Joint City-County Committee Meeting on Children Youth Master Plan and Latino Health Assessment - December 10, 2025

The Neighborhood Services and Education Committee (City of San Jose) and the Children, Seniors, and Families Committee (County of Santa Clara) held a special joint meeting on December 10, 2025, to discuss coordination on the Children and Youth Master Plan, the Latino Health Assessment, and gun violence prevention efforts. Presentations were delivered by city and county staff and community partners, followed by public testimony and committee deliberations. Key outcomes included approval of memos directing further expansion, alignment, and reporting on these initiatives.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Carla Torres (NAACP and La Raza Roundtable) expressed strong support for youth programs and services to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline. She urged the committee to speak to the mayor about recent comments that may further criminalize youth and highlighted her own positive experience with youth programs.
• Lillian Koenig (a substitute teacher in San Jose Unified School District) raised concerns about school closures in East San Jose, the impact of busing on cultural continuity, and the lack of free transportation for students, linking these to chronic absenteeism.
• Blair Beekman spoke about the importance of tech accountability and transparent data collection, advocating for youth involvement in understanding surveillance and public safety technologies.
• Laura Buzzo (former city employee and resident) emphasized that the Children Youth Master Plan must go beyond services to dismantle inequitable systems, policies, and silos. She noted that 3,000 residents and 150 organizations were engaged in plan development.
• Naina Pradeep Kumar (Vice Chair, San Jose Youth Commission) highlighted that violence and safety were the top concerns in the Youth Commission's Participatory Budget Priority Survey. She urged that youth voices remain central to implementation.
• Lori Katcher (Showing Up for Racial Justice Santa Clara County) supported the memos and expressed concern that recent city policies on vehicle towing counter the goals of supporting families, as towing can push families further into debt and instability.
• Jennifer Kelleher-Cloyde (Executive Director, First 5 Santa Clara County) urged the city and county to invest as heavily in implementation of the master plan as they did in its development, and noted that First 5 is a backbone funder for family resource centers.
• John Horner (Board President, Morgan Hill Unified School District) praised the spirit of collaboration but said efforts are not yet at scale. He highlighted a successful youth diversion program in South County and urged continued partnerships with schools.
• Maria Fuentes (San Jose Evergreen Community College Board) emphasized the need to avoid silos and to create a coordinated educational strategy that connects with the master plan, so that referrals from families lead to college access.
• Adam Ibarra (Executive Director, Tenacious Group) called for rigorous educational standards for low-income students and noted that many students in East San Jose lack internet at home, which must be addressed.
• Olivia Navarro (Somos Mayfair) thanked Supervisor Arenas for advancing the Latino Health Assessment and stressed the importance of using data to inform culturally responsive services, especially for Latino youth.
• Gabby Chavez-Lopez (Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley) uplifted the role of parents and caretakers, asking that support for families be multi-generational and that mothers be centered in strategies.

Discussion Items

• Children and Youth Master Plan Presentation: Deputy City Manager Angel Rios framed the plan as a long-term effort to disrupt poverty by creating access to opportunity. Israel Kanhura (Recreation Superintendent) outlined the shared vision and seven priority areas: early learning, health/mental wellness, housing, learning/empowerment, meaningful jobs, safe communities, and system transformation. Veronica Gowie (Grail Family Services) and Saul Ramos (Somos Mayfair) described the Mayfair/Polk-Way demonstration site, which uses a "No Wrong Door" approach and aims to serve 100 families in the first phase, with services beginning January 2025. Carmina Valdivia (Catholic Charities) presented the Franklin-McKinley Children's Initiative (Santee/Seven Trees site), highlighting 16 years of community work, summer programming with 333 adults and 453 youth, and college savings accounts (1,402 CalKids scholarships claimed). Olympia Williams (PRNS Deputy Director) noted joint priorities with the county: child care access, disrupting school-to-prison pipeline, and supporting the Latino Health Assessment action plan. Sarah Duffy (Director, County Social Services Agency) explained the Family First Community Pathway, a funding model that coordinates services for families at imminent risk, targeting four populations: substance abuse, pregnant/parenting foster youth, homeless youth/families, and domestic violence.
• Latino Health Assessment and Cost of Gun Violence Study: Dr. Sarah Redman (Health Officer) presented key findings from the 2024 Latino Health Assessment and the 2022 Cost of Gun Violence study. Data showed that Latino children and youth are a young population (34% of under-25s countywide), with disparities in chronic absenteeism, depression (37% of Latino high school students reported feeling depressed), and juvenile justice involvement (Latino youth represent 70% of cases). East San Jose has higher tobacco retailer density (almost double) and lower perceived safety. The Cost of Gun Violence study found that firearm injuries cost San Jose over $1 billion and the county $1.2 billion (data from 2020). Recommendations emphasized breaking racial barriers, place-based and community-centered approaches, and focusing on youth.
• Committee Member Comments: Chair Ortiz (City) shared a personal story of being a gang-impacted youth and credited intervention programs for his turnaround. He strongly supported the memos, emphasizing the need for predictable, accessible, culturally grounded services. Supervisor Arenas (County) highlighted the importance of focusing on Latino boys and young men, noting state-level recognition of loneliness and rising suicide rates. She stressed the need for the city to equally invest in intervention services. Councilmember Campos praised the alignment between city and county on child care, school-to-prison pipeline, and Latino health. She posed questions about the role of the City Manager's Office, data sharing agreements, and funding sustainability, including exploring Medi-Cal reimbursement.

Key Outcomes

• Motion by Supervisor Arenas (County): Approved unanimously by the County committee (Vice Chair Young and Chair Arenas voting yes). The motion directs the County to: expand pilot site locations in alignment with the master plan and Latino Health Assessment; report on gaps in services; provide bimonthly verbal reports to update the work plan; hold follow-up meetings in early 2026; produce a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction action plan for the Latino Health Assessment; and establish a sub-working group for standardized applications. A friendly amendment by Supervisor Young added a shared set of outcomes by Q1 2025.
• Motion by Councilmember Campos (City): Approved unanimously by the City committee (Campos, Candelas, Cohen, Duan, Ortiz voting yes) with two friendly amendments: (1) an annual joint meeting of the Neighborhood Services and Education Committee and the Children, Seniors, and Families Committee; and (2) aligned outcomes in Q1 2025 related to data and evaluation infrastructure. The motion also includes direction for expanding pilot sites, data sharing, and funding strategy.