This article originally appeared in the March-April 2002 issue of the Children's Advocate, published by Action Alliance for Children.

Communities Committed to Children

San Francisco: People power for kids

How does a city with the smallest percentage of children of any in America become a national model for supporting innovative children's programs? The answer, say San Franciscans, is people power.

By Melia Franklin

San Francisco is "the first city in the nation to guarantee funding for children's services," says former Supervisor Mabel Teng. San Francisco's outstanding children's policies include:

• The "Children's Amendment." A guarantee that a certain percentage of city funds go to children's services, the amendment inspired similar policies in Oakland, Denver, Tucson, and Westchester County, NY. Passed in 1991 by a 55-45 margin and renewed in 2000 by 74 percent of S.F. voters, the fund "put enormous resources into the infrastructure.for children," says Margaret Brodkin, executive director of Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth. In 2002 the fund is expected to provide $23 million to 180 programs serving 80,000 children.
  
  
• Support for early care and education. San Francisco was the first county to give cash awards to child care workers who get additional training-this year, $4 million in city, state, and Prop. 10 funds. The city will spend another $4 million to boost the income of low-paid child care workers. San Francisco also supports a Child Care Facilities Fund, which pays for expansion and development of child care facilities; mental health consultation at child care programs; and training and health benefits for family child care providers.
  
  
• Support for youth development. Initiatives include "Beacon Centers" serving families and youth at eight public schools and "Wellness Centers" providing health services in eight high schools.

How did they do it? Most child advocates agree with Linnea Klee, director of The Children's Council, that being "a progressive city" with "enlightened leadership" played a role. But, says Michele Rutherford, child care program manager for the Department of Human Services, "it's the public pressure that makes it progressive."

"People power"

"If you have people power, the city will respond," says Mauricio Vela, executive director of the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center. When Coleman Advocates first proposed the Children's Amendment in 1991, "We couldn't find a politician to put it on the ballot," recalls Brodkin. So the group organized a citywide petition campaign, enlisting community leaders and allies from the Catholic Church to the Green Party. After they collected over 68,000 signatures, "almost all politicians endorsed it," she adds.

Between that first campaign and the 2000 vote to reauthorize the fund, Coleman put "much more focus on getting a broader base of support," says Brodkin. It established two leadership development initiatives-Parent Advocates for Youth (PAY) and Youth Making a Change (YMAC)-and began working more closely with advocates for child care and school reform.

In the reauthorization campaign, Coleman mobilized neighborhood groups "to walk precincts and talk to people," says Vela. This year, he adds, more groups were "willing to step up and bring 10 people with them," because they had benefited from the fund's first 10 years.

Independent advocates

All agree that the Children's Amendment wouldn't have been possible without Coleman Advocates, an independent advocacy organization with staff and a 25-year track record. "Making sure policymakers are constantly on their toes and being held accountable-that's what Coleman does," says Rutherford.

"One of my crusades in life," says Brodkin, Coleman's director for 23 years, is to "convince every city to have an independent children's advocacy force." Funded by members and foundations, Coleman doesn't rely on government funds, so it's free from many pressures to compromise.

Running a city department, "I can't afford to alienate [city officials]," points out Cedric Yap, deputy director of the San Francisco Department of Children, Youth and Their Families (DCYF). "I say, 'Margaret, that's your job!'"

Partnerships

Advocates, says Yap, "can't do it alone. They need to bring in the providers, parents, youth, strong community leaders, faith leaders, business community, and the city."

• Parents and providers played a key role in winning stipends for child care workers. Agencies like Wu Yee Children's Services were effective in "talking to providers, having them talk to parents, mobilizing folks to tell their story," says Executive Director Linda Asato. "Out of all the advocates pushing for social services in San Francisco, child care leaders are very outspoken," says former Supervisor Teng. "Because they are so committed, they won me over."
  
  
• Unions bring resources and clout to community efforts. The teachers' union and Service Employees International Union Local 790, for example, provide key support-meeting space, bank account, mailing list, duplication-to San Franciscans Unified, the district's school reform coalition. And "when organized employees and organized parents come together, school district and other stakeholders have no choice but to come to the table," says Jill Wynns, president of the S.F. Board of Education.

A neutral forum

The Starting Points Initiative also makes a "huge difference," says Klee. Established six years ago as a part of a national Carnegie Foundation effort, Starting Points convenes 30 community and government organizations in an Early Childhood Interagency Council (ECIC). Before, says Cheryl Polk, executive director of the Miriam and Peter Haas Fund, "people just didn't talk to each other." With the ECIC, says Asato, the culture changed from, "'This adversary is trying to take my money,' to 'What are we going to do here to protect the lives of children?'"

Over time Starting Points also became "a forum to discuss advocacy strategies," says Brodkin. Recently Coleman organizers coached ECIC members on visiting the Board of Supervisors, says former co-chair Brenda Lopez, now head of DCYF. "Every Supervisor got a visit from five or six different groups of people-health, mental health, family support-[with] the same message."

Lessons

Show up: When Rosie Kennedy, president of the Family Child Care Association of San Francisco, realized that members needed more political clout, "We were everywhere. We went to see supervisors, we sit on every major planning body." The association was able to "get wins for family child care because we were at the table."

Speak up: "You really have to be in a politician's face day in and day out to make your voice heard," advises Teng. High-profile events, such as Coleman's Baby Brigade and "Speak Up for Kids" days, "highlight the needs of young children," she adds.

Forge alliances: For example, Coleman's decision to take on education issues was key to building support, says Wynns. Merging child and education advocates-usually separated by "an almost unbreachable wall," she says-"keeps them from being competitive" for funding and convinces politicians, "you've got to do it all."

Be constructive: Rather than just criticizing public institutions, "Coleman comes up with ideas to promote as alternatives," says Rutherford.

Tap the grassroots: Policymakers make children's issues a priority "when they see the support from regular people," not just the elite, says Norman Yee, former director of Wu Yee.

Don't give up: "What it's really going to take is political will and that doesn't happen overnight," says Yap. "You shouldn't be afraid of confrontation, of rocking the boat." 

Contact:

• Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth, 415-239-0161, www.colemanadvocates.org, produces advocacy tools, such as booklets and videos.
  
  
• San Francisco Department of Children, Youth and their Families, 415-554-8990, www.dcyf.org

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