um, the corridor plans, and even the more discussions with with code enforcement and how they fit into all these things.

The county's making an awful lot of investments and I think paying it more attention in the unincorporated areas and than probably ever have, certainly in my lifetime than I've I've ever seen.

So thank you very much.

And I I also love the discussion about the art in public places.

I think that's crucial countywide.

And I think about how members of the community love that as just creating a uh sense of pride and a sense of place, you know.

I think about you know, North Highlands up there, a uh maybe something that harkens back to the old McClellan days or something, and and and Arden Arcade, maybe a horse, maybe in the South County a full-size statue of Don Natoli or something in the intersections, you know, really to create that that sense of place and identity.

But um, thank you for everything you're doing.

And and when the time is appropriate, Mr.

Chair, I'm happy to move approval of the strategic plan.

Okay, very good.

Supervisor Hume.

Uh thank you, Chair.

First of all, I'll start off by saying to my colleague uh from District 3, none taken.

Um, just kidding.

Uh Crystal, I uh I I want to thank you for everything you've presented, and I think you probably have an idea of where my comments are going to go in this discussion because you we've had a lot of off uh um off-air uh discussions about this, and I say this not as a sense of criticism of the work that's been done, but as a sort of a yes and uh uh opportunity.

Obviously, District Five um has uh acres and acres and miles of unincorporated Sacramento County that doesn't have a lot of the businesses that have been elucidated in this plan, but by sector is one of the most critically important economies within Sacramento County, and that is agriculture.

And so much so that the city of Sacramento brands itself as the farm to fork capital of the world.

And to the extent that this plan uh remains silent on that, um I take personal offense to it as the as the uh supervisor representing that district, but I also think it's a it's huge missed opportunity of realizing the importance um certainly regionally but even nationally and globally uh we have brands within Sacramento County um that are known far and beyond um Tsar Nikolai Caviar grown in the 5th district, Van Vleck Beef, finest restaurants uh certainly in the nation um grown in the fifth district, Passamore Farms uh uh fish, um Delta Pears go all over the world.

I could keep going on and on and on, not even touching the largest bisector, which is wine grapes.

And so um, but that's not just farming, which is not necessarily a lot of job output, but the economic spillover effect from that that supports the local hardware businesses, the gas stations, um, you know, dry cleaning or whatever else.

I mean, you know, can go on and on and on service sector for uh restaurants and such.

Um but also the the the value chain that happens from a full circle cycle component.

I had an opportunity to go out and and tour one of our um green waste uh contractors, Agriman, that is taking our green waste, putting it out on marginal soil in order to improve the the nutrient capture of that soil, which is better from a carbon sequestration standpoint.

First of all, it's it's reusing a byproduct in a beneficial way.

Uh better carbon sequestration, reduced water usage, improving the quality of the soil for for crop production potentially.

I mean, these are like tip of the spear industries that are gonna have to be more fully realized uh in coming years, and can be realized in concert with uh the agricultural uh community.

And so I I just I when we look at the number of jobs and and some of the metrics that are used to inform this plan, when I see that that economic output and also the the what's being missed from an agro tourism standpoint.

I mean, my gosh, the Delta is such an underutilized resource from um just uh going out there and spending time and and really using it as an attractor to Sacramento County and and all of the dollars that would be captured by that.

So again, I I'm not criticizing the work that's been done, I just think there's a whole sector that has been uminished, maybe is is uh the best word I can think of off the top of my head uh that is very important, very critical, and and really I think uh a missed opportunity if we don't recognize the uniqueness of Sacramento County uh for that urban-rural interface.

And don't forget sushi grade rice grown in the first district, correct?

So, thank you, supervisor.

Do you want to respond, Crystal?

Yeah, I I I appreciate the constructive feedback, I truly do.

Um it was not our intent to be silent on it.

There is a lot of data um that was in our planning.

Um we were vague in some areas that we should have called it out more, and we recognize that.

Um and we are working on a summarized version of the strategic plan where we're gonna make sure that that data comes out to the forefront and that we're more specific in some of those action items.

I really appreciate that.

I mean, my ultimate vision given the success of Terra Madres and what I Terra Madrid's Americas and the and the growth that I hope to see from that.

I mean, you know, there's a California-grown label.

What if we had a Sacramento County ground, right?

If we started to really brand that as this product came out of Sacramento County.

I mean, I think the loss of blue diamond is a a big uh loss for our region.

Those that's a you know certainly worldwide recognized brand.

Um, and we have many of those in in Sacramento County.

So thank you.

Uh I know uh Vice Chair Rodriguez is in the queue here, but just to maybe put a finer point on uh Supervisor Hume's, I think, um well-taken point here, is uh maybe in addition to a summary, there is um an opportunity to work side by side, maybe more closely than we have in the past with our Farm Bureau, um to maybe do something very specific um on the subject of uh things like agro tourism, how best to grow it.

No pun intended, but um uh I think it yeah, uh I think it's glaring if um if we don't acknowledge um and I'm not suggesting it was intentional by any means, but I I do think there's probably an opportunity to do a little bit more than just a summary, and uh we already have kind of the infrastructure within our bureau to I think um take a lot of off the shelf work and data and uh figure out how that plays into the broader role of um our you know spectrum of economic development objectives so thank you.

Supervisor Rodriguez.

Thank you.

Thank you for the presentation, Crystal.

Um, you know, I I am very excited about your five-year strategic plan.

Um I believe every department in the county is very important to the function of the county.

But as I've mentioned many times, economic development has a unique opportunity and a unique um input into how this all works.

Um I have gone out to my communities and they all and the unincorporated parts, by the way, I'm really excited that we are putting an emphasis on the unincorporated, but they want to be better.

They want to be they want a beautification.

They want they want businesses that are um that are well-paying jobs so that they can work in the communities they live in.

And so um I want to thank you for um uh partnering with me on the business walks because it really does enforce what our um communities want and they want to be better.

And so uh what I love about economic development and the plan is that we can do that for we can assist in doing that for them.

And so you so many of the unincorporated parts, I'll speak specifically to mine, is there are so many do really truly I think opportunities to bring great businesses and attract businesses that um that I think will complement the the communities that they're looking for.

But the one thing that I see your department having the impact is we have a structural deficit that is coming down the pike that is going to be incredibly impactful to our county.

As we attract businesses and you know, especially those that generate revenue for our um budget, it it it's it will be very profitable.

And so when I look at that, I think of the things that we can do to generate revenue, which is something really that you can do.

If I if I had a wish list, this is my wish list for because I've I've talked about it, but I don't think um we really understand the impact.

You have the ability to hear from businesses when things are not going well.

I've got a problem, it takes too long.

Here's here's the impact that it has, I want to get my business open, and so on.

And I I've talked about lean methodology, which is used to improve processes, reduce errors, defects, variations, and then continuous improvement thereafter.

I have a vision that we will at some point have some sort of you know, Six Sigma lean methodology that will sit under your department that will have an impact into not only just our communities, but the impact that it'll have in the departments within the county that will be able to identify over processing waste that in the long run can have a very positive impact on on you know the the what it costs to operate the county, and um you know, we and we we talked a little bit about highlighting the things that are really important um that the county does unique, which will impact tourism and tourism impacts people coming into our um you know the the county and spending money and so uh I want to talk about one more thing, um, and that is the cities, you know.

I I really appreciate it looking at Rancho and looking at Elk Grove and the city of Folsom and what they've done to improve their cities and attract businesses and the impact that it's has.

And so I really do visualize that happening by attracting businesses to the county.

The well I did have one question, and that was so we know GSAC does this, GSAC does a really good job of attracting businesses to our area.

How do you see that partnership moving moving forward with your plan?

Yeah, GSEC was on our advisory committee, um, and they were someone who was involved as as a partner uh in this.

I think that we see them in a different role than us, right?

Um GSEC has the ability one as a nonprofit, um, in a different way they can spend funding that we can't spend on on attraction and recruitment.

Um, and they're great at convening and working with networks that we just don't have the staffing to do.

Um, and so they do bring a lot of innovative ideas and new development opportunities to us, and then we take that over, right?

And we help them walk through what it would look like to operate a business in Sacramento County and the benefits that they would have specifically here.

I think that GSEC in general with the regional effort and their branding has been pretty amazing.

We want to make sure that our branding is very reflective of just Sacramento County, the businesses, the opportunities to operate here.

Um but yeah, I would say that in general we are working to make sure that we're compatible with them, and we're not duplicating efforts as a funding partner.

Yeah, no, I think that there's a definitely a great uh opportunity to learn a lot about how um how things are working.

I also do think that as we attract businesses into the unincorporated, there are things that we need to improve that will make it more attractive, you know, roads and some of the other quality of life issues.

But with that, I will second the motion.

All right, before we get to a vote, the esteemed gentleman from the fifth district.

Thank you for the indulgence, Chair.

I apologize for uh belaboring the issue, but I just want to kind of talk about instead of just speaking in platitudes, talk about like more direct.

So, what I would like to see is as we start to implement this strategy, we look at how we can lean into growth opportunities in the agriculture, in the bio and environmental uh products uh uh sectors, um, how those interface we have some manufacturing in in Sacramento County and in in our incorporated cities that support those uh ag products and and some of those industries.

And then the other thing that I would say in a very like specific uh way is uh partnership strategy number four support critical infrastructure in unincorporated Sacramento County.

Through our work at SACOG, we've been trying to get a farms to market road uh category really stood up, uh recognizing the importance of that.

And we have a grant uh a joint grant uh application right now between STA and uh El Dorado County uh to really drive home that point for them.

It's for Apple Hill.

For us, it's the unincorporated area, could be for the Delta, it could be for things like Davis Ranch and the Slew House Corn was another brand that I didn't even that I failed to mention.

And so the I think to the extent that OED can lean into some of those efforts, uh, really is a tangible way to support agriculture in our plan.

So thank you.

We will thank you.

I've got lots of cannabis.

Wait, on your person.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Uh so uh madam, do we have any one sign up to speak on this matter?

We do not okay.

So before we get to a vote, uh, just occurred to me that um I would like to just offer some uh a parting uh comment here, and that is that uh I'll be the first to uh say that plans are uh very worthwhile, whether they're strategic plans or comprehensive land use plans or you know, plans that um are designed and thoughtful enough that um and and intentional enough for implementation and not dust collection are the most worthy plans.

That said, I do think it is very important to be nimble and to be flexible at times and to recognize opportunities that perhaps within the lifespan of uh of a strategic plan, we don't wait for the next update to a plan to take advantage of.

And I'm thinking in particular about kind of what we've learned organically with Metro Air Park, right?

We I didn't see a company, but what's kind of begin begun to um develop out there, and we hope it continues to grow, is uh a bit of a cottage industry within the uh the the 1900 acres of Metro Air Park of battery electric technology and um even the application of battery electric as it relates to the first network of uh heavy duty freight uh all electric uh goods movement up and down uh California, which will have a presence with Watt EV just uh just on the other side of the freeway from Metro Air Park.

So I just want to kind of leave you with that thought that um yes, let's let's make sure that we kind of stick to the plan and and uh meet the objectives of the plan.

Uh but let's not be so rigid in our interpretation of it and implementation of it that uh we don't uh jump when we all feel that we should uh when something uh happens that perhaps we didn't foresee at the onset of uh uh adopting the plan.

With that, we have a motion and a second.

Please vote.

That item does pass unanimously.

Great.

Thank you.

Congratulations.

Item number 48 is PLMP 2024-000594748 Ingle Road multifamily conversion, the use permit, special development permit, various development plan review and design review for a property located at 4748 Ingle Road, approximately 533 feet from the intersection of Ingle Road and Mission Avenue in the Carmichael community.

The applicant is Nicholas, and I'm apologizing in advance, Ushakoff, APN 256-0101-04300, and the environmental determination is exempt.

Good morning.

Um good morning, Kimber Gutierrez, principal planner with planning and environmental review.

I'm also joined today by Irving Huerta, who is the project manager for the project and got the project all the way to this point.

Um so just wanted to thank him for his work on this.

Um I will be presenting the 4748 Ingle Road Multifamily Conversion Project, which is located on Ingle Road, approximately 500 feet from the intersection of Ingle Road and Mission Avenue in the Carmichael community.

The property currently consists of a vacant office building, a paved parking lot, monument sign, and existing frontage landscaping.

The site is zoned business professional office and is within the Mission Oaks neighborhood preservation area.

Surrounding land uses include single family residential to the north, east, and west with multifamily residential to the south and medical offices to the west as well.

There are currently no active code enforcement cases for the site, and there have been several entitlements that were associated with the project or with the site.

Excuse me, noteworthy was a similar project to the one being presented to you all today.

So in 2019, an application was submitted to convert the office space into 20 multifamily units, which was further refined following the recommending hearings to 18.

The board did hear the project at their April 2021 meeting where we took the board took public comments but dropped the item after public comments and did not take action on the project.

They did provide recommendations on revisions to the project.

This included making it look more residential in character, reducing the number of units, and looking into different types of housing that could be pursued, most notably senior housing.

Following that meeting, the application was withdrawn in late 2021.

So that was the past application was under a different owner of the property.

So we do have a new owner for the property who is pursuing similar entitled and entitlement request.

So the current applicant is pursuing a use permit to convert the office building, which currently has 13 office suit into 16 multifamily units in the BP zoning district, a special development permit for deviations to parking lot landscaping, the covered parking requirement, unit entry aesthetics, private open space, and private open space depth.

A variance is also being requested to deviate from the 25-foot wide landscape planner requirement adjacent to residential zones.

This is specifically called out in the Mission Oaks neighborhood preservation area, a development plan review for non-single family residential use and a design review to determine substantial compliance with the design guidelines.

The project was found to be statutorily exempt from CEQA under public resources code section 21159.25, as it qualifies as infill development in an unincorporated area.

There are no unusual circumstances related to the project.

So since it is a conversion, they are retaining the building footprint and the building location, as well as re-configuring the parking stalls and adding landscaping as well as amenities to the rear of the properties project site.

So you can see the parking in the back, and then we have basically patio covered barbecue areas and garden plots, trash enclosure.

This is an existing kind of cross-access.

There isn't an existing cross-access easement, but there is a gate here as well, and then retaining the building with adding bicycle parking and additional landscaping in the existing areas.

Correct.

Okay, and there's no need for an EVA.

So we've been the applicant has indicated potentially in the future purchasing the property to the West to allow cross-access easement.

I believe when the medical offices were first developed, it was all under one ownership, so there was allowances for people to go across property lines.

Since it is different ownership, they would need to pursue an actual easement to allow that cross access.

But we have been working really closely with the fire department to make sure that they can at least pull up to that side of the gate and get a hose, or pull up to the front of the building and reach a hose around as well.

There was also quite a bit of back and forth.

They were originally proposing covered parking, so car ports in the rear.

Fire indicated that they would not be able to put a fire out on those car ports or reach those car ports, so that's why they're asking for that deviation.

And then there was also existing landscaping on this side of the building.

Thank you.

Here is the floor plan.

A little bit hard to see, but as I said, there are 13 office suites currently, and they are proposing 16 residential units, all are proposed to be one bedroom.

Each unit will have dedicated private open spaces with an at-grade patio area for first floor units and balcony patio areas for the second floor units.

And there's also some communal storage units as well in the corridor here.

So here's kind of a better visual.

You can see where the patios are and where the balconies would be located on the elevations.

They are going to be pursuing significant interior and exterior renovations because it is currently a commercial building and they need to bring it up to residential standards.

They are also updating the facade to follow a Spanish architectural style.

And then here's the site plan again, but this shows all the tree plantings that would be implemented, and new landscaping is proposed throughout the site with additional landscape planners in the back parking area.

The project was presented to several advisory hearings.

So first the design review advisory committee, which they do recommend that the board find the project in substantial compliance with the design guidelines.

They did note the sensible conversion and the additional amenities that were being brought to the site and for future tenants.

The Carmichael Old Foothill Farm CPAC does recommend approval of the project.

They did raise concerns, however, about the neighborhood sentiment.

We did have two members of the public oppose the project during the meeting, citing neighborhood compatibility and structural safety.

And then there was also concern from one CPAC member about the architectural features.

