While many outside agencies and city-staffed programs saw cuts ranging from 20 to 40 percent, one program that focused on prevention at select middle and elementary schools was eliminated. “We tried to trim where we could but still have a strong safety net.” “When you have to make immediate cuts, the first to go is prevention,” Maciel said. Maciel also oversees a city staff of 22 youth outreach workers who work in gang prevention and intervention from the city’s parks and recreation department. Maciel is in charge of negotiating contracts with dozens of outside agencies that provide prevention and intervention services, including Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, the Alum Rock Counseling Center and Fresh Lifelines for Youth. The task force budget for 2011-12 was reduced from about $4.7 million to $2.5 million, according to Mario Maciel, who oversees the prevention and intervention arms of the gang task force.

“We’re still trying to come to grips with what’s left of services to prevent some of our students from making the wrong choice.” “It’s really going to hurt,” said John Porter, superintendent of the Franklin-McKinley School District and a policy member of the gang task force.

As San Jose police continue their ramped-up efforts to suppress gang violence, city and school leaders are dealing with severe budget cuts to services aimed at preventing kids from turning to gangs.įunding for the Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force was cut almost in half for the fiscal year that began July 1, forcing city officials to scale back or eliminate numerous services, including prevention programs geared toward fifth- through eighth-graders in neighborhoods considered hot spots for gang activity.

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