Our Budget Agenda: Stand With Families!

Make a Choice: Stand With Families
Budget Agenda for FY 08-09

May 1, 2008

Dear Mayor Newsom and the Board of Supervisors, PLEASE SAY YES. Say “yes” to standing with families and finding alternatives to balancing the budget on the backs of San Francisco children, youth and families. The Family Budget Coalition consists of a broad range of over 50 agencies and networks in San Francisco, spanning neighborhoods, race, culture and language. Our coalition represents thousands of San Francisco’s low-income families who are in crisis, struggling to meet their basic needs on a day-to-day basis. And in this economy, with local and state projected budget cuts, life for the city’s families is only going to get harder. In the current budget climate, we have four priorities.

1. Stop the cuts and don’t balance the budget on the backs of kids. Preserve the city’s current investment in services and resources for children, youth and families in the city – the $103 million ‘true’ baseline, including all FY07-08 add-backs to children’s services.
   
2. Invest in long-term city budget solutions. Commit to working with city, community and business leaders to find solutions to the budget crisis, including new sources of revenue.
   
3. Strengthen the safety net for San Francisco’s poor and low-income families. Strengthen critical services for the almost 40,000 families in San Francisco who are challenged to meet their basic needs, by investing $5.5 million in: Rental subsidies- $900,000; Eviction prevention services- $225,000; Re-entry services- $500,000; Medical and behavioral health services for youth- $275,000; Child care workers’ wages- $2,000,000; and School readiness services- $1,600,000
4. Address gaps in essential services left by state cuts. Consider back-filling the holes in essential services for children, youth and families left by the state budget cuts.

The Family Budget Coalition understands that we are facing an extremely tough budget year, and we do not pretend to have all the answers. We also understand that a city’s budget reflects a city’s priorities. If this city can afford to invest in increased raises for our deserving civil servants, then the city can make a choice to stand with families to ensure that poor and low-income families struggling to survive in San Francisco have a strengthened safety net. For a complete copy of Coleman Advocates’ Family Budget Coalition FY08-09 Budget Agenda, go to www.colemanadvocates.org

For more information or questions about Coleman Advocates' Family Budget Coalition, please contact:
Chelsea Boilard
(415) 239-0161 x19
cboilard@colemanadvocates.org