Concerns included increased noise, traffic, loss of neighborhood character, public safety, and site access.

Before you leave the slide, looking at Mr.

DeFonte, where are we relative to the concern I raised months ago, maybe over a year ago about a policy about absenteeism on our planning commission?

Yeah, Dave DeFonte, deputy county executive.

I did talk to Todd about that a number of times over the last few weeks.

He's on vacation this week.

I'll follow up with him when he gets back, but I know he was in data collection mode and looking at that very deeply.

So it I know it's front burner for him.

And I'll get back to you on a timeline.

Okay.

Add that to the list of things that Phil Certainwanick wants to get done in 2026.

Cool deal.

Thanks.

I believe the clerks helped us compile that data, so I know we have it.

So yes.

Okay.

So for project analysis, um, before I kind of dive into the top bullets, I did want to point out a couple of key conditions.

Um, condition eight, that um directly relates to the cross access that we were talking about earlier.

Um, so basically, if there is um, if they are able to purchase the property adjacent to them, or if they are able to pursue some sort of cross-access easement, then we are encouraging them to pursue that and then pursue car ports as well on the back once fire access is appropriate and secured.

And then condition nine um relates to the area behind the uh building where the fire department is requiring the pathway.

Um, if it all possible there is some enhanced landscaping that can go there for enjoyment of the tenants, then we would want them to pursue that at building permit and improvement plans as well.

But other than that, the project was found consistent with the general plan, community plan, uh Mission Oaks and NPA and zoning code.

It is compatible with surrounding zoning and land uses with no significant environmental concerns.

The project was supported by CPAC and found consistent with the design guidelines by DRAC, and it also is a market rate housing opportunity.

So that being said, planning and environmental review staff recommends that the Board of Supervisors take the following actions.

Recognize that the project is exempt from CEQA pursuant to public resources code section 21159.25, approve the use permit, special development permit, and variants uh subject to findings and conditions, approve the development plan review, and find the project in substantial compliance with the design guidelines, all subject to findings and conditions.

Um and that concludes my presentation.

I believe the applicants are here and can speak on the project.

And I know that uh before the applicant um addresses the board, they need to stand and be sworn.

But before we do that, we're gonna hear from Supervisor Desmond.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair, and uh thank you, Kimber for the presentation.

Um a few things on the slide right before this uh you you say it's consistent as conditioned with the Mission Oaks NPA.

Can you explain your your thought process there?

Because there's obviously a lot of public comment about it not being consistent with the Mission Oaks NPA.

I'm just curious what your what your evaluation is of that.

Yeah, um, so the subject site is described in the Mission Oaks NPA as being an area that was um, I believe for let me see.

Let me back up.

So the Mission Oaks NPA does require a development plan review um by the planning commission for basically anything other than single-family residential.

So if you are putting anything other than single family residential into the NPA, it does require a development plan review to the planning commission.

Um so that is part of the entitlement request.

Um, because it is an existing building and it is being converted, those are things that we take into consideration as well as kind of preserving the area and making sure that it is compatible with the neighborhood.

Um so we did look at that in terms of um visual intrusion, it's not creating a larger building.

The building is already existing, so we do see that as kind of an um an addition to the project is something being already established in that area.

Um it also has been vacant for quite some time, so revitalizing it and making sure that there is an active use there is also something that is a pro.

Um in terms of the deviation request or the variate variants.

Um, so basically it does lay out um a couple of specific uh development standards, mostly related to multifamily or commercial next to single family, and there is uh quite a big landscape requirement.

It is supposed to be 25 feet in width.

Um, given how narrow the site is, and given that they are trying to utilize the existing infrastructure there, it wasn't feasible for them to pursue that.

The NPA does allow an out for that, that is the variance to the board.

So that's really the main entitlement of why it is being elevated to you all today.

Um other than that, we we found that the findings uh for the variants could be made and that the project is um preserving and protecting that existing single family residential by um retaining the building and and putting in more active use to the site.

Okay, I understand.

I know it's a probably a tough thing because I'm sure that NPA did not envision the conversion of these old medical office buildings to residential.

They probably didn't even contemplate that, I would imagine.

Correct.

It's not it's silent in the NPA, but it certainly didn't prohibit it.

It's a matter of mitigating the community impacts to make sure if it's done, it fits within the character of the neighborhood, right?

Is that essentially the evaluation?

That's correct.

And the the kind of purpose of the NPOA is to preserve and protect the existing single family neighborhoods from encroach further encroachment of commercial and institutional uses.

And so this isn't further taking away single family residential.

It is just kind of changing a use that is currently commercial.

Okay, and so just we we had a lot, I think we had a pretty long conversation about this in 2021 when it first came and was initially proposed as an affordable housing project.

Um and there were concerns in the community about some of the impacts of that, and certainly an over concentration of uh affordable housing projects in any one area.

Um which I think is is I completely understand that, but this is market rate.

Um, and when it first came, remind me again when it first came to us in 21, how many units were they proposing?

I thought it was over 20.

It was 20 originally, and then after going to the advisory bodies, they reduced it down to 18 before it got to the board.

Okay, and then this is 16.

This is 16.

So this one.

I remember the uh getting back to your your comment about the NPA and the impact with the the neighbors and provisions we're trying to put in place to mitigate um the, I guess the intersection or where this multifamily housing project abuts say a single-family home, especially like the backyard or the side yard, which I think you've heard me talk about a lot, because that's where a lot of my biggest concerns are when we put multifamily in in what are traditionally um single-family um residential neighborhoods.

Um we had a lot of conversation about the balconies on the west side of the building.

Can you talk a little bit about the the mitigation efforts between, and I know that whole area to the west is not all single family residential, but in terms of where the balconies are vis-a-vis that residential um yard to the west.

Yeah, so they are adding um let's see, six balconies along that um elevation.

They're everything zoned on every property on the west side of the project is zoned BP.

Um so I believe there is one existing single family residence right on Ingle that would have impacts from the balconies because um because of the uh fire requirements to remove substantial vegetation from that side of the property, it is going to be fairly more open now.

Um so other than that, I think we as planning and what our design standards say is that we promote private open space for residences, and we want to give them that opportunity to have that op that space, and so that is a requirement of the design standards is to have private open space for each unit.

Okay, but in terms of so in terms of the trees, we're not able to put larger trees on that west side because of the space.

Because of fire requirements, yes.

Did we hear from any of the neighbors immediately to the west there about this, expressing concerns?

No.

Um, another question I had.

I know we had again in 2021 a big discussion about the aesthetics of the front of the property facing angle, and I I completely understand the sentiment about hey, you know, if you're gonna do something, can you make it look nicer for the community?

Um I know those two arches will still stay, but you there's gonna be that significant change.

Has it already been have you already made done that?

Has that remodel already happened?

The one that's up there on the, I guess that's the upper right.

No, it has not.

Okay, so you're gonna be taking out those additional arches and adding that additional gabled area that pops out towards the street.

So that I think that significantly changes the uh the look of the property.

Um two more things real quick.

Sorry, I I appreciate my colleagues indulging me here.

Um some comments about fire safety, and we had a little bit of discussion about access, and obviously SAC Metro is not gonna let us move forward with any project that does not provide them access.

I think we all know that.

But in terms of concerns about the units, I mean, after the each of these units is refurbished, they're going to be required.

I mean, obviously the fire department has to approve the plans, and then we'll be inspecting each unit.

Is that accurate?

That's accurate.

So for safety of the residents, I'll also note that the fire requirements were different back in when this first came through.

Um I was actually the project manager for when it came back last time, so it's kind of interesting to see it come back.

But um, they did, the original project did have a um a special agreement with fire for above and beyond things that they needed to do to their building um in order to satisfy the access requirements.

Those are all now just required.

So they have had to work a lot closer to fire and having that pathway behind the building and removal of the carports is also something that fire that's new for this project because it wasn't required back in 2019.

So I would even go as far as saying that the fire stands are now more strict than they were when the project originally came back.

Um but they will be required to submit separate plans directly to SAC Metro Fire for their review, and there will also be inspections as well.

Okay, okay.

And last question is there any provision on whether this project or other projects where we look at the proposed lighting of the um uh of the multifamily project because when, again, when it abuts a single family home, sometimes you know we get complaints about the lighting from say the parking lot shining into a backyard.

Do we do we have provisions that ensure we can mitigate some of those impacts?

Our zoning code does have provisions for parking lot lighting, um, and we mostly look at lighting associated with uses when it comes to like commercial, like our gas stations, for example, tend to be very bright.

Um, but we do have requirements on light pole height.

Um, it has to be fully shielded and directed downwards.

So there are provisions, and that will be reviewed once the um lighting is a little bit more further along.

Okay.

Thank you.

That's all I have for now.

Great.

Thank you.

All right.

Um, no more questions from us.

At least for the time being.

Madam Clerk, do you want to uh swear to meet?

Yes.

Applicant in.

Thank you, Chair.

If I could have the applicant and those that have signed up for public comment to address the board regarding item 48, please stand to be sworn.

And please raise your right hand in the appropriate responses.

I do.

Do you swear that the testimony we're about to give this board is the truth, so help you God.

If you do not swear, do you so affirm?

And I do.

Okay, so when you go to the podium, please state your name for the record and the statement I have been sworn.

Yeah, would the applicant like to address the board?

Good morning, board.

Uh, my name is Joseph Kumura, and I have been sworn.

Um, I'm one of the uh owners of Onyx Investment Group.

Uh we are a local development company.

Uh both of our partners are born and raised in Sacramento.

Um, we have six projects in the county right now that we're currently working on as uh office to multifamily conversions.

Um obviously, vacant offices are a pretty big problem, and we're trying to uh mitigate the risk that the homeless have uh started to you know do to these properties.

Um we have 12 projects all in housing in the greater Sacramento area, so we as a team are very excited to uh help redevelop Sacramento and develop Sacramento further being.

Um, and my request is to have the board give us support and and approve our project.

Very good.

Thank you.

Of course, go back.

Yes.

Next speaker, please.

We have two members of the public requesting to speak.

We have Amber Viegas.

Hello, I'm Amber Viegas.

I've been sworn.

Um, first I wanted to say, this isn't part of my speech, but I did want to say that the property that they're talking about that they wanted to purchase that was adjacent to deal with the fire issue.

That's a convalescent home with 135 license bed.

It's full.

There's elderly there, grandma's grandfathers.

So no, I don't agree with them purchasing it and making it into apartments at all.

Um, now I'll continue with my speech.

My name is Amber Viegas.

I'm here as representative of MONA and also as a resident within the 500 foot radius of 4748 Ingle Road.

I first want to speak to where I left off in the planning committee meeting dated August 25th, 2025.

During this meeting, I had gone over comments I received from a group of professional engineers at the Department of Transportation Division of Engineering Services.

Um that now is completed was in regards to a plan set submitted by Ingle Partners LLC to county to 9 6 2024.

Last week I submitted infield measurements at 4748 Ingle Road, along with the engineer plan discrepancies.

Notes to Krista Amy, the spire fire inspector for zip code 95608 at Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District.

I received a response from her supervisor, Christian Genea attached to his email was a plan review notification dated in July 7th, 2024, addressed to Irving Hirita.

This letter that I handed out to all of you mirrors and deficiencies previously found by Caltrans PEs relating to the noncompliance of fire prevention standard number three, fire apparatus access roads.

The engineers at the Department of Transportation concluded that this makes this particular development in not in compliance with Sacramento Fire Code.

A partial demolition will plan will have to be submitted to the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District to move forward.

As Mr.

Ghania stated in his email, for change of use and occupancy classification, the applicant will need to comply with today's building standards and fire codes.

Given the findings, a conversion from an office building to a multifamily housing units is not feasible nor is it safe.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Katherine Cook.

Hello, my name's Catherine Cook.

I have been sworn.

I'm president of Mission Oaks North Neighborhood Association.

We just held a meeting about uh two weeks ago.

We talked about we must have had at least 75 80 of our um neighbors present.

Unanimously unanimously they are against this project the way that it is right now designed.

This is basically a recycled project, exactly the same as it was presented two years ago.

It still doesn't have enough parking, it still doesn't come up to the standards of our neighborhood.

You talked about it a little bit earlier, uh Supervisor Rodriguez.

We're trying to beautify and we're trying to improve our neighborhood.

We feel like this project it's not single family residential, it's not going to be uh home ownership, it's gonna be another apartment building on top of two huge apartment complexes right around the corner, less than a five-minute walk away that has already been approved by the supervisors.

That already is getting waivers and exemptions so that there isn't enough parking, and there isn't enough setbacks, and on this project, they didn't even talk about how there it's those that balcony that's on the east side, those people are gonna be looking right into a whole neighborhood of single family homes.

The project just does not fit the character, and it's not an improvement, it's actually gonna be a detriment to our neighborhood.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And Chair, that concludes our public comments.

All right, very good.

Thank you.

Supervisor Hume.

I would defer to my colleague from district three.

Understood.

Supervisor Dozman.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair, and thank you.

Uh Supervisor Hume.

Um, you know, I thank you, Amber and Kathy, for being here and um have read the correspondence.

Um understand your concerns, especially.

I mean, I I I don't think any individual neighborhood should be uh overburdened, especially with it's a use that's that's contrary um to kind of the nature of the community.

I do um I do like the fact that this is a market rate project.

I think that that is that's a big difference, especially when you have affordable units as part of the other uh Whitney and mission project right around the corner.

Um with respect to the concerns for the fire safety, that's why you know I I asked that question that each of these units will have to be inspected.

We'll have to comply with the code for SAC Metro Fire.

Um so that does alleviate my concern.

And and with respect to the building, I mean I I you know, I know ideally we'd like to see new construction, maybe single family home.

I mean, the the problem is as we know this building has been nearly vacant for a long time, and um it's you're not gonna find anybody who's interested in coming in and tearing this down and building something new.

That's just simply not cost effective.

So I think to myself, okay, do we do we do we just let this building sit and become uh uh uh a source of of blight, a chronic source of blight in the neighborhood.

Um I think this is not simply a uh calculus of not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good.

I think this is actually a really really good project.

I do think the changes to the exterior look good.

I think I like the fact that it was reduced to 16 units.

Um I do think there's adequate parking.

I would like to ask the applicant to respond to the concern about acquiring a property next door, because my understanding is you wouldn't need to be acquiring property, you'd be maybe need to just be acquiring an easement, right, Mr.

Kumar.

And can can you tell us a little bit about your plans or what your approach is going to be to acquire that easement?

Absolutely.

So um that property next door is actually a single-family resident that's closer to the street, and the balconies actually overlook a um a parking lot.

That's kind of out there.

And the purchase that we're going to make is for the property because we were able to negotiate.

How it however it's an option to purchase, they have already agreed to do the easement with us.

We just have to get to the approval process and this, you know, settlement first.

Okay, well, and I know you're also the onyx group.

You're you're looking and working closely with county planning staff on conversion of other office projects in throughout unincorporated Sacramento County, because we like you said, we have so many of these completely vacant uh offices that I think could be converted to a better use.

So I I I certainly understand and appreciate the community's concerns, but I still think I think this is a good project, and I'm I'm um Mr.

Chair, going to move approval.

Well second, thank you.

Supervisor Hume.

Thank you, Chair.

Uh, I won't go on too long, but I just want to kind of for the the folks that spoke on the project here, give a little peek into what we have to think about uh from the dais.

And so the first is that I'll say is that the changing face of commercial development is such that in many cases the office market in particular used to serve a need that is no longer necessary, either remote working or whatever else.

And so you're seeing exactly as was mentioned, properties that can fall and become an attractive nuisance where now you could have squatters, you have uh um uh blight or or or vandalism or or other things that uh you know or you raise it and it just becomes a vacant parcel, which has its own issues.

The other thing is the state, and then before I get to the state, there's also the the the uh sort of societal ill that we face right now of uh of an immense housing shortage and getting products stood up from bare dirt is is such a uh a long runway uh that I don't know we'll ever catch up to ourselves with that uh methodology.

But then the the biggest concern I have is that the state just continues to erode away at local control, and they continue to say that we will do for you what you don't do for yourself by breaking down whatever barrier we think we ought to stand up out of reasonableness and out of preserving the character of a neighborhood.

