COUNTY OF SAN MATEO/ Youth and Family Enrichment Services

San Mateo County Youth Commission

MEMORANDUM

DATE: June 7^th, 2011

TO: Board of Supervisors

FROM: Seren Pendleton-Knoll, Program Coordinator

SUBJECT: Annual Report of the Youth Commission

The purpose of this memo is to provide a brief annual update to your committee on the work of the Youth Commission.

Background

In 1993, the Board of Supervisors established Resolution 57588, which created the San Mateo County Youth Commission. This was then amended by the adopted Resolution 59609 in 1995. The purpose of the Commission is to advise the Board of Supervisors on issues by including youth on San Mateo County Boards and Commissions.

The Youth Commission is a group of young people ages 14 to 21 who reside or attend school in San Mateo County. They come together to exchange ideas, work on projects, research, advocate youth issues, and advise county officials on youth perspective. The Commission works to ensure that all youth are represented in San Mateo County.

Discussion

This memorandum provides information on the accomplishments of the Youth Commission FY 2010-2011 and the priorities of the Commission for FY 2011-2012. This report highlights the projects that many of the Youth Commissioners have worked on, as well as the actions that have taken place in restructuring the Youth Commission in order to assure both the sustainability of the Commission, as well as its overall effectiveness.

Some of the Youth Commission project highlights include:

§ The Policy Track conducted 11 interviews of county youth currently in AOD treatment about the reasons why they started and continued drinking. These interviews were then turned into a 20 min audio documentary entitled "A Temporary Happiness: A Film Examining Alcohol Use with Teens in San Mateo County". This was accompanied by a facilitator's packet that they created for classrooms and group therapy. The entire project was presented at the San Mateo County Youth Conference, and will be presented throughout the county.

§ The project created by Donald Livingston on the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Prevention Commission was a suicide prevention and awareness workshop done for the entire 10th grade class at Summit Prep High School. Various BHRS employees came to talk about the signs of depression, had a film viewing, and arranged for small group discussions about how to identify the signs and how to approach an individual who's suicidal. 94% of attendees said that they would recommend this workshop to other high school students.

§ A workshop created by Mia Semelman on the Commission on the Status of Women was entitled "The Words We Use Against Women" and was presented at the San Mateo County Youth Conference. It was a 50 minute workshop which examined the etymology of three derogatory words used against women; looked at the media's positive depictions of these words; and created activities to spark discussion and awareness.

§ A brochure created by Sylvia Chen on the First 5 San Mateo County Commission (F5SMC) outlined the harmful effects of second- and third-hand smoke and was so useful that F5SMC hired a professional graphic designer and printed over 18,000 copies with support from the SMC Office of Education (SMCOE). The brochure was sponsored by F5SMC, SMCOE, SMC Youth Commission and the SMC Tobacco Education Coalition.

The Commission’s focus on reaching a higher level of effectiveness has resulted in:

§ The development of a “Procedural Subcommittee”, to review the current by-laws and create a new format for the Youth Commission

§ The election of Chairs for the upcoming year in the Spring to allow for training over the summer

§ The development of the San Mateo County Youth Conference, to bring voices of all youth in the county to a greater audience

§ The requirement that all Youth Commissioners attend at least one meeting on the opposite track to raise awareness and foster greater collaboration

§ The implementation of an Adult Ally training to allow for stronger youth development practices throughout the Boards and Commissions

§ Presentations to four new Boards and Commissions to establish placements for next year and to increase youth participation throughout the county

The Commission’s proposed activities for the FY 2011-2012 include

§ Implementation of an August Board and Commission Mixer for Youth Commissioner’s and potential Boards and Commissions to allow for input from both sides on placement assignments

§ Introduce a third meeting every month for all Commissioners, which will serve as a time for trainings and work groups

§ The swearing-in of new Youth Commissioners to occur in October, as oppose to the traditional January, for earlier voting abilities for all members

§ Focus the Public Meetings on addressing youth concerns in the County and on providing recommendations to the Board of Supervisors and the County Boards and Commissions on youth related issues

§ Increase geographic diversity, so all five districts have at least one youth representation. Implement meetings with the respective Supervisor to bring local youth issues to the Commission

Fiscal Impact

There is no impact on the County General Fund associated with this Annual Report of the Youth Commission.