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COUNTY CURRENTS: What we've accomplished
Dave Cortese
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
dave.cortese@bos.sccgov.org
July 27, 2011
I want to thank you for your support during my year as president of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. I am very honored to work on your behalf. As we just adopted our $4 billion balanced budget and are preparing for the start of the next fiscal year, I would like to take this opportunity to give you an update on the initiatives I began as part of the 2011 State of the County Address.
In this, the Year of the Child, I have focused the county's efforts on helping our youth achieve their maximum potential. Just last month, the Board of Supervisors approved my request to have "child impact statements" included in all memos given to the board for a possible decision. The inclusion of this statement will assist the board in understanding the direct impacts of policy decisions on the children in Santa Clara County.
Additionally, the county has created a pilot program of School Linked Services in San Jose Unified and East Side Union high school districts. I am very excited about rebuilding this program in our local schools as it will provide safety net services support in the schools for easy access by students and families.
The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution in support of A-G requirements in local high schools. I am pleased to be working with the Silicon Valley Education Foundation to implement these requirements in high schools across the county to better prepare our high school students for college.
Understanding that youth is just one population that we focus on, albeit a very important population, I worked with the county's Mental Health Department to hold the first Older Adult Summit to determine how the county can better address the mental health needs of older adults in Santa Clara County. More than 300 people participated and helped to provide helpful information that is currently being written into the action plan for the board to consider this fall.
I am pleased to represent a county that is one of the most diverse in the nation. Although, this forces us to be cognizant of the needs of all populations, especially when looking at public health. With the help of the Public Health Department, we are launching the Viet Health Assessment to determine the unique needs of the Vietnamese community in Santa Clara County. The county has one of the largest Vietnamese populations in the United States. We will use this information to better serve our residents. And we will expand this effort to other ethnic communities in the county.
This fall, the board will be discussing another of my initiatives, the Open Government Ordinance. The second phase of this ordinance will identify additional ways to ensure that county residents have easy and transparent access to their representatives.
Regarding the recent budget, I am pleased to say that we were able to save a significant amount of funding for our local non-profits that serve the vulnerable populations including the senior nutrition program and the Silicon Valley Independent Living Center. We were also able to secure additional funding for the tax collector's office so that they can reduce the backlog of assessment appeals. This will allow them to process the appeals and refunds in a timely manner so that you receive any funds that are properly yours.
Lastly, I was able to convince the board to restore funding for the pharmacies in the Valley Health Clinics so that they will remain open on a full-time basis for our residents.
I look forward to working with all of you in the rest of my term as president of the Board of Supervisors. If you would like more information on any of these initiatives or would like my help on other issues, please don't hesitate to contact me at 299-5030 or dave.cortese@bos.sccgov.org.
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