And so, for example, if the the house immediately uh adjacent to this property on foster way were to burn down, it could be rebuilt as a fourplex by right.

So could the neighboring house, so could the house around the street, all of them could put ADUs into their right.

So I think what we're trying to do is find projects like this where you have somebody who is saying, I want to be the best neighbor and and convert what is an underutilized parcel into something that hopefully will add um value, if not um necessarily uh to the neighboring standpoint, but at least to the fact of of putting people who want to pour into their community and hopefully we'll maybe be um uh welcome to neighbors.

And so I I certainly appreciate where you're coming from.

Uh, you know, I'm a big private property rights advocate, and I I understand the complexities therein, but we're kind of we're fish swimming upstream at this point, and and to the extent we throw up barriers for something like this that seems fairly reasonable, the state will just continue to to beat us with their cudgel.

All right, thank you.

Uh no one else is in the queue.

We have a motion and a second.

Please vote.

That item passes unanimously.

Great, thank you.

Thanks to our speakers.

All right.

Uh last item for morning session.

Item number 49 is PLMP 2023-00256.

It's an initiation of the North Watt Avenue specific plan process.

Good afternoon, Chair Cerna, members of the board.

Jesse Shun, Info Coordinator with Planning and Environmental Review, and this is the initiation of the Northwatt Avenue specific plan process.

All right.

The existing land use plans for the Northwatt Avenue Corridor were adopted over 13 years ago and have not resulted in the intended vision and development.

Barriers to development in this corridor include the regulatory hurdles of the development process embedded in the existing plan, as well as the lack of infrastructure and capacity to support such development.

This county initiated effort for a specific plan will address these barriers and encourage investment in the corridor.

The proposed boundaries for the specific plan span four miles of Watt Avenue from Antelope Road to the north and interstate 80 in the south.

The boundaries generally encompass the 2008 North Highlands Town Center Special Planning Area and the 2012 North Watt Avenue Corridor Plan.

As mentioned, the purpose of this county initiated effort is to address the barriers to development in this corridor.

The development potential for the specific plan will be similar to that of the existing plan.

And the vision will be modernized to be more vivid and exciting, but will maintain making a corridor a place one wants to be.

What makes a specific plan different from other land use plans is the implementation measures and tools put in place to carry out development goals.

Additional benefits of the specific plan in furtherance of encouraging development include creating certainty, helping projects make financial sense, and streamlining reviews for the reasons provided on the slide.

Staff will also be thinking beyond adoption of the specific plan and identifying potential opportunities to continue attracting development interest to the corridor.

The outreach program will build on prior engaged stakeholders and business representatives and also add new groups that and organizations that are now present in the community.

In response to this notice of initiation, we've received three comment letters generally expressing interest to be engaged in the planning process, and staff will make sure to connect with those commenters.

An environmental impact report will be prepared for the specific plan.

And because this project's funding is tied to the state's re two expenditure deadline, we are looking to return to the board in November 2026 for adoption considerations.

As such, staff recommends the board take the following actions to initiate the Northwatt specific plan process.

Thank you.

Great, thank you.

Any questions for staff?

All right.

Seeing none.

Madam Clerk, do we have anyone in time to speak on this matter?

We do not.

All right.

Uh all right.

I will go ahead and move the item.

So a motion and a second.

Please vote.

And that item passes unanimously.

All right, very good.

Thank you.

And uh we do have closed session.

And uh with that, we will recess until two o'clock.

Okay, I'd like to call back to order this meeting of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors for Tuesday, November 4th, 2025.

Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll and reestablish the quorum?

Good afternoon, Supervisors Kennedy.

Here, Desmond, Rodriguez.

Here, Hume, Chair Cerna.

Here, we do have a quorum.

Very good.

Next item, please.

First item is item number 50, receive and follow the fiscal year 2025-26 quarter one.

Sacramento Welcome Home Presentation Report and approve approve the SWH policy.

Incentivizing positive behaviors at the Sacramento Welcome Homes.

Good afternoon, Shelby.

Good afternoon, Chair Cerna, members of the board.

Shelby Boston, I'm your director of the Department of Child Family and Adult Services.

It is my pleasure to be here today to share with you quarter one of 2526 Welcome Homes Board of Directors report.

So as in previous reports, we'll be going over those mandated areas that community care licensing requires.

We report to this board, the operating budget and fiscal statement, staff training and safety policies, quarterly data, and then an added bonus of placement capacity expansion.

It is first quarter that we're looking at, so nothing too exciting here.

As you know, we have a 12 million dollar budget for the welcome homes that are operated by Sacramento County, DC FAS.

And as right on target, we're at um 2.4 million spent for the first quarter, with our highest costs being as expected in personnel.

In regards to our staff training and safety, uh in the last quarter, uh staff received refresher training on intake forms and processes when youth are coming into the welcome homes.

And they also received training in recognition of infectious diseases, immunizations, and prevention of injuries.

Is providing training to our staff regarding CSEC or commercially sexually exploited children, and have begun groups for youth in the welcome homes as well.

We have some future trainings as I've shared with this board before.

We are continuing to focus on our therapeutic crisis intervention training and refresher and offering some makeup opportunities for staff, and then we'll also be providing CPR.

One of the policies that we have before this board today is seeking your approval on the policy and procedure related to incentivizing positive behaviors for youth.

And so that has been um provided to you for your review and hopeful approval.

We always have some policies in the queue, and here we have four that we are will be bringing to you in the next quarter's report.

And those um, as you all know, that's a lengthy process.

Once the policies are written, then we have to go through county council approval and then ultimately through the meet and confer process with the various labor.

Moving into our demographics for quarter one.

Between July 1st and September 30th, we served 107 unduplicated youth.

And in prior quarter of quarter four of last fiscal year, there were 101 unduplicated youth.

So we went up just a tad.

36% of the youth this quarter were male, 63% were female, and 59% of the youth served at the welcome home were of color, either black, Hispanic, or American, Indian.

And 14 of the 107 youth were involved with probation on an informal basis, so about 13%.

And the average daily census was eight for the youth across all Sacramento welcome homes, and the average the um length of stay was five days.

So we actually um improved there from the prior quarter.

Shall we before you that uh slide?

Supervisor Kenny.

Thank you, Chair.

Yeah, so I I think I've asked this at previous hearings, but I can't remember the answer.

The gender discrepancy, I mean the between male and male.

It's counterintuitive.

I always expect males to be more.

Why is the female population so much bigger?

You know, it I think it ebbs and flows, to be honest with you.

Same with ages, we just see different ages come in.

Um, I don't have a great science.

So I don't answer the answer for you.

Okay, thank you.

All right, moving into the discharge data.

There were 160 discharges this quarter, and just a reminder: some of these are duplicated, and there were 133 discharges in quarter four, just for comparison's sake.

Of the 149 discharges, 106 were discharged to another placement, either another TCSF or TSCF, a parent, a relative, a foster family agency home, even STRTPs.

Six were taken to the youth detention facility, two were hospitalized, and the remainder were on unauthorized absences.

Moving into our incident report data, this slide shows that in quarter one incidents that we reported to state community care licensing as a requirement, we had a total of 337 incidents.

And in comparison, we had 362 last quarter, so slight decrease.

272 of this quarter's incidents were for unauthorized absences.

And just a reminder that when we have an unauthorized absence, we are also required to report that to law enforcement.

So it does make our number elevate.

And you'll see that when on this slide, when you look at unauthorized absences and law enforcement, they're the same number for that reason.

The other 15 incidents that involve law enforcement were for things like fighting between the youth, throwing items at staff, unfortunately, property damage.

We had an incident with trespassing and a weapon that was recovered with law enforcement, and behavioral health emergencies.

We had some contraband recovered during this quarter, including marijuana, a vape pen, and a lighter.

In the other category, those are for things that we are made aware of, such as fighting off property, verbal altercations, refusing prescription medications.

We did unfortunately see a few of our staff injured during this reporting period for things like pushing of staff, throwing items, and physically assaulting.

We did have one citation this quarter from CCL, community care licensing, and that was for overcapacity.

Moving into our placement capacity expansion progress, as you know, there's been a tremendous amount of work over the last several years.

We continue to have a very strong focus in increasing our relative engagement and relative placements.

Just last year, from January of 24 to January of 25, we saw an increase of our relative placements by nearly 14 percent.

And from October 1 of 24 to October 1 of 25, we realized a 38.9, we increased from 38.9 to 43.2.

So we continue on the right trajectory there.

Supervisor Rodriguez.

Shelby, so can you just elaborate a little on the overcapacity?

What was the number of that you were over capacity?

Um it's depends on um which investigation.

We had three actually occurring, we had one that they finalized.

So we're licensed for six in our each home.

And if we have a sibling group, for example, we don't want to separate, we'll take that violation to keep the siblings together.

So that's what normally happens.

Okay, that's good.

Could you answer my next question?

What happens when situations like this and you end up over capacity?

So we accommodate as best we can.

Yeah, thank you.

Then this slide shows where we were where we sit at today with the various placement options and where our ultimate goal is.

And just to highlight for you, there's been a tremendous amount of very positive forward momentum on increasing the number of providers that we have here in Sacramento County.

As I've shared with several of you during briefings, we have Seneca, who's based out of the Bay Area.

They have successfully purchased two homes and are looking at opening an additional two.

Um, so they're in the licensure process, so that will increase our capacity with a very seasoned provider, as well as the refuge, which practices out of Alameda County, and they is have as well purchased additional homes and are working through the licensure process.

So you'll see the the big standout here that's highlighted on this slide, is showing that the ultimate goal is for Sacramento County DC FAST to no longer be operating county-run welcome homes.

So we're still shooting for that goal and hope to have that accomplished by the end of the fiscal year.

And that is the end of my presentation.

If there are any questions, I'd be happy to entertain those.

Any further questions for Shelby?

Don't see any.

Great.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And this is just a receive.

Is a resolution that needs to be adopted.

I'll go ahead and move approval for the recommended action.

It's been moved and second, please vote.

And that item does pass unanimously.

Thank you.

Number 51 is fiscal year 2324 annual report on the black child legacy campaign.

All right.

Do we have a staff report?

Who is leading us off?

We you can, and you can run the clicker.

Oh, goodness.

I have nightmares about this clicker from last year.

Well, good morning or good afternoon, Chair Sarnan, members of the board, County's ex.

Uh awesome to be here.

Thank you for having us.

I didn't get the memo to wear green, so thank you for wearing green behind us.

Um we're here to present for Black Child Legacy.

Go ahead.

And who are you?

Oh, I thought everybody knows me.

My name is Jamal Rowe, Chief Probation.

And I'm Shelby Boston, director of DC FAS.

All right, we are going to jump into some history.

In 2011, as this board knows, through data collection and conceptualization, it was identified that black and African American children in Sacramento County were dying at twice the rate of other groups.

Since 2013, this steering committee on reduction of African-American child deaths has guided this initiative, known as Black Child Legacy Campaign, BCLC, to reduce the deaths of through research recommendations and oversight.

Since 2015, the county has invested in cross-sector strategies to raise awareness and prevent risk, provide trauma-informed family-centered services, empower communities to support child safety, align policies and resources, and coordinate data to guide decisions.

Before you leave the slide, let me just correct one thing you said.

You mentioned in 2011 it was discovered that African American children were dying at two times the rate.

At disproportional rates.

So I just want to make that clear.

Thank you for that.

All right.

BCLC is a collective impact model, bringing together diverse stakeholders who collaborate to tackle complex issues.

This cross-sector approach works because there is a shared goal, shared measurements to track progress, mutually reinforcing activities, continuous communication, and a backbone community-based organization to help coordinate and sustain momentum.

As you can see, our departments and partners work together, each bringing unique expertise and supports that bring out and reinforce one another.

County departments, including Department of Human Assistance, probation, child welfare, are co-locating at the community incubator leads, CIOs, commonly known as, working alongside CBOs, family resource centers, and home visitors.

We not only place community at the heart of this work, but also centered community as part of the solution.

Integrating innovative, community-led approaches such as the Cultural Brokers Program as essential to our efforts.

This structure, along with intentional mechanisms like multidisciplinary teams, allows us to address any issue holistically in a coordinated way.

Approximately 8.9 million invested in physical year 2324 across four departments to help to help advance the black child legacy death reduction efforts.

DC FAS CPS leads with major investments in community-led programs and specialized staff.

This collective impact model strengthens prevention through embedded staff and family support initiatives.

Over 95.5 million invested since physical year 2013-14, demonstrating sustained sustained countrywide, countywide, excuse me, commitment.

Additionally, through this collaborative impact model, we've integrated BCLC strategies into departmental policies and programs.

The ongoing collaboration includes initiatives like Child Safety Forward, Families First Sacramento, and Building Strong Families.

Today's report will highlight fiscal year 2324 investments, work, and steering committee updates.

Next, I'll introduce Kim Pearson, division manager within DC FAS.

Thank you.

Hi, good afternoon, board, Chair Cerna, Board, County Execs, and our beloved staff and community partners.

As stated, I'm Kim Pearson, Division Manager in DCFAS, and I've been a steering committee member since its inception.

And I am very honored to be here today to share some highlights as it relates to DCFAS, as my peers will also share information from other county entities, how they all contributed to the Black Child Legacy campaign.

But before I do that, I just want to take a moment.

If you are a county employee, county outstation staff, or someone from the county who works in the operations with BCLC, please stand up.

A culture of brokers.

We wanted to just take a moment.

We wanted to take a moment to acknowledge our county staff.

We were very fortunate to be at the 10-year anniversary, and they heard love from their CILs, their CIL families, but we wanted to convey from the county leadership how much we appreciate what they do.

And not only are they contributing to the success of Black Child Legacy Campaign, but they are consider contributing to the legacy within our respective agencies because they are changing the way that we show up and work in co-space with community.

And 10 years ago, that's not who we were.

So getting right into it, just want to um focus on some collaborative partnerships.

So uh the Sacramental Prevention Cabinet or Child Safety Forward, I believe that you all are familiar with them, and there's some folks in the room who make up this configuration of leadership across the uh county in regard to identifying innovative practices and enhancing current practices to ensure that children are safe within our community and that they thrive.

Um Safe Sleep Baby, you've heard about the Safe Sleep Baby, where we're able to provide education to families and how to sleep their baby safely, and families are provided with a crib, and you will hear a little bit more about that in the later slide.

And then building strong families, the opportunity for each of the CILs and the FRCs to have a navigator so that they can be linked to services within the community.

That is ARPA funding that will be coming to a close.

Um, however, it's been a great partnership to have, and then last but not least, our Sacramento County Comprehensive Prevention Plan.

You guys are familiar with that as well, also known as Family First Sacramento, where we utilize dollars and with CPS leadership in regards to implementing resources that specifically focus on those underserved neighborhoods, those overrepresented neighborhoods through strategies such as concrete needs, enhanced uh child care capacities, as well as basic income.

Other key collaboratives, who you saw stand up in the audience was our CPS social workers who are outstationed at all seven CIL sites.

We always try to have our CPS staff outstation.

There have been times where with hiring and people leaving, we've had to have stand-ins.

And I just want to give a shout out to both Tiffany Glass and Dominique Smith.

Part of our county team who is really able to stand in the gap when we don't have a social worker who is able to be present.

Shared community roundtable MDT facilitation.

That is a meeting that is held bi monthly, and that includes your leadership from DCFAS as well as our amazing partners at Sierra Health Foundation and then our Department of Human Assistance as well as probation.

That's co-facilitated and it really drives what the CILs want to focus on.

And then finally, our family service linkages to CIL sites.

So the next slide here is our cultural broker model.

And our cultural broker model is a model that has been in place.

The board is aware and we appreciate your investment in the culture broker model.

It's specifically designed to reduce the overrepresentation and disproportionality of children within the child welfare system.

Even though there has been excellent work in reducing the number of kids who are in our system, even when those numbers move, and we've seen, and I want to make sure that we highlight this, we've seen the steepest reduction of kids in child welfare that are their black children.

But despite that steep reduction, there still is overrepresentation and disparities within the black population with child welfare.

So the culture broker model really seeks to help those families navigate through the system.

And I won't go over every piece of data here, but one thing I also want to highlight is uh we recently were once again focused in a national publication.

