Attachment A - Jan. 28, 2026 CSE Minutes.pdf

Phoenix City Council 
Community Services and Education (CSE) Subcommittee 
Summary Minutes 
Wednesday, January 28, 2026 
City Council Chambers 
200 W. Jefferson St. 
Phoenix, Ariz. 
Subcommittee Members Present     
 Subcommittee Members Absent  
Chairwoman Kesha Hodge Washington 
Councilwoman Ann O’Brien         
Councilwoman Anna Hernandez 
Councilwoman Debra Stark 
CALL TO ORDER 
Chairwoman Hodge Washington called the Community Services and Education 
Subcommittee (CSE) to order at 10:03 a.m. with Councilwoman Stark, Councilwoman 
O’Brien, and Councilwoman Hernandez present. Councilwoman Hernandez and 
Councilwoman O’Brien attended the meeting virtually. 
CALL TO THE PUBLIC 
None. 
MINUTES OF MEETINGS 
1. Minutes of the Community Services and Education Subcommittee Meeting
Councilwoman Stark made a motion to approve the minutes of the December 16, 2025 
Community Services and Education Subcommittee meeting. Councilwoman O’Brien 
seconded the motion which passed unanimously, 4-0. 
INFORMATION (ITEMS 2-3) 
2. Head Start Birth to Five Monthly Report – November 2025
No presentations were planned, but staff was available to answer questions. 
3. Future Leaders Youth Town Hall
No presentations were planned, but staff was available to answer questions. 
Councilwoman Hernandez asked for clarification that the Youth Town Hall was the item 
being addressed. 
Attachment A

Chairwoman Hodge Washington confirmed that the Youth Town Hall item was being 
discussed. 
Councilwoman Hernandez asked whether the Youth Town Hall happens annually in 
partnership with other organizations. 
Youth and Education Office Director Valencia confirmed that the Youth Town Hall 
occurs every October and that the current partnership had been in place since 2017.  
Councilwoman Hernandez expressed support for this youth program and excitement for 
the next Youth Town Hall in October. 
INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION (ITEMS 4-6)   
4. Federal Update 
Office of Homeless Solutions Director Rachel Milne and Human Services Department 
Director Jacqueline Edwards presented this item.  
Director Milne provided an overview of the Maricopa Continuum of Care (CoC) 
overseen by U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) which provides housing 
subsidies to homeless individuals.  Director Milne shared this has allowed the City of 
Phoenix to focus on outreach and shelter which is not funded by CoC. Director Milne 
shared changes surrounding CoC Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) which may 
lead to a loss in housing funding next federal fiscal year. 
Director Edwards provided an update on the Citywide Food Relief efforts. Director 
Edwards shared that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Women, 
Infants and Children (WIC) are funded through September 2026 and that SNAP now 
required additional criteria in order to be eligible. Director Edwards provided information 
on the Human Services Preparedness and Response Plan which was created to help 
guide City actions when federal funding may be disrupted and had already convened to 
focus on three major areas: food, housing stability, and healthcare. 
Councilwoman Stark asked whether extending the timeline for the food drives has been 
considered. 
Director Edwards shared that the Food Assistance webpage will continue to be 
available and updated. Director Edwards also shared that work for the Human Services 
Preparedness and Response Plan around food had already begun to determine best 
ways to engage staff and residents. 
Councilwoman Stark suggested that City Councilmembers may be able to assist in 
partnering with smaller food banks. Councilwoman Stark asked for more information 
about the 46 percent drop in calls for housing and utilities assistance.

