Greetings, D4 residents -
As the seasons change and the weather warms (and hopefully includes spring showers), my team and I have enjoyed the additional opportunities to spend time in the community. While it is always important to celebrate culture and achievements, it has been even more rewarding to gather in-person this month for celebrations of Holi and Women's History Month.
As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to my office if we can be of help to you in any way. In the meantime, you can find updates below on Board actions from this month.
*We recently added a landing page for more in-depth explanations of initiatives on which I have led, or issues voted on by the Board which residents may want to understand in greater detail. This link will take you to that page. This month's post expands on the Caregiver Returnship Initiative.
Caregiver Returnship Initiative
At the March 22 Board of Supervisors meeting, I presented a referral to establish a Caregiver Return-To-Work Program for County jobs. During the pandemic women lost around 5.4 million jobs, about a million more than men lost. When children were distance learning, it was mothers who frequently helped facilitate those Zoom classes. Women also tend to perform a greater portion of elder care, which was true before Covid and continues to be true today.
While women have historically been more involved in childcare and elder care, this, along with many other societal inequities, was exacerbated by COVID-19’s impacts. I am hopeful this “Returnship” program will enable those caregivers who want to get back to work find a re-entry point. I look forward to hearing staff's presentation of the details of the program in May.
You can read the full referral here, and you can also read more in coverage of the referral by ABC7 News and KRON4.
Alternatives to Incarceration Workgroups
Back in January, the Board unanimously approved my referral to initiate three workgroups in response to ongoing input from the community that we need, to the greatest extent safely possible, to keep people out of custody prior to the disposition of their cases.
Those programs and services are often referred to as Alternatives to Incarceration (ATIs). To be clear, their intent is to ensure that people show up for court dates and do not inflict harm while waiting for their cases to move through the system. ATIs also provide needed support to maintain employment, family and housing stability. The evidence that greater trauma is often inflicted or incurred when people are held in custody pretrial is strong and this work is designed to keep everyone - victims of harm, the general public and those charged with doing harm – SAFE.
Over the course of a year, the three workgroups will bring together justice system-impacted community members, County departments, and community-based organizations to collaboratively develop recommendations for scaling current ATIs that have proven effective, investigate other programs that may be in use in other Counties, and make specific recommendations to the Board of Supervisors to fund those programs and services which will achieve the stated goals.
I invite you to join us in this momentous effort. If you would like to participate or receive updates on the ATI workgroups, please sign up here.
Inventory Application Process
The application period to apply for inventory grants will be open from April 1 to April 13, 2022. To qualify for consideration organizations must be registered as a 501(c)3 non-profit entity; be located within Santa Clara County or serving the residents of Santa Clara County; and serve the mission of the County of Santa Clara (to plan for the needs of a dynamic community, provide quality services, and promote a healthy, safe and prosperous community for all).
My office is interested in projects located in District 4 that align with legislative priorities: children and families, alternatives to incarceration, mental health and substance use disorder treatment. Applications will be ranked through a quantitative process with final decisions at my discretion. If fully approved by the Board of Supervisors, grantees will receive checks in late July/early August 2022 and funds must be spent by June 31, 2023.
Please email Heidi Owens at heidi.owens@bos.sccgov.org if you would like to apply for inventory grant funding or have questions about the process.
As we return to in-person gatherings, please feel free to send an invitation to my office for me to attend your community event. I enjoy being out in the community with residents and look forward to seeing you all soon.
I and my team are here for you.
Be well,
Susan
