25 - 28
Strategic Plan
2025-2028
OAKLAND FUND FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH
Strategic Plan 2025-2028
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 4 INTRODUCTION ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................ 5 WHO WE ARE ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................... 6 PLANNING AND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE (POC) .................................................................................................................... 7 VISION, MISSION, VALUES, AND RACIAL EQUITY STATEMENT .................................................................................................... 7 GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT ............................................................................................................... 8 STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS................................ ................................ ................................ ......................... 8 OFCY’S ROLE IN THE CHILD AND YOUTH SERVICES LANDSCAPE ................................................................................................. 8 STRATEGIC PLAN METHODOLOGY......................................................................................................................................10 COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT .....................................................................................................................................10 RELEASE OF FUNDS.........................................................................................................................................................12 MEETING THIS MOMENT IN TIME IN OAKLAND ................................ ................................ ................................ ..12 WHAT IS CHANGING FOR OAKLAND’S CHILDREN AND YOUTH ..................................................................................................12 COMMUNITY PRIORITIES..................................................................................................................................................15 OFCY INVESTMENT STRATEGIES FOR FY 25 – 28 ................................ ................................ ................................ .18 SUMMARY OF INVESTMENT STRATEGIES .............................................................................................................................18 JUSTIFICATION OF FUNDING ALLOCATION............................................................................................................................19 STRATEGY 1: FAMILY RESOURCE CENTERS AND PARENT ENGAGEMENT .....................................................................................21 STRATEGY 2: ELEMENTARY SCHOOL-BASED EXPANDED LEARNING ...........................................................................................23 STRATEGY 3: MIDDLE SCHOOL-BASED EXPANDED LEARNING ..................................................................................................26 STRATEGY 4: YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND LEADERSHIP ..........................................................................................................28 STRATEGY 5: CAREER ACCESS AND EMPLOYMENT.................................................................................................................30 STRATEGY 6: YOUTH SUMMER JOBS ..................................................................................................................................33 STRATEGY 7: INDEPENDENT LIVING ....................................................................................................................................35 STRATEGY 8: PLACE-BASED INNOVATIONS FOR YOUTH SAFETY ................................................................................................37 OFCY SYSTEMS STRATEGIES FOR FY 25 – 28 ................................ ................................ ................................ .......39 STRENGTHEN CROSS-DEPARTMENT PARTNERSHIPS ...............................................................................................................39 STREAMLINE CITY CONTRACTING.......................................................................................................................................39 EXPAND YOUTH-LED PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH .......................................................................................................40 EMBED RACIAL EQUITY STATEMENT AND APPROACH.............................................................................................................40 IMPROVE DATA COLLECTION AND EVALUATION DESIGN .........................................................................................................40 STRENGTHEN COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP ...........................................................................................................................40 FOSTER CBO CAPACITY BUILDING .....................................................................................................................................40 APPENDIX A: SUMMARY OF OFCY GOAL AREAS, STRATEGIES AND FUNDING ALLOCATIONS ................................ ...41 APPENDIX B: ACRONYMS ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..42
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Oakland Fund for Children and Youth (OFCY) is a critical funder in the ecosystem of child and youth services in Oakland. While other city and county agencies and funders focus on one age group, such as early childhood (e.g., First 5 Alameda County, Head Start), school age youth (e.g. Oakland Unified School District), or older youth (e.g., Office of Economic and Workforce Development), OFCY is unique in its breadth, as it supports community-based organizations that serve young people from birth to 21 years of age. OFCY receives a 3% allocation of the General Purpose Fund to distribute through grants to community-based organizations in service of its four goal areas: Healthy Development of Young Children 0-5, Children’s Success in School, Youth Development and Violence Prevention, and Transitions to Adulthood.
The Kids First! Oakland Children’s Trust Fund was established by the voter-approved Kids First! Initiative in 1996. It required the City of Oakland to allocate 2.5% of its annual unrestricted General Purpose Fund revenue to provide services and programming to support children and youth. In 2009, Oakland voters reauthorized the Oakland Children’s Fund (known as the Oakland Fund for Children and Youth, or OFCY) for the next 12 years (2009–2020) through Measure D, which required Oakland to designate 3% of its unrestricted General Purpose Fund revenues to continue these efforts. In 2020, the Oakland City Council reauthorized the fund for a third 12-year period, beginning July 1, 2021 and continuing through June 30, 2033. OFCY is administered by the city’s Human Services Department.1
Every three years, OFCY is required to complete a Community Needs Assessment (CNA) and Strategic Plan to inform its funding priorities. OFCY’s CNA illustrates the state of children, youth, and families in Oakland through a review of publicly available data sources and an analysis of community input from youth, families, and stakeholders. In support of the City of Oakland’s racial equity goals, the CNA gathers disaggregated data to understand current conditions and ensure that the OFCY program design is sufficiently informed by and calibrated to the needs of underserved populations and those who have historically not been served. OFCY conducted the CNA in the spring and summer of 2024. The CNA relied on three core methodologies to identify the strengths, needs, and priorities of children, youth, and families in Oakland. The methodologies consisted of meetings and interviews with core system partners in Oakland and Alameda County, community and youth input forums, and a review of publicly available quantitative data sources. The Planning and Oversight Commission (POC) reviewed the results of the CNA and provided guidance throughout the development of the strategies outlined in this plan.
OFCY 2025-2028 FUNDING PRIORITIES
The 2025-2028 OFYC Strategic Plan includes eight strategies that advance the four OFCY goals outlined in the enabling ordinance: Healthy Development of Young Children, Children’s Success in School, Youth Development and Violence Prevention, and Transitions to Adulthood. OFCY is a prevention funder and works to address gaps and emergent needs based on the results of community input and changes in the funding landscape for youth services in Oakland.
This Strategic Plan represents a shift for OFCY toward prioritizing funding for programs and services that reach older youth in Oakland. The CNA showed that older youth in Oakland are in need of significant investment and support. The ripple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to create challenges for older youth who experienced significant disruption to their academics, mental health, and social emotional skills.
1 https://www.ofcy.org/assets/Uploads/13588-CMS.pdf
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As a result, OFCY is prioritizing the following areas of strategic focus and investment:
▪ Increasing investment in strategies supporting transitions to adulthood ▪ Adding a new strategy focused on youth safety and increasing funding to support prevention and intervention
▪ Increasing investments in youth development to foster joy, connection, social emotional learning and belonging
The funding allocation, age group and equity outcome for each strategy are outlined in the table below.
OFCY Investment Strategy FY 25 – 28 Funding
Allocation
Age Group
Served
Equity Outcome for Children
and Youth Living in Equity
Zones
1. Family Resource Centers
(FRCs) and Parent Engagement
8%–13% 0 – 5 Families can access FRCs in
their local communities.
2. Elementary School-Based
Expanded Learning
8%–13% Elementary
school age
Every child has access to free
school-based after-school
programs in elementary
school.
3. Middle School-Based
Expanded Learning
10%–15% Middle
school age
Every child has access to free
school-based after-school
programs in middle school
4. Youth Development and
Leadership
30%–35% Middle &
high school
age
Youth have access to free
high-quality youth
development programs in
the summer and year-round.
5. Career Access and
Employment
12%–17% Ages 15 -
21 Youth have increased access
to paid work opportunities
and jobs.
6. Youth Summer Jobs 6%–11% Ages 15 -
21 Youth have increased access
to paid work over the
summer.
7. Independent Living 3%–8% Ages 15 -
21 Youth have increased access
to income, benefits, and
supportive services.
8. Place Based Innovations for
Safety
10%–15% Middle and
high school
age, as
well as TAY
Youth demonstrating early
warning indicators have
improved engagement in
school, work, and community
activities.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This Strategic Plan was made possible thanks to the insights, knowledge, and dedication of many public servants, community-based organizations, and young people who live in and love Oakland.
We want to extend special thanks to OFCY’s city and county partners, who shared their own strategic plans and offered their ideas on how OFCY’s Strategic Plan could address essential gaps in services in Oakland. This plan would not have been possible without the support and partnership of the following public servants: Dr. Holly Joshi at the Department of Violence Prevention; Martha Peña at OUSD Expanded Learning Programs; Sofia Navarro at the Oakland Office of Economic and Workforce Development; Jennifer Cabán at the Oakland Children’s Initiative; Fred Kelley, Justice Bolden, and Harith Aleem at Oakland Parks, Recreation & Youth Development; LaTonda Simmons at the Oakland City Administrator’s Office; Brooklyn Williams at the City of Oakland Office of the Mayor; and Martina Bouey and Cindy King with the Oakland Human Services Department.
We want to extend special thanks to the Oakland-based, community-based organizations that serve children, youth, and families tirelessly every day and that have showed up to multiple input sessions, completed surveys, and distributed surveys and other input opportunities to children, youth, and families.
Thank you for your service to Oakland.
The authors also want to give extra special thanks to Robin Love, Child and Youth Services Manager for the City of Oakland Human Services Department. Robin’s dedication to the children, youth, and families of Oakland, and her steadfast determination to advocate on their behalf, is a beacon of hope in the context of the City of Oakland’s difficult fiscal climate.
We also want to thank the OFCY Planning and Oversight Committee (POC) for hosting several community input sessions throughout the community and for their input for and oversight of this work. We are grateful to the Oakland Youth Commission and Youth Leadership Institute for sharing the findings from their youth participatory action research project to inform the development of this Strategic Plan.
Authorship
This report was prepared by Bright Research Group and authored by Kristina Bedrossian and Brightstar Ohlson, with additional editing support from Kristin Owyang Gage and Carol Lee. Development of the report was overseen by Robin Love, Child and Youth Services Manager for the City of Oakland Human Services Department. The City of Oakland funded the research and writing of this report.
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INTRODUCTION
The Oakland Fund for Children and Youth (OFCY) is a critical funder in the ecosystem of child and youth services in Oakland. While other city and county agencies and funders focus on a specific age group, such as early childhood (e.g., First 5 Alameda County, Head Start), school age youth (e.g., Oakland Unified School District), or older youth (e.g., Office of Economic and Workforce Development), OFCY is unique in its breadth, as it funds community-based organizations that serve young people from birth to 21 years of age.