Director Edwards confirmed that it was a considerable drop in the number of calls for 
assistance. Director Edwards added she was unsure as to the reason for this drop 
considering the continued need in the community, but that it may be due to federal 
government requirement changes. 
Councilwoman Stark mentioned the eviction assistance program that the City of 
Phoenix offers and thanked staff for their work.  
Chairwoman Hodge Washington thanked staff for sharing updates with City 
Councilmembers and the community. Chairwoman Hodge Washington asked about the 
impact to Maricopa CoC, if it’s $52 million funding award is lost.  
Director Milne shared concern that the NOFO would have capped from 2,000 units to 
under 600 units. Director Milne thanked Maricopa Association of Governments for their 
work. 
Chairwoman Hodge Washington asked for an explanation of what permanent 
supportive housing means. 
Director Milne shared that a permanent supportive housing voucher is provided to an 
individual who may need more than just temporary housing assistance. Director Milne 
clarified that there is no end date to a permanent supportive housing voucher, which 
differs from temporary housing. 
Chairwoman Hodge Washington asked about changes that would occur from some of 
the new requirements from the Maricopa Continuum of Care NOFO. 
Director Milne highlighted changes that Maricopa was able to implement immediately 
and then highlighted changes that were more difficult to implement.  
Chairwoman Hodge Washington asked if there is any data on website traffic. 
Director Edwards offered that she could share data on the utilization of the webpage 
with the subcommittee members after she is able to analyze the data. 
Chairwoman Hodge Washington asked about Head Start abandoned applications and 
asked why people may be declining to join Head Start. 
Director Edwards answered that similar to the Rental and Utility assistance program, 
likely the additional questions added, such as around immigration and legal status, may 
be a large contributor to the drop in number of applications for Head Start. Director 
Edwards clarified that there is not a requirement for children or family members to 
answer questions around legal status. 
Chairwoman Hodge Washington voiced support for food, housing, and healthcare to be 
part of the Human Services and Preparedness and Response Plan. Chairwoman Hodge 
Washington asked about the feasibility of passing funding bills for WIC and SNAP.

Federal Relations Manager Eric Gudino from Government Relations shared that 
Congress is currently debating a funding bill. 
Chairwoman Hodge Washington cautioned additional federal shutdowns and asked for 
the Federal Update presentation to include updates about federal shutdowns.  
Councilman Hernandez thanked staff for supporting residents through the Human 
Services Preparedness and Response Plan through social services.  
Chairwoman Hodge Washington thanked staff for their work.  
5. Maricopa County Department of Public Health Community Health Needs 
Assessment 
Public Health Advisor Yanitza Soto presented this item. 
Advisor Soto shared an overview of the Maricopa County Community Healthcare Needs 
Assessment (CHNA) and the work that the City of Phoenix did following the 2023 
survey. 
Councilwoman Stark asked whether Maricopa County was doing a campaign to talk 
about mental health with home bound individuals, especially seniors. 
Advisor Soto highlighted the Mental Health Matters campaign that the City of Phoenix 
started last year, as well as work being done by the county and the City of Phoenix 
Human Services Department. 
Councilwoman Stark offered to help promote mental health at City of Phoenix Senior 
Centers. 
Councilwoman Hernandez asked how the last cycle’s survey results were used by the 
Office of Public Health. 
Advisor Soto highlighted that one result of the 2023 survey was the creation of mental 
health brochures which were available primarily at Phoenix libraries. 
Councilwoman Hernandez asked what demographics may be focused on for the 2026 
survey and whether the survey is available to the general public. 
Advisor Soto answered that the survey is available to the general public between 
February and April with various outreach plans outlined for the survey. 
Councilwoman Hernandez requested a copy of the 2023 survey results. 
Advisor Soto agreed to share the previous report with the subcommittee. 
Councilwoman Hernandez thanked staff.

Councilwoman O’Brien asked whether demographics would be tracked for the survey 
and whether any targeted outreach would be done for any areas of the City or 
demographics that aren’t well represented by the survey respondents. 
Advisor Soto confirmed that demographics are tracked by Maricopa County and will be 
shared with the City to allow more targeted outreach to demographics that have not 
responded to the survey. 
Councilwoman O’Brien asked whether social media would be used to promote the 
survey. 
Advisor Soto confirmed that social media would be used, as well as the Office of Public 
Health website and interdepartmentally. Advisor Soto offered to share materials with 
Council offices. 
Councilwoman O’Brien agreed that materials would be helpful so that the Council 
offices could help promote the survey. 
Chairwoman Hodge Washington requested an explanation of how surveys helped 
inform the work of the Office of Public Health. 
Advisor Soto explained that surveys greatly assist with a community health 
improvement process. She explained that the County Health department analyzes the 
survey which then goes to the Health Improvement Partnership of Maricopa County 
(HIPMC) and is discussed by partnering organizations to inform their work. Advisor Soto 
explained that the Community Health Improvement Process (CHIP) helps identify the 
top five priority areas for the next three years. For 2023, the top priority areas were 
mental health, access to healthcare, access to healthy food, substance use, and 
housing and homelessness.  
Chairwoman Hodge Washington asked what plans there are to promote the survey 
outside of social media. 
Advisor Soto shared that in 2023, the survey was available in paper or on a tablet, and 
in Phoenix Senior Centers. 
Chairwoman Hodge Washington mentioned that she would connect offline with Advisor 
Soto for an outreach plan and thanked staff for their work. 
6. Communications and Outreach for Human Services and Youth Programs 
Human Services Department Director Jacqueline Edwards, Youth and Education 
Director Tim Valencia, and Communications Director Dan Wilson presented this item. 
Communications Director Wilson shared an overview of awareness via social media, 
websites, and other means for the Human Services Department and the Youth and 
Education Office.

