San Francisco's landmark initiative to fund children's services.
In 1991, San Francisco became the first city in the country to guarantee funding for children each year in the city budget. This was achieved by amending the city charter with what has become known as "The Children's Amendment." This groundbreaking amendment was reauthorized in November, 2000, when it passed by 74%. The Children's Amendment created a Children's Fund by setting aside 3% of the property tax; mandated a Children's Baseline Budget, which prevented budget cuts to the amount allocated to children's services; and put in place the most comprehensive planning process for children's services in the nation. Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth spearheaded the drafting of both versions of the Children's Amendment, and led the campaigns to get them passed by the electorate.
Communities all over the country have replicated Coleman's work, including Oakland, Tuscon, and Westchester County, New York. A complete story of the 1991 initiative has been written, Sandboxes to Ballot Boxes, and is available from Coleman. (See Resources below.)
The Children's Amendment has been an unqualified success. During the first nine years of the amendment, over $140 million from the Children's Fund was spent on children's programming. In 2000 almost 80,0000 children were served in 180 programs. An independent evaluation of the fund conducted in 1997 revealed that 95% of youth surveyed felt that the Children's Fund program they were attending was helpful to them. Since the passage of the Children's Amendment, the health and well-being of the City's children and youth have improved. The San Francisco children's services system would look very different without the Children's Amendment, which provided the resources for ideas to become new and innovative programs.
- The Children's Amendment Campaign of 1991
- What we learned about advocacy for children from our work on The Children's Amendment:
- Outcomes of The Children's Amendment
- Elements of the new, revised legislation (Proposition D):
- Poll results on The Children's Amendment
- Highlights of the Proposition D campaign
- Coleman's continuing role in the implementation of the Children's Amendment
- Connection to language of Children's Amendment in SF City Charter (section 16.108 of the SF City Charter)
- "Sandboxes to Ballot Boxes: San Francisco's Landmark Campaign to Fund Children's Services" by Margaret Brodkin. Please call 415-239-0161 for a copy.
- "Making a Difference for San Francisco's Children: The First Nine Years of the Children's Amendment"
- Department of Children, Youth and their Families is the city agency which oversees the Children's Amendment. Go to www.dcyf.org for more information on the implementation of the Children's Amendment and the Children's Baseline Budget.