SF Requires Disability Inclusion Training for All City-Funded Youth Programs

Mayor Lurie and the Department of Children, Youth and Their Families announced that San Francisco is now requiring all 149 city-funded youth agencies — spanning 268 programs — to complete mandatory disability inclusion training. Multiple speakers called the mandate the first of its kind in the country, framing it as both a civil rights milestone and an economic imperative for families.

• All 149 DCYF-funded agencies must complete three-part inclusion training by end of the 2024–29 funding cycle

• City invests more than $30 million annually in after-school and summer programs through DCYF; none previously required disability inclusion training at this scale

• Parents and advocates frame inclusion as an economic issue: when programs can't accommodate children with disabilities, mothers are disproportionately forced to leave the workforce

• Early adopters report immediate results, with previously sidelined youth joining activities and building relationships

A National First in Youth Program Inclusion

The basics: The Inclusion Jumpstart Series is a three-part mandatory training program covering legal requirements, building program-wide inclusion systems, and sustaining inclusive practices over time. It is delivered by Support for Families of Children with Disabilities and Village Well Parenting. Every staff member at every DCYF-funded youth program in San Francisco must complete it by the end of the 2024–29 funding cycle.

Why it matters: One in four Americans lives with a disability, yet youth with disabilities remain far less likely to participate in after-school programs, community spaces, and leadership opportunities. The city spends more than $30 million per year on youth programming through DCYF, and until now, there was no citywide standard ensuring those programs could serve children with disabilities effectively.

Where things stand: Mayor Daniel Lurie connected the initiative to his Family Opportunity Agenda, arguing that funding alone doesn't solve the problem. "Access alone is not enough. The programs we fund have to work for all children, including those with disabilities," he said. He described what success looks like: "For children with disabilities, this means access to programs where they can fully participate and succeed. For families, it means confidence that the programs that the city funds will meet their child's needs."

DCYF Executive Director Charisse Dorsey Smith announced the mandate and pushed back on the perception that inclusion is costly or complicated. "There's a persistent myth that supporting youth with disabilities is overly complex or burdensome," she said. "In reality, meaningful inclusion often begins with small, intentional changes, trained staff, flexible approaches, and a willingness to adapt."

She grounded the urgency in data: "Today, one in four people in the United States lives with a disability, and for many, that experience begins in childhood. Yet youth with disabilities are still far less likely to participate in after-school programs, community spaces and leadership opportunities. Not because they lack ability, but because those spaces weren't designed with them in mind."

How the Training Works

Ed Center, founder of Village Well Parenting, described the practical mechanics: workshops, learning networks, on-site coaching, program improvement processes, and a new video series. He shared a personal story that helped inspire his work — his then-10-year-old son's mental health emergency in 2021, during a period when children with disabilities were especially isolated by the pandemic.

"San Francisco is the first city I know of attempting to bring these skills to every single staff member of every single youth serving program," Center said.

Vicky Chung Lui, senior program director at Community Youth Center of San Francisco, described the difference the training made as an early adopter: "When we made that investment, we saw the difference right away. In our programs, that can look like a young person who might have stayed on the sidelines, now joining in, building relationships and feeling like they really belong."

The Economic Case for Inclusion

Wendy Neikirk Rhodes, executive director of Support for Families of Children with Disabilities — the lead contractor on the training — made the sharpest policy argument of the event, connecting disability inclusion directly to workforce participation. "Disproportionately, mothers are forced to reduce work hours, turn down work, or leave the workforce entirely," she said. "Inclusive programs keep families economically stable. That's the heart of Mayor Lurie's Family Opportunity Agenda, and it has to include every family, including families of kids with disabilities."

Neikirk Rhodes spoke from personal experience as well, describing how her own child experienced safety issues in a program that lacked disability training — "not because they didn't want to, but because they didn't have the training that they needed to meet his needs."

Parent advocate April Fong, a mother of five whose children have invisible disabilities, echoed that theme: "What I learned is the difference isn't intention, it's knowledge, preparation and support." She credited Support for Families with helping her navigate complex systems and said the organization's expertise is "exactly what programs across our city need."

What's Next

The initiative builds on the city's Strong Starts initiative and the Department of Early Childhood's Early Learning for All and Early Connections programs. All 149 DCYF-funded agencies must complete the three-part series by the end of the 2024–29 funding cycle. Supervisor Wong, representing District 4, hosted the announcement at Dianne Feinstein Elementary School in the district.