About the Children, Youth and Their Families

The Department of Children, Youth and Their Families (DCYF) funds programs for children, youth, and families in San Francisco. We work with community groups, City departments, and schools to support young people. We serve children and youth up to age 24.

DCYF works toward a San Francisco where all young people are:

• Supported by caring families and communities
• Physically and emotionally healthy
• Ready to learn and succeed in school
• Ready for college, work, and adulthood

DCYF funds programs that support children, youth, and families across San Francisco.

We work with:

• Community organizations
• City departments
• Schools

Together, we help make San Francisco a great place for young people to grow up.

Learn more about:

• Services DCYF funds
• Initiatives DCYF leads
• DCYF planning and funding priorities

Strategic funding
We invest in programs that respond to community needs.

We focus on:

• Programs informed by research and experience
• Reducing gaps in opportunity
• Supporting new ideas and approaches

Quality services
We provide support to help funded programs and organizations do their work well.

Engagement with San Francisco’s communities
We listen to youth, families, and people in the community to help guide our funding. We work in neighborhoods across San Francisco to learn what families need.

Collaborative partnerships
We work with City departments and community groups to improve services for children and youth.

The Children and Youth Fund focuses on young people with the greatest needs.

DCYF works to promote equity by:

• Asking communities for input on funding decisions
• Reviewing data by race and other groups
• Funding organizations that know and reflect the communities they serve
• Helping staff learn and talk about equity through our internal equity committee
• Working with the Office of Racial Equity on City equity planning

Read our racial equity action plan and progress reports.

San Francisco voters created the Children and Youth Fund in 1991. The fund uses property taxes to support programs for children, youth, and families. DCYF manages the fund and provides grants for services across the city.

The City Charter requires DCYF to:

• Fund services for children up to age 18 and youth up to age 24
• Complete a city planning process every five years
• Reserve 3% of funding for youth-led projects
• Focus funding on young people with the greatest needs

Read the Children and Youth Fund section of the San Francisco Charter

The San Francisco Department of Children, Youth and Their Families (DCYF) acknowledges that it carries out its work on the unceded ancestral homeland of the Ramaytush Ohlone, the original inhabitants and stewards of the San Francisco Peninsula. As the government agency that stewards the Children and Youth Fund, we accept the responsibility that comes with resources derived from property taxes upon unceded and colonized land. We recognize the history and legacy of the Ramaytush Ohlone as integral to how we strive to make San Francisco a great place for life to thrive and children to grow up.

Learn more about the Ramaytush Ohlone