Every three years, OFCY is required to complete a Community Needs Assessment (CNA) and Strategic Plan to inform its funding priorities. The Planning and Oversight Committee (POC) provides guidance and approves OFCY’s Strategic Plan before going forward to the Oakland City Council for consideration. The 2025-2028 Strategic Plan is anchored in the findings from the CNA, which was conducted in the spring and summer of 2024. OFCY’s CNA illustrates the state of children, youth, and families in Oakland through a review of publicly available data sources and an analysis of community input from youth, families, and stakeholders. In support of the City of Oakland’s racial equity goals, the CNA gathers disaggregated data to understand current conditions and ensure that OFCY’s investment strategies are sufficiently informed by and calibrated to the needs of underserved populations and those who have historically not been served.
This Strategic Plan summarizes OFCY’s funding strategies for FY 2025—2028, permitted activities and the intended outcomes associated with each strategy. The Strategic Plan also provides a brief rationale, a description of how these funding strategies are responsive to the findings from the CNA, and an explanation of how OFCY will align and partner with other initiatives and institutions vested in achieving shared goals for children, youth and families. This Strategic Plan will inform the development of Requests for Proposals (RFPs) that will be released in the 2025 calendar year.
East Oakland Youth Development Center
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WHO WE ARE
OFCY was established in 1996, when Oakland voters passed the Kids First! Initiative (Measure K), an amendment to the City Charter, to support direct services to youth under 21 years of age. In 2009, Measure D replaced Measure K and reauthorized funding for OFCY for an additional 12 years (2009- 2021). Measure D established OFCY funds as 3% of the city's unrestricted General Purpose Fund and required a three-year Strategic Plan to guide the allocation of funds. In 2020, the Oakland City Council reauthorized the fund for a third 12-year cycle (2021-2033).
Since its inception in 1996, OFCY has supported a variety of essential services and programs for Oakland’s children, youth, and families, with a particular focus on reaching communities that experience disparate outcomes. OFCY’s partnership with city agencies and departments, OUSD, and community-based organizations, has led to the creation of many new initiatives, filled gaps in services, subsidized costs, and expanded programming in early childcare, after-school, summer care, youth development, youth workforce development, and more.
OFCY is a program of the City of Oakland and is housed within the Human Services Department. The City Charter stipulates that 90% of OFCY’s funds must support the provision of eligible direct services for children, youth, and families in Oakland. Eligible services must be used to support work in the following four goal areas:
1. Healthy Development of Young Children: “Support the healthy development of young children through preschool education, school-readiness programs, physical and behavioral health services, parent education, and case management.”
2. Student Success in School: “Help children and youth succeed in school and graduate high school through after-school academic support and college readiness programs, arts, music, sports, outdoor education, internships, work experience, parent education, and leadership development, including civic engagement, service learning, and arts expression.”
3. Youth Development and Violence Prevention: “Prevent and reduce violence, crime, and gang involvement among children and youth through case management, physical and behavioral health services, internships, work experience, outdoor education, and leadership development, including civic engagement, service learning, and arts expression.”
4. Transitions to Adulthood: “Help youth transition to productive adulthood through case management, physical and behavioral health services, hard-skills training and job placement in high-demand industries, internships, work experience, and leadership development, including civic engagement, service learning, and arts expression.”2
2 Oakland City Charter Article XIII: Kids First! Oakland Children’s Fund
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Planning and Oversight Committee (POC)
The Planning and Oversight Committee (POC) is the public body that oversees OFCY. The POC is comprised of 17 Oakland residents. Each of the eight city councilmembers appoints one youth and one adult, and the Office of the Mayor appoints one representative. The POC meets on the first and/or third Wednesday of the month at 6:00 p.m. at Oakland City Hall, in Hearing Room 4 on the second floor, unless otherwise noticed. All POC meetings are open to the public. The POC provided guidance for the 2025- 2028 Strategic Plan.
Vision, Mission, Values, and Racial Equity Statement
VISION All children and youth in Oakland will thrive and have the support of the entire community to lead safe, healthy, and productive lives.
MISSION OFCY provides strategic funding to support Oakland's children and youth from birth to 21 years of age so they can become healthy, happy, educated, engaged, powerful and loved community members.
CORE VALUES
Social and Economic Equity—All children and youth have a fundamental right to a safe and healthy life and a quality education. We value the concerted application of our resources toward those youth who are in greatest need.
Child and Youth Development—We support efforts to promote the social, emotional, physical, cognitive, and spiritual development of children to instill individual and community pride and leadership.
Community and Collaboration—We embrace the idea that by pooling our resources and working together, we can accomplish great things.
RACIAL
EQUITY
STATEMENT
OFCY is committed to partnering with the City of Oakland’s Department of Race & Equity to achieve racial equity in Oakland. For this Strategic Plan, OFCY has adopted the following racial equity statement to ensure that OFCY’s program design is sufficiently informed by and calibrated to the needs of those who have been most impacted by racial disparities or historically have not been served, and that no one is left behind.
For the four OFCY goal areas, all children and youth participating in OFCY funded programs will have opportunities to thrive, including those experiencing the most disparities.
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Guiding Principles for Strategy Development
OFCY developed the following guiding principles to inform the 2025-2028 Strategic Plan.
Responding to Youth and Community Priorities First: OFCY conducted a deep review of the data on children and youth in Oakland, as well as an extensive community input process that engaged 558 community members. Responding to the needs of the community first was prioritized during the development of these eight strategies.
Child and Youth Development Focus: Healthy and appropriate child and youth development is a common theme and overarching focus for all of OFCY’s strategy areas. OFCY focuses on funding safe and enriching activities and spaces that prevent negative outcomes for youth in the future.
Commitment to Racial Equity: OFCY partners closely with the City of Oakland’s Department of Race & Equity to ensure that racial equity outcomes are imbued in each of the eight strategies. OFCY focuses on funding programs that reach youth and families who face historic discrimination, racism, and disenfranchisement, with a specific focus on youth who are unhoused, living in equity zones, and system involved, as well as LGBTQ+ individuals and immigrants. OFCY has identified specific equity outcomes for each of the funding strategies.
Partnering to Shepherd City Resources Responsibly: As the city forecasts ahead, there will continue to be significant stressors on the city’s budget. OFCY is partnering closely with other city departments to ensure that city-funded investments and services are aligned, deduplicated, and supported. OFCY is specifically focused on ensuring that the city-funded service infrastructure experiences minimal disruption in the coming years. During this strategic planning process, OFCY met with city departments and led a transparent and open process with CBO partners to ensure that organizations understand the steps and measures that OFCY needs to take to move this
work forward in this fiscal landscape. OFCY has
assessed shifts in the local funding landscape to
inform this Strategic Plan.
Streamlining Strategies: In some cases, OFCY opted
to streamline its goal areas by combining strategies
that support OFCY goals. Reducing the number of
strategies and simplifying strategy language will
ensure ease of contract management and
evaluation. This guiding principle is responsive to
feedback from community-based organizations
about the difficulties of contracting with the City of
Oakland.
STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS
OFCY’s Role in the Child and Youth Services Landscape
Historically, OFCY has been a prevention funder focused on investing in strategies that fill gaps in the landscape of child and youth services in Oakland. For OFCY, prevention means investing in upstream services that improve the conditions that foster the health, well-being, and success of young people and their families.
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The primary anchor institutions that fund child and youth services in Oakland are often restricted in the scope of what they can support because of the federal and state revenue sources that fund them. These anchor institutions include Head Start, OUSD, First 5 Alameda County, OEWD, Alameda County Health Care Services Agency, and others. Together, these agencies and departments support progress toward improved population-level outcomes for Oakland’s residents. OFCY works closely with these system leaders to ensure that prevention services are funded, aligned, and supported.
Oakland has also benefited from the work and collaboration of collective impact initiatives that harness cross-agency and cross-sector learning, including Oakland Promise, Oakland Starting Smart & Strong, Oakland Thrives, and Oakland Children’s Initiative. OFCY is committed to being an active participant at all these tables to support true collaboration and constant quality improvement in the network of services and programs that support young people in Oakland. These partnerships are essential to closing racial equity gaps in Oakland and improving outcomes so that all children and youth can thrive.
OFCY is nimble enough to respond quickly to changes in Oakland’s communities and invest in niche programs and services based on emergent needs. Throughout the community engagement process, many grantees and community members emphasized the important role that OFCY plays in funding organizations that support newcomers, LGBTQ+ people, people who are Mam, people who are Arab- speaking, and other populations that experience disparities. OFCY’s support for culturally competent programming has contributed to the flourishing network of community-based organizations in Oakland.
Figure 1. OFCY’s Role in the Child and Youth Services Landscape
OFCY’s Role in Child and
Youth Services Landscape
Grounded by
Equity Goals
Systems Partner
and Connector
Prevention
Funder
Gap Filler
Prioritizing Cultural
Competence and
Diversity
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Strategic Plan Methodology
OFCY partnered with Bright Research Group (BRG) to facilitate a collaborative process with the POC and community stakeholders to develop the 2025-2028 Strategic Plan. With the participation of OFCY staff and the POC, BRG developed a plan for community and stakeholder engagement that prioritized hearing from existing grantees, community-based providers, system partners, and young people. Data collection and community engagement were conducted during the spring and summer of 2024. The results of the CNA were summarized in a report that is available as an attachment to this plan. A set of guiding principles was created to inform how OFCY would use the results of the CNA to develop a set of investment strategies. Draft strategies were vetted with key city agency and department stakeholders, the POC, OFCY grantees, the Mayor’s Office, and city councilmembers. Strategies and funding allocations were unanimously approved by the POC on October 16, 2024. Feedback was incorporated into the 2025- 2028 Strategic Plan. Upon approval by the City of Oakland Life Enrichment Committee and City Council, this plan will form the basis for subsequent RFPs to distribute funding.
