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Santa Clara County recently released its Children’s Budget for the fiscal year 2023 that, based on the adopted budget, amounts to $1.09 billion in spending for services to finance children, youth and family programs.
“Year-over-year spending for the Children’s Budget increased by 3.5% in FY 2022-2023, the equivalent of more than $40 million in additional funding for the fiscal year,” the county’s press release stated.
The Children’s Budget, which accounts for 10% of the county’s total expenditures, will support programs established before the start of the pandemic and introduce new funding for services critically needed by children and families in the county.
County Executive Jeff Smith acknowledged the long-term challenges of the pandemic while recognizing the commitment of the community to assist its children and youth. “The pandemic has tested our resolve in countless ways over the past two and a half years. I am proud to say that, throughout this experience, our determination to protect, uplift and promote the success of our children never wavered,” he said in the budget preface.
The budget will fund nine new services and programs, including the expansion of an Employee Childcare Assistance Pilot Program, the expansion of a Summer Camp and Enrichment Program, a Youth Drop-in Center in downtown San Jose and a program known as the Children’s Roadmap to Recovery, which offers support services for children who lost a caregiver due to the pandemic.
