(a) Purpose. As provided in Charter Section 16.108-1, there shall be a Children, Youth and Their Families Oversight and Advisory Committee ("Oversight and Advisory Committee" or "Committee") to review the governance and policies of the Department of Children, Youth and Their Families ("DCYF"), and to take steps to ensure that the Children and Youth Fund ("Fund") is administered in a manner accountable to the community.
The Oversight and Advisory Committee replaces the Children's Fund Citizens Advisory Committee formerly established by Charter Section 16.108(n) as adopted by the voters in November 2000. Subsection (n) was repealed and the advisory committee terminated by operation of law upon the adoption of Proposition C by the voters in November 2014.
(1) The Oversight and Advisory Committee shall develop recommendations for DCYF regarding outcomes for children and youth services, the evaluation of services, common data systems, processes for making funding decisions, program improvement and capacity-building of service providers, community engagement in planning and evaluating services, leveraging dollars of the Fund and the use of the Fund as a catalyst for innovation.
(2) The Oversight and Advisory Committee shall promote transparency for the Fund and its processes.
(3) Pursuant to Charter Section 16.108, the Oversight and Advisory Committee shall review and approve the planning process for the Children and Youth Fund Community Needs Assessment ("CNA") and final CNA, the Services and Allocation Plan (SAP), and the annual Data and Evaluation Report.
(4) The Oversight and Advisory Committee shall review and approve DCYF's overall annual budget expenditures (including the approval of grants as a package, work orders, supplemental funds, and add-back funds), and shall conduct a mid-year budget review each year to prepare for the following year's budget process and may request budget information as necessary for any of its meetings. The Committee shall review best practices developed or identified by DCYF and its Director for the grant-making process, including add-back and supplemental funding, and for interdepartmental work orders. These practices shall be designed to promote, among other things, transparency and accountability in the grant-making process and coordination with the Children and Youth Fund SAP and CNA. The Committee shall review any changes or adjustments in revenue to the Children and Youth Fund and the Baseline as defined in Section 16.108. Nothing in this Section shall limit the authority of the Mayor and Board of Supervisors to propose, amend, and adopt a budget under Article IX of the Charter.
(5) The Oversight and Advisory Committee shall participate in the evaluation of the Director of DCYF and assist in recruitment for the Director when the position is vacant, and may recommend candidates to the Mayor for appointment.
(7) The Oversight and Advisory Committee shall confer with the Director of DCYF at least once a year on DCYF's effectiveness and impact.
(c) Meetings. The Oversight and Advisory Committee shall meet at least six times each calendar year. Any member who fails to attend at least half of the meetings in a calendar year shall be deemed to have resigned from the Committee.
(d) Composition. As provided in Charter Section 16.108-1, the Mayor shall appoint members for Seats l, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 on the Oversight and Advisory Committee; the Board of Supervisors shall appoint members for Seats 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 on the Committee. The Mayor's appointments shall take effect 30 days after transmittal of the Mayor's notice of appointment to the Board of Supervisors. The Board of Supervisors may hold a public hearing on each of the Mayor's appointees to the Committee. If a vacancy occurs in any seat on the Committee, the appointing authority for the vacated seat shall appoint a successor.
(e) Qualifications of Members. Members of the Oversight and Advisory Committee shall possess the following qualifications:
Seat 1: A youth 19 years old or younger at the time of appointment for the term, recommended to the Mayor by the Youth Commission. Because this Committee member may be younger than 18 years at the time of appointment, this member is not subject to the requirement of Charter Section 4.101(a)(2) that members be electors of the City and County unless and until the member reaches the age of 18 years.
Seat 2: The same qualifications as for Seat 1.
Seat 3: A parent or guardian of a youth, which youth, at the time of the member's appointment for the term, is under the age of 18 years and enrolled in the San Francisco Unified School District. This Committee member shall have demonstrated commitment to improving access to and quality of services for children, youth, and families.
Seat 4: A person with expertise or substantial experience working in services and programs for children ages 5 and younger.
Seat 5: A person with expertise or substantial experience working in the field of children and youth services in communities that are low-income or underserved.
Seat 6: A person who has demonstrated commitment to improving access and quality of services for children, youth, and families in communities that are low-income or underserved.
Seat 7: A person who is a Disconnected Transitional-Aged Youth, as that term is used in Charter Section 16.108, 18 through 24 years of age at the time of appointment, and who is familiar with the issues and challenges faced by Disconnected Transitional-Aged Youth and with services, programs, and systems for them.
Seat 8: A parent or guardian of a child, which child is enrolled in kindergarten through 8th grade at the time of the member's appointment for the term. This Committee member shall be from a low-income community or have expertise or substantial experience working to promote the interests of communities of color and shall have demonstrated a commitment to improving access and quality of services for children, youth, and families.
Seat 9: A parent or guardian of a child, which child, at the time of the member's appointment for the term, is under the age of 5 years and enrolled in a publicly-subsidized or City-funded program. This Committee member shall have demonstrated a commitment to improving access and quality of services for children, youth, and families.
Seat 10: A person with expertise or substantial experience working in the field of children and youth services in communities that are low-income or under served.
Seat 11: A person who has demonstrated commitment to improving access to and quality of services for children, youth, and families.
In addition to the stated qualifications for each seat on the Committee, current City employees who are at the department head or deputy department head level of authority, SFUSD employees who are at the Director or Assistant Superintendent level of authority or higher, and current employees or members of the boards of directors of organizations where DCYF is the decision-maker for funding may not serve as members of the Oversight and Advisory Committee. For purposes of this subsection (e), a part-time intern with a DCYF-funded organization who is 24 years old or younger shall not be considered an employee of that organization.
(f) Timing of Appointments; Measuring Terms; First Meeting. The Mayor and the Board of Supervisors shall appoint the initial members of the Committee by July l, 2015. The appointing authorities are encouraged to make their respective application processes as open and transparent as possible.
The terms of the initial appointees shall commence on the date of the first meeting of the Committee, which may occur when at least eight members have been appointed, and no later than July 1, 2015. Terms of Committee members shall be measured from the date of the first Committee meeting.
(g) Term Limits. Members may not serve more than two consecutive two-year terms, except that the members initially appointed to Seats 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11, while remaining eligible to serve a consecutive second-two year term, shall serve for a first term of three years. For the purpose of these term limits, serving more than half of a term shall count as serving a full term on the Committee.
(h) Committee Operations. At its first meeting, which, as subsection (f) states, shall be no later than July 1, 2015, the Oversight and Advisory Committee shall select a Chair and Vice-Chair. Thereafter, the Oversight and Advisory Committee shall adopt bylaws governing its meetings and operations.
(i) Staffing. DCYF shall provide sufficient staffing for the Oversight and Advisory Committee and the Service Provider Working Group referenced in Section 2A.234. The Youth Commission shall provide support to the Committee members in Seats l, 2, and 7 in areas such as training in city government operations, policy analysis and development, and public outreach.