College Track Asian Pacific Environmental Network
Community Needs Assessment
OFCY conducted a CNA in the spring and summer of 2024. The CNA relied on three core methodologies to identify the strengths, needs, and priorities of children, youth, families, and youth-serving organizations in Oakland. The methodologies consisted of 1) meetings and interviews with core system partners in Oakland and Alameda County; 2) community and youth input forums; and 3) a review of publicly available quantitative data sources. Table 1 details the system partners, input forums, and data sources leveraged to inform the CNA. Please refer to the complete OFCY CNA 2024 report for detailed information on the methodology and findings from this process.
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Table 1. OFCY CNA Methodology Summary Table
System Partner Meetings and Interviews
Oakland Department of Violence Prevention First 5 Alameda County OUSD Expanded Learning Programs Oakland Thrives
City of Oakland Office of the Mayor, Education
and Community Safety
Alameda County Probation Department
City Administrator’s Office City Council Life Enrichment Committee Members Oakland Parks, Recreation & Youth
Development (OPRYD)
Zellerbach Family Foundation
Oakland Department of Economic and
Workforce Development (OEWD)
Oakland Children’s Initiative
Alameda County Center for Healthy Schools and
Communities
Oakland Head Start
Community & Youth Input Forums Date Number of
Participants
Youth and Community Survey Online from June to October 1 310 OFCY Grantee Meeting April 19, 10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. 74
OFCY Grantee Survey Administered in May 2024 78
POC Input Forum, Youth Employment
Partnership (2300 International Blvd.)
May 15, 6:00–9:00 p.m. 6
Oakland Youth Commission Input Forum May 20, 5:00–7:00 p.m. 15 Community Webinar June 4, 5:00–6:30 p.m. 16
POC Input Forum, Youth UpRising (8711
MacArthur Blvd.) June 5, 6:00–9:00 p.m. 19
POC Input Forum, West Oakland Senior Center
(1724 Adeline St.)
June 12, 6:00–9:00 p.m. 14
Community Webinar June 13, 12:00–1:30 p.m. 26
Total Number of Community Members and Youth Engaged 558 Quantitative Data Sources Time Period
US Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates for 2020, 2021, 2022 OUSD Public Reports and Dashboards 2013–2023
California Healthy Kids Survey—Middle School
and High School
2021–2022, 2022–2023
KidsData.org, Juvenile Felony Arrest Rate, by
Race/Ethnicity
2020
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Release of Funds
Upon approval from the Oakland City Council, the 2025-2028 Strategic Plan will form the basis for subsequent OFCY RFPs to make grants to community-based organizations. The City of Oakland is in an unprecedented fiscal climate and the projections for the General Purpose Fund were not fully developed at the time of the writing of this plan. OFCY will work with the City Administrator’s Office and the City Council to ensure continuity of services, amend or extend contracts as needed, and develop a timeline for an RFP for services.
Lincoln Ujimaa Foundation ANV Farms
MEETING THIS MOMENT IN TIME IN OAKLAND
The CNA illustrates the state of children, youth, and families in Oakland through a review of quantitative data and an analysis of community input from youth, families, and stakeholders. The CNA focuses on identifying changes to the data on youth and families since the last CNA was conducted three years ago, identifying opportunities for OFCY to align with other initiatives and investments that share OFCY goals, and soliciting community input on the needs of children, youth and families.
What is Changing for Oakland’s Children and Youth
Since the last CNA was conducted in 2021, the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has painted a clearer picture of needs and challenges in the city. Children, youth, and families in Oakland are struggling with learning loss, economic challenges, increases in community violence, rising housing costs, and mental health crises. Overall, 50% of all third-grade students in Oakland are reading at or above a third-grade reading level. African American and Latino children have consistently lower rates of reading on grade level (39% and 35% respectively). At the same time, the City of Oakland is facing a structural deficit that is leading to significant cuts in city services and programs.
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SHIFTS IN DEMOGRAPHICS OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH IN OAKLAND Youth representation across racial identities has not changed much since 2020. The largest percentage of Oakland youth identify as “Other Race” (27%). According to the 2022 census, there are 91,991 youth in Oakland, representing 21% of the total population, and the proportion of older youth has increased by 9%. Latino children have represented the largest population of students in district-run and charter schools over the last 10 years. A higher proportion of Latinos are enrolled in charter schools than in district-run schools (58% vs. 46%, respectively, in 2022–2023), but there has been a steady increase in the proportion of students at district-run schools who are Latino.
In the last decade, enrollment of African American children in OUSD district-run schools has declined from 30% to 20% of the student population, with only 6,970 African American students enrolled in 2022– 2023. Meanwhile, enrollment of African American children in charter schools had stayed relatively steady, at 20% of the student population, but has started to decline in the last two school years (to 18% in 2022– 2023). From 2000 to 2020, the Black population in Oakland declined by 43%—the largest decrease in any city in California during this period.3
Throughout the CNA, community members highlighted the shifting demographics in Oakland. Specifically, people spoke to the sustained decrease in Oakland’s Black population and an increase in the population of newcomers. Community members also emphasized that organizations need to hire and train bilingual staff to meet the needs of newcomer populations, especially Arabic-speaking and Mam-speaking staff, as these populations continue to grow. Overall, many community members and organizations felt that OFCY excelled at supporting small, culturally-specific organizations in high-need areas. These organizations were able to meet the unique needs of the diverse niche communities in Oakland through community- responsive approaches.
There was also a shared perception that youth homelessness in the region has increased and that insufficient attention has been paid to this population.
For additional details on demographic changes, please view the CNA report, in the attachment to this plan.
3 UCLA Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies, The State of Black California: Assessing 20 Years of Black Progress in the Golden State, April 2024. Accessible here.
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FACTS AND FIGURES: YOUTH IN OAKLAND, BY THE NUMBERS4
4 Summary of key data points from the OFCY Community Needs Assessment Report, 2024.
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Community Priorities
To conduct the CNA, data from multiple sources were triangulated to identify community priorities; consider what has changed for young people in Oakland since the pandemic; and surface shifts in the system and funder landscape. Based on this analysis, OFCY assessed opportunities to contribute to the ecosystem and its role as a prevention funder. The CNA identified three community priorities: Youth Employment and Transitions to Adulthood; Youth Safety; and Joy, Belonging and Play.
Attitudinal Healing Connection Bay Area Community Resources
YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND TRANSITIONS TO ADULTHOOD
During community input sessions, the highest priority was for services that prepared young people for adulthood, offered paid employment opportunities or other financial subsidies, and supported the financial stability of youth. Financial education and self-sufficiency skills were named as common challenges for young people who are preparing for adulthood. The community stakeholders highlighted that not every young person is ready for a job or career decision, but they are interested in participating in programs that may prepare them for that step. Community-based organizations shared that many young people were not going to school or after-school programs because they were working to support their family.
System and community stakeholders are advocating to increase wages, incentives, or other forms of financial support for young people transitioning into adulthood. The movement for guaranteed income or basic income is gaining momentum, offering a potential solution to address economic challenges and create greater equity for this population.
Meanwhile, Oakland is working to create clearer career pathways for youth. Various organizations, including Oakland Promise, OEWD, and TAY-Hub, are focused on providing support and resources for young people seeking technical degrees, alternative post-secondary pathways, and entry into the workforce. While employment services and supports for older youth are in high demand, there is a need to increase the funding and support for these services in Oakland.
YOUTH SAFETY
It should come as no surprise that the safety of young people in Oakland is a key concern for youth and community members. In recent years, Oakland has seen a surge in crime and violence, with young people
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disproportionately participating in or being victims of violence. The CNA revealed large increases in trauma and mental health impacts on young people in Oakland in the last three years. Exposure to trauma and other adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) increases the risk of involvement in violence, victimization, gangs/groups, and other negative outcomes for youth. In the 2022–2023 school year, 27% of middle and high school students in OUSD reported having at least one friend or family member die by violence.5 47% of African American and 26% of Hispanic/Latino middle and high school students in OUSD reported losing a loved one to violence.
In the 2022 – 2023 school year, 17% of high school
students in Oakland reported that they have
seriously considered suicide in the last 12 months—
a large increase from 12% in 2021 – 2022.6
Community members, youth, and youth-serving
organizations feel that there is an urgent need for
the city to create an expanded, coordinated
response to these trends to support young people
and stop the ripple effects of crime and violence in
the community.
The DVP is focusing on investing in strategies that
prevent and deter gun violence, intimate partner
violence, and commercial sexual exploitation. As
detailed in its recent spending plan, DVP “invests in
immediate crisis response services and near-term
interventions that focus on stabilizing victims and
preventing additional violence…[and] invests in
longer-term, intensive support services for
individuals caught in cycles of violence.”7 CBO
stakeholders emphasized the importance of
strengthening and expanding the continuum of
services for youth to support early intervention. In
this new plan, OFCY aims to highlight its focus on
youth safety as a cornerstone.
JOY, PLAY, AND BELONGING
Finally, a resounding theme from community input sessions was the need to focus on providing young people with opportunities to experience joy, engage in play, and foster a sense of belonging. Families and youth want youth-friendly spaces and events that make Oakland a more family-friendly city and increase social cohesion and a sense of belonging. There was a strong emphasis on providing opportunities for physical activity, arts, and creative expression to support youth well-being, socialization skills, and social- emotional development.
Young people are still highly impacted by the social disconnection that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. Youth have high rates of chronic absence from OUSD schools. Youth also continued to suffer
5 California Healthy Kids Survey, Elementary Survey Results, 2022–2023; California Healthy Kids Survey, Middle School, 2022–2023; and California Healthy Kids Survey, High School, 2022–2023. 6 California Healthy Kids Survey, High School, 2021–2023. 7 DVP 2025–2029 Spending Plan, presented to the Safety and Services Oversight Commission, August 26, 2024.
Attitudinal Healing Connection
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with their mental health, with high levels of youth reporting depression, suicidality, and a lack of excitement about their future. Parents expressed a high demand for affordable community-based services that youth can enjoy after school, on weekends, and in the summer. Many parents and youth service providers shared concerns that schools and programs were too focused on ensuring youth academic success, and that young people needed more opportunities to make social connections and improve their mental health.