Um it's our eighth publication, and this recent publication was through the imprint, which is a national um social uh social services media outlet.

Uh so we're very pleased, and we help other jurisdictions bring up cultural brokers within their jurisdictions as well.

So just sharing a few highlights related to the brokers.

So, as you can see for this reporting period, we had 476 children who were serviced through DCFAS.

Um, 56% of those who referred to the BCLCs, um, were in the BCLC zip codes because the cultural brokers served throughout Sacramento County.

Um, one thing to note here is that the next highest zip code that was outside of the BCLC zip codes was Rancho Cordova.

So there is further validation in regards to moving forth with that eighth location in Rancho Cordova.

And then we also have the ability to service those families who are unhoused, which we've seen a growth in that.

And then just a couple highlights here: 90% who had a culture broker assigned to them, had their case closed successfully.

And uh 43% of those, which is 50 families, they had their ER investigation closed with no further child welfare intervention.

That's amazing.

Um, for our next highest number here, we have 27%, uh, or 31 families who were able to be reunified.

So it really shows where the investment and the dollars are going to address disproportionality and over representation by having models such as this.

We are entering into an evaluability study so that we can get funding hopefully and be rated through the clearinghouse so that it opens up other pathways because we know this model works, and we'd like to expand it to other ethnicities as well.

Okay, so moving on, key collaborative, of course, is this collaboration that we've had for some time with DCFAS, the Culture Brokers, our partners at Child Abuse Prevention Council, first five NCR Health Foundation, BCLC and Public Health.

So, as stated earlier, and the board is aware, this is an education model that helps to educate families in regards to how to safely sleep their baby.

In this reporting period, we see that 135 families were referred to culture brokers specifically for the safe sleep baby education.

It's up from 121.

And out of that, it's voluntary.

So out of that, 56 parents or caregivers were educated on how to sleep their baby, and then 43 parents caregivers participated in the pre and post-test and received a crib.

And so some families won't receive a crib because they already have one.

And if they have one, the culture brokers will not leave that home until they're able to see the crib and they're able to ensure that there's nothing inside the crib and the crib is appropriately set up.

Thus contributing, of course, to preventable, preventable deaths and uh infant safe sleep.

Our next uh slide speaks to uh a grant that we received in October of 2022 that really is a collaboration with the Office of Juvenile Justice, Delinquency and Prevention, OJJDP.

That's my favorite acronym.

I don't know why.

Like saying OJJDP.

That sounds like a rap song from the 90s.

I won't say which one, but yeah.

Oh yeah, yeah.

Uh so OJJDP, um, we received a grant.

Um, that grant will be ending coming up in September.

However, uh, for this reporting period, this is for families who are specifically involved with our agency and hopes that they do not have to go forth into uh foster care.

They're receiving voluntary services and they are able to have a cultural broker support them with their substance abuse challenges.

And so what we had seen at one point in time is we know who comes to our attention, but we were not seeing those who are graduating from substance abuse programs and treatment facilities were not black families.

So if we have black families who are overrepresented in our system, but yet we're not seeing them get the same services or the same success in these and with substance abuse, that's a disparity that we wanted to be able to have some impact on, and thus we went forward and were granted this grant.

So, as you can see, 60 youth were impacted, 13 were able to close at time of investigation, reducing entries, and then eight transitioned to voluntary services.

Unfortunately, there were 11 entries.

We know that's gonna happen, but one of the things about both what all of our county entities are doing as well as BCLC if safety is first.

So if there's a safety issue, we are going to have to bring those kids into care.

However, we will work very diligently to get those kids home safely and timely.

Finally, participant staff voices, we wanted to leave some room for those in the audience who might want to share uh their experience, but we did just want to call out a couple of um comments from our parents who have participated in uh the culture broker services through uh DCFAS.

And so the first one is um the culture broker program really touched me and my family's heart.

That is from a father who reunified with his child.

Um I was able to meet that father.

There were some challenges that were happening, there were some misunderstandings.

The cultural broker came in, was able to help advocate for that child, and um the father was able to subsequently reunify within four months of initially where his case was stalled.

Um, so uh once again, a successful outcome.

And then finally, um, a mother who was reunified with her child stated, I'm very grateful for my cultural broker.

I was going through a rough time in my life, and she helped me see the son always.

And one thing I want to say about that is even when this mother was successful, but even when the parent is not successful, the cultural broker model really treats parents with the respect and the dignity that they deserve despite their circumstances.

And so, if that family is not successful, I chose that um quote because the son and let and working with the families, the culture brokers are always trying to ensure that families see another side, even if things don't go in their direction.

So that's all I have.

Thank you for your time.

And are there any questions?

Thank you, Kim.

Just in terms of the balance of the afternoon, are we getting any more presentation by staff?

Okay, all right.

Just want to uh wait.

I want to be clear on that.

Uh I do have one question.

Yes.

Uh, and I'm not sure if this is the right time.

That's why I was asking the other question.

But um, what if anything are we doing through our various school districts or SCOE, uh, to um let uh both parents and students know about the broader BCLC effort.

Uh I'm thinking back, uh it's probably been six or seven years now for me since I went to NCNA high school.

And there were at the time there was a group I think of juniors, and they had a semester, maybe it was a year-long project on uh it was kind of on um social service needs in in Sacramento County, and so they kind of adopted at the time uh where we were relative to relative to BCLC and RAACD, and I was really impressed with kind of the interest uh by young people.

But can you Kim could you or is there someone in the chambers that could um speak to uh any ongoing partnerships or um uh growth in uh working with our uh education our folks in the education space?

Sure.

I don't know if Sierra Health might want to also respond, but I can say on behalf of DC FAS, we do um have a collaboration, we have a strong partnership with SCOE, and we have staff who attends their um ongoing meetings, and we share information about resources.

Um, one of those resources that we share is of course about BCLC, and then additionally, we send out blasts in each of our respective departments to um provide resources to our social work teams who are working directly with all of the school districts.

Um we will post flyers in um the respective schools so that they are aware of what services are taking place, and then finally, I would just say that the CILs have such a strong relationship with a number of the school districts, they're working directly with them, they're advocating for youth there, and they're making uh the schools aware of what the services are.

And so I don't know if anyone else wants to add to that response.

And that's fine if if um if we're gonna hear later specifically from uh Sierra Health Foundation uh representatives, maybe they can um uh pick up where you left off.

Sure.

Um or there's actually someone behind you that would like to.

Well, hi.

Hi, hello, welcome.

Welcome, thank you for having us.

I'm sorry, but um I wanted to speak on what you were speaking on about six, seven years ago.

That was our Art and Arcade hosted a participatory action research project with the NCNA students, and they did some surveying and studying around the campus and created this awesome YouTube video that I could probably share with you later.

But um, um I know I could speak for Art and Arcade.

We um partner with Sam Juan district, we attend their SARB meetings, we have um presence and relationships with a lot of the schools, so they reach out to us, they give us referrals.

They, hey, we have this family, and we're not really sure how to support them, and so that's just one of the ways you wanted somebody to speak.

So I jumped up.

Perfect, perfect.

Um, I'll also say that we also know at the CIL sites, if a youth is um suspended, um, a lot of the CIL sites will um not um, they don't want to see that youth go home.

So those youth will go to the CIL, and they're able to get um support.

There might be things that are going on at home, and so one of the things that I wanted to call out is that the CILs will advocate for those youth who at the school systems because black children have the highest number of school expulsions, suspensions, we know that.

And so the CIL's advocacy and working with those um specific school districts is also another way in which engagement occurs.

So they know when they see Miss Jackie coming, they better get it together.

All right, very good.

Thank you, Kimmy.

You're welcome.

Next up, I believe it's probation.

Board of Supervisors, County Executive.

I'd like to start by thanking you all for giving us this opportunity.

Um my name is Dave Linden.

I am the assistant chief deputy over juvenile services for probation.

Let me start with, this is a very deeply personal program for me.

It really heartens me to see this board's support for this program ongoing this many years down the line, and the successes that we've seen over the years.

I'd also like to take the opportunity to thank my team, uh, Supervisor Estrada, Senior Deputy Probation Officer Wilbon, Senior Deputy Probation Officer Alo, probation officer Burns, probation officer Duncan, and our youth advocate, retired probation officer Larry King.

I truly could not ask for a better team.

These, this is a group of people whose commitment to the youth, the families in our community is second to none.

As somebody who's in the twilight of my career, seeing young leaders coming up through the ranks who are here to carry on this work really gives me the confidence in knowing where this will go in the future.

I'm gonna turn this over to Supervisor Estrada and Senior Deputy Probation Officer Wilbon.

Thank you.

Supervisors, Chair Cerna, Secutives, BOC partners, thank you for allowing us to be here.

My name is Emmanuel Estrada.

And my name is Dar Lisa Woba.

Thank you.

This slide is a great indicator of probation's work, and it shows the overall decline of juveniles brought into the juvenile justice system and the CIL neighborhoods.

Probation attributes the decline to the work they are doing with the CILs and in the CIL neighborhoods, taking prevention and early intervention approach.

Access to services continues to be a contributing factor.

Probation officers from juvenile services provide referrals to programs and services to increase family functioning within the home while also addressing behavioral issues with the youth.

These include gang involvement, delinquency, antisocial behavior, substance abuse, and mental health issues, working collaboratively with BCLC partners to educate families about parenting prenatal conditions, how to safely sleep babies, and connect them to crisis intervention, peer support, and peer mentorship.

Throughout these educational opportunities and CL collaborative teaming, youth and their families are provided with knowledge of making positive lifestyle choices with a strong support system, working together to ensure the youth success, limiting the youth's exposure to the juvenile justice system.

Since probation began its partnership with BCLC, we have served more than 800 youth within our community at the seven community incubator leads.

Over the years, probation has made over a thousand referrals to community-based intervention services to include cognitive behavior interventions, strength-based family, alcohol and drug treatment, mental health support, parenting, domestic violence, anger management, leadership, educational and vocational programs, and housing.

Similar to child welfare, African American youth are over-representative in the juvenile justice system.

And in fact, many of youth involved either are or have been involved in child welfare.

Given this, probation is also focusing on reducing the number of African American youth who come into the juvenile justice system.

Probation has employed a universal but targeted approach, focusing on three SIP codes with the highest representation of African-American youth, and with a focus on 13 to 17-year-old pre-adjudicated population.

Connecting the family and youth to services while awaiting disposition of court cases.

So further support connecting youth to BCLC, permission employed a BCLC Youth Advocate for enhanced referrals for pre-adjudicated youth, youth under provisional supervision, and youth in custody of the youth facility.

We know who that is.

Mr.

Larry King.

Thank you, Larry.

To minimize barriers for youth and families facing housing insecurities and transportation issues, probation has employed a probation outreach vehicle or POV.

The POV serves as a mobile probation office for youth and families in the community to check in with probation.

In collaboration with BCLC, probations POV is available to park at several BCLC sites.

This will allow youth to check in with probation, receive service referrals, and have access to basic needs.

Access to the POV will reduce the need for probation sanctions and reduce the need for VOPs warrants requests.

To focus on reducing third party homicide in the county, probation is focusing on a two-pronged supervision model with prevention efforts along with supervision and intervention focusing on youth classified as validated gang members or associates, as well as youth with firearm and violent-related offenses.

So far this year, juvenile justice service provision officers collected or recovered 17 firearms, helping reduce third-party homicide in the county.

Hello, like stated before, my name is Darli Shawobon.

I'm a probation officer of Sacramento County.

I have worked for the county for 23 years.

I'm so appreciative to be a part of this program.

I'm actually going to speak on a youth that was on my caseload, a young lady who Lady G is what we're going to call her.

She was placed on probation in August 2024.

She was referred to the Black Child Legacy Rose Family Foundation site where she completed her court order community-based intervention services.

Further, she completed her community service hours, assisting with various activities and community events through the Rose Family Center.

With the assistment of the Rose Family Center site, she was able to attend and graduate high school on time.

The minor was also a mother to a young son.

She had an episode with postpartum depression following the birth of her son.

She had an episode uh excuse me.

She was able to overcome the depression through counseling and parenting parenting classes attended at the Rose Family site.

The Rose Family Center also assisted with finding her a suitable home for her and her child, and she was she successfully completed probation in May 2025.

This is just one of the examples of how probation and BCLC works together to support positive change.

In addition to working with youngsters like Lady G, officers regularly engage with the community to make differences.

Officers participated last year in the Black History Community Fair, Juneteenth, youth listening session, pipeline to success event, and many others.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And I'm here to make just a few comments.

I have just one slide, because I know there are a lot of people that you probably would like to hear from.

When I first came as health officer, the Blue Ribbon Commission had just been established.

And I was very glad to be able to be a part of that process.

Because as Supervisor Cerner pointed out, the many years before that we had looked at this data, and there had been efforts before to actually address the disparities that we were seeing, but this was different.

And this was really community driven because when the board decided that they were going to put money towards this, they didn't tell them that this is a scope of work.

Tell us how you're going to solve it.

And so each of the communities, as you will hear, did it a bit differently, but they did it according to the needs that they were seeing.

And it was so so heartwarming just to see the work that was being done and also to see the improvements that were occurring and the reductions that we were seeing in disparities.

Apart from being part of the uh the blue ribbon commission and the steering committee, we were fortunately also able to establish a community nursing unit, and I do have the program manager Lisa Hooks in the audience.

And as a part of that, we were able to actually have nurses as uh consultants to each of the CILs.

And I'm not going to read the whole slide to you, but you can see uh some of the work that was being done, um, being part of the multidisciplinary team, being able to make referrals to medical homes, primary care, and to do screening as well.

Finally, as um trans transitioning over to uh first five, um, you will see some data that will come up, and it will show that yes, we did have improvements, but there might be trends that are um showing that things might be going up again, and sometimes when people see that they're like, Oh, whatever we're doing doesn't work anymore.

But that's not true.

We know that the work that has been done works, and we have seen lives being saved and being changed uh by the work that has been done, and I don't know if um uh it's appropriate for me to say it, I'll get in trouble later.

I just went out the door anyway.

So, I I just want to say that uh one definitely appreciate the resources that have been put in this, and just to say that this is not the time to take our foot off the gas pedal because now more than ever, the community needs our support, as we've seen with some of the changes that have occurred, and so also to say we shouldn't be discouraged by the trends that we're seeing.

Uh this community is resilient, and my belief is that we will get through this just as we did with COVID, and uh that if we continue doing the good work, there's still lives that are uh dependent on us, and that we'll still continue to save lives.

So, with that, I'll turn it over to Julie.

Thank you.

And while Julie's coming to the podium, uh let me just uh dovetail a little bit off of what uh Dr.

Kassiri had to share about uh some of the data that we're gonna see that might otherwise um be discouraging in some respects to some people.

Uh but let me uh uh leave you with two thoughts on that, even before we get there.

Uh number one, we had a historic pandemic, arguably at the height of the efficacy of to that point, uh, what BCLC was doing.

And then number two, just think about what if you weren't doing the work that you're doing at all, how much worse things could be.

So always keep that in mind.

It's kind of like you know, we're in the middle of football season.

It's kind of like a football game.

You know, football games, uh, a lot of folks will argue is actually one on defense.

So uh you gotta play both sides.

And um when you hear and see data that uh is not going at least uh in that moment in the direction that you want, a it should be um time for everyone to grab another gear and uh redouble our efforts collectively, uh but but also uh just remind yourselves too that if it wasn't for all the good uh great work that you're all doing, um things could be just a lot different.

So Julie.

Thank you, Supervisor Cerna, and uh good afternoon to all of you, Julie Galelo, the director at First Five.

Um I have the privilege of starting uh my journey at first five here just a few months after the launch of Black Child Legacy Campaign, and it has been one of the things that uh makes me never want to leave uh working at First Five Sacramento.

It's such an impactful and important program.

Um so I have the good uh job of wrapping up the county presentation.

So when I'm done, we will turn it over to community.

Um First Five, as you know, is just a super proud um contribute contributor toward Black Child Legacy campaign.

Uh the commission has dedicated over 22 million dollars in the last uh about 12 years to this effort.

And we fund two main uh areas one is direct services, which I'll talk about, and then a little bit in systems change efforts.

