Wednesday, March 4, 2026, 1 p.m. (Austin time), Austin City Hall
Committee: Public Health Committee
0:01 Alright. Hello. Good afternoon everyone.
0:06 I call to order this meeting of the Austin City Council public health committee meeting.
0:10 It is 1:01 pm on Wednesday, March 4th, 2026, and we are here in City Council chambers.
0:17 Hello, former Council Member ann kitchen is with us today.
0:21 Good to see you, Council Member.
0:24 Um, welcome everyone. It is our March public health committee meeting.
0:27 I'm joined on the dais by our vice chair Council Member uchin, as well as members, council members
0:32 Ryan Alter and José Velásquez.
0:34 For our agenda today, we'll start with public communication, then we'll move on to consideration of approval of
0:40 minutes from the February 4th committee meeting.
0:43 We'll then discuss and take action on the reappointment of two members to the sobering center board of
0:48 directors. From there, the committee will receive an update by central health community care health centers and integral
0:55 care on the mental health system of care for low income and uninsured people in travis county.
1:00 And then lastly, we will have a briefing on the 2025 travis county community health assessment.
1:06 That was, we were originally gonna have that last committee meeting, but that got bumped to today.
1:11 Any questions or comments?
1:14 Very good. If the clerk May please welcome our speakers from the community.
1:18 If I can have maria campos.
1:39 Thank you chairwoman. Good afternoon, members of the committee.
1:42 My name is maria iso and I'm here representing committees and schools of central texas in support of
1:48 our continued partnership with the city of Austin.
1:51 Cis is a direct response to two urgent challenges.
1:54 The city has prioritized the student attendance crisis and youth mental health.
1:59 We provide relationship-based trauma-informed supports on campus if students get help early before challenges escalate into crisis care,
2:08 emergency response, or more costly public systems.
2:13 We now have rigorous texas-based evidence showing this approach works and pays off a new harvard cornell study
2:20 with opportunity insights ed redesign lab using education records and leaked census data and federal tax data analyzed
2:28 outcomes from more than 16 million texas students and found that sustained success to cis middle school increases high
2:36 school graduation and strengthens long-term economic mobility.
2:41 Here is why it matters for the city in terms of return on investment.
2:44 The study finds that cis changes adult outcomes by reducing the likelihood of students ending up in the
2:51 bottom income quartile defined as under 15,000 a year where 80% are not working.
2:58 Instead, communities and schools of central texas increases the likelihood students move into the next quartile, meaning more
3:05 young adults attached to employment and stable earnings.
3:09 And the fiscal impact is real.
3:11 Three years of cis at an estimated cost of $3,000 per student as projected to generate approximately $7,100
3:19 in additional lifetime federal tax revenue per student and present value.
3:24 In other words, cis more than pays for itself through increased earnings and tax contributions.
3:31 This is why communities and schools of central texas is not only a student support strategy, it is
3:37 smart and good fiscal public policy.
3:40 Investing in cis helps prevent long-term costs tied to non-employment and economic instability, and it strengthens Austin workforce
3:48 and tax base. Thank you for your time and your continued commitment to Austin students and families.
4:02 Up next, we'll have dr.
4:04 Jacob reach.
4:17 Good afternoon council members and Austin public health staff.
4:20 My name is jacob breech and I'm the new chief operations officer at communities and schools of central
4:26 texas. I also have a strong history here in Austin, spending many years serving Austin students at our
4:32 local school district during that time.
4:35 And now during my time at cis, one thing has been evident and that's that relationships matter and
4:41 I am grateful to have such a strong partner in the city of Austin and Austin public health
4:46 in this work. Thanks to your partnership, cis is able to provide mental health supports directly to Austin
4:53 students at a scale and efficiency that May not be possible through other avenues.
4:58 Our partnership also allows us to provide the male student achievement program at Austin, isd high schools, which
5:05 encourages male students to create positive brotherhood and empowers them to support and build skills that they need
5:12 to author their own paths of success.
5:15 But what I'm really excited to share today is the new groundbreaking study conducted by opportunity insights in
5:22 partnership with ed redesign labs at the harvard graduate school of education.
5:27 This study empirically proves that cis has positive improvements to standardized test scores, raises graduation rates, and increases
5:37 earnings in adulthood. This research was recently, uh, featured in the atlantic and you can also find it
5:43 on communities and schools, national website and communities and schools of central texas website.
5:49 Uh, if you want an easy way to find it, if you just search for cis harvard study,
5:54 it's gonna be the first thing that comes up, uh, that research when resources meet relationships, the returns
6:02 to personalized supports for low income students demonstrates that ci s's relationship driven approach drives outcomes.
6:11 Two things that I want to briefly highlight is that the study found that exposure to cis increased
6:17 graduation rates by 5.2%.
6:20 Uh, it also showed advanced economic mobility.
6:23 Three years of exposure to cis increases lifetime lifetime earnings by more than $75,000.
6:31 I did bring, um, some summary copies of the report and I'll leave them with your staff.
6:36 Uh, but I just want to thank you for our continued partnership and our commitment to building really
6:41 strong relationships with all of Austin students as we continue to support their social, mental and academic needs
6:48 here in Austin. Thank you.
6:52 Lastly, we'll have lisa barden.
7:06 Good afternoon. My name is lisa barden and I serve as the executive director of keep Austin fed
7:11 and a member of one voice central texas.