ASSESSMENT OF THE FUNDING LANDSCAPE
The CNA examined changes in the funding landscape for anchor institutions that provide services and supports to children and youth from birth to 21 years of age in Oakland in support of OFCY’s goal areas.
OFCY has always partnered with institutions and initiatives toward shared goals and adapted to emergent needs and shifts in the ecosystem to inform its strategic investments. The CNA found that new local and state funding sources are significantly expanding access to early childcare and education and school- based afterschool in Oakland and Alameda County, in support of the Healthy Development of Young Children and Children’s Success in School goals. These shifts provide OFCY with the opportunity to respond to community needs and shift its focus to older youth.
Aspire Education Youth Alive!
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OFCY INVESTMENT STRATEGIES FOR FY 25 – 28
Based on the results of the CNA, OFCY is increasing investments in older youth through strategies that support the Transitions to Adulthood goal area, adding a youth safety strategy, and increasing funding for youth development to foster joy, connection, and belonging. Given the uncertainties in the fiscal landscape, OFCY has allocated a range of funding amounts for each of the eight strategies. Specific funding levels will be determined through the RFP and may be impacted by total available funding.
Summary of Investment Strategies
Table 2. Summary of Investment Strategies
OFCY Investment Strategy FY 25 – 28 Funding
Allocation
Age Group
Served
Equity Outcome for Children &
Youth Living in Equity Zones
1. Family Resource Centers
(FRCs) and Parent
Engagement
8%–13% 0 – 5 Families can access FRCs in their
local communities.
2. Elementary School-Based
Expanded Learning
8%–13% Elementary
school age
Every child has access to free
school-based afterschool
programs in elementary school.
3. Middle School-Based
Expanded Learning
10%–15% Middle
school age
Every child has access to free
school-based afterschool
programs in middle school
4. Youth Development and
Leadership
30%–35% Middle &
high school
age
Youth have access to free high-
quality youth development
programs in the summer and
year-round.
5. Career Access and
Employment
12%–17% Ages 15 - 21 Youth have increased access to
paid work opportunities and
jobs.
6. Youth Summer Jobs 6%–11% Ages 15 - 21 Youth have increased access to paid work over the summer.
7. Independent Living 3%–8% Ages 15 - 21 Youth have increased access to income, benefits, and supportive
services.
8. Place Based Innovations
for Safety
10%–15% Middle and
high school
age, as well
as TAY
Youth demonstrating early
warning indicators have
improved engagement in school,
work, and community activities.
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Justification of Funding Allocation
The change in funding allocation from the last Strategic Plan is reflective of the shifts in the funding landscape over the last three years and the results of the CNA. A brief justification for these funding shifts is described below. Please refer to the CNA 2024 report for more detailed information.
Increased Funding for Transitions to Adulthood Strategies: The funding allocation strategies that support the Transitions to Adulthood goal area will increase so that nearly one in four of OFCY’s dollars is invested in youth employment activities. OFCY will continue to focus on and expand career access and employment activities for kids in school and disconnected youth. OFCY and OEWD are also working jointly to expand the youth summer jobs program, with the vision of having enough summer jobs available for any young person in Oakland who wants one. Finally, OFCY is investing in a new Independent Living strategy that will offer financial education, life skills, and basic income supports to young people, and refer them to employment programs when they are ready. This increase in funding is responsive to the significant community demand for services that prepare young people for adulthood, offer paid employment opportunities or other financial subsidies, and support the financial stability of older youth.
New Investment in Youth Safety: In the 2025-2028 Strategic Plan, OFCY makes a significant investment in a new strategy that will expand OFCY’s focus on youth safety and build the city’s continuum of violence prevention programming. OFCY aims to focus on early intervention strategies for youth at lower levels of risk through youth life coaching, youth development, family support, school engagement, and other innovative ideas. Through this new strategy, OFCY will invest in place-based programming that will be complementary to DVP’s youth programs, and that can be evaluated for impact and quality. This investment is responsive to findings in the CNA that identified an increase in crime and violence in Oakland as a major driver of youth trauma that can increase their chances of future involvement in crime.
OFCY will increase the investment in youth safety and partner closely with the DVP and community-based partners in the design and implementation of this critical strategy.
First Place For Youth Bay Area Community Resources
Commitment to Youth Development: A key theme from community input sessions was the need to focus on providing young people with opportunities to experience joy, engage in enrichment, and foster a sense of belonging. Families and youth want youth-friendly spaces and events that make Oakland a more family-friendly city and increase social cohesion. As a core funder of youth development in the City of
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Oakland, OFCY aims to strengthen and expand its support of youth development activities year-round and during summer months. One out of every three dollars that OFCY will spend in the coming years will support community-based youth development programs that focus on arts, recreation, athletics, culturally specific programming, leadership development, and other youth-led programs.
In addition to supporting programs run by community-based organizations, OFCY and the Oakland Parks, Recreation & Youth Development Department (OPRYD) will partner to subsidize the costs of OPRYD after school and summer programs for low-income youth living in equity zones. This strategy aims to ensure equitable access to OPRYD youth development programs.
Justification for Decreases in Funding for Early Childhood and After-School: The early childhood systems landscape has changed and expanded significantly since the last OFCY Strategic Plan three years ago.
After years of legal battles, Measure C (Children’s Health and Child Care Initiative for Alameda County) and Measure AA (Oakland Children’s Initiative) were recently upheld by the courts in 2024 and 2022, respectively. Under Measure C, a new sales tax revenue source will generate $150 million annually for Alameda County to “enhance the access and quality of early care and education programming; improve compensation for participating early-care and education providers; enhance professional development programs and the eligibility and enrollment system for providers; [and] improve community spaces for children and families, such as parks, libraries, and family resource centers.” These increases in funding to early childhood education support the OFCY goal of healthy development of young children and expanded access to preschool and early care.
In addition, Measure AA will raise approximately $30 million annually for the City of Oakland, of which two-thirds will fund early childcare education for Oakland’s young children. First 5 Alameda County will serve as the early education implementation partner for these funds—focused on expanding ECE slots for three-years-olds and four-year-olds in high-need areas, with a focus on families who are low-income or qualify for a free/reduced lunch or Head Start.
The OFCY-OUSD after school
partnership is a long-standing
public system partnership, in
which OFCY provides matching
funds to community-based
agencies that OUSD has selected
to operate after-school programs
in Title 1 schools. OUSD’s
expanded learning programs are
primarily funded by the California
Department of Education (CDE).
The CDE administers federal and
state funds to Local Educational
Agencies (LEAs)—such as OUSD—
to support quality expanded
learning programs before school,
after school, and during the
summer.
Since OFCY’s last CNA, CDE has
created a significant new funding
Lincoln
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source for after-school programs for TK-6th grade students—the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELO-P). ELO-P requires that any “unduplicated student” can access after-school and summer programs at no cost if they want it. An “unduplicated student” is a student enrolled in a school district or a charter school who is classified as an English learner, is eligible for a free/reduced lunch, or is a foster youth. In this cycle, OFCY is reducing the investment in elementary after school providers, while increasing its investment in middle school after-school. OFCY is working with OUSD on a transition plan for elementary school expanded learning providers to adapt to this change. OFCY will continue to monitor the funding landscape for expanded learning and remain adaptive to shifts in funding in order to preserve access to free, high quality after school programming in Oakland.
Funding Ranges: The funding ranges were determined by examining past funding levels, identifying priorities based on the results of the CNA and assessing the funding landscape. Funding ranges are estimated based on expected demand for services. Exact funding levels will be determined as part of the RFP process in partnership with the POC and may be impacted by factors such as: outreach to priority populations and neighborhoods; the overall strength of proposals; and changes in the fiscal landscape.
Strategy 1: Family Resource Centers and Parent Engagement
STRATEGY DESCRIPTION
The Family Resource Centers and Parent
Engagement Strategy supports OFCY
goal area 1, which focuses on the
healthy development of young children.
When families are strong and
supported, they can support the
healthy social and emotional
development of their young children.
Young children look to their parents or
parental figures first for love, support,
safety, and learning. OFCY will invest in
family resource centers and other
programs that support parent
engagement and strengthen families’
connection to services. Families
receiving services must have at least
one child under the age of five.
Parent engagement programs help parents build their knowledge and skills about early childhood development, increase their involvement as their children’s “first teachers,” support early learning through playgroups and parent workshops, create social connections and peer support among parents in a community, offer opportunities for engagement in their local community and neighborhood, and connect families to services that help them thrive. These programs take place in community settings that are accessible to families in equity zones. Programs will target specific populations like young parents, newcomer or immigrant parents, foster parents, non-English speaking households, or other high priority populations. Programs will use family-centered and culturally appropriate approaches, such as hiring parent liaisons, offering support in the language that the family is comfortable in, and honoring parent decision making.
Attitudinal Healing Connection
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Through this strategy, OFCY also continues its support for programming that is available at Family Resource Centers (FRCs). As described in OFCY’s last Strategic Plan, “Comprehensive FRCs… are collaborative by design as hubs for a constellation of family support services, family navigation, promoting partnerships, mutual aid, and distributions to support the basic needs of low-income families. FRCs provide key connections for neighborhood families to participate in early childhood programming, support groups and access to educational resources such as English as a Second Language (ESL) classes.
FRCs also offer opportunities for parent leadership and civic engagement, income, community empowerment, and peer-based services, assistance and networking. Opportunities for gathering and social connection are important, particularly for parents and caregivers of children with special needs, young parents, newcomers or immigrant families, and others who may feel isolated from resources.”8
Programs supported by this strategy may be provided in the community, at home, or at existing FRCs. Services must be culturally specific and appropriate for the communities that are most in need of access to these types of parent support services.
Programs will serve communities in which young children are less likely to enroll in preschool or have disproportionately low kindergarten readiness scores.
STRATEGY 1: SUPPORTED PROGRAMMING
▪ Linguistically and culturally relevant family support ▪ Resource navigation
▪ Peer support groups
▪ Parenting workshops
▪ Play and learn groups
▪ Basic needs distribution
▪ Economic supports and services
▪ Child & family friendly events or activities
STRATEGY 1: OUTCOMES
▪ Improved access to culturally-sensitive, trauma-informed family support services for families with young children
▪ Increased parent confidence, leadership, and knowledge of early childhood development ▪ Increased parent abilities to help children and families experiencing stress, developmental challenges, or other issues
▪ Improved parent knowledge of and access to early child care and education resources for their children
▪ Equity Outcome: Families of young children living in equity zones can access family resource centers in their local communities.