So um we are in this work deeply because three of the four primary um preventable causes of death happen most often in those first five years of life.

So we'll talk about those.

So um I want to highlight uh from our direct service side our Black Mothers United program.

This is our effort to prevent uh perinatal condition deaths, um, and we have partnered with them uh since the beginning.

Um we see amazing outcomes for moms connected to this program.

Um we have had uh in the latest just in the latest reporting period, we have had zero stillbirths and zero infant deaths at this program exit for five years running.

Yeah, um we did uh over the course of uh that time period have one infant death, which brought our rate to 4.1 per thousand compared to 12.0 per thousand children um born, uh African American children born, so over three times better outcomes just from being in this program, and through our evaluation, we've shown that higher number of contacts with a peer pregnancy coach leads to better birth outcomes, higher birth weight, and uh and babies staying in until their due date.

So, amazing program.

Um I want to talk about our infant sleep related death program called Safe Sleep Baby.

This is in partnership with our uh Child Abuse Prevention Center, and this program provides parents with uh one hour of education and a safe uh crib to sleep their baby in if they need it.

Um we have seen uh you'll see the data momentarily, but very great outcomes from this program.

Um it's a program that serves all children in the county.

So messaging goes out to all children, but we have a specific um outreach and targeting toward African American children and parents.

Um we've given out 11 uh 1100 parents were trained just last year, and 602 cribs were distributed.

Um, and uh we now have safe sleep baby practices incorporated into all eight of our birthing hospitals.

So every time a parent is leaving the hospital, in addition to being asked uh to show the car seat of how the baby's gonna get home, they are asked how do they uh what do they have a safe place to sleep their baby?

And if they do not, they are provided the education and a crib.

So it's just amazing systems change.

And for our child abuse and neglect homicides, we call CAN homicides, um, we are uh focusing with our um family resource centers.

We fund nine family resource centers across the county, most all of them are seeing African American parents coming in.

But we fund two specifically to really engage and go deep with African American parents, and that's our partners at Mutual Assistance Network in Art and Arcade and SAC Children's Home in Valley High.

Um those two FRCs use a very specific curriculum called um effective black parenting and have been have changed their model for how they do home visiting, um, crisis intervention, parenting education to use this particular um very successful impactful uh model and curriculum.

These are just a couple highlights of our systems improvement work as well.

We've been uh supporter of the Black Child Legacy Steering Committee since day one, uh, along with DC uh DC FAS.

We see the need for that backbone organization to hold this all together.

I think so much of the success of this program is because we have a Sierra Health Foundation bringing all the partners and uh working so closely with those community incubator leads.

Um we also uh very creatively created programs called Safe Sleep Baby 2.0 and Safe Sleep Baby 3.0.

These are expansions across uh with other county departments, DC uh DC FAS again, um public health, uh DHA, and working with our partners at CAPSE again um to do more systems level changes for Safe Sleep Baby.

Um we have two websites that we direct uh folks to that really help connect African American parents to services and supports.

That's our SAC Family Connect, which has a whole decision tree that if you uh enter information that you are African American with a child zero to 17, you will be referred automatically to the CIL in your neighborhood.

So just trying to direct traffic to those CILs, and then we have a Be Mom Aware campaign and website that really focuses on the mental health.

It's very culturally uh specific to African American and Latino moms who have higher rates of maternal mental health issues.

Um we're gonna talk data now.

Uh these slides will wrap up the presentation, and just before I jump into them, I always want to recognize that um there's a lot of these numbers that are on the slide, each of those numbers represents a child's life that was um tragically cut short.

Um, and that the pain and grief associated with that with that loss, it is not measurable.

So we're talking about measures and we're talking about rates, but we're really talking about children and and their lives and their parents who go on without them.

Um so this is our overall infant death rate.

Um you can see that we um we did increase our death rate, and I wanted to address something because it might be counterintuitive to some folks in the audience and even maybe to some of you.

We included an N this time.

That N is the number of deaths across the top.

And you would see that that in the last three-year reporting period from 2020 to 2022, we had 61 infant deaths, which is less than where we started in 2012, uh 2014, um, which was an N of 65.

And the reason why the death rate is actually higher is related to the fact that our denominator, the number of births to African-American um women, has decreased over time.

So so that has a big impact on the rate, especially when you're talking about small numbers.

And so the numbers are important, but the rate is something that we're tracking as well, and you can see if we're trending in the right or the wrong direction.

So we are trending in the wrong direction.

We'll see an 11% increase in African American deaths, child to infant deaths, and an 8% increase in the disparity gap.

This is our perinatal uh deaths due to perinatal causes slide.

Perinatal condition deaths are those that are prematurity, low birth weight, placental abruption, congenital infections, and and includes deaths that are up to one month post birth.

So when compared to our baseline data, we had a 14% increase in the death rate, and a 20% and we did not meet our goal of our blue ribbon commission goal of a 23% reduction, clearly.

A 32% increase in disparity.

And when you look at this, that it shows that African-American infants died from perinatal causes at three over three percent three times the rate of all others.

But I also wanted to confirm that none of these deaths were related to COVID directly.

So none of these infant deaths were those decedents did not have COVID.

And then there were fewer than five perinatal condition deaths where a parent tested positive for COVID.

So COVID was an indirect factor, but not a direct factor here.

So that refers to an infant death in any sleep environment.

And although we have made progress over the years, we're now at a 30% reduction.

We're just shy of that blue ribbon commission goal of a 33% reduction.

So there's still work to be done here, and even though we have closed the disparity gap by 32%, if you look at that, you can see it's 5.5% rate uh times the disparity for sleep-related deaths.

So uh we can pat ourselves on the back a little bit, but clearly still a lot more work to do.

Um, and our child abuse and neglect homicides include death that is um caused by abuse or neglect um primarily from a parent, caregiver, relative, or babysitter.

And while they can happen at any age, the majority of these happen in the zero to five age range, with 20% happening just in the first 12 months of life, the most dangerous 12 months of a child's life.

Um we saw 61% reduction overall compared to baseline, and uh we blew past the blue ribbon goal, uh blue ribbon commission's goal of a 25% reduction.

We saw 69% reduction overall in the disc disparity gap, but there still is a disparity gap.

Um we've made tremendous progress in this with all of the partners in the room.

We've had successful years where we had zero child abuse and neglect homicide deaths to African American children in 2016, 2018, and 2020.

Um, so despite all that good news, uh we still need to continue working on this one as well.

Okay, this is third-party homicide for ages zero to 17, and a third-party homicide is a homicide where the perpetrator was not the primary caregiver.

So somebody outside of that.

Um third-party homicides can happen at any age as well, but they generally happen to older children.

We did not have any zero to five children in this uh three year period.

The ages ranged from seven years old to 17 years of age.

And we saw a 46% overall increase compared to the blue ribbon commission goal of a 48% reduction and a hundred and four percent increase in disparity.

So lots going on during this time period.

Again, we have a small number, which makes for a great uh changes, swings, but um so much work to still be done.

Again, I go back to the COVID years as an explanation for this.

All of those after-school programs, the programs where you needed to be in contact and in person, and having these things to do with other people were not happening to the extent that they were before COVID.

Okay, and then this is our overall child deaths, zero to 17.

This is where the um the committee, the blue ribbon commission set the goal of 10 to 20 percent reduction overall for African-American child deaths.

We are at 9% reduction um during this reporting period.

So we're very close to it, just shy.

Uh, and again, it was a rough three-year period.

Um, but so more work to be done.

Julie, can I interrupt you on that slide?

If you can go back.

I'll try to go back.

Okay.

So when you say overall, you're presenting that slide that says overall.

Does that weighted by the by the end?

Yes.

Okay.

Yes.

And you can uh that's great.

You'll see the number of deaths was 82 compared to the number of deaths in our baseline year, 94.

So our end size is going down.

It's just that our rate is going up because of fewer births.

Right.

Yes, thank you for pointing that out.

And it's an anomaly we saw with almost every one of these.

Um, so the for the final slide, this sort of brings it all back to the that first column on the left-hand side.

These were the goals that we've talked about through all of the data.

And then we wanted to show you our benchmark.

This is where we were before COVID hit, and you can see we exceeded, exceeded, met, exceeded um in several.

And we were struggling a little in perinatal and struggling a little in third party.

And then I just wanted to show you the the change for the three years that we're looking at for this reporting period and the impact that COVID had, and just make that real.

Um, that wraps that wraps me up.

I can answer questions now.

We can turn it over to Sierra Health Foundation, whatever is your pleasure.

I don't see anyone in our queue, so I assume we'll just go on to Sierra Health Foundation.

Okay, great.

It is my pleasure to introduce uh Shelly Jones and Jadita Gomes.

The um step aside, they need no introduction.

Thank you, Julie.

You're welcome.

Good afternoon, board.

Uh, executive staff, uh, black child legacy campaign community.

It's great to uh be with you all today.

Um at our annual Black Child Legacy Campaign presentation.

Uh, this one feels extraordinarily special because last week we celebrated 10 years of Black Child Legacy Club.

And that is such a special opportunity.

10 years consistently of sustained uh funding and support and collaboration for this program.

It was great to see some of you there.

Uh, those of you who were not able to make it, don't worry, there's more opportunities to celebrate over the next months, and we'll be sure to share those invitations.

My name is Shelley Jones, managing director of the local initiatives department with the Center at Sierra Health Foundation.

Black Child Legacy Campaign is one of our anchor programs, and we're honored to have managed this work since the inception of this program.

Before I dive into the presentation, I would like to acknowledge that we have some community members who are part of the Black Child Legacy Campaign staff in the community who are out working, doing what they do best.

But we also have many who are here today with us in the board chambers.

If you work at any of the Black Child Legacy sites, please stand up and let us acknowledge you.

That's our CIL staff, the MDP staff.

Thank you.

Thank you for all of the marvelous work that you do, the life-saving work that you do in the community.

And just to note, that's a glimpse of the staff who are out in the seven neighborhoods where Black Child Legacy Campaign exists.

Let's see, there we go.

An overview of our presentation today.

I'll get started by rooting us in some of the history of Black Child Legacy Campaign, as well as the network that it takes to keep this work moving, as well as the network that it took to get this beautiful program off the ground.

Jadita Gomes will share some updates on our current data.

I'm not sure what happened there.

Some updates on our current data, the investment that as a county and as a board that you all have decided to make in Black Child Legacy Campaign over the past decade, our achievements, as well as the vision for the road ahead.

This picture is a glimpse back into the past of Black Child Legacy.

What is so interesting and exciting about this work is also that many of these faces, many of these people you still see today who have been around since the very beginning, what is now a very robust partnership between county, local government, community-based organizations in the philanthropic sector with the Centered Sierra Health Foundation.

I'll also add that Chet sends his regards today, he's not able to join us.

He shared that he is here with us in spirit.

Once Jadita dives more into the data section, I'd like to acknowledge that we have Dr.

Maurice Samuels, who is our managing director of evaluation and learning and evaluation with the center to respond to any questions about the data that you have from our portion of the presentation, as well as we also have our president of the center at Sierra Health Foundation, Kaiing Heng, who is here with us today as well.

Previous partners have touched on this, but as Supervisor Cerner reminded us, it was in 2011 that there was a call to action around the fact that black children had been dying at more than two times the rate of other children of other ethnicities here in Sacramento County.

One thing that Chad will say is that a question can be the most powerful form of communication.

Supervisor Cerner then asked the question what are we doing about the fact that black babies are dying at this disparate rate?

At that point, there were no specific coordinated programs at all to address this issue.

Then came the Blue Ribbon Commission in 2011, and from that commission, the Black Child Legacy Campaign was born.

And it was the child death report who actually that was actually able to provide that data for us to get to that understanding.

But these are actually preventable causes of death, which is important to note.

It's not just causes of death, these are actually areas that we can work to prevent collaboratively, and that's exactly what Black Child Legacy Campaign does, working to prevent deaths around perinatal conditions, infant sleep, child abuse and neglect, as well as third-party homicides.

These four focus areas have been the focus of Black Child Legacy since the inception.

And today, even with the progress that we have made, these do remain the highest areas of African American child deaths today.

The network of Black Child Legacy Campaign is what makes this movement, this program unique.

You'll often hear partners share that the secret sauce of Black Child Legacy Campaign is the people.

And I like to think of that as it's both the people who are serving the communities as well as the people who work in the Black Child Legacy sites.

I mean, often there's overlap.

Many of the people who work in Black Child Legacy Campaign are also from the communities in which they serve.

And because of that, they're able to really approach their work in a unique way.

The seven neighborhoods that are served here, it is important to call them by name.

And they're Valley High, Art and Arcade, Del Paso Heights in North Sacramento, Oak Park, Foothill Farms and North Highlands, Fruit Rich Stockton, Meadowview, those are the seven CILs communities that have been with us since the very beginning.

And you'll see that Rancho Cordova is added here.

We have not yet launched that site, but just this past Friday, October 31st, there was a request for applications at the Center at Sierra Health Foundation host, put on our uh shared through our website.

Um so there is an application now open for the eighth CIL that will be selected in Rancho Cordova, the community with the highest legacy.

This was identified as a community with the highest rate of African American child deaths without an existing uh CIL in that community.

So we are excited in January to launch that site with 100,000 in funding to be able to support that program.

The trusted collaborative of the community incubator uh lead sites.

Uh Black Child Legacy Campaign staff and community are able to approach their work in a way that no one else can because of the position and the trust that they have within the community.

Um this means that our partners often have the relationships that it takes to really be able to manage this work and especially with uh many of them.

Uh before Black Child Legacy campaign was invented, um, I've been able to be in conversation with many of them and hear about the types of work that they've done over a decade.

Some for over 35 years were really doing black child legacy campaign work before there was really such a program that exists.

Uh so we're just really grateful to be able to partner, continue deepening the partnership with these organizations.

The multi-discipline multidisciplinary team structure uh is something that has also worked really well for Black Child Legacy campaign.

Um this means that there is a collaborative of a variety of professionals and CBOs that are coming together and co-located at the Black Child Legacy sites.

Um, there are DHA workers.

We know that people come to their DHA workers, Department of Human Assistance when they need support with uh food assistance, especially right now in the wake of uh funding cuts, funding cuts to uh SNAP benefits and food stamps.

We know that folks may need to connect with their CPS worker when they are dealing with any challenges within the family and within the home and need support navigating those cases.

Um so this means that instead of having to come downtown uh to a larger county office, they're able to get support right there within their communities, connect directly with their workers, and it takes a little bit of that fear and intimidation factor off when they're able to receive the services that they need within the community and the whole family is engaged as well.

Uh Black Child Legacy Campaign is focused on children, but we know that uh you can't work with children without working with families.

Um, and Black Child Legacy does just that, working with families.

Um, before I hand it off to Jadita, um I would just like to encourage you all, the board, that as you see the next slides and hear more about the data and the impact and really the value of your investment, that you also see Black Child Legacy Campaign as a part of your legacy as well.

Because this program exists, because you all have sustained funding over a decade period.

This is a model for the rest of the nation.

It's a model for the rest of California.

There are babies here today, there are children here today, and families in this room whose lives are better because of this work, and what an opportunity to be able to make an impact on the lives of people as you have done through uh sustaining the work of Black Child Legacy Campaign through your funding.

Thank you.

I'll hand it to Jadita.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, Shelly.

Oh, okay.

Did I do that?

I appreciate that.

Like, okay.

Yes, uh, the foundation of our work has always been data.

As Shelley mentioned, so has Julie.

Uh, when we knew that black children were dying at two to three times the rate, that data that told us where these deaths were happening, mobilized this campaign and got us into the community to provide the work that was needed.

I do want to also frame that we didn't just go out there and do the work, right?

So we partnered with First Five, we partnered with CDRT with ASR to ensure that the work that we were doing was being tracked.

So we knew where are we doing the work well and how could we adjust and take in opportunity for improvement.

This slide shows you our most recent data that we have received, and you've seen some of this already.

And I do want to frame as well that our data falls into this three-year rolling data.

So we, in order to prevent spikes or that one small occurrence doesn't impact uh or or skew the numbers, we look at three data, three yearly year rolling data.