7:14 I'm here today to speak to how the current and future potential cuts to social services, particularly those
7:19 affecting food access impact.
7:21 Not only contracted providers, but also nonprofits like ours that do not receive any government funding.
7:27 When funding the food access programs is reduced, the need does not disappear.
7:31 It simply shifts. Families who lose access to supportive programs still need groceries.
7:36 Seniors who can no longer access services still need meals.
7:41 Students who rely on community food programs still need nourishment so they lean more on organizations like ours
7:47 every day, keep Austin fed rescues and redistributes surplus food across Austin at no cost to the community.
7:53 We are not funded through city contracts, but we are deeply interconnected with the health and human service
7:57 ecosystem. And when that ecosystem contracts, our workload expands.
8:02 Cuts to social services create several ripple effects.
8:05 First demand increases. We distribute food to many partner organizations whose budgets are being cut and supplement food
8:12 pantries that are supported by the food bank, including the city's own rec and neighborhood centers.
8:17 When those programs shrink mutual aid groups and our smaller non-profit providers are called on to fill the
8:22 gaps, yet we cannot match, typically make surplus food appear and those populations remain underserved.
8:29 Second, coordination weakens. We've seen the outcome of this during very big weather emergencies where well-known locations are
8:36 prone to donation dumping while others with smaller voices receive no assistance.
8:41 City funded programs often provide referral pathways, case management and structured access points.
8:46 When those are reduced, nonprofits must try to absorb more outreach work with without additional resources.
8:52 Third, the need becomes more acute when prevention programs are cut, whether it's food assistance, rental assistance, or
8:58 health services, families fall further into crisis.
9:02 Nonprofits like keep Austin fed are often referred to as safety nets, but we are actually providing infrastructure.
9:07 We are part of the public health strategy that ensures nutritious food reaches communities consistently and equitably.
9:14 And we are part of the economic system and environmental systems that prevent waste and reduce the strain
9:19 on landfills. I encourage council to consider that reductions in social service contracts do not simply reduce line
9:25 items in a budget.
9:26 They increase pressure on the broader nonprofit ecosystem, including organizations without city contracts, and they result in higher
9:33 downstream costs in healthcare emergency response and crisis services.
9:38 Sustaining food access and other core human services is not charity.
9:42 It is foundational infrastructure that supports workforce participation, student success, community health and economic stability.
9:50 Thank you for your leadership during a difficult budget environment.
9:54 Thank you. That's everyone.
9:58 Thank you. Uh, thank you everyone for your testimony today.
10:01 Colleagues will now move on to approval of previous meeting minutes for item number one.
10:05 Can I get a motion?
10:06 And second motion vice chair uchin seconded by Council Member Alter to approve the February 4th, 2026 meeting minutes.
10:15 Any discussion or corrections?
10:17 Alright, any objections to the approval of the February meeting minutes?
10:21 Seeing none, those stand approved.
10:23 Moving on to item number two, discussion and possible action on the reappointment of members to the sobering
10:29 center board of directors colleagues, we have two members on the sobering center board, judge varga and jessica
10:37 vinno, who have recently expired.
10:39 Ms. Vinno has expressed interest in being reappointed for another term as well as judge varga.
10:44 And, uh, well, judge alvarenga is a joint appointment with travis county.
10:49 The commissioner's court has confirmed they have taken action to nominate the reappointment of the judge to another
10:55 term on their end.
10:57 Uh, can I get a motion?
10:58 Motion by vice chair uchin?
11:00 Seconded by Council Member Velásquez for the approval of a reappointment of both judge ague and jessica paulino
11:07 to the sobering center board of directors.
11:10 Any discussion? Okay. Any objection?
11:15 Alright, that stands approved and we'll go to the full counsel for consideration of the reappointment of those
11:21 positions. Now we will move on to item number three.
11:25 I'd like to welcome pat lee, president and ceo of central health.
11:29 Jeff richardson, president ceo of integral care.
11:33 Nick jagoda, evp of ambulatory services and ceo of community care for an update on the mental health
11:39 system of care for low income and uninsured people in travis county.
11:44 Thank you all so much for being here.
11:46 And I also see, see we have members of the board for central health also in attendance, and
11:51 we welcome y'all's participation and presence.
11:57 Thank you. Chair Fuentes.
11:59 Excuse me. Okay, great.
12:03 Hello and thank you chair Fuentes, vice chair uchin Council Member Alter Council Member velazquez, and also as
12:09 you mentioned, wanna, uh, thank and acknowledge, uh, integral care board chair trish young brown, central health vice
12:15 chair, elisa May, central health board member and kitchen and central health board member, uh, sidor jefferson here
12:21 with us today. Did I miss anybody?
12:23 Um, okay. Terrific. Um, so this afternoon I'm honored to be joined by jeff richardson, ceo of integral care,
12:29 and dr. Nick koda, ceo of community care health centers to provide an update on the growing behavioral
12:34 health partnership between our three organizations.
12:37 We've been working, uh, working to better align how we deliver care so that residents of the city
12:42 of Austin experience a care system that is more connected, more timely, and more responsive to their needs.
12:50 While there is still plenty of work ahead, we are building a system that we believe can become
12:54 a real model for connecting physical and mental health care across communities in texas and potentially nationwide.
13:00 And we're thrilled to share that with you today.
13:03 Uh, before we get into the partnership, and because we haven't had an opportunity to update you on
13:06 this in a while, I wanna take a moment to acknowledge a separate but related topic, which is