STRATEGY 1: FUNDING ALLOCATION
8-13%
8 OFCY Strategic Investment Plan 2022 – 2025
East Bay Asian Local Development
Corporation
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STRATEGY 1: RATIONALE
In the last three years, there have been significant increases in the funding for early childhood slots in Oakland and Alameda County through Measures AA and Measure C, respectively. These funds are expanding and enhancing the quality of early care and education programs for children under age five. In Oakland, there are racial disparities in access to preschool education. Almost half of Latino children did not attend preschool (22%) or were cared for by a family/neighbor/friend (25%) before kindergarten, the most across all racial and ethnic groups in 2023. In 2023, 30% of Oakland newcomer children did not attend preschool, and another 34% were cared for by a family/friend/neighbor before going to kindergarten. Children who were English learners (but not newcomers) were almost twice as likely to not go to preschool or to have care from a family/friend/neighbor than children who were not newcomers or English learners.9
Community members and system stakeholders agree that family support services help prevent future disparities in youth outcomes by supporting cognitive development and building protective factors among young children. OFCY plays a unique and important role in supporting community-based, culturally competent services that strengthen and support families through a multigenerational framework. The CBOs and FRCs working in this field help build parent-child relationships, laying the groundwork for strong family bonds that will support children as they enter school. Stakeholders explained that the flexibility of OFCY funding allows them to implement promising practices that are culturally competent and responsive to the unique cultural needs of Oakland’s many diverse communities. These types of supports were seen as essential for supporting families that have low levels of trust in systems, especially African American communities and Mam-speaking communities. Lastly, several stakeholders pointed to the need to continue support for place-based, neighborhood-focused initiatives that ensure the accessibility of family support services and early childcare opportunities for families who may not access formal preschool.
STRATEGY 1: ALIGNMENT AND PARTNERSHIP
OFCY seeks to support key system partners in achieving the population-level outcome of kindergarten readiness for all young children. As Oakland Head Start and Alameda County First 5 work to expand and improve the quality of early childcare and education resources, OFCY seeks to support families in accessing these resources by strengthening and empowering them. OFCY engages in early childhood tables such as Oakland Promise and Oakland Starting Smart & Strong to ensure that program strategies and outcomes are aligned with the system stakeholders and early childhood field.
Strategy 2: Elementary School-Based Expanded Learning
STRATEGY DESCRIPTION
The Elementary School-Based Expanded Learning strategy supports OFCY goal area 2, which aims to support student success in school. Under this strategy, school-based afterschool and summer programming will be provided at OUSD elementary schools where a majority of students qualify for a free/reduced lunch. OFCY and OUSD have a longstanding Oakland Expanded Learning partnership that has created access to free school-based after-school and summer programs for families whose children attend Title 1 schools.
9 OFCY Community Needs Assessment Report, 2024. Based on results from the Oakland Unified Preschool Experience Study, 2023.
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Expanded learning programs ensure that elementary-
age children of low-income families are in a safe,
supervised, enriching space. Through participation in
expanded learning programs, elementary school
students develop trusting relationships with adults and peers and gain a sense of belonging. Having a safe place to go after school supports students’ success in school and strengthens connections between the school and
family. For parents, having a trusted after-school or
summer program for their children to explore their
interests and develop positive relationships is critical.
Elementary school-based expanded learning programs
offer diverse academic and enrichment programs,
including extra academic support, arts, athletics,
recreation, enrichment, and other culturally specific
programming after school and during the summer
months. OFCY aligns funding in this strategy with
OUSD’s funding priorities and strategic directions.
STRATEGY 2: SUPPORTED PROGRAMMING
Elementary school-based expanded learning programming can include one or more of the following activities:
▪ Arts
▪ Enrichment
▪ Athletics
▪ Recreation
▪ Academic support
▪ Mentoring
▪ Social emotional learning
▪ Culturally specific programming
STRATEGY 2: OUTCOMES
▪ Increased access to safe places and spaces at school
▪ Increased access to arts, enrichment, athletics, recreation, and cultural activities at school ▪ Increased sense of belonging and trust with caring adults ▪ Increased connection to and engagement with school
▪ Equity Outcome: Every child living in an equity zone in Oakland has access to free school-based after-school programs in elementary school.
STRATEGY 2: FUNDING ALLOCATION
8-13%
STRATEGY 2: RATIONALE
There were 49,032 students enrolled in OUSD district-run and charter schools in the 22-23 school year, of which 82% qualified for free/reduced lunch. Latino children have represented the largest racial/ethnic population of students in district-run and charter schools over the last 10 years. In the last decade, Safe Passages
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enrollment of African American children in OUSD district-run schools has declined from 30% to 20% of the student population. Academic outcomes for OUSD students have suffered in recent years due to consistent inequities in our systems that were further exacerbated by the learning loss and mental health impacts associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Overall, 50% of all third-grade students in Oakland are reading at or above a third-grade reading level.
African American and Latino children have consistently lower rates of reading on grade level. The third- grade reading indicator is linked with lifelong negative outcomes, including future unemployment, involvement in the criminal justice system, homelessness, and more. Elementary school-based expanded learning programs, including both afterschool and summer programs, aim to address literacy concerns, increase students’ connection to school, and prevent the learning loss associated with the transitional summer months between grades.
STRATEGY 2: ALIGNMENT AND PARTNERSHIP10
The OFCY-OUSD Expanded Learning partnership is a long-standing public system partnership. OUSD’s elementary school after-school programs are primarily funded by the California Department of Education (CDE). CDE administers federal and state funds to OUSD to support quality expanded learning programs before school, after school, and during the summer. Every three years, the OUSD Expanded Learning Office leads a competitive process to identify qualified lead agencies to operate these programs at OUSD school sites. Lead agencies are independent community-based nonprofit organizations. Principals of OUSD schools then select their after-school and/or summer program operators from the list of OUSD- selected lead agencies. Those lead agencies can then apply for additional funding from OFCY, with the support of the principals of the OUSD schools in which they will be operating.
Since OFCY’s last CNA, the CDE has created a significant new funding source for after-school programs for TK-6th grade students—the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELO-P). ELO-P requires that any “unduplicated student” can access after-school and summer programs at no cost if they want it. As a
10 OFCY Community Needs Assessment Report, 2024.
Bay Area Community Resources
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result of the ELO-P funding stream and the unprecedented fiscal climate facing the City of Oakland, OFCY has reduced its funding allocation for elementary school-based expanded learning in this Strategic Plan.
These shifts will support strategies that reach older youth. OFCY has been working with OUSD to prepare for this transition and to sustain the collaboration in a time of decreased OFCY investment. OFCY will continue to monitor the funding landscape for expanded learning and remain adaptive to shifts in funding in order to preserve access to free, high quality after-school programming in Oakland.
Strategy 3: Middle School-Based Expanded Learning
STRATEGY DESCRIPTION
The Middle School-Based Expanded Learning strategy
advances OFCY goal 2, which aims to support student
success in school. Under this strategy, school-based
afterschool and summer programming will be provided
at OUSD middle schools where a majority of students
qualify for a free/reduced lunch. OFCY and OUSD have a
longstanding Oakland Expanded Learning partnership
that has created access to free school-based afterschool and summer programs for families whose children
attend Title 1 schools.
Expanded learning programs ensure that middle school
youth from low-income families are in a safe,
supervised, and enriching space. Through participation
in expanded learning programs, middle school students
develop trusting relationships with adults and peers,
gain a sense of belonging and can pursue or explore an
interest or hobby. Middle school-based expanded
learning programs provide extended learning days for
students, where programs offer a variety of diverse
academic and enrichment programs including extra
academic support, arts, athletics, recreation,
enrichment, mentoring, and other culturally specific
programming. OFCY aligns funding in this strategy with
OUSD’s funding priorities and strategic directions.
STRATEGY 3: SUPPORTED PROGRAMMING
Middle school expanded learning programming can include one or more of the following activities:
▪ Arts
▪ Enrichment
▪ Athletics
▪ Recreation
▪ Academic support
▪ Mentoring
▪ Social emotional learning
▪ Culturally specific programming
Attitudinal Healing Connection
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STRATEGY 3: OUTCOMES
▪ Increased access to safe places and spaces at school
▪ Increased access to arts, enrichment, athletics, recreation, and cultural activities at school ▪ Increased sense of belonging and trust with caring adults ▪ Increased connection to and engagement with school
▪ Equity Outcome: Every child living in an equity zone in Oakland has access to free school-based afterschool programs in middle school.
STRATEGY 3: FUNDING ALLOCATION
10-15%
STRATEGY 3: RATIONALE11
The majority of OUSD students report that they have access to essential protective factors like relationships with caring adults, as well as knowledge of where they could go to get help with a problem.
Forty-one percent of middle school students reported participating in student leadership and extracurricular activities in the 2021–2022 school year, and over half (55%) reported doing so in the 2022–2023 school year. However, since students returned to in-person school after the pandemic, chronic absenteeism has increased significantly to 61% of OUSD students, with Latino and African American students having disproportionately higher rates.
Students who received a free/reduced lunch also had higher rates of chronic absenteeism. In recent school years, students who received a free/reduced lunch were chronically absent almost twice as much as those who did not. Young people are also experiencing exposure to violence and increased mental health concerns. Nearly one in five (19%) middle school students reported on the California Healthy Kids Survey that they had seriously considered suicide in the past 12 months, an increase over previous years.
Similarly, 27% of middle and high school students in OUSD reported having a loved one die by violence.
Across community input sessions conducted as part of the CNA, a common theme raised by youth and community was the importance of offering young people opportunities for joy, arts, and enrichment, especially in after-school and summer settings. Many providers and system funders shared the belief that arts and music activities can be used as a model of healing and expression, and that when they engage youth in prosocial spaces, it opens the opportunity for layering on additional supports or connections as needed that address additional student needs. Stakeholders emphasized that high quality after school and summer programs for children who live in equity zones can strengthen attachment to school and may help counteract the rising absenteeism rate in OUSD and exposure to trauma.