Human Services Department Director Edwards shared a case study of the eviction legal 
services that launched in January 2025 and shared an overview of targeted community 
outreach for the program. Director Edwards also highlighted the Phoenix Mental Health 
Matters campaign and the cross-departmental efforts which promoted the new initiative. 
Youth and Education Director Valencia shared an outreach case study of the Partner 
with a Principal program and Phoenix Achieves program. He shared information on their 
marketing toolkits, including branding, and outreach efforts. 
Director Wilson proposed three focus areas for 2026: birth to third grade, crisis 
assistance, and seniors. Director Wilson also proposed a multidepartment, bilingual 
campaign, Helping Phoenix Families, that would encompass programs from multiple 
City departments to raise awareness of resources. 
Councilwoman Stark thanked staff for their work and offered to help promote the 
campaign via social media and other ways. 
Chairwoman Hodge Washington thanked staff for the update on communication and 
outreach strategies and asked what metrics are being considered to ensure outreach is 
successful. 
Director Edwards explained that for eviction legal services, areas with the highest 
eviction rates were being targeted for outreach, and then the Human Services 
Department checked to see whether applications in targeted outreach areas increased. 
Chairwoman Hodge Washington thanked staff for their intentional outreach efforts for 
eviction legal services and highlighted the cross departmental efforts for the Mental 
Health Matters campaign. Chairwoman Hodge Washington noted the importance of 
programs like Partner with a Principal and Phoenix Achieves and expressed support for 
the three focus areas for 2026 that Director Wilson proposed as well as the Helping 
Phoenix Families campaign. 
Councilwoman Hernandez thanked staff and asked about community organization 
partnerships that were leveraged for outreach efforts. 
Director Edwards shared that there were partnerships with community organizations for 
eviction legal services and Mental Health Matters. Director Edwards highlighted the 
importance of these partnerships considering since these community organizations 
were serving the same groups of people that the City is, and collaborative efforts such 
as resource fairs, are enhanced through these partnerships. 
Director Wilson highlighted a Spanish media committee and its efforts to outreach to the 
Spanish speakers such as through phone banks with Telemundo where the City 
receives calls to answer questions and a monthly article with Lavos, a local radio 
program, to talk about City services and programs.

Councilwoman Hernandez inquired about partnerships with schools or daycare 
programs. 
Director Valencia explained that the City shares program information with all 29 school 
districts in Phoenix, and that pushing information out via other platforms such as Peach 
Jar was being pursued. Director Valencia shared that the Partner with a Principal works 
to connect industry partners with school leaders. Director Valencia also highlighted 
Spanish outreach. 
Councilwoman Hernandez suggested partnering with DECA clubs at schools to connect 
them with businesses since DECA is a career and technical student organization. 
Councilwoman Hernandez asked if canvassing would be done for outreach. 
Deputy Director Gina Montes shared that canvassing would be difficult due to staffing 
however there might be an opportunity to work with other organizations for canvassing. 
Councilwoman Hernandez explained that connecting with individuals at their homes 
who may work multiple jobs, such as to share information about eviction legal services, 
could be helpful. 
Councilwoman O’Brien thanked staff for their work and expressed excitement for the 
collaborative plan for outreach. 
Chairwoman Hodge Washington thanked staff for their work. 
 
CALL TO THE PUBLIC  
Chanel Lavant expressed appreciation for the services available and expressed 
concern about the attitude of Head Start staff.  
 
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS 
None. 
 
ADJOURNMENT 
Chairwoman Hodge Washington adjourned the meeting at 11:34 a.m. 
 
Respectfully submitted, 
Cecilia Alcantar-Chavez 
Management Fellow