Suffer the Little Children -- Or, in San Francisco, Maybe Not

Bracing for collateral damage in the city's budget crisis

As San Francisco copes with its most severe budget crisis ever, virtually every sector of local government has felt the squeeze. Mayor Gavin Newsom has demanded that city departments cut their spending by 25 percent, an order with which most -- but not all -- have complied. Public services have been among the hardest hit, which begs the question: When people can no longer turn to the city for help, where do they go?

In the case of the foster care and juvenile justice systems, one recourse has long been City Youth Now, an organization that caters to the needs of children who find themselves without a home or have ended up in court for the wrong reasons. City Youth Now pays for what might be called extra-judicial services and goods for such young people, ranging from clothes to medical care. And it does so, proponents say, without getting snarled in red tape.

"Other bureaucracies, you're staring out for several weeks, if not months," says veteran deputy public defender Patricia Lee, a longtime supporter of the program. "City Youth Now, it's a one-day turnaround. It's a can-do attitude."

But that attitude is facing some challenges as a surfeit of cases spill over from San Francisco's contracting public service agencies, according to Brittany Heinrich, City Youth Now's executive director. The organization has seen its case load jump by more than 70 percent from this time last year, she said, and has had to cut back funding for some services, such as dentistry. Heinrich is hoping that a fundraiser to be held next week will bring in some cash for the program's coffers. Right now, the outlook is uncertain.

"Our goal is to never turn a child away," Heinrich said. In this city, in these times, that may be a tough goal to meet.

Photo by Afghan LORD.