Neighborhood Services and Education Committee Meeting - April 9, 2026
Neighborhood Services and Education Committee Meeting - April 9, 2026
This meeting of the Neighborhood Services and Education Committee (NSC) covered four major agenda items: a status report on the Children and Youth Services Master Plan, an annual report on the San Jose Youth Empowerment Alliance (including BEST, SSIG, and Youth Intervention Services), the Code Enforcement Annual Report, and a status report on the Library Facilities and Customer Experience Plan. The committee heard extensive public testimony from youth participants in the intervention and employment programs, all of whom expressed strong support and urged continued funding. All reports were accepted unanimously by the committee.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Twelve youth participants and alumni spoke in support of youth programs. Josué Peña (Youth Intervention Program) stated he graduated early and obtained a job with help from his mentor. Perla (Female Intervention Program and SJ Works) said the program helped her realize her potential and start a business as a lash artist. Lynn (Silver Creek High School, Female Intervention) reported improved grades and a job through SJ Works. Rain (San Jose Works) learned job skills and felt prepared for the future. Ashley Tamayo (Youth Intervention) reported improved grades, attendance, and family relationships, and a job through SJ Works. Alissa Marie (Clean Slate) expressed that the tattoo removal program gave her a second chance and helped her present a professional appearance as a behavior technician. Lisse Castanela (Clean Slate, 7-year participant) said the program gave her confidence and a second chance; she graduated from SFSU and is a mother. Danica Cote (Clean Slate) credited the program with maintaining a 4.0 GPA, sobriety from fentanyl, and professional growth. Irania (Clean Slate) stated the program supported her as a survivor of domestic violence and single mother, helping remove tattoos that were barriers to jobs. Antonio Sotello (Clean Slate) said the program is giving him a second chance after incarceration from age 16 to 23. Connie Bustillo (Clean Slate, former Youth Intervention employee) said the program helped her leave behind her past and pursue goals of becoming a county employee and foster parent. Ray (alumni and staff of Youth Intervention and Clean Slate) shared his personal journey from gang involvement to becoming a mentor, and said the Clean Slate program gave him a "clean start" and freedom. Several speakers specifically urged the committee to "continue prioritizing funding for youth programs."
Discussion Items
1. Children and Youth Services Master Plan Status Report – Andrea Flores Shelton (Assistant Director, PRNS) reported that two pilot sites (Somos Mayfair/Grail in Mayfair/Poco Way and Catholic Charities in Seven Trees/Santee) are in their first year of implementation, with $400,000 each in 18-month contracts running through December 2026. A lessons-learned report will come in fall 2026. She noted that the county awarded child care expansion grants (500 applicants, 53 awarded, half in San Jose) using ARPA dollars. Councilmember Candelas expressed full support for investing in youth and asked about funding for the next fiscal year, referencing a March budget message proposing $500,000 subject to an MBA, and possible use of opioid funds. Councilmember Campos asked about the city's timeline for taking a more active leadership role and formalizing cross-system coordination; staff indicated that details would be in the upcoming manager's budget addendum. Councilmember Candelas also raised concerns about potential county budget cuts affecting the safety net, with staff noting proposed reductions to programs like the Community Prosecution Unit and Neighborhood Services Unit/Probation. Angel Rios (Deputy City Manager) added that an interagency subcommittee estimated nearly $100 million in proposed safety net cuts, and that the city must be creative in prioritizing. The committee voted unanimously to accept the report.
2. San Jose Youth Empowerment Alliance, Safe Summer Initiative Grant, and Youth Intervention Services Annual Report – Olympia Williams (Deputy Director) presented that the programs served more than 13,000 youth and families, delivering over 460,000 hours of service. Key outcomes: 3 out of 4 priority schools saw reductions in chronic absenteeism (5-7 percentage points); the most serious school-based incidents declined by 11%; juvenile arrests decreased by 5%; 92% of BEST participants reported having a trusted adult; 90% of school administrators credited the Safe School Campus Initiative for campus safety; San Jose Works completions increased by 5%; Clean Slate tattoo removal expanded from 604 to 804 clients; Youth Intervention Services expanded to support 3,572 high-risk youth. Future plans include a data-driven approach, a new no-wrong-door framework, and a summer leadership academy. Councilmember Ortiz (Chair) shared his personal experience as a former participant in Clean Slate and the Safe Schools program, emphasizing the transformative impact. Councilmember Campos thanked staff and highlighted the importance of healing and mental health. Councilmember Candelas stressed that these programs are critical public safety investments and urged that they be protected from budget cuts. Councilmember Casey noted the need to serve high-need pockets across the city. Councilmember Duan praised the courage of speakers. The committee voted unanimously to accept the report.
3. Code Enforcement Annual Report – Rachel Roberts (Deputy Director) reported that in FY 2425, the division opened 7,800 new cases and closed 7,300, issued 727 citations, inspected over 1,700 multiple housing buildings (8,200+ units, resolving 8,389 violations), and opened/resolved over 3,300 general code cases. 61% of cases were closed within standard timelines (below 65% target). Active cases stood at 4,300, far above the 2,800 goal. The division implemented a transformation work plan with four themes, achieving 45% of key results. New tools include the Chronic Offender Resolution and Enforcement Pilot Program, updated escalating enforcement policy, and Fresh Desk help desk. Administrative penalties were increased to up to $20,000 per violation (total up to $500,000). A code enforcement case management system (CODEX) is under development with delays. The tobacco retail license moratorium work plan is delayed due to staffing vacancies. Councilmember Casey questioned the amount of manual effort and the technology roadmap, asking about AI integration; staff said CODEX will be a framework that can be built upon. Councilmember Ortiz (Chair) expressed concerns about the gap between active cases and the goal, the 61% closure rate, and whether penalty increases are outpacing system fixes. Staff responded that the age case triage project has reduced inactive cases from 1,216 to 893, and that the chronic offender pilot aims to address repeat violators. Councilmember Ortiz also noted that fine revenue goes to the general fund, not code enforcement. The committee voted unanimously to accept the staff report.