So 2020, 2021, and 2022 is what you are seeing here.

And based on our most updated data, we see that there's been progress that continues to take place with child abuse and neglect, there's been a 61% reduction, and with uh infant sleep, we see a 30% reduction.

Unfortunately, we've seen some trends going in the opposite direction as it relates to perenatal conditions and infant sleep-related deaths.

The data, like I said, sits right in the middle of the pandemic, right?

And we know that although the pandemic cannot be uh the reason why every this this uh these numbers have come, we know that there's inference to believe that it has a huge impact.

In fact, in 2020, 2018 and 2019, we were trending in positive directions with all those cause areas to continue to see progress, and then a world pandemic happened, right?

That impacted our campaign, impacted this region, but also the nation at large.

That understanding I think is super important, and I do want to frame that although there is so many challenges, and our data with CDRT, I'll go back here, is uh oh, two years behind the work that our partners who sit in this room is not behind.

And so in the last fiscal year, this is some of the work that we have seen them do and the impact that they have had within the community.

We've provided over 3,000 activities for youth, and of those activities, 648 what youth led, which is important to notice because our model really aims to not provide anything for the community without the community, and the same partnership with uh the CAPC, first five, we were able to provide culturally competent safe sleep training, and I think that that is important, right?

So we didn't just take um information and present it over to our to our families.

We actually brought it and translated it to language that they could understand and that they could receive.

And from this collective, 134 cribs were provided to these families.

As a collective, the campaign served in the last year, 3,555 families.

Yes, my people know they know that I will pause when it's a moment that is worth celebrating and worth you know, that's important.

Those 3,555 families served mean lives saved, they mean folks being on ramp to education.

It is an incredible support that is made possible again based on your investment and your partnership, but also to the diligence and the dedication of the folks behind me.

The collective has done incredible things in the last year, but as Shelly said, we've done incredible things in the last 10 years, and that is something worth stopping again and reflecting.

It is something that I have not heard being done anywhere in the nation.

Oftentimes when we show up and speak, whether it's at conferences, they are stunned that this is happening because it seems impossible for them where they are.

And so it's an it's it's it's an accomplishment that is worth being proud of.

And as Shelley mentioned, we had an awesome time, and some of you were in the room where we celebrated and commemorated that the 10-year uh milestone, but also reflected on what it took, the sweat and the tears to make sure that we got to year 10.

And we are hopeful.

Can I just interrupt?

I'm sorry, can I just interrupt your floor real quick?

And just to your point about um when you go other parts of the country, conferences, whatnot.

Uh we shouldn't think for a moment, this is unique to Sacramento.

This is a challenge that persists everywhere.

So it's not like they, you know, those communities don't um have their that uh their own similar challenges.

They do absolutely they do.

In fact, might be even greater in some places.

Uh so um I think as I referenced uh last week at the 10-year anniversary celebration, you know, I've I've had the opportunity to speak with um people from as far as away as uh New York State, uh a legislator in the uh state house there that had uh great interest in what was happening in Sacramento, California.

So um if there's any uh general barometer of kind of the import of what we're doing and how we're holding ourselves accountable and how we're celebrating our wins, but we're recognizing the work's not over.

Uh it's the fact that it's beginning to be noticed in a lot of remote places.

Yes, and not everybody has a supervisor like you, so we're grateful that yeah, that you were a forerunner and that you were able to champion this and that folks all over uh the country can model and can take after what it is that we we have done here in Sacramento.

So thank you for that.

Thank you.

And feel free to interrupt any time you have those nuggets.

We appreciate it.

And so in the last 10 years, the county of Sacramento has invested 13,861,000.

I'll leave the other change, but maybe not 223 into a glad child legacy campaign, and that's incredible.

That is an average of about 1.4 million dollars of a year, and it's work that is mainly invested into preventative work.

And often we know that preventative work is not sexy, that you can't see right away the impact, but we do feel the impact when it is absent.

And so thank you for close to 14 million in the last in the last 10 years, and so although uh preventative work is oftentimes hard to justify, I think if it makes dollars, then it makes sense.

So we wanted to frame this and and put this together for you to understand that with the 1.4 approximately, right, a year that is invested into our campaign that our BCLCILs have been able to provide just to youth alone, 244 youth with intensive case managing services.

So they're showing up to the schools, they're showing up at home when when mediation is needed, they're showing up and and supporting them to make better decisions.

And when those preventative services don't actually happen, right?

And there are incidences that happen here in our county, they're also responding.

So not only are you investing in preventative services, you're also investing in uh responsive services, and so they were able to attend to show up to 50 incidences in the community.

I just want to put that next to when an incident happens here in our county, a homicide costs us 2.4 million dollars.

You're investing 1.4 million dollars a year, which we believe is worth the investment, right?

And not only is it say life-saving measures, it is saving county and taxpayers' money.

And so we believe that this work and this investment that you have chosen to make it to have in the last 10 years that it's worth doing and that it's worth continuing.

And we see the same same rhetoric happening there with the families that were able to case management.

Uh costly effective to do prevention work than it is to do intervention.

Anyone who knows me knows I love a party, right?

And I love a celebration, and so I think resting and sitting in the achievements that we have been able to accomplish over the last 10 years is necessary, although we've seen some trending in the other direction, there have been times where our campaign unhindered has been able to perform incredibly, and so at our best, this is what black child legacy campaign has been able to do over the last 10 years.

So we were able to see 88% reduction in child abuse and neglect, which is yes.

Who said amazing?

It's amazing, and it's almost a complete elimination of that disparity, right?

And so we saw this in 2021.

We've seen some regression there, but still continue to do that.

In 2020, we also saw a 54% reduction in infant sleep-related deaths.

We have folks here who were taught how to sleep their babies safely on their backs alone and in a crib, and because of that, we've seen that reduction, and we aim to continue that, and the same for third-party homicide and perenatal conditions.

And although overall deaths include causes beyond the four causes that we work for, we were able to also see a 27% reduction at our best.

Unhindered when unhindered, when we don't have to deal with a global pandemic, this work works, and it's saving lives, and it's changing the trajectory for black children here in Sacramento County, and I actually will add changing the trajectory for all children and all families.

Another thing that is worth celebrating as an achievement is the integrity and the effectiveness of the model of the infrastructure because we have a model, other programs have been able to be launched.

And so we see here with our partnership with the county cultural broker program.

Kim mentioned earlier, concrete needs, these programs did not have to start from ground level.

They could look into how did you all do this with black child legacy campaign?

What worked, and how can we then take this model to be able to execute more specifically in these other areas?

I can also say that not only did it support with the county, it's also given birth to other programs.

So we know that our families are impacted by multiple, by multiple changes and multiple challenges, and so wellness is such an important aspect of the work that we do, and so because of Black Child Legacy Campaign, what we know worked with Black Child Legacy Campaign, we actually have representative here, representatives here that hold community wellness hubs and are able to ex to execute wellness centers, wellness opportunities for our families to be served.

The same can be said with community responsive wellness, all due to the model that was created.

Um so, for instance, what a uh the dual program is that would that be under a cultural broker?

With Kim.

No, is it just not infant health?

Okay, but it's not to be excluded, right?

I mean, that that's that's uh inferred by that uh bullet point listing, correct?

Yes, she said with compensation.

I don't want to take credit for something, but we can add it to the list.

I don't know.

Danielle is here, not if you're right.

All right, it sounds like we're gonna hear about it later.

Yes, okay, I'll take that.

All right.

Any no, I the only reason I I call it out is I just have heard great things about it and understand to be very effective.

So yeah, you'll hear more about them.

Okay.

Yeah.

And to your point, uh Supervisor Cerna, other organizations and other programs that are not listed here, and you'll hear uh have modeled and have come out of Black Child Legacy campaign.

And so we don't want to completely take the credit, but I think folks will say that they've been influenced and informed by the work and proven work that we've been able to do.

So thank you for lifting that.

This infrastructure also made it possible for us to be able to serve our community during such a challenging time.

When I think about the pandemic, I can't.

Yes, I'm still it's still uh challenging to think through and reflect, but our community was able to step in and provide the community exactly what they needed when they needed, and so from through food distribution, we were able to provide meals to 40 over 40,000 families here in Sacramento County, and I'm sure some of them will speak about that.

The same infrastructure that is has love and trust at the core of it, was also able to provide education.

We know that just because you have information and resources doesn't mean that folks will receive it from you if you're not a trusted agent, right?

And so because we had a trusted environment and a trusted infrastructure, we were able to let folks know about uh COVID vaccines, education, PPE, all because, again, this tried and true uh infrastructure and campaign that that has been serving the community for the last 10 years.

Also true to our model is that is targeted targeted universalism, and so this principle talks about a the process of supporting and and aiding a specific, a specific population, but it also has the benefit that is universal.

So oftentimes when you hear people say, if black, if we do right by black children, we do right by everybody.

Target universalism isn't is a true example of that.

That is a true example of target universalism.

And so because we're serving the most marginalized, everybody along the way is benefiting.

So we see that uh present in our Kings and Queens, where maybe at the beginning there were majority black children, and now it's just all children who get to attend for nine weeks, are poured into their loved, and they don't have to be black to be present, and they're benefiting because we knew that black children weren't being seen.

If black children are seen, then everybody is seen.

So we just want to celebrate that.

One of our most notable examples of targeted universalism is the safe sleep campaign.

We did not do that alone, but definitely proud to have been partners in in executing that, and that started with a partnership with Kaiser, right?

And now at this point, something that was tailored and created to serve black children to ensure that they weren't dying at a disproportional rate because of sleep-related deaths.

Now, all children who leave any health systems here in Sacramento County leave with the education of safe sleep.

Again, created, targeted for black children because that's where the numbers told us we needed to be, but has a universal impact and benefit for all populations.

Let me pause because that's that's a lot.

We've done a lot of work over the last 10 years.

Great achievements, innovative and groundbreaking model, yet we recognize that there's still quite a bit of work to be done.

And as we thought about the road ahead, we went back to our basics.

We started in community asking what is it that you all need, and how can we execute what you all need the way you need it?

And so when the steering committee, and I want to point you have the updated strategic plans in hand, when the steering committee set out to update that strategic plan to guide our progress forward, that was one of the main things.

We needed to go back to the community.

We needed to hear how we're doing and how could we do better?

And so we had we convened town halls, we convened leadership listening sessions, we took surveys, and the and the steering committee took that in, and this process, you'll see once I get to the data, includes data up until 2021 because it took us quite a long time to flesh out this process.

And at the time when we started, that was the most updated data we had.

And so once we went to the community, that was the that was the starting ground, right?

And they told us exactly where we needed to be.

And so with this new strategic plan that is community informed, they told us the four causes matter, but there's so much more than the four causes that are impacting our day to day.

And if you would actually like to serve us in a deep and a whole, you know, we use the word holistic, but they'll say if you want to serve our whole families, then you need to look at areas beyond the four uh focus areas.

And so that's what we did.

We are not changing uh our mission, we're not changing the aim of what we're doing, but we're broadening to ensure that we are taking into account factors that matter, right?

You don't show up to an appointment if you haven't eaten, you don't show up to an appointment if you have transportation issues, and so we heard them, and that informed the strategic plan that you see in front of you.

And so it's a big undertaking, and it's a bold goal that we are now going for, but we are aiming not only to reduce preventable deaths, but to re to eliminate disparities altogether.

Again, it will be a tall task, but we believe that if there are factors that are impacting all children here in Sacramento County, black children should not have a different experience.

And so, going forward, yes, we will continue to eliminate deaths, but our aim is to ensure that that gap between the experience of black children and other children is eliminated.

And how do we do that?

And how did we get there?

Like I said, the community informed us, and they pointed us back to what framed what we started from the beginning.

We understand, right, that health is so complicated, and that there are factors that goes into health where people are learning, where they're earning, where they're worshiping, how they have access to health care, to community and to safety impacts how they get to navigate the world and how they get to actually experience health, and so this is also another tenant that we revisited for our strategic plan.

So these are our new goals, y'all.

It's it's a big deal, it's huge, but I want to speak on behalf of this collective, our collective, you included, that we've done it before.

So it's not something that we cannot do.

We see here that over the last 10 years, although that has been impact uh in the work that we've done, two of the four areas, the disparities have actually increased.

So often when you hear us say two to three times, that now for some from some of the cause areas is eight times for some of the cause areas are 5.5 times.

And I know that you agree that black children in Sacramento County deserve better, and so that is what we're aiming to do with this new uh new plan.

It's a lot of numbers, and I'm not a numbers person, but if we go to the column at third party homicide, you will see a very clear example.

Like I said, right now in Sacramento County, black children are dying due to third party homicides, 8.6 times the rate of any other children.

That's a lot to swallow, that's a lot to take in.

And so we are looking to make that even.

We're looking to eliminate that 8.6 disparity rate.

And you might say that that's unrealistic.

How do we do that?

But we've done it before.

So in 2020, we were able to eliminate uh the disparity with child abuse and neglect by 96%.

So aiming to do this with third party homicide is not impossible.

And I think if we're gonna do it with anyone, we would do it with the folks in this room, and so those are our goals, and you'll see, you'll see uh the same with with the other causes.

Shelley mentioned um that black child Legacy is growing and that we had a baby or almost.

I think we're at eight months, nine months.

I'm not a parent, so I'm not really sure how that works.

Is it nine months, ten months?

But um, we're having a baby, I'll say that.

And so this Friday, we have doulas who can speak to it.

Um this Friday we launched a request for for applications, and we're very proud to be able to extend the reach, to extend the impact, to extend the love to this area that is experiencing some really challenging numbers.

Um, we hope to be to announce and to be ready to go by the top of 2026.

And that is the work that we do, uh, understanding that not only are we doing this work for Sacramento County for the seven neighborhoods that are existing, but for any black children or for any folks that are experiencing disparities throughout this nation.

And so this is this is your investment.

This is what you've made possible.

We're excited uh to continue to expand and to yeah, to keep the reach of the tree going.

So that is my presentation.

I'm happy to take any questions, but if their numbers just maybe do this, and I'll call our learning and evaluations folks.

Thank you so much.

No worries.

Vice Chair Rodriguez.

So I had a lot of comments and questions, and I waited to the end, and that was very hard for me, but I wanted to hear the whole entire presentation.

Um, so prior to January of this year, I had not heard of the black child legacy campaign, and I heard quite about it throughout the year.

Um, and I was at a Citrus Heights event where I met uh I met Shelly Jones, and um Shelly and I had a conversation, we started talking, she started telling me what she does.

We started connecting, and uh somehow we got into the Black Child Legacy campaign, and I told her, Shelly, I don't know anything about it, but I'm really interested in learning, and so somehow she connected the whatever she did, and I got invited to your 10th anniversary event, which I gotta tell you the energy was amazing as it is today, the energy is really dynamic.

And I applaud you for the 10 years.

I grew up in a big city.

So I under I understand the issues that Sacramento was dealing with back in 2010, 2011.

I grew in a big, I grew up in a big city where I saw young black and African American African American young boys and and brown boys get really caught up in the system and the school system and getting in trouble and the gang violence and just the issues surrounded by it.

So I really applaud my colleague here for asking that one question that said, what are we gonna do about it?

Because that then appears to have led into so many other segments of how do we handle the issues that are impacting African Americans today.

And so I I commend you all for that.

Um I also want to just ask a couple of questions that are in many ways of my concern.

So start, you know, I grew up in a city that that I watched it grow from affordable to unaffordable, and then the issues that impact the areas.

That's for Sacramento as a county, as a region, we are in high demand.

Uh we are there's not enough housing, there are not art, there are there are all these issues that are going to happen as a part of not having enough housing to be able to supply the demand.

And it's gonna change neighborhoods, and it's gonna bring in people that are gonna look for the affordable, where are the affordable homes?

And these affordable homes are usually in the areas that are the that are the neighborhoods that are predominantly Latino or Black or Asian, and so with that will come a lot of challenges that I really encourage this group to really press on over the next, you know, could be 10 years because I saw it unfold and I grew up in the city of San Francisco.

I saw it unfold where the demand, the demand to have to the demand to move to the area became greater than what was available, and so who ends up suffering are in many ways some lower socioeconomic uh uh communities and families and so on because there's nowhere else to go.

