Sacramento County Commission on the Status of Women and Girls

High school juniors and seniors: earn a stipend while exploring your career interests and future goals.

Health Education Council is offering a 7-week career readiness program for students living in or attending school in select Sacramento County zip codes. Participants will build resumes, practice interview skills, hear from guest speakers, learn budgeting and conflict resolution skills, and explore career paths. Attend all program sessions to earn a $300 stipend.

📍 HEC Office — 7617 Alma Vista Way, Sacramento, CA 95831
🗓 Thursdays, June 18 – July 30, 2026
⏰ 1 PM – 3 PM

Apply - https://bit.ly/hec-career-ready

Ready to kickstart your future? The Sacramento Works Youth Program is here to help young adults build skills, gain paid work experience, and explore career pathways!
Connect with SETA Sacramento Works and EGACE to get the support, training, and guidance you need to take your next step toward success.

Happy Fun Fact Monday, Pancakes With a Purpose is BACK!

Mark your calendars! The Traces of Trinity Foundation invites you to join us for our 2nd Annual Pancakes With a Purpose Fundraising Event! We are celebrating 2 years of impact! We are taking over Applebee's in Sacramento for a morning of pancakes, exciting auctions, and most importantly, coming together as a community to support families who need it most!

🚨DON'T WAIT TO GET YOUR TICKETS!🚨
We only have 100 tickets available for this event, and last year we completely SOLD OUT! Secure your spot today so you don't miss out on the fun!

Tickets are $20 each (distributed at the door).

Ways to Purchase:

👉 Link in our Instagram Bio

👉 Check out our Facebook Event

👉 Our Website's Event Page (https://tracesoftrinityfoundation.com/ -4)

👉 Or scan the QR code on the flyer attached to this post!

Can't make it to breakfast, but still want to support? You can use those same exact links to make a direct donation to the cause! 💖

Every ticket purchased or donation made directly supports children and families experiencing long-term hospital stays. Let's make a difference, one pancake at a time!

What’s Next?
We will be sharing weekly sponsor shout-outs and sneak peeks of some of our incredible silent auction items, so stay tuned!

Want to Help?
We will be looking for volunteers to help out on the day of the event! If you’re interested in lending a hand, let us know in the comments or send us a message. We will be sharing an official volunteer post with all the details in the coming weeks as we get closer to the event!

Have questions? Email us at [email protected].

On June 10, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors will begin discussing a proposed County budget that includes a projected $100 million deficit and significant cuts to public safety services. Residents deserve to understand how the County reached this point, what cuts are being proposed, and what the consequences could be if those reductions move forward.

Sacramento County is facing what is known as a structural deficit. In simple terms, the County’s ongoing expenses are growing faster than its ongoing revenues. This is not a one-time shortfall that can be solved with a temporary fix. Unless spending and revenues are brought back into balance, the problem will continue year after year.

Sacramento County is not alone. Cities and counties across California are facing increasing financial pressure as labor costs, pension obligations, inflation, homelessness spending, infrastructure needs, public safety demands, and health care costs continue to rise faster than revenues. Several factors are contributing to the County’s current situation.

One is HR1, a federal law that shifts additional financial responsibilities onto counties without fully funding them. Another major cost driver is the Mays consent decree, which requires Sacramento County to make extensive and expensive improvements within the jail system.

Much of that work stems from the reality that the County Main Jail was built decades before modern Americans with Disabilities Act standards existed. The County is now under court order to retrofit facilities, improve accessibility, and bring portions of the jail into compliance with federal requirements. These are not optional projects. They are legal obligations, and they come with substantial costs.

At the same time, Sacramento County has committed enormous sums toward homelessness programs and services. Residents have a right to ask whether those investments are producing measurable results.

Many people continue to report concerns about encampments, fires, trash, theft, public drug use, and disorder in neighborhoods and business corridors throughout the County. Against that backdrop, the proposed budget would significantly reduce law enforcement services.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, the proposed cuts would eliminate or reduce several specialized public safety units, including the Homeless Outreach Team, the Problem-Oriented Policing Team, the Marine Detail, gang enforcement units serving both North and South Sacramento County, and identity theft investigations.

The staffing reductions include:
• 13 Deputy Detective positions
• 2 Detective Sergeant positions
• 25 Deputy positions
• 3 Sergeant positions

That is a total reduction of 43 positions.

