SACRAMENTO -- Nearly $18 million in child and youth services funding is in limbo as the Sacramento City Council has not voted to approve how the funding is given out.
The money comes from voter-approved Measure L in 2022 to establish the Sacramento Children's Fund. The measure requires the city to divert 40% of its local cannabis tax revenues to child and youth services, prioritizing those most impacted by poverty, violence and trauma.
It was approved three years ago, but in 2025, nonprofits are still waiting to receive the funding promised as part of this initiative.The council is considering two options: one would fund a total of 24 programs and projects that address all five fund goals; the second would fund 16 programs and projects that address 4/5 fund goals.The total funding is $17.9 million.
Mónica Ruelas Mares, the chair of the Sacramento Children's Fund Planning and Oversight Commission, said the continued delays "undermine the public's trust in the process" and come at the expense of the city's youth. Mares said:
"Just in the past week there have been two incidents of youth firearm violence, one of which resulted in the death of a 15 year old. Even more since the fund was passed. When we think of the future we want for our kids I hope that the city council sees investing in youth programs and services as a priority and not an afterthought, this is what the voters asked our city to do! We must deliver on that promise. We need to keep our kids in mind as we move along this process, they do not have the luxury of time."
Mares references the death of a 15-year-old boy on Tuesday night in Sacramento's Meadowview neighborhood. The teen was shot and died at the hospital, Sacramento police confirmed on Wednesday. "If the city is ours, anytime something happens, we should all take responsibility," said Darrell Roberts, CEO and co-founder of the Roberts Family Development Center. Roberts has decades of experience in youth violence prevention and the community organization has been selected to receive some of the Sacramento children's funding. The nonprofit provides wrap-around services for more than 500 students, families, and their communities in at least seven high-risk neighborhoods in Sacramento.
The nonprofit provides academic and social support to students from economically disadvantaged families. These students often struggle to keep up in school, leading to a widening achievement gap that is intensified by summer learning loss. Without intervention, many face a future marked by limited education, poverty, involvement with the justice system, chronic health problems, and persistent stress.The added funding from the city, along with school district and private sector support, will allow their organization to grow the mission and serve more students, Roberts said."Equity requires us to spend more in the neighborhoods where more is needed," said Roberts. In the summer, the services offered by Roberts Family Development Center expand to five days a week. Monday through Friday, students are given positive opportunities, Roberts said, where their families know they are safe and learning. He notes, however, that while hundreds of Sacramento's youth benefit from the program, there are thousands more who do not have the opportunity when school is out. "Anybody who wants to talk about the budget, our priority is not on young people, our priority is in other places. Which at the end of the day is why we have so many challenges in our neighborhoods, and why the summer becomes a hotbed of activities that are not always positive," said Roberts.
Discussion on this issue at the city council level has been split amongst some council members, specifically, on whether to delay the vote from the May 20th City Council meeting to June. "I just want more information and make sure we can make a sound decision for our kids," said Councilmember Karina Talamantes.
"We're spending all this time when we can really be talking about making sure that we're fighting more for young people in the general budget," said Councilmember Mai Vang. On June 10, the Sacramento City Council is expected to take up the issue of Sacramento Children's Funding once again. If they vote to pass the program, contract negotiations will begin, according to Mares.
Any contracts that are more than $249,999 a year require city council approval. Ultimately, after a passing vote, the organizations could still have four to eight weeks until they receive the funding.
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