4. Library Facilities and Customer Experience Plan Status Report – Jill Bourne (City Librarian) reported that the plan was developed with community input (nearly 3,000 survey responses, 180 partners). Key finding: libraries are trusted and heavily used but undersized. Currently, 11 of 24 locations are over 20 years old; 20 branches do not meet the city's general plan goal of 0.59 sq ft per capita. Only one branch exceeds 0.75 sq ft per capita. The plan proposes three investment scenarios: renew/sustain (interior realignments), grow on site (expansions), and co-locate/build new in development projects. Don Copin (CEO, San Jose Public Library Foundation) spoke in support, urging adoption. Councilmember Candelas asked about next steps and funding strategies; staff said adoption allows work on funding options (public, co-location, potential ballot measures) and noted that staffing is also a concern. Councilmember Ortiz noted the need for facility upgrades, referencing the Alum Rock Roberto Cruz Library. The committee voted unanimously to accept the staff recommendation, moving the plan to full council.
Key Outcomes
- All four reports were accepted by the committee unanimously: the Children and Youth Services Master Plan Status Report, the Youth Empowerment Alliance annual report, the Code Enforcement Annual Report, and the Library Facilities and Customer Experience Plan status report. The library plan will be forwarded to the full City Council for consideration in May 2026. No other votes or directives were taken.
Meeting Transcript
Begin I want to remind the committee members and members of the public to please 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 conversations with the chair, council members, or staff. All members of the committee. This meeting of the neighborhood services and education committee will now come to order. Can the clerk please call the roll? Complos. Absent Gandalas. Here. Casey? Here. Vice Chair Duan absent and Chair Ortiz. Present. You have a quorum. Awesome. Thank you so much. We did that. There's no items for review of the work plan, no consent agenda. So that brings us to D reports to the committee. The first item is Children and Youth Services Master Plan Status Report, and that is by Andrea Flora Shelton. I'm the assistant director of the Department of Parks Recreation Neighborhood Services, and we are happy to give bring you the regular report on the Children and Youth Master Plan. Just for awareness, the council did adopt the Children and Youth Services Master Plan two years ago, and we are at a stage where we're at the towards the end of the first year of implementation with our two grantees. Those grantees are we have Somos Mayfair and Grail in the Mayfair Poco Way neighborhoods, and we have Catholic charities in the Seven Trees Santee neighborhoods. Those contracts go through December of 2026. And so we also have direction to come back with lessons learned, sort of results of where the pilot status is in the fall to this committee. So we're looking forward to bringing back to you sort of the lessons learned because, well, this is a transformational effort that really is encompassed on seven large policy priority areas. That this has quite been a it's been a very challenging year in terms of the safety net. We're we are very committed to keeping our doors open, um, maintaining services for children and youth that we have, and we're again working through the budget process, um, and you will learn more about that. But through the no wrong door um approach, making sure that people feel welcome, people and our staffs, whether that's CBO staff or whether that's city staff or whether that's county staff, we have to go through a learning about what are those services that we can connect people to, refer people to, um, do they feel safe? Do they feel welcome? And that has been something that we've been uh one of the lessons learned this past year is everything that's going on is creating a challenge. Um so again, we look forward to bringing in the fall uh more details about where we stand in those two pilot sites, what are the services that we are connecting people to? Um, and hopefully we have results. We have really good results for you, but uh we we promise to bring you um that back in the fall. Um I do also want to um we do meet with the county regularly, and I think there's been some really good information um in the child care front. So uh they have a grant to expand uh child care. Um specifically um they had 500 applicants and they were able to award 53 um grantees. Half of the so that's a countywide child care expansion grant, half of those are in the city of San Jose. So we're um happy that they are these are they're pushing out sort of the last of their ARPA dollars, um and so those grants um are coming forward, and the county will be um giving a larger uh presentation to their committee um next week. But we wanted to um sunshine that for you so that you knew that again county child care expansion dollars are coming to the city of San Jose. Um so with that again, we work with um we're working with C CEPE collective, Somos Um Grail in the Mainfair Poco Way neighborhood, they're doing a lot of work. Um and I know um Councilmember Ortiz and I just heard about a lot of the inspiring work they're doing uh with their youth. Um so youth, so when it comes to the children and youth master plan pillars, um they are obviously very uh steeped in the early learning and child care through Grail, um the uh uh learning and empowerment pillar, that is something that Somos through Jovenis Activos is doing a lot of work on. Um they're also working on workforce pathways with their with their young people. Um and so they have a lot of partnerships and they're convening with their partners at both the school level and um at the economic mobility level. Um in Santee and Seven Trees area, we are grateful for our partnership with Catholic charities there, and they have longstanding um partnerships and commitings that they're doing. So we'll be bringing forward more in sort of as we think about year two, starting in July one and beyond, about what those um what those opportunities are if you and your staff want to engage and understanding what's happening at the work group level, but right now that's really anchored in the community, and it's also um city staff is still working like directly with the grantees. So more to come in terms of um sort of formalizing how the priority areas are being convened. So with that, I'll take any questions. Wonderful.
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