These are not abstract numbers on a spreadsheet. These are personnel assigned to problems residents regularly call government about.

The Homeless Outreach Team operates at the intersection of homelessness, mental health, public safety, and quality-of-life enforcement. Gang enforcement units focus on neighborhoods that have historically experienced violent crime and organized criminal activity. Identity theft investigators help residents whose finances and personal information have been stolen and who often have nowhere else to turn for help.

Reducing these services will have real consequences for response capacity, proactive enforcement, and neighborhood safety. The proposed cuts to the District Attorney’s Office are equally concerning.

The DA’s Office is facing a proposed $4.1 million reduction that would eliminate the Misdemeanor Unit and the Community Prosecution Unit entirely.

These are not minor administrative reductions. These are the very units responsible for handling many of the crimes and chronic problems that most directly affect daily life in neighborhoods and business corridors, including petty theft, vandalism, trespassing, drug-related offenses, and repeat quality-of-life crimes.

Community prosecutors also work directly with residents, businesses, schools, and law enforcement agencies to address recurring problems before they escalate further. Eliminating these units would mean fewer tools to respond to the persistent low-level criminal activity and public disorder that residents regularly experience.

These cuts would come at the exact moment voters have demanded stronger accountability for theft and drug crimes through Proposition 36.
But laws do not enforce themselves. Accountability requires prosecutors, investigators, courtroom staff, and the capacity to consistently handle cases.

Eliminating the Misdemeanor Unit while expanding criminal accountability under Proposition 36 sends two completely contradictory messages. On paper, penalties become tougher. In practice, the County would be eliminating many of the prosecutors responsible for handling the very misdemeanor and quality-of-life crimes residents experience most often.

Criminals pay attention to enforcement patterns. If offenders begin to believe misdemeanor crimes are unlikely to be prosecuted consistently because the County eliminated the unit dedicated to handling those cases, deterrence erodes quickly. Residents should expect more repeat theft, vandalism, trespassing, drug-related offenses, and public disorder when accountability becomes less certain.

That is not what voters intended when they approved Proposition 36. The County must also ensure that Probation services are protected. Probation officers play a critical role in supervising offenders, monitoring compliance, supporting rehabilitation, and helping prevent repeat criminal behavior before it escalates.
None of this changes the reality that Sacramento County faces serious financial challenges. Difficult decisions are unavoidable, and every department should be expected to justify spending and operate efficiently.

But public safety occupies a unique role in local government. When neighborhoods feel unsafe, every other challenge facing a community becomes harder to solve. Businesses struggle to invest. Residents lose confidence in local institutions. Economic development slows. Efforts to address homelessness and improve quality of life become more difficult.

That is why I believe the County should exhaust other options before reducing core law enforcement services. County leaders should closely examine administrative spending, nonessential programs, delayed capital projects, operational efficiencies, and other areas of the budget before weakening gang enforcement, homeless outreach, misdemeanor prosecution, and investigative capacity.

Reasonable people can disagree about budget priorities. But residents expect local government to maintain basic public order, protect victims, and respond effectively to crime. Those responsibilities remain fundamental. I cannot support balancing the County budget through reductions that significantly weaken public safety services.

The Board of Supervisors will discuss the proposed budget on Wednesday, June 10, beginning at 9:30 a.m. Members of the public will have an opportunity to speak directly to the Board, and written comments may also be submitted to [email protected].

This budget debate will shape Sacramento County well beyond a single fiscal year. Financial pressures are real, but so are the consequences of reducing law enforcement capacity. Residents deserve a budget that reflects both fiscal responsibility and the basic expectation of public safety.

If you would like to share your thoughts with me, you can reach my office at 916-874-5491 or email [email protected].

Join Culture Is Prevention for a hands-on Medicine Bag Making workshop with Corrina Snow (Chumash, Ohlone, Cheyenne) on Tuesday, May 26th, 6:00–8:30 PM at SNAHC’s Youth & Family Space (Florin Road). Learn the cultural significance of medicine bags and create your own to carry prayers, intentions, and protective items.

All supplies are provided, and space is limited to 40 participants to keep the session interactive and supported. Pre-registration is required. We look forward to creating in community together!

Link to register: https://forms.office.com/r/AVDZ8Pm22E