Years ago, people were able to move from the city into Oakland into Hayward and outskirts.

One of my big concerns is that the Sacramento region doesn't have that.

You you can't go, you can't go to Plaster because Plaster is twice as expensive in some areas, and there's just nowhere to grow.

So I I have a lot of concerns about what where we're headed in the next 10 years for the communities that are the most vulnerable.

So I just want to make that comment.

But I here's a question I have about strengthening the families, and it's probably more for probation.

In the probation world, oftentimes we have individuals who are predominantly Latino and Black.

And so it's a part of the component to strengthen them as as mothers and fathers within their within their time on probation so that they can be better parents oftentimes to kids who end up sort of following the steps because there that's sometimes the dynamics.

And that's one question I have.

And I don't know if it's within and the reason why I look at probation is because probation is often tied tied to family court.

And in family court, I have seen it.

I've seen it in my time here and even growing up is the parents have an issue, and all of a sudden now the kids are getting caught up in this pull and push of wanting a parent.

And so I um so I guess that's maybe directed to a probation.

Yeah, I know is there a component that she wrote answer.

I do want to add that the work that we do, as mentioned earlier, right?

Although sometimes a youth will come through the door through probation, we do we aim to never impact a youth without the buy-in and the connection to the family because our our partners understand that that solution has to come to the whole unit.

And we actually have someone here today that I'm sure can share uh that came through the doors as probation, but then was wrapped around through their families and has continued to be wrapped around five, six years later through black child legacy campaigns.

So when someone may be graduating from probation, they don't graduate from BCLC.

If they want to continue services, this collective will remain with them, aiming to change not only the situation but the culture in which they're navigating in.

Thank you.

And Jamal, this question really is more for adults that have children that are, you know, well, you know, we have the black and brown communities, but let's talk about African Americans.

Is there a component that really um that encourages that relationship building and the parenting?

Because that's oftentimes where change can happen is when somebody is in the um supervision of somebody on probation.

It's an opportunity to really enhance them as as humans.

You kind of sold the thunder, but ultimately we have to lean on the community side of the house because they're only with us temporarily.

So one of the things that probation officers do transform my brain uh is within the community, we have to look at the parent needs as well.

Um if if we don't look at the parent needs, then the family dynamics never change.

The children still have um hard choices to make uh that would help them stay in the community doing negative things if we don't necessarily take care of the family environment.

So the goal is always to supervise the probation client, absolutely, but look at the resources around that client to include all the incubator leads or any other community um advantage that we could give to the family to help support.

So that's gonna be partnering with even though they're in our own county from the uh DHA, DC FAS, first five, and any other solution that we could have that deal with individuals that aren't on probation to almost bring that together to help.

Ultimately, we disappear out of the scenario, they discharge.

There still needs to be some leads that help them along those paths.

Oh that's good.

Thank you.

Of course.

Thank you.

And so I think my asking another.

Oh, so just as my final comment is I I really appreciate all the work that you do in the communities, and uh, there's a lot of value.

You know, I I I really do after being at the 10th anniversary and just seeing the impact and and just seeing the hard work that my colleague um Chair Cerna did.

You know, there's definitely a commitment within me that as you know, he decides to retire, but to really carry on that that support of the organization and ensure that we can um support those that that help the most vulnerable in in our communities thank you thank you all right i think that's it that's it for questions for the time being but i suspect madam clerk we have some folks that want to speak right just a few chair okay our first speaker is Ray Lazato Chair Cerna and esteemed supervisors and BCLC folks man I mean my goodness we're gonna be talking about 10 years is this on it is okay no uh I'm honored to be here um especially well when we're talking about a 10 year uh investment into saving uh black and African American children uh I'm the uh currently the executive director for the Office of Safe Schools at Sac City Unified School District uh but I spent a good chunk of time over at the probation department working uh as part of the Black Child Legacy campaign uh it's been really eye opening to see how that systems work public service institutions uh you know our resources and always trying to figure out how to best serve a lot of the a lot of our community members that don't respond to our traditional processes uh but I would want to highlight that it's the grassroots efforts and the folks that you see here that come from lived experience that bring that um that marinate the work for us to where we can reach beyond just what our systems do to what it really requires to make a meaningful change uh and I can't highlight that enough but since I've been at the school district uh and I almost jumped out of my seat uh Chair Cerna when you mentioned uh about school districts and relationships uh it was really uh dynamic uh you know having left probation and come to the school side of this and seeing how that the school to prison pipeline concerns surfaced but more than that the opportunity to really get ahead of conflict uh last year we saw how that uh fights in the bathroom turn into shootings and in in part of our South Sacramento neighborhood uh you know uh and and not only that but we can throw in um C V Circle New Helvetia I mean it's been a rough year uh but with that uh we've partnered with uh the Rose family uh just dealing with conflict whether it's a little big whatever the school site has or whatever we're seeing at our school sites uh you know to bring those issues to leverage the relationship that these are our students this is our community and there's a vested interest between the school district and safety as it relates to third party homicide so we partner we bring parents together sometimes they're coming in with black eyes they busted out each other's windows and a lot of things that have happened in our communities uh you know or or are we see that our students really uh are are really going at it and and and we're not only concerned about safety as it relates to school but safety as it relates to off hours weekends overnight because that's really where a lot of uh the conflict can fester uh but we've seen we've had tremendous outcomes with the innovation uh of having community partners sitting in mediation meetings uh it's saved people from being evicted I mean I can go on and on and on is that how much time I have left yeah you're you're over as long as it's going to notice the clock is going the other way now it's over oh my goodness okay well let me stop here yeah yeah no no we we do appreciate we do appreciate your comments yeah I have a saying by Francis of Assisi is start by doing what's necessary then do what's possible and suddenly you're doing the impossible.

And I feel that after 10 years uh we're just kind of getting started at how dynamic and what this work really can look like.

So thank you for the extra minute.

Thank you.

So if we could just as a friendly reminder, because there's a lot of folks that would like to address the board, and we want to hear from all of you.

So out of respect for each other, more than anything else.

If you could try and keep your comments to two minutes, we would all greatly appreciate it.

Great.

Thank you so much, Supervisor Cerner.

Thank you for your 10 years of advocacy and helping to really lift up Black Child Legacy Campaign.

As we celebrated last week, and you guys were there, our 10 year anniversary and the accomplishments of Black Child Legacy Campaign, the work we've done really focusing on the four leading causes of death, and also the work around COVID.

Many of you seen our collaborative really scale up during COVID to address either COVID communication, vaccination, or testing, and then as well as food.

Our site in particular work to address the food insecurities around COVID, scaling it up, and particularly right now in this moment that we're facing with all the insecurities around SNAP and food insecurities.

We are really three, pleased to announce the collaborative will continue to scale up and uh and launch a campaign called Food for All in partnership with Sierra Health Foundation, the Sacramental Food Bank, as we've always done in addressing the needs of our community.

So I'd like to thank you all.

I like to specially thank uh Patrick Supervisor Kennedy for his support throughout the years, as well as right now.

In addressing food insecurity, as well as I like to thank the Sacramento Food Bank, who's been a huge partner.

Uh, Sierra Health Health Foundation has always leaned forward to support our community, and in this effort, in this moment, they're leaning forward to supporting our community as well.

I'd like to turn over before I do, also like to thank Miss Jackie Rose, uh and Gray King and Daryl Robb, Daryl and Tina Roberts.

They always sound the alarm when it comes to needing support for our community.

They're part of our team as well.

I want to turn it over to my uh co-my lead here, Katrina Simmons as well.

Let's give it up for her.

Yeah, he said he was gonna lose you a minute.

So I'm gonna try and make it quick.

Looks like we're gonna have some new champions uh since we got one leaving.

So we won't see all y'all in black child legacy shirts on this next presentation since y'all could be championing this going forward.

Um, but quickly, I just want to highlight how does this work actually um bring community into uh the fold and us being community focused?

Um, Astrid, I just want to highlight her.

She came to us as a BCLC client.

Um, her nerd her niece was murdered um in a domestic violence incident, and that's how she uh came to Black Child Legacy Campaign.

And as a result of her encounter with Black Child Legacy Campaign, she was determined to make sure that she began to give back.

So she is now employed as a crisis intervention worker under the name of the couple of people to see how it's not only impacting the community, but the community comes um with their shared experience to be able to impact for the next generation.

Thank you.

Thank you, Pastor.

So Les Simmons or Darisha and Jasmine.

We just heard from Pastor Simmons.

So Darisha and Jasmine, do we hear from you?

Here we go.

I'm gonna try to make this quick, y'all.

Good afternoon, everybody.

Uh my name is Deresa, and I'm the community center program manager with me.

Come on and lower for me then.

We aim to please here.

Wow.

Come on now.

Uh I am the community center program manager with Mutual Assistance Network at our arcade black child legacy campaign site.

Um, I lead one of the BCLC Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Strategies in the Art and Arcade neighborhood through our effective black parenting program, which empowers African American parents with children ages zero to five, through safety and health education, safe and positive social opportunities, evidence-based parenting groups, and direct BCLC case management for families in crisis.

Um, in our CPS and court recognized workshops, parents come together to learn tools that strengthen their families, from understanding positive discipline rooted in cultural pride to improving communication and ensuring their children's safety.

Um, but it doesn't stop in the classroom.

We provide home practice activities and create a supportive space where parents can share experiences, learn from one another, and ultimately grow together.

Uh, through our strong Family Strong Generations program, which is an African-American family-focused program with Birth and Beyond.

We also connect families to free engagement activities that encourage them to spend intentional time together in safe, culturally rooted spaces.

And I'm Jasmine.

I am the team leader for the Strong Family Strong Generation Social Visitation Program, part of the CAN strategy for the BCLC efforts.

My team brings the effective Black Parenting Curriculum directly into the homes of Black families with young children.

We are meeting families where they're at, both literally and emotionally, which allows us to build trust and help them create safe nurturing environments for their children.

As parents practice new skills during the visits, they can immediately apply what they learn while we offer ongoing support and encouragement.

Each home visit brings learning to life through our hands-on activities, open communication, and celebration of progress through guidance and positive discipline, safe sleep education, and cultural pride, our home visitors are there to celebrate each success along the way.

Here at Mutual Assistant Networks, our CAG Community Center, families have access to culturally competent wraparound services and one hub.

So our Black Infant Health Program, our strong family strong generations, Birth and Beyond, Healing the Hoods Third Party Homicide Prevention, and our free in-home parenting programs.

These services are all essential to preventing child abuse and neglect, and together they strengthen the families and empower our community.

Together, we're building strong families today for stronger generations tomorrow.

And we're over time, but we want to thank you for believing in this vision and standing with us as we continue to build a stronger, healthier future for our community.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Ashley Ashley Bailey and Rodney.

Okay.

All right.

Um I had to write mine down because I'm a little nervous.

So don't be.

Good afternoon, Board of Supervisors.

My name is Ashley Bailey, Senior Director of Programs.

It's an honor to stand here before you today on behalf of the Greater Sacramento Urban Leagues Youth and Family Center, where we've had the privilege of serving our community with purpose, passion, and unwavering commitment.

At the heart of our work lies a powerful partnership, the Black Legacy Campaign.

Through the BCLC, we've been able to focus our community incubator lead site efforts on this past fiscal year on three critical focus areas that includes mental health, life skills, and emotional well-being.

These aren't just buzzwords, they're lifelines.

They are the foundation upon which our youth can build resilience, confidence, and a future filled with promise.

Let me take a moment to highlight one of the most transformative areas of our work, mental health.

In a world that often asks our young people to be strong without giving them space to be vulnerable, we've made it our mission to change that narrative.

This year, we've hosted a powerful wellness night, a safe, affirming space where our youth could express themselves through spoken word, sound meditation, and music.

It was more than just an event, it was a moment of healing, a moment of connection, a moment where our young people were seen, heard, and celebrated for exactly who they are.

But we didn't stop there.

We're proud to announce integration of all cove, a youth-led mental health center designed by youth for youth.

This initiative, this innovative space will offer accessible, culturally responsive mental health services tailored to the unique needs of our community.

Alcove is more than a clinic, it's a movement, a space, a place where people can walk in, feel empowered, supported, and understood.

And the best part, it opens later this month.

We're thrilled to be able to offer this extended service for our BCLC youth, ensuring that mental health care is not a luxury but a right.

Delivered with empathy, authenticity, and the leadership of peers who truly get it.

The Black Legacy, the Black Child Legacy Campaign has been the catalyst for change, and through it, we are not just addressing disparities, we are building a legacy of hope, healing, and holistic support for generations to come.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I see I'm pressed with time.

Uh Rodney Bryant, I'm a life coach, youth mentor.

Um today is a good day to be in this chamber, and I thank you for your continued support for this program.

Uh, as a returning citizen, I've always looked to be a part of something bigger than myself.

I have this is a I can't say anything else because this is where I'm supposed to be.

And they're doing a good work, and I'm I'm proud to be a part of it.

Um, but the most important thing to me is is making sure that the youth are safe and sound in this organization with its members and its mission is ensuring that with your continued support.

Um we still have work to do, and I appreciate the effort that we're putting in and the dedication that you continue to pour into us.

So I hope that we'll continue to make you proud of your investment.

I'm proud of the effort that we're all having and and doing.

So with that, I'll turn over to we're done.

No, we're not done.

I appreciate you.

Thank you for your support.

We continue to move on.

Thank you.

Thank you.

We're not done.

Lisa, Lisa and Shade.

And then they'll be followed by Yolanda and Tanya.

Good afternoon, and thank you for the opportunity to share updates on our efforts and work on the works on perinator conditions under the Black Child Legacy umbrella.

My name is Lisa Towner, and I'm a family health advocate for the Mutual Assistant Network Black Infant Health Program, which addresses perinatal conditions and ensure healthy birth outcomes.

Our mission is simple but powerful to improve the health and birth outcomes of African American mothers and babies to improve perennial conditions in Psycho Minal County.

We know that African American infants are still more likely to die before their first birthday than infants or any other racial group, and our program works every day to change that.

Our impact our efforts are providing culturally affirming evidence-based support for black mothers during pregnancy and postpartum.

Our service to include groups and individual sessions that focus on stress management, healthy relationships, and navigating the healthcare system, linkages to mental health, doula, lactation support, and to ensure moms feel supported before, during, and after birth.

Peer support and community building activities that reduce isolation.

One of the key factors that impact maternal mental health and wellness.

This quarter alone, we enhanced our outreach through uh through events like our annual Harvest Festival, where families are connected with local resources, access prenatal and postpartum resources, and participated in wellness activities designed to reduce stress and promote healthy pregnancy.

Every connection we make, whether it's through a home visit, a support group, being at the hospital during delivery, or a community event, health spill, healthier families, and stronger communities.

With your compute uh continued support, our programs can keep expanding these critical services and ensure that every mother and baby in our community has equitable chances at a healthy start in life.

Thank you for your commitment in advancing health equity for our families.

Good afternoon.

My name is Sade.

Um I'm here today to share what this program Black Legacy Child has meant for me and my family.

Before joining the program, I was diagnosed with high risk pregnancy in May of 2025.

I was told that me or my child would survive.

But here we are today, testifying.

What Black Legacy Child Campaign has done for us.

Um before joining the program, I often felt stressed because of the diagnosis.

I was isolated during my pregnancy, and through the program, I found community of women who truly understood what I was going through.

The support groups, the classes, the one-on-one sessions, and not only the support to help meet the barriers as far as transportation, housing, helped to bless me and my family.

I am also connected to resources like mental health support, breastfeeding education, and local family services.

Because of this program, I felt seen, supported, empowered as a mother and as a woman.

It made a real difference in my health and my baby's health.

I'm grateful to the Black Child Legacy Campaign team to Sacramento County for investing in programs that uplift Black mothers and babies.

I hope this program continues to grow so more moms like myself can have the same life change of support.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yolanda and Tanya.

As the next speaker comes down, uh Supervisor Hume, I see you're in the queue.

Thank you, Chair.

I just wanted to say Shade, thank you for sharing that little blessing in your arms there with us.

As much as I am enjoying hearing all the presentations, you could have just set that little cutie on the podium and said more of these, please.

Thank you.