STRATEGY 3: ALIGNMENT AND PARTNERSHIP
The OFCY-OUSD Expanded Learning partnership is a long-standing public system partnership. ELO-P provides funding support to sixth grade students but does not offer financial resources for expanded learning for seventh and eighth grade students. Recognizing the critical needs for middle school students to have access to high quality after school and summer programming, OFCY has increased its investment in this strategy. Funds will be released in coordination with OUSD’s expanded learning programs.
11 OFCY Community Needs Assessment Report 2024
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Every three years, the OUSD Expanded Learning Office leads a competitive process to identify qualified lead agencies to operate these programs at OUSD school sites. Lead agencies are independent community-based nonprofit organizations. Principals of OUSD schools then select their afterschool and/or summer program operators from the list of OUSD-selected lead agencies. Those lead agencies can then apply for additional funding from OFCY, with the support of the principals of the OUSD schools in which they will be operating.
The State of California is responding to increased mental health challenges among children with several initiatives, including the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI), which aims to transform Medi-Cal-funded behavioral health services for young people. OFCY will not fund direct clinical behavioral health care—but instead will focus on its role as a prevention funder. Programs funded through this strategy may offer supports such as mentoring that foster protective factors, build a sense of belonging and connection to school, and prevent future behavioral health challenges.
Strategy 4: Youth Development and Leadership
STRATEGY DESCRIPTION
The Youth Development and Leadership strategy supports OFCY goal area 3, which aims to strengthen youth development and prevent violence among young people. Youth development has been a cornerstone of OFCY’s funding approach. Through this strategy, OFCY will support positive youth development programming for youth who are middle school and high school-aged. This strategy ensures access to free, community-based and culturally relevant enrichment, recreation and leadership development opportunities. Through partnerships with OPRYD and community-based organizations young people will have access to year-round and summer-specific programs that promote learning, physical activity, leadership, and cultural and community connections. Programs will have the option of hosting youth and family-friendly events that celebrate young people, foster spaces for joy and fun, and create a sense of belonging.
Youth development and leadership programs highlight
youth agency and uplift youth voice by fostering
leadership, organizing, advocacy, and civic engagement.
Supported programs will use a positive youth development framework that promotes learning, leadership and peer
connections. Young people will have the opportunity to
showcase their natural gifts, expand their skills, and step into their own leadership. Programs will serve young
people living in equity zones, including newcomer,
immigrant, and other populations experiencing disparities in access to enrichment.
This strategy will support organizations that offer year- round programs or summer-specific programs in
community-based settings. OFCY will also partner with
OPRYD to ensure that young people from low-income
communities are able to access summer and school-year
camps and enrichment programs at no cost. OPRYD offers
high quality after school and summer programming at 12
sites across Oakland, which are currently fee-based, with a limited number of scholarships available to Attitudinal Healing Connection
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low-income families. The partnership with OFCY will enable OPRYD to increase full and partial scholarships for families in need at those recreation centers that are located within equity zones.
STRATEGY 4: SUPPORTED PROGRAMMING
▪ Recreation
▪ Athletics
▪ Arts
▪ Culturally specific programming
▪ Leadership development
▪ Youth-led and youth-focused programming
▪ Youth and family friendly events
▪ Scholarships or subsidies to summer or year-round programs offered through OPRYD
STRATEGY 4: OUTCOMES
▪ Expanded access to leadership and enrichment opportunities for youth ▪ Increased affinity for community building, cultural awareness, leadership, and recreation ▪ Increased sense of self, belonging, connectedness, and community ▪ Equity outcome: Youth living in equity zones have access to free, high quality youth development programs in the summer and year-round
STRATEGY 4: FUNDING ALLOCATION
30-35%
STRATEGY 4: RATIONALE
Involvement in leadership and extracurricular activities is considered a protective factor associated with positive youth development. Forty-one percent of middle school students reported participating in student leadership and extracurricular activities in the 2021–2022 school year, and over half (55%) reported doing so in the 2022–2023 school year. Participation trends among high school students were similar. Over one-third of high school students in 2021–2022 (38%) and over half in 2022–2023 (57%) reported participating in student leadership and extracurricular activities. High school students from all racial/ethnic groups had an increase in participation in activities.12
The CNA found that families and youth want youth-led and youth-friendly spaces and events that make Oakland a more family-friendly city and help increase social cohesion and a sense of belonging.
Community members shared the sentiment “Let kids be kids.” These community members highlighted the need for increased play, physical activity, and participation in sports. Eat.Learn.Play. and the Aspen Institute released a report last year that centered youth experiences and interests in physical activity.
The report shared a number of findings about youth experiences and preferences, including:
▪ “Access to quality parks is unevenly distributed.”
▪ “Oakland lacks equitable access to recreational sports league opportunities. White children are three times more likely than Latino/a youth and two times more likely than Black and Asian kids to play on a recreation center team.”
12 OFCY Community Needs Assessment Report 2024
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▪ “Youth want to try different sports and need more sustainable opportunities. Oakland youth identified 24 sports that at least 10% of them said they want to try.” ▪ “Playing with friends is the No. 1 reason to play sports. Youth told us that friendships with peers and having fun are the main reasons they play. Winning games ranked seventh, and chasing college athletic scholarships was 12th.” 13
STRATEGY 4: ALIGNMENT AND PARTNERSHIP
OFCY and OPRYD have a long-standing partnership to expand access to positive youth development and enrichment among young people in Oakland, with OFCY funding several programs operated by OPRYD.
During this planning cycle, the departments have deepened their collaboration by identifying additional opportunities for partnership. OFCY will work with OPRYD to offer scholarships or subsidies to expand access to the high-quality summer and after school programming offered at the recreation centers in equity zones. OPRYD has a limited scholarship fund, which means that families in need may not be able to access high-quality enrichment and youth development programming. With the support of OFCY, low income families will have increased access to high quality programming.
Strategy 5: Career Access and Employment
STRATEGY DESCRIPTION
The Career Access and Employment strategy advances OFCY goal area 4, which focuses on supporting young people toward a successful transition to adulthood through work experience and career exposure.
This strategy supports programs that offer tangible paid work opportunities, career exposure and holistic supports for older youth as they prepare to enter the workforce. Youth who are 15-21 years old will build skills and knowledge that will allow them to learn about career pathways in Oakland’s industry sectors, gain work experience and earn income. Programming will be aligned to specific industry sectors that are prevalent in Oakland and are central to existing career-pathways work that is being led by OEWD and the
13 https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2022_Aspen_StateOfPlay_Oakland_final- digital.pdf
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Workforce Development Board. Youth will learn what is required to gain entry-level jobs in high priority sectors, along with their growth and income potential.
Supported programs will reach low-income youth who experience disparities, including but not limited to youth in transitional schools, youth who are chronically absent from school, newcomer and immigrant youth, and other target populations who are at risk of disconnection from school or work. Programs will offer appropriate support services, such as coaching or mentoring to youth to ensure their successful participation in these opportunities. They may also offer services that address barriers to career access and employment, including housing instability, basic needs, system involvement, substance use, and other challenges. OFCY will align this strategy with the OEWD investments in youth employment, career access, and job training.
STRATEGY 5: SUPPORTED PROGRAMMING
▪ Pre-employment and job skills
▪ Career exposure or job shadowing
▪ Paid work experience
▪ Job training and placement, including with the City of Oakland ▪ Internships
▪ Certifications
▪ Supportive services to address barriers
STRATEGY 5: OUTCOMES
▪ Increased experience and awareness of job and career options for youth ▪ Increased numbers of youth in Oakland who have paid work experiences ▪ Increased youth knowledge and comfort with basic life skills ▪ Increased youth confidence that they can be self-sufficient as they transition to adulthood ▪ Improved financial stability for youth
▪ Equity Outcome: Youth living in equity zones have increased access to paid work opportunities and jobs.
STRATEGY 5: FUNDING ALLOCATION
12-17%
STRATEGY 5: RATIONALE14
When asked how the City of Oakland could improve equity outcomes for youth, many community members said that providing youth with paid work opportunities would be the most effective and useful equity strategy. Youth and community members shared that the high degree of chronic absenteeism in OUSD schools was partially attributable to young people working formal or informal jobs to support their families financially. This increases the risk of young people eventually disconnecting from school or work.
In 2022, there were 1,298 youth ages 16-19 who were already disconnected from school and work in Oakland.15
14 OFCY Community Needs Assessment Report, 2024.
15 US Census Bureau American Community Survey, Table B14005, 2020 5-Year Estimates, 2021 5-Year Estimates, 2022 5-Year Estimates.
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Members of the Oakland Youth Commission highlighted the need and desire for youth to have increased opportunities for career exploration, hands-on exposure, job readiness skills, and other practical skills (e.g., budgeting, financial management, property ownership, purchasing or leasing vehicles, etc.). Youth wanted workshops in high school that helped them build and update résumés, search for jobs, understand their expenses, and manage their money.
These findings were supported by additional survey and research findings with young people. In partnership with the Oakland Youth Commission, Youth Leadership Institute surveyed young people and facilitated focus groups with youth regarding their priorities for transitions to adulthood. The research found that: “Focus group participants face challenges when entering adulthood, including financial concerns and lack of support when facing ‘real life’ problems. Participants named fears of feeling ‘stuck’ after high school and college without the proper support to navigate these challenges.”16
Finally, many community members advocated for a guaranteed income program for transitional-age youth. As one community member said, “If youth were provided with a stipend upon graduating from high school that allowed them to explore options, what choices would young people make? What opportunities would be afforded to them?”
