Neighborhood Services and Education Committee Meeting - February 12, 2026
Neighborhood Services and Education Committee Meeting - February 12, 2026
The Neighborhood Services and Education Committee met on February 12, 2026, to receive and discuss several reports, including the Children and Youth Services Master Plan, Citywide Sustainable Park Maintenance, Childcare Policy Opportunities, and the Family, Friends, and Neighbors (FFN) Caregiver Support Network. Committee members heard public testimony and unanimously approved all items.
Public Comments & Testimony
- On the Childcare Policy Opportunities Status Report: Jariah Haug (Build the Future), Vanessa Tapia (South Bay Labor Council), La Cuesta Padre de, Eduvija Ramirez (childcare provider and CHOC/United union member), and others spoke in support of childcare investment and urged adoption of Councilmember Campos’ memo to make childcare a focus area. Speakers highlighted childcare as essential economic infrastructure and called for continued city leadership.
- On the Family, Friends, and Neighbors (FFN) Caregiver Support Network: Eleven speakers expressed strong support for continuing the FFN program. Speakers included Eula Itemoto (First 5 Santa Clara County), Sona Grover (Catholic Charities), Deo Agustin (childcare provider and CCPU member), Paula Perez (Parent Voices), Alba Vivas (childcare provider), Michael Vega (Sacred Heart Community Service), Carmen Gallegos, Maria Wong, Angelica Ramos-Allen (Grail Family Services), Liliana Camacho (Parent Voices), and Veronica Mador. They described the program as a critical support for informal caregivers, especially for immigrant and working-class families, providing training, navigation, and pathways to licensure. They urged the committee not to eliminate the program.
- On the Citywide Sustainable Park Maintenance Report: Ken Brennan, Parks Commissioner for District 10, spoke as a resident. He argued that before seeking new revenue, the city should address productivity and operational efficiency within the maintenance system, citing observable shortcomings in staff deployment and oversight.
Discussion Items
Children and Youth Services Master Plan Status Report Jill Bourne and Andrea Flores Shelton presented an update on the transition from planning to early implementation, focusing on the No Wrong Door approach, equity, and coordination with the county. Achievements included 83 youth receiving scholarships ($57,000) for summer programs in demonstration sites (Santee, Seven Trees, Poco Way, Mayfair). Cross-departmental training for staff in those neighborhoods is planned for March and April 2026. Councilmembers Ortiz, Campos, and Vice Chair Duan praised the work, with Chair Ortiz emphasizing the importance of early intervention to reduce future costs. Councilmember Campos moved to accept the report; motion passed unanimously.
Citywide Sustainable Park Maintenance Annual Report Avi Otam, Tori O’Reilly, and Claire Sione presented park condition assessment data. Under traditional standards, parks averaged 85%; under higher standards reflecting community expectations, 78%. Deferred maintenance backlog exceeds $550 million. Park maintenance staffing decreased 19% since 2003 while parkland increased 22%. A statistically valid voter survey (September 2025) showed most voters value parks but want better maintenance of restrooms and weed control. The department will move to using higher standards exclusively and integrate Healthy Places Index data. Councilmember Casey questioned efficiency tracking; staff described GPS monitoring, daily logs, and monthly reviews. Councilmember Ortiz asked about specific parks in District 5 (Hillview, Mayfair, Sylvia Cassell) and the gap between traditional and high-standard scores. Staff explained irrigation issues and rodent problems contribute. Vice Chair Duan suggested dynamic deployment of resources to areas of greatest need. Councilmember Campos moved to accept the report; motion passed unanimously.
Childcare Policy Opportunities Status Report Peter Hamilton presented a high-level survey of city actions on childcare, covering direct service (PRNS preschool, after-school programs), subsidies (scholarships, affordable housing childcare), zoning (state-mandated exemptions), and training programs (FFN, Boost). He compared San Jose’s efforts to San Francisco, New Mexico, and Michigan. Councilmembers discussed the need for a thorough needs assessment and questioned the comparison with San Francisco (a city-county). Councilmember Casey asked for examples of comparable non-county cities. Councilmember Campos moved to accept the report and refer it to the March 17 City Council meeting for consideration of including childcare in the “Growing Our Economy” focus area. Motion passed unanimously.
Family, Friends, and Neighbors (FFN) Caregiver Support Network Status Report Jill Bourne and Ann Grabowski reported that the FFN program, launched in 2021, provides training, navigation, and college coursework to informal caregivers. The adopted 2025-26 budget eliminates the program’s three staffing positions effective July 1, 2026. The library will attempt to embed some components in other programming. Public comment overwhelmingly opposed the elimination. Councilmember Campos noted the program is a model for other cities and moved to accept the status report. Motion passed unanimously.
Key Outcomes
- The committee unanimously accepted the Children and Youth Services Master Plan status report.
- The committee unanimously accepted the Citywide Sustainable Park Maintenance Annual Report.
- The committee unanimously accepted the Childcare Policy Opportunities Status Report and referred it to the March 17, 2026 City Council meeting with a recommendation to consider adding childcare to the “Growing Our Economy” focus area.
- The committee unanimously accepted the FFN Caregiver Support Network Status Report.
Meeting Transcript
Before we begin, I want to remind the committee members and the members of the public to follow our code of conduct at meetings. This includes only commenting on the specific agenda item and addressing the entire body. Public speakers will not engage in a conversation with the chair, council members, or staff. All members of the committee staff, sorry, failure to comply with the code of conduct, which will disturb, disrupt, or impede the orderly conduct, will result in removal from the meeting. This meeting of the Neighborhood Services and Education Committee will now come to order. Can the clerk please call the roll? Campos? Present. Candelas? Absent. Casey? Here. Vice Chair Duan? Here. Chair Ortiz? Present. You have a quorum. Great. Thank you so much. That moves us to item B, review of the work plan. Item 1 of that, family, friends, and neighbors' caregiver support network status report. Thank you. on the Family, Friend, and Neighbor Caregiver Support Network Program. I'm joined here with Ann Grabowski, who's our Deputy Director of Public Services. And before we get into the nitty-gritty, I want to just acknowledge one of our brilliant managers, Araceli Delgado-Ortiz, who is the leader of the FFM program, and a lot of what you're going to hear about really came from her commitment and her vision. and she's embarrassed now but she's amazing so if we're waiting for a slide oh you don't have a presentation i believe this is item d1 okay yeah you know council member i think we're a little bit out of order but oh did we jump ahead yeah we can go ahead and switch yeah yeah because b1 is the review of the work plan And so those are two items that were already approved at rules, so we could go over to the Children and Youth Master Plan status report. We'll be back. They're already approved, yes. All right. Now we are going to D1, Reports to Committee, Children and Youth Services Master Plan status report. And that's a presentation from Andrea Flores Shelton and Jill Bourne. Hello and good afternoon, chair and council members. I'm going to fill in for Andrea Flores Shelton while she heads down. So just to give a little bit of background on the Children and Youth Services Master Plan, the council adopted the plan April 9th of 2024, and then the city has really at this point shifted from our planning to early implementation phase with a strong emphasis on alignment, coordination, and equity. In May 2025, the city finalized our grant agreements with Grail Family Services and Catholic charities to operationalize our No Wrong Door approach in the demonstration site neighborhoods. The city and county continue to coordinate on our systems change to implement the No Wrong Door approach, and we also have some of our county representatives with us here today.
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