San Jose NSE Committee Meeting - June 11, 2026
San Jose Neighborhood Services and Education Committee Meeting - June 11, 2026
On June 11, 2026, the San Jose Neighborhood Services and Education Committee (NSE) convened with Vice Chair Duan presiding (Chair Ortiz absent) and Councilmembers Casey and Couples present, forming a quorum. The committee received updates from the Youth Commission, the Children and Youth Services Master Plan, the "Cleaning Up Our Neighborhoods" focus area, and the "Reducing Unsheltered Homelessness" focus area. All reports were accepted unanimously.
Youth Commission Annual Work Plan Report (2025-2026)
- Commissioners Naya Pradeep Kumar (District 2, Vice Chair), Anushka Deshmuk (District 1), and another commissioner from District 10 presented the Youth Commission's annual report. Key highlights:
- The commission represents approximately 248,000 youth in San Jose.
- A survey of 653 youth found that only 6.6% strongly agreed that city government reflects youth priorities, while 26.5% somewhat agreed; strong disagreement declined to 3.8% from 6.4% in 2023-2024.
- Top issue priorities (scale 1-5): Violence and safety (4.3), housing affordability (4.29, introduced this year), meaningful jobs (4.12). Mental health declined.
- Youth career aspirations: healthcare/medical (28%), STEM/tech (21%), creative/arts (11%), undecided (11%).
- Academic performance was both the top area where youth excel (37%) and struggle (26%); only 3% said they excel in mental health/well-being while 13% struggle.
- Commissioners and YAC members volunteered 740 service hours; YAC applications increased 17.2% to 275; 90%+ rated program satisfaction 4 or 5 out of 5.
- Commissioners suggested improvements: council members attend YAC meetings regularly, and simplify the commission application form (currently using a general commission form with questions about property ownership and taxes).
- Councilmember Campos moved to accept the report; vote was unanimous.
Children and Youth Services Master Plan Status Report
- Andrea Flores Shelton (Assistant Director, PRNS) reported that on June 9, 2026, the City Council adopted the Mayor's June Budget Message including MBA 14, which supports the Children and Youth Services Master Plan 2.0 strategy. The focus will be on three areas along the child development continuum: childcare access and kindergarten readiness, third-grade reading/chronic absenteeism, and A-G college readiness with workforce development. Staff will return to council in October 2026 with a logic model and metrics.
- Councilmember Campos questioned how to connect youth with meaningful jobs, especially with Fortune 500 companies. Angel Rios (PRNS) noted partnerships with Applied Materials and a focus on building a pipeline from early education to college/career, emphasizing the class of 2040. He highlighted a partnership with San Jose State University to increase underrepresented students in STEM.
- Councilmember Duan emphasized education as a tool against adversity. The report was accepted unanimously.
City Council Focus Area: Cleaning Up Our Neighborhoods
- Angel Rios presented on behalf of the focus area team, including Rachel Roberts (Code Enforcement), Dan North (Environmental Services), Anthony Kilmer (SJPD), Peter Hamilton, and Andrea Flores Shelton.
- Key metrics: Resident perception of citywide cleanliness improved from 34% (two years ago) to 54% currently; neighborhood cleanliness perception rose from 66% to 77%.
- Blight on private property (Code Enforcement): Launched the Chronic Offender Resolution and Enforcement (CORE) pilot program with 15 cases. Implemented revised escalated enforcement policy in September 2025, resulting in 30% more cases reaching citation stage, 11% more compliance orders, and 30% more appeals hearings. CodeX system replacement delayed; fine study completed with Guide House; recommendations for fine amendments planned for September 2026. Downtown vacant building working group expanded.
- Graffiti: Graffiti volume decreased notably in 2024-2025. Lieutenant Kilmer reported that in Q3 2026, two temporarily assigned detectives investigated 14 cases, executed 60 search warrants, and made two arrests (one repeat offender). Effective May 9, 2026, detectives were reassigned, and the graffiti detail no longer has assigned detectives.
- Illegal Dumping: Over 5,000 tons collected last fiscal year; tonnage increased. Enforcement: 112 cases referred to code enforcement, 18 warning letters, 16 citations. Fines escalate: $2,500 first violation, $5,000 second, $10,000 subsequent. One vehicle seizure warrant issued. Education: door hangers, school stewardship program at six schools. Multifamily junk pickup tonnage up 30% year-over-year. Beautify SJ optimization plan included in 2026-2027 budget. Abandoned shopping cart pilot collected 734 carts.
- Councilmember Duan asked about evidence gathering; Rachel Roberts confirmed that video or mail in debris can lead to citations. Councilmember Candelles asked about camera deployment; Olympia Williams explained they use data and coordinate with council offices. The report was accepted unanimously.