STRATEGY 5: ALIGNMENT & PARTNERSHIP
OEWD is the local agency charged with creating and funding employment programs. OEWD youth programs are primarily funded by more restrictive federal Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA) funds and state Job Corps funds. WIOA dollars fund services for out-of-school youth who are 14–21 years old to receive wraparound support services with case management, education, and skill building or training for summer or year-round jobs. The Job Corps program is new to OEWD. Launched three years ago, this program aims to create pipelines into public sector jobs and green jobs for youth who are 16–30 years old. OEWD is in the process of kicking off their own strategic planning process and expects to be focused on deepening their racial equity approach, building out a sector-based pipeline strategy, eliminating silos among systems that educate and employ Oaklanders, and learning how new
16 Oakland Youth Commission Preliminary Findings. Youth Leadership Institute. 2024.
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technologies (like artificial intelligence) are changing the employment landscape. The State of California has also launched a new program called the California Opportunity Youth Apprenticeship (COYA) Grant.17
OFCY will partner closely with OEWD on the design and implementation of the Career Access and Employment strategy. The city faces challenges in funding youth employment programs due to restrictive federal and state funding sources, such as WIOA and JobCorps. Community-based organizations funded by OFCY will benefit from alignment to OEWD resources and access to paid work opportunities in their targeted industry sectors. In addition, OFCY will partner with OPRYD and other city departments that are interested in offering paid employment opportunities for young people to learn about employment and career pathways within the City of Oakland.
Strategy 6: Youth Summer Jobs
STRATEGY DESCRIPTION
Through the Youth Summer Jobs strategy, OFCY aims to further its goal of supporting successful transitions to adulthood. The City of Oakland has been implementing and growing its youth summer jobs programs. Through partnerships between OFCY, OEWD, and OPYRD, high school youth will gain access to first time job experiences and income over the summer through the Oakland Summer Jobs program.
These partnerships will expand the number of youth summer jobs, increase the number of youth who earn income over the summer, and support the long-term vision for the city to offer every young person in Oakland who is 15-21 years old with a summer job. This summer program provides job readiness training, 100 hours of paid (minimum wage) work experience, and financial education during the summer months. Programs may offer mentoring or coaching to support young people to be successful in their first time job experience.
Summer employment can prevent criminal justice involvement, build job and work experience, and increase the likelihood that young people will gain successful employment as they transition to adulthood. Young people who participate in programs develop positive relationships with their co- workers and supervisors, gain career exposure, and contribute to their families’ economic well-being.
Summer employment has been demonstrated to be
particularly valuable for low-income youth. A
comprehensive review of the evidence behind
summer youth employment conducted by J-PAL
found that low-income youth of color are
significantly less likely to have access to first time
employment experiences and that summer
employment can effectively decrease this gap.
Furthermore, the research found that participation
in summer youth employment can foster positive
youth development, such as social emotional
learning and career readiness among participants.18
Summer employment supports young people with
developing relationships with supportive adults and
building positive peer connections.
17 https://www.dir.ca.gov/DAS/Grants/California-Youth-Apprenticeship-Grant.html 18 Li, Yiping and Jackson-Spieker, K. “The Promise of Summer Youth Employment Programs: Evidence from Randomized Evaluations.” J-PAL. 2022.
Lao Family Community Development
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STRATEGY 6: SUPPORTED PROGRAMMING
▪ Paid summer jobs
STRATEGY 6: OUTCOMES
▪ Increased number of youth in Oakland who participate in summer jobs and gain first time work experience
▪ Increased experience and awareness of job and career options for youth ▪ Improved financial stability for youth
▪ Equity Outcome: Youth living in equity zones have increased access to paid work opportunities and jobs over the summer.
STRATEGY 6: FUNDING ALLOCATION
6-11%
STRATEGY 6: RATIONALE
The summer months between school years provide an excellent opportunity for young people to be engaged in meaningful programming that supports their well-being and prevents the “summer slump.” Summer jobs provide important exposure to careers and the feeling of financial empowerment. A review of the evidence from randomized control trials of summer youth employment programs operated by municipalities found that summer employment primarily reaches low income Black and Latino youth, supports future employment success, builds protective factors and reduces the likelihood of criminal justice involvement. This review also found that on average, 39% of youth of color whose families earn less than 200% of the federal poverty line have access to early employment experiences, compared to 61% of youth above this line. Early employment is correlated with future participation in the workforce.19 Summer employment can counteract these inequities.
As noted above, the proportion of OUSD students who believe they will go to college has dropped across all age groups since 2020–2021. One in five high school students is not sure about their future plans after high school. However, most students reported having adults at school who encourage them all or most of the time to work hard so they can be successful in college or their future job.20 Providing access to career exposure opportunities and paid work over the summer will allow youth to gain early work experience and develop future goals. The community input conducted through the CNA found strong support for expanding access to employment and income earning opportunities for teens and transition age youth, particularly those who are disconnected from school, chronically absent, and low income. Across the board, system and community stakeholders emphasized the need to find ways to increase wages, incentives, or other payments to older and transitional age youth.
STRATEGY 6: ALIGNMENT AND PARTNERSHIP
OFCY and OEWD have historically partnered on a small summer jobs program that provides youth with career exposure and exploration opportunities. OFCY and OEWD jointly fund and administer this program. They will issue a joint RFP for funding for a cohesive program model for youth to participate in the Oakland summer jobs programs. As noted above OEWD is the body responsible for designing and
19 Ibid.
20 California Healthy Kids Survey, High School, 2020–2023
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implementing workforce development programs for young people in Oakland in partnership with the Oakland Workforce Development Board. The Workforce Development Board partners with community based organizations to offer job-readiness training, work-based learning opportunities, and paid work experience for youth. OFCY will deepen its partnership and alignment with OEWD and the Workforce Development Board to accomplish shared goals.
Strategy 7: Independent Living
STRATEGY DESCRIPTION
The Independent Living strategy contributes to OFCY goal 4, which focuses on supporting successful transitions to adulthood. Youth who are 15-21 years old will develop the necessary skills to successfully transition to adulthood through programs that offer financial education, life skills, and basic income supports. Youth who are disconnected from school, family, or employment need support with navigating public benefits, opening a bank account, and developing the life skills to navigate adulthood. Funded programs will increase young people’s sense of connection to caring adults along with the information and resources they need to live independently. Programs will offer referral pathways for young people to receive career access and employment services and create supportive adult and/or peer connections for young people. Programs may offer basic income support or other incentives that increase youth access to income, establish a financial safety net, and promote retention in the programs.
Programs will engage young people who live in equity zones, youth who are at risk of disconnection from school and employment, newcomer and immigrant populations, and youth who have been impacted by the foster care or criminal justice systems who would benefit from developing life skills to support a successful transition to adulthood.
STRATEGY 7: SUPPORTED PROGRAMMING
▪ Financial education and literacy
▪ Mentoring
▪ Life skills
▪ Training and education
▪ Basic income support
▪ Navigation of services and public benefits
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STRATEGY 7: OUTCOMES
▪ Increased experience with and awareness of job and career options for youth ▪ Increased youth knowledge of and comfort with basic life skills ▪ Increased youth confidence that they can be self-sufficient as they transition to adulthood ▪ Improved financial stability for youth through wages, incentives, and basic income supports ▪ Equity Outcome: Youth living in equity zones have increased access to income, benefits, and supportive services.
STRATEGY 7: FUNDING ALLOCATION
3-8%
STRATEGY 7: RATIONALE
During community input sessions, the highest priority was for services that prepared young people for adulthood, offered paid employment opportunities or other financial subsidies, and supported youth to develop financial literacy. System and community stakeholders are advocating for ways to increase wages, incentives, or other forms of financial support for young people transitioning into adulthood. The movement for guaranteed income is gaining momentum, offering a potential solution to address economic challenges and create greater equity for this population. Families face significant challenges with housing insecurity and rising costs of living. Youth are supporting their families financially, and desire additional job opportunities or financial incentives. A meta-review of the evidence regarding the outcomes associated with guaranteed income conducted by the Stanford Basic Income Lab found that unconditional monthly income was associated with increased household expenditures on basic needs and increased educational attainment. 21
As noted previously, members of the Oakland Youth Commission highlighted the need and desire for youth to have increased opportunities to learn practical skills (e.g., budgeting, financial management, property ownership, purchasing or leasing vehicles, etc.). Youth expressed a desire for workshops in high school that help them understand their expenses and manage their money. Many youth reported that the best way to prepare youth for adulthood is to help them develop life skills. As one young person explained, “[The school] can implement more [life skills] into the curriculum. Teachers are really good at involving students and including current and relevant things happening in the world, but maybe they can sneak in something else, like doing your taxes, because what is that?” – Oakland High Student”22
Independent living programs emerged to respond to the needs of foster care youth as they transitioned out of state care toward adulthood. They tend to focus on teaching life skills, such as cooking, cleaning, budgeting, securing housing, and employment and career advising. Programs may include soft skill development that focuses on meeting emotional and relational needs. The literature recommends that independent living programs holistically address youth needs and build their social capital.23
21 Rebecca Hasdell. “What We Know About Universal Basic Income: A Cross-synthesis of Reviews.” Stanford Basic Income Lab. 2020.
22 Oakland Youth Commission Preliminary Findings. Youth Leadership Institute. 2024. 23 Melanie M. Doucet, Johanna K.P. Greeson, and Nehal Eldeeb. “Independent Living Programs and Services for Youth 'Aging Out' of Care in Canada and the U.S.: A systematic review.” Children and Youth Services Review, Volume 142. 2022.
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STRATEGY 7: ALIGNMENT AND PARTNERSHIP
Oakland benefits from a wide range of initiatives and institutions that are focused on strengthening employment and education pathways for transition age youth. System stakeholders are seeking to create greater alignment between the school district, trade schools, community colleges, universities, and employers so that youth are aware of and able to access diverse pathways. Measure AA, the Oakland Children’s Initiative, has set aside about one-third of its $30 million annual funding to support the creation of a college-going culture. The Oakland Promise is charged with implementing this effort by supporting those seeking technical degrees, offering college bonds, and increasing access to and awareness of opportunities that can help make college affordable. Meanwhile, the City of Oakland has been working to develop the TAY-Hub—a new Career Technical Education (CTE) hub at 1025 2nd Avenue—to create programs for youth who are interested in alternative pathways to postsecondary success.24 OFCY will continue to partner with these initiatives and the OEWD to ensure that participants in independent living programs can access employment and career access programs when they are ready.
