San Francisco Youth Commission is a diverse group of San Francisco youth, ages 15-23 who come from across the city and serve as the official voice of the city's youth. They are appointed by the Board of Supervisors and May and work to accurately represent and advocate for the needs and wants of the City's youth.
[Transition Youth Task Force] [Resolution No. 0405-005]
WHEREAS, youth ages 18 - 25 have specific developmental needs; and
WHEREAS, nearly 22 million young adults throughout the nation live at home with one or both parents because they cannot support themselves given the high cost of housing and the low wages available in entry-level jobs; and
WHEREAS, the rate of unemployment for high school dropouts is 212% higher than that of high school graduates, and almost 50 percent of young adults without a high school diploma or GED are chronically unemployed or underemployed; and
WHEREAS, employment rates for 16 - 24 year olds are at a historic low; and
WHEREAS, over the next five years, almost 800 young people in San Francisco will "age-out" or emancipate from foster care and will be left to suddenly fend for themselves in one of the world's most expensive cities; and
WHEREAS, of former foster youth, statewide over 65% are homeless on the day that they leave foster care, 25% have historically been incarcerated within the first two years immediately following emancipation, nearly 33% youth will be on public assistance shortly after aging out of the system, nearly 50% suffer from chronic health conditions such as asthma, dental decay, and malnutrition, only 9% attend higher education with only 1% graduating; and
WHEREAS, although most youth mature with age, the maturing process for those incarcerated in the juvenile justice system slows considerably; and
WHEREAS, the incarceration rate for young adults aged 20 - 24 nearly doubled in the last decade, from 652 to 1173 per 100,000; and
WHEREAS, While statistics that track the lives and progress of chronically homeless youth, youth without stable housing (i.e. "couch surfing"), and youth living in abusive households are hard to come by, these are constituents of the Youth Commission, Board of Supervisors and Mayor; and
WHEREAS; While Mayor Newsom has repeatedly stated that ending chronic homelessness in San Francisco is a top priority of his administration, and emancipated foster youth, homeless youth and youth without stable housing have great difficulty succeeding in higher education and in maintaining steady employment; and
WHEREAS; While Mayor Newsom said, "Improving the quality of life in the south-eastern portion of San Francisco has been one of the top priorities of my administration," and 70 percent of youth in the foster care system are African American and many are from District 10, which includes the south-eastern portion of San Francisco; and
WHEREAS; The City Charter states that the responsibilities of the Youth Commission can be expanded through an ordinance from either the Mayor or the Board of Supervisors; so, therefore be it
RESOLVED: That the San Francisco Youth Commission urges the Mayor to ordain a Transitional Youth Task Force, to address the needs of affected 18 - 25 year olds in the City and County of San Francisco, following the structure detailed in the attached document.
MAX LANTZ, CHAIR
SAN FRANCISCO YOUTH COMMISSION
Download Article PDF