Good evening, afternoon.

My name is Tanya Benefield, program manager serving the Medavie area.

This is Miss Yolanda Stevenson, Director of Social Services.

We are Rose Family.

Um today we will.

Today we will be presenting on Concrete Needs, Family Support Services, Probation and School Collaborate Corroborations from July 2024 through June 2025.

We will give you a preview of our services and programs.

Concrete needs was allowed us to serve over 58 families between the ages of zero to five.

Our family support services serve 624 families by addressing their basic needs and providing them with gift cards, laundry cards, transportation services, things like that.

We were able to distribute over 8,232 individual diapers to over 54 moms.

To address our food insecurity, we run a food bank that served over 3,607 households.

Awesome.

And regards to our oh, okay, I thought somebody was clapping.

We have our collaborations with the Sacramento Unified School District that fosters collective commitment to addressing our educational needs, safe schools, as Ray Lazada talked about, with mediation conflict and control and restorative practices.

Of course, probation.

We work very, very closely with them, and then we can't do this also without the Department of Placement and Hearing that helps us with our expulsion and re-entry hearings.

Some of our outcomes that we've had thus far with our youth related to this program and collaboration with all.

We currently had 40 youth currently on probation during that time.

38 youth of that was identified as at Promise Youth through their intervention and prevention programs.

18 of those youth youth successfully completed their probation with their records sealed.

Five of those youth received high school credit reductions, 50 youth participated in leadership development activities.

15 youth were placed in another school instead of being expelled as a diversion strategy to serve the youth educational needs.

25 of those youth have completed community service hours, 15 still working towards their completion, and 10 youth gained employment, and six youth were successfully graduated from high school, and over 60% of their parents were also case management.

When we talked about addressing what you were talking about, Ms.

Rosario, wraparound services for not this here, just the children, but also the parents to make them better so the family can thrive in community.

Thank you.

So next is Angeline and Tanya, followed by Belinda Kirk.

I'm not sure who in the record keeping department, but it's Anglin A N G L I N, just for we will correct that for you.

I'm just giving y'all a hard time.

All right, so good morning, super or good afternoon.

I should say supervisors.

My name's Anglin Baker, and I'm honored to stand here representing Black Child Legacy Campaign and the Fruit Rich Docky Community Incubator Lead.

Um I'm proud to share and reiterate the incredible work of her Health First and Black Mothers United.

And uh and Black Freeze to improve maternal health outcomes for black women and their babies.

Uh the work of Her Ho First directly addresses two of our four focus areas uh perinatal health and infant sleep safety through culturally responsive uh community-rooted care.

In the past year alone, Black Mothers United supported over 120 pregnant women, more than half of our high risk neighborhoods, each mother receiving one-on-one coaching, dualist support, and access to essentials like cribs, car seats, and nutrition nutrition service resources.

The results are remarkable.

For the fifth consecutive year, there were zero infant deaths among black mothers, black mothers united participants.

This is not just data, it's a testimony to what happens when we invest in community-driven solutions that see, hear, and honor black mothers.

Her health first also leads the model of caring campaign, lifting awareness on how systemic racism impacts health outcomes while connecting families to culturally competent care and trusted support networks.

These are the kinds of partnerships that save lives, partnerships that built on trust, compassion, and accountability.

As we look forward, we must continue to strengthen and sustain this work because when a black mother thrives, her baby thrives, and when her baby thrives, so does our community.

I want to pass along to my colleague Tanya.

Thank you.

Good afternoon.

My name is Tanya Bean Gear, and I'm a family navigator.

Can you guys hear me?

Here, fam Navigator for Fruit Stockton area.

And I would like to bring out one thing too.

Before I became a family navigator, I was one of the first CIWs that happened nine years ago, so let's give it a for 10 more years.

Thank you.

So I will go ahead and on with that story too.

As well as being a family navigator, I was able to share my story as long as with others and their stories.

Um my story about Jasmine and Marcus.

Marcus Reed, a young couple who came to us experiencing homelessness with three children and expecting twins.

They were uncertain about how they were how they would manage.

Who provided consistent prenatal support, transportation, and encouragement throughout her pregnancy.

With the help of our team, the reads were having secured and stable housing, and Marcus found full-time employment.

And along with that, like I said before, that it was me that I was on the side of that table, as well as I first came with the Black Child Legacy with the third party homicide.

So we do need this campaign.

Please keep it going.

Thank you.

Belinda Kirk.

Good afternoon.

My name is uh Belinda Kirk.

Thank you.

Um, I want to first uh give honor and recognition to the Sacramento County Board members and the executive members.

I want to begin first off by um letting you know that my name is again Belinda Kirk, Assistant Principal at Luther Burbank High School in the Sacramento City Unified School District.

It's important that I have not only members who work directly with me at my school site but indirectly.

So if you have had any connection with Luther Burbank in terms of supporting, please come forward because it's important for us as educators to recognize that we can't do this work alone.

So again, I want Miss Jackie to come down because she has been very instrumental to the work at our school site.

I'm here today.

I'm here today on behalf of Luther Burbank High School and the school community to speak to the tremendous impact the Black Child Legacy and the Rose family has had to our students and families in our community for the past nine years that I have been at the excuse me at the black child, excuse me, for the past nine years that I have been at Luther Burbank High School.

The Black Child Legacy has had an invaluable uh relationship, and they are an excellent community partner.

They have provided wraparound services that meet our families by offering food, shelter, mental health, counseling, and employment opportunities for parents.

They've helped families with reunification, supporting housing stability, and providing families to access to uh food pantries and other essential resources.

Beyond meeting the basic needs for our families at our school site, this program has empowered our parents to grow to thrive while raising their children.

They have created pathways for advancement and stability.

It has given our students hope and opportunity that I have not seen ever afforded to many of our students of color in our school system, especially for those who face trauma or uncertainty at home.

The Black Child Legacy has also been very powerful as advocates for students, stepping in to support during disciplinary matters, helping us lead restorative community circles and offering safe structure, structured, excuse me, after school programs that serve as safe havens for many of our youth.

Through their summer jobs and mentorship programs, the Rose Family and the Black Child Legacy campaign has inspired our students to become leaders and role models in their communities.

They've helped shape young people who are proud of who they are and aware of their power they hold to uplift others.

In short, the Black Child Legacy and the Rose family has been nothing short of transformative, not just to our school site, but for the entire South Sacramento Meadowview community.

With limited school resources, as you well know in Sack City Unified School District, their partnership has truly sustained us and allowed us to reach families in ways that we couldn't have never done alone.

So today I stand here with deep gratitude and appreciation and love for the Black Child Legacy and the Rose family.

Their continued presence and support are essential to the well-being, the growth, and the success of our students and families.

Thank you for listening.

Kenneth and Eugene.

Also the commissioner of the amazing league we started, Kings and Queens Rise.

I feel no conversations about youth should happen without youth in the space.

So I had to come pick up my kids.

But I'm gonna let Dion kick us off.

Thank you.

I know, I know.

Good after good afternoon, everyone.

My name is Dion Cooper.

I'm 14 years old, and I've grew up in CV Circle.

And the most part of my the and the most, the most of my life I have been a part of Ball Out and Black Child Legacy.

Bala has helped me become a leader in sports and outside.

Bala always had my back when I needed to talk to somebody.

Mr.

Camps always knows what to say and what to do.

This program has helped me become a better person.

Kiesing Queens is a big help.

I am glad, I am so glad that they made this league because we all know how kids can be outside of school.

Being able to play a sport during the summer, being able to play a sport during the summer, you know, giving them something to do.

And Black Child Legacy has helped me with tutors and like just being there, you know, because on Christmas, when parents can't afford to buy present black child legacy, you know, they always go out their way and have presents for other kids who can't, who parents can't afford them.

And I just wanted to say that I am so happy for being a part of this.

Great job.

Um good afternoon, everybody.

Um, my name is King Blackshire.

I'm a student athlete at CK McClatchy High School.

Um, I'm coming here to uh talk about Black Child Legacy, also Ball Out Academy.

Um, since I was a little kid, you know, my older brother participated in Ball Out Academy.

And at first I was skeptical, you know, like I didn't like going out.

I really wanted to play the game all the time, and I didn't like doing activities.

You know, and this wonderful, amazing man up here, uh Kenneth Duncan Jr., he came to me and said, why not give it a shot, you know?

And I walked out there and I was really nervous.

You know, a lot of kids come up to a big crowd and even just uh area where they're not familiar with, and they're really nervous.

But going into Ball Out Academy, they help you express yourself freely.

They don't judge you on what you look like, what you wear, or how you act.

They try to make you as best of a man or female as you could be.

Um also going into Ball Out Academy, um, they also will help you.

I'll say get get your stuff sort of, you know.

Um, I'll be honest, when I was in school, I didn't do my best.

Um Kenneth, he helped me get tutors, had to pay for them, and he also helped me sometimes buy clothes, you know, and and I really appreciate him and every staff working for Ball Out Academy.

Um, it's just it's just amazing being a part of that league, and they they give it their all, they give it their heart, their soul, their dedication, blood, sweat, tears, to the whole program, just to make every kid feel feel welcome, and it's just a big family and community.

Um, so mind you, this young man started with Black Child Legacy and Ball Out Academy.

I think he was in first or second grade.

I actually coached his two older brothers who are now in their 20s.

Um, this young man right here, Coach Trey, he was a youth who played in Kings and Queens Rise, and now he's one of my staff and one of the mentors.

Really going back, he's from Oak Park, going back to his very young community, came from trying to make it better.

So the we're all have the lived experience.

Um I just wanted to speak about Kings and Queens Rise and how impactful that league is.

Um it's in eight neighborhoods, and we're blessed that CB Circle Marina Bista was added to that uh list.

So being over that league now about six years, um, the impact is kids cross-collaborating, kids from Meadowview able to go to Oak Park, kids from North Highlands able to go to Art and Arcade.

And now it's familiar territory, right?

We don't got kids saying, Oh, I can't go over there because it's it's issues over there.

We're making sure our kids are not taking on the problems that maybe their uncles and aunts had and they can really make their own relationship.

So the Kings and Queens Rise League has been amazing.

Thank you to all the Black Child Legacy.

Um, this is the cross collaboration Black Child Legacy has.

I'm able to call on folks like Miss Jackie, Mr.

Roberts, um Perry, and really use those spaces.

Uh, CV Circle is the forgotten community.

We're surrounded by wealth right off of Fifth and Broadway.

Um we're two apartment complexes.

We're not at El Paso Heights, we're not a Meadowview, we're in a confined area, and there's been a lot of crime.

I had probably about three or four youth.

I had one youth drowned this summer, but I had three youth died of gun violence, and we're able to lean on black child legacy for that support.

I'm getting called left and right from our partners, from the people doing the work.

Kenneth, how can we support your families?

So thank you, and Black Child Legacy is the amazing program.

Kenneth and UG.

Supervisor Rodriguez.

Kenneth, can I just Kenneth?

Can I just say that?

I um I I just want to commend you for bringing your youth because oftentimes really it's these voices that we need to hear about.

I have tear ducts that don't work no matter what they don't work, but I gotta tell you, I'm really emotional right now because I what to think of um young African American kids that get that don't fall into the life of oftentimes uh crimes and drugs, and we see the statistics, we see them, and so I just commend you and your program in and putting an effort into these young men.

Thank you.

We're headed to back to that.

Bobby Atkins Caris.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, supervisors and my lovely community members.

Uh, my name is Bobby Atkins.

I am representing Roberts Family Development Center.

Uh, before I begin, I would like to honor and pay homage to our COO, Miss Tina Roberts.

Uh, today I would like to highlight how black childhood the black child legacy campaign mini grant funding has allowed us to support community leaders who are actively preventing African-American childhood deaths through culturally rooted engagement and family support.

Uh I am honored to introduce two of those leaders.

Uh first and foremost, I have Mr.

O'Shea Johnson.

Um, Mr.

O'Shea Johnson is an entrepreneur, coach, and mentor who provides positive outlets and life building opportunities for youth.

Next, I would like to introduce Miss Kyris Chiadi and uh Supervisor uh Phil Cerner.

This will uh this is our doula.

So I hope uh tie in some of your questions.

Uh, but next, uh, as a community doula and educator who supports mothers and families to improve perenatal health and infant outcomes.

So I will step aside and let both of those uh leaders speak, but I do want to say that Black Child Legacy is reinvesting those dollars back into our community uh to make sure that the work continues even outside of our general space.

I'm out of battle with my grandson with my phone.

He thinks it's his.

So um, like I said, my name is Oshea Johnson.

Um I was fortunate enough to work with RFDC in Black Child Legacy.

I was a CI CIW for a while.

Um I started an organization called My Man Power Academy.

Um I use sports as um as a platform to attract young, um, to attract the youth in the community to um other activities and resources um that can be used to deter violence specifically and particularly gang violence among the youth while at the same time and simultaneously maintaining community development.

Um our sports program serves approximately 120 um youth between the months of June and October, right?

I run a youth football program, the Sacramento Saints.

Uh we just won the Super Bowl in Stockton.

Um we have um, I believe that that time is like um a high percentage time of crime, right?

So with youth football having that big number serving a lot of youth.

It allows us to pick from that 120 some youth to run other programs.

So we ran programs like um this year we ran a bullying program, anti-bullying program, um, where we co-related um bullying to violence, gun violence, gang violence, violence in school, um, violence out of school during um um behind bullying, bullying.

Um excuse me.

This is not watching.

Um so we serve approximately um 15 or 40 youth in those programs.

We had approximately like three or four of them during that period.

Um, our age group is six to seventeen.

Uh we focus on the ages of 12 to 17, where we offer programs like our sin, our bullying program with focuses on bullying in school, fashion bullying, um, and we drew a coalition of bullying from um, we drew a coalition, I mean um a coalition to gun violence and things like that um from the bullying program.

We also do workforce development and things like that as well, and then we'd like to thank Mr.

Mrs.

Roberts and Mr.

Roberts um for giving us the opportunity to serve our community.

We serve, like I said, approximately 120 children in District 2.

Um, we serve the hot, I'll call it the hot time of the year between June and October.

We have them children approximately um 12 hours a week, right?

Um, Monday through Thursday, Saturday.

So we occupy a lot of their time, and our philosophy is that if they're with us doing positive things, they're not out there doing negative things.

So thank you.

Thank you.

I'm tall.

Good afternoon.

Chair Cerna and Supervisors.

Sacramento's black mothers and babies dying of preventable and curable pregnancy-related complications at three times the rate of their white counterparts.

Feels like third-party homicide.

The day you were born should not be your very first ace.

Hello, I'm Kairi Chiaji, founder and director of Children of the Sun Doula Project, Proud Home of Queen's Village, Sacramento.

Children of the Sun addresses infant and maternal mortality and morbidity in two ways.

Our mission is to have community-based birth support specialists on every block.

You would be surprised at the number of doula's that have been in this room today that were trained through our organization.

And that is the common name, doula, the role of a birth worker is to educate, advocate, mediate, and celebrate birthing bodies.

Not survival, but empowered arrival for your tiniest constituents.

Statistically, culturally congruent doula support improves birth outcomes.

Children of the Sons BCLC grants provided free doula trainings to community members in our legacy neighborhoods.

Our last four full-spectrum birth doula trainings enrolled 37 new students who are passionate about saving lives at a grassroots level.

If you did a simple math of maybe five to six births a year, that's 200 families a year in this region getting birth support.

Doula's that are completing the training are qualified to become Medicaid providers and earn livable wages and serve clients at no cost to those families.

That's one piece.

Lingering toxic stress, though, not only fuels comorbidities and pregnancy, it's the gateway to mental health disorders.

Emotional wellness for moms is critical.

Queens Village Sacramento has hosted free enrichment events serving 136 black multi-generational women in 2025 so far.

QV encourages rest, relax, and repower strategies, which are the core principles of every Queen's village across the nation.

Challenges for parenting families include unwelcoming spaces, financial barriers, child care, isolation, and depression.

QV gatherings allow African American and black women of all ages to let their hair down and lift each other's crowns up.

Exercise, friendship, economic mobility, cultural art, civic engagement, music, healthy food.

We offer the tools for healthy lifestyles.