OFCY will collaborate with the initiatives described above that share the goal of supporting young people toward a successful transition to adulthood.
Strategy 8: Place-Based Innovations for Youth Safety
STRATEGY DESCRIPTION
The Place Based Innovations for Youth Safety strategy will support multiple OFCY goals, including but not limited to Youth Development & Violence Prevention and Transitions to Adulthood. This strategy will fund place-based and targeted pilot programs that promote safety, social cohesion and belonging for young people and families in low-income neighborhoods in OFCY equity zones. Funded pilots will focus on one of two target populations: youth who are at risk of future involvement in criminal activity, or families with children who live in neighborhoods experiencing disparate rates of community violence or crime.
Through a partnership with the Department of
Violence Prevention (DVP), youth-focused pilot
programs will offer comprehensive prevention and
early intervention supports such as life coaching to
youth who are demonstrating early warning
indicators of further involvement in groups, gangs,
gender-based violence, and other community
violence. Youth who are eligible for these services
will include middle and high school age youth, as
well as transitional age youth. Programs will
implement community-based, culturally competent
mentoring, life coaching or other early
interventions to help young people build prosocial
relationships with peers and caring adults, access
employment and educational opportunities, and
avoid future criminal justice system involvement.
Family and community pilots will support social cohesion within neighborhoods in equity zones, engage families with children in various age groups, and advance multiple OFCY goal areas. Funded pilot programs will implement culturally and linguistically competent strategies that strengthen family
24 https://movementstrategy.org/tayhub/
Civicorps
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supports, build social cohesion, and promote community-building within a high need neighborhood or target population that is disparately impacted by community violence and crime.
STRATEGY 8: SUPPORTED PROGRAMMING
▪ Early intervention and prevention programming
▪ Youth life coaching
▪ Basic income supports and incentives
▪ Mentoring
▪ Family support
▪ Social emotional learning and mental health
STRATEGY 8: OUTCOMES
▪ Youth reduce risk behaviors related to violence
▪ Youth and families have safe, youth-friendly spaces to play, celebrate, connect, and have fun ▪ Youth feel an increased sense of belonging and safety in their communities ▪ Equity Outcome: Youth demonstrating early warning indicators have improved engagement in school, work, and community activities.
STRATEGY 8: FUNDING ALLOCATION
10-15%
STRATEGY 8: RATIONALE
The CNA revealed large increases in trauma and mental health impacts on young people in Oakland in the last three years, accompanied by increasing concerns around safety, belonging and social connection.
Exposure to trauma and other adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) increase the risk of involvement in violence, victimization, gangs/groups, and other negative outcomes for youth. In the 2022–2023 school year, 27% of middle and high school students in OUSD reported having at least one friend or family member die by violence.25 There is broad consensus on the need for targeted prevention and early intervention to promote youth safety and address disparities. The literature shows that prevention and early intervention are more effective at preventing future criminal justice involvement than adult interventions and can result in significant taxpayer savings.26
The analysis of the systems landscape of funding to support low-income children, youth and families in Oakland identified significant new streams of funding to support Black families through the Rise East initiative in East Oakland, as well as an expansion of dedicated funding for early childhood and expanded learning programs that serve low-income youth. Community members and system partners lifted up the need for place-based investments that provide deeper and more targeted supports to families in need in West Oakland and other neighborhoods experiencing high levels of crime and community violence.
The Place Based Innovations for Youth Safety strategy is responsive to findings in the CNA that identified the increase in crime and violence in Oakland as a major driver of youth trauma. Community members, youth, and youth-serving organizations feel that there is an urgent need for the city to create an
25 OFCY Community Needs Assessment Report, 2024.
26 “Prevention and Early Intervention.” https://youth.gov/youth-topics/juvenile-justice/prevention-and-early- intervention
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expanded, coordinated response to these trends to support young people and stop the ripple effects of crime and violence in the community. Historically, violence prevention was funded at 3%; this Strategic Plan increases the investment. Programs will be able to propose pilots that serve a specific target population or work with families with children to address multiple OFCY goals areas within a specific neighborhood. Funded pilots will offer a deeper level of early intervention and programming support to youth and families than has historically been provided. OFCY intends to partner with the evaluator to develop a plan to assess participant outcomes over time.
STRATEGY 8: ALIGNMENT AND PARTNERSHIP
For youth-focused pilots, OFCY will partner with the DVP to build a continuum of prevention and intervention
services that can strengthen youth safety, social cohesion and belonging. In response to system and stakeholder
input OFCY is looking for opportunities to strengthen the continuum of support for young people who are at risk of future criminal justice involvement in its role as a
prevention funder. While the DVP works with youth who
are group or gang involved and eligible for focused
deterrence strategies, there is a need to increase support for upstream programs that keep young people safe and
prevent further involvement in crime and violence. The
DVP reports that there is a gap when it comes to
prevention and early intervention services for young
people who are not eligible for the DVP’s intensive
program interventions to stop shootings and homicides.
OFCY SYSTEMS STRATEGIES FOR FY 25 – 28
Over the next three years, OFCY aims to strengthen its internal systems, contracting, evaluation, and community involvement to bolster its impact in the community and advance equity. OFCY commits to the following systems change priorities:
Strengthen Cross-Department Partnerships
Through this strategic planning process, OFCY has partnered intentionally with key city department stakeholders in the hopes of improving coordination, deduplicating efforts, and strengthening cross- sector partnerships. This plan represents an intentional effort to align OFCY’s work with that of other city agencies in order to minimize the impact of any potential future cuts. OFCY is focused on working closely with the DVP, OPRYD, OEWD, and Head Start to have their funding strategies closely aligned so that gaps or cuts in services can be buffered by cross-departmental support.
Streamline City Contracting
In several cases, this Strategic Plan has reduced the number of strategies by collapsing or combining strategy options. This was an intentional decision to streamline contracting with the City of Oakland.
Many grantees have faced significant challenges with getting their contracts executed with the city in the last few years. The RFP that will be released next year will continue to integrate these kinds of simplifications to ensure that contracting is easier and quicker for OFCY’s new group of grantees.
East Bay Asian Local Development
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Expand Youth-Led Participatory Action Research
In the last year, the Oakland Youth Commission launched a Youth-Led Participatory Action Research project to understand youth needs and priorities and uplift youth voices in the city’s decision-making processes. OFCY recently released an RFP to continue to deepen and strengthen this work. The RFP aims to engage a youth development organization that will train Youth Research Fellows to conduct a Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) project to help inform local policy and create legislative change. As the YPAR work continues to expand and the Youth Commission builds capacity for this work, OFCY aims to create avenues for more shared decision-making with youth in future decisions.
Embed Racial Equity Statement and Approach
The City of Oakland’s Department of Race & Equity (DRE) aims to explicitly imbed racial equity in the city’s decisions and policies. OFCY has been working closely with the DRE this year to identify race equity outcomes. In the next three years, OFCY aims to complete a Racial Equity Impact Analysis, develop a Race & Equity Action Plan, and create an updated Racial Equity Statement.
Improve Data Collection and Evaluation Design
Historically, OFCY’s evaluation reports have been focused on measuring program outputs such as number of youth served and their demographics (e.g., race/ethnicity, zip code of residence, age, gender, etc.).
Comprehensive strategy-level or agency-level evaluations have been hampered by data systems and data reporting requirements. Each community-based organization identifies their intended program outcomes and provides narrative reports that describe how well the organization is achieving those outcomes. This year, through a competitive bidding process, OFCY has engaged the Bridging Group to conduct an open and collaborative evaluation design process in partnership with OFCY grantees. This evaluation design process will identify common themes in intended outcomes so that the evaluator may design an outcomes framework and evaluation approach that are rooted in the knowledge and capacity of community-based organizations. This new evaluation design will inform the new RFP for youth services that OFCY will release in 2025. In addition, OFCY is working closely with Cityspan to improve the format and content of the data reporting infrastructure that grantees use to report on their outputs and outcomes. Through these improvements to the evaluation design and Cityspan, OFCY aims to build the capacity to measure and report on strategy-level and agency-level impact in Oakland in the future.
Strengthen Community Partnership
During the community input phase of OFCY’s 2024 CNA, the Planning and Oversight Committee (POC) hosted its meetings at community-based locations in East Oakland, Fruitvale, and West Oakland. Hosting POC meetings in the community led to increased community turnout and engagement in OFCY’s planning process. OFCY and the POC aim to continue hosting POC meetings and other OFCY engagements in community-based locations in the coming years to increase youth and family participation and engagement in OFCY’s policies, decisions, and strategies.
Foster CBO Capacity Building
OFCY plays an important role in supporting small, emerging, culturally-focused organizations that serve niche communities in Oakland. In the upcoming grants cycle, OFCY aims to expand the size of its grants, invest in new pilots, and connect organizations to training and capacity building resources.
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APPENDIX A: SUMMARY OF OFCY GOAL AREAS, STRATEGIES
AND FUNDING ALLOCATIONS
The 2025-28 Oakland Fund for Children and Youth (OFYC) Strategic Plan outlines eight strategies to pursue and advance OFCY’s four key goals outlined in the enabling ordinance:
Healthy
Development of
Young Children
Student Success
in School
Youth Development
and Violence
Prevention
Transitions to
Adulthood
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APPENDIX B: ACRONYMS
ACEs Adverse Childhood Experiences
CBO Community-Based Organization
CDE California Department of Education
CNA Community Needs Assessment
DRE Department of Race and Equity
DVP Department of Violence Prevention
ELO-P Expanded Learning Opportunities Program
FRC Family Resource Center
OEWD Office of Economic and Workforce Development
OPRYD Oakland Parks, Recreation & Youth Development
OUSD Oakland Unified School District
POC Planning and Oversight Committee
RFP Request for Proposal
TAY Transitional-Age Youth
WIOA Workforce Innovation Opportunities Act
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CONTACT US
City of Oakland
Department of Human Services
Oakland Fund for Children and Youth (OFCY)
150 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Suite 4216
Oakland, CA 94612
510-238-6379 Main Office
510-238-4971 Fax
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.ofcy.org