City Council Focus Area: Reducing Unsheltered Homelessness
- Eric Solomon (Housing Director) presented, joined by Andrea Flores Shelton. He noted that the June 9 council vote tasked the administration with coming back in September 2026 for revisions to this focus area.
- The shelter system now has 22 sites, 2,202 beds, serving over 2,500 individuals and 630 pets. The last site opened (Ceroni). The Taylor Street Navigation Center will be phased out. A standardized operations document ("Missions to Continue Occupancy Plan") will be rolled out by July 2026. Outreach is divided into quadrants with downtown initiatives.
- No-return zones established along 26 miles of waterways and around interim housing sites. Funding relies on HAP (state), Measure E, and local sources; HAP funding remains uncertain. A CalAIM grant of $2.4 million (with $1.2 million city match) for three pilot sites is at risk due to federal decisions.
- Lessons learned: shelter activation required coordination across six departments; need for standardization; improved data collection via HMIS and GIS geo-tagging. The department will release revised dashboards in July 2026.
- Councilmember Duan questioned sustainability: the system is funded for three years assuming continued HAP, but without new funding, the city cannot expand. Councilmember Campos asked about upstream prevention and support for vulnerable populations, particularly youth homelessness and mentorship for individuals cycling through shelters. She suggested a small pilot with 15 known individuals who repeatedly return to homelessness. Eric Solomon confirmed they are actively working with 15 such individuals in downtown, collaborating with the DA's office, public defender, and county behavioral health, and plan to pilot new interventions by October 2026.
- The report was accepted unanimously.
Key Outcomes
- All four reports were accepted unanimously by the committee.
- The Youth Commission's suggestions (council member attendance at YAC meetings, simplified application form) will be considered.
- The Children and Youth Services Master Plan 2.0 will return to council in October 2026 with a logic model.
- The Cleaning Up Our Neighborhoods focus area will provide a final report in fall 2026 and return to this committee in December 2026.
- The Reducing Unsheltered Homelessness focus area will return to council in September 2026 with proposed revisions.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. Welcome to NSE. Good afternoon. So 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 include only commenting on specific agenda item and addressing the entire body. Public speaker will not engage in a conversation with the chair, council members, or staff. All members of the committee, staff and public are expected to refrain from abusive language, failure to comply with the code of conduct, which is which will disturb, disrupt, or impede the orderly conduct, will result in a removal from the meeting. This meeting of the neighborhood services and education committee will now come to order. Please uh call roll. Couples present, can they lose? Here. Casey. Here. Chair Ortiz, absent. You have a quorum. Thank you very much. Look like we uh welcome the group up there, students and I'm not sure which group you guys are, but welcome to NSE. Sorry, news commission. Didn't hear that one. Well, welcome to NSD. And thank you for all your hard work, by the way. So what do we have here? Today there's nothing on the consent calendar. Um, do we have any public comments? No public comment. All right, we'll go right to the news commission report. And we have a presentation. Good afternoon, Chair, Council members, and staff. My name is Naya Pradeep Kumar, and this is my third and final year representing District 2 on the San Jose Youth Commission. I had the pleasure of serving as the vice chair this year. Today I'm proud to present our annual work plan report for the fiscal year 2025 to 2026 alongside a few of our youth commissioners. The San Jose Youth Commission serves as the official advisory group to the mayor and city council, empowering and encouraging youth to be civically engaged through local and citywide events and initiatives. Our commission includes representatives from all ten districts plus a citywide seat. Together, we represent approximately 248,000 youth in San Jose, working to ensure their voices are heard in city government decision making. I had the pleasure of serving as the outreach officer this past year. This year, the youth commission implemented a focused outreach plan with a core objective of increasing the number of youth who are aware of the youth commission and participate in our YACs. We reached youth through social media, school distribution lists, local libraries, community centers, and council member newsletters, and we showed up in person at community events and hosted youth-led programming and summits. We measured progress through social media engagement, yak participation rates, and survey response numbers. Good afternoon, Chair, Council members, and staff. My name is Anushka Deshmuk, and this is my first year representing District 1 on the San Jose Youth Commission. I had the pleasure of serving as the communications officer this past year. The Youth Commission creates and distributes an annual survey to youth throughout San Jose. This year, the survey collected 653 responses. This slide shows a multi-year comparison of how youth responded to the statement the local city of San Jose government reflects youth priorities. This year's results are largely consistent with the prior years. About a third agreed in some form, with just 6.6% strongly agreeing and 26.5% somewhat agreeing, just over half selected neutral or unsure. Notably, strong disagreement has continued to decline, dropping to 3.8% this year from 6.4% in 2023 to 2024. That sustained neutral majority is not discouraging. It is actually an opportunity. It tells us there's real space to build awareness and trust among young people in the city.
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