San Diego County launched a series of public meetings beginning Wednesday to gather feedback on the future of the San Pasqual Academy, an Escondido campus serving foster youth.
Residents can participate in four community sessions — two of them virtual — to ask questions, share ideas and learn more, according to a county statement.
Wednesday's meeting started at 10 a.m. at the county Child and Family Well-Being Office, 8965 Balboa Ave. in Kearny Mesa.
“When I look at this room, it is not incredibly diverse,” community advocate Shane Harris said.
Harris, a former foster youth at San Pasqual, said discussions about the academy’s future need the voices of foster youth — the population most affected. He didn’t see that at the meeting on Wednesday.
“If we're going to be trauma-informed, we need to start off these sessions by acknowledging that population," he said. "Because these are the people who have lived it, who have been through it, and who really know what the successes have been and what they haven't been.”
Located in Escondido, the 238-acre academy is described by county officials as a first-in-the-nation residential educational campus designed specifically for foster youth.
The San Pasqual campus was opened 25 years ago to educate and house foster children ages 12 to 17. The academy also offers placement options for young people through age 19, according to the county.
Four agencies, through a public-private arrangement, operate the academy: county government, Rite of Passage, San Diego County Office of Education, and San Diego Center for Children and Access. The nonprofit Friends of San Pasqual Academy provides additional resources.
It was originally slated to close in October 2021 because of declining enrollment and the loss of funding resulting from changes in state and federal foster care laws.
In December 2021, a San Diego Superior Court judge granted a temporary injunction that allowed the academy to remain open after supporters filed a lawsuit challenging the changes in state law.
In January 2022, the county Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a plan to continue operations at the academy as a way to transition it into a multipurpose campus for foster youth.
As of March, there were 42 students enrolled at San Pasqual Academy.
"As state and federal child welfare policies have shift toward prevention and family reunification, the county is exploring how the campus can evolve to better support local youth and families today," county officials said recently.
Last November, the county began discussing the academy's future with foster youth, advocates and other residents.
An update to the Board of Supervisors is set for August, and feature local input "and potential paths forward, including the potential for closure, with a full plan presented within 18 months," according to the county.
"Early ideas include expanding youth programs, adding wellness and recreation spaces, enhancing workforce development and creating new housing options for foster youth," officials added.
In May, supervisors decided not to move forward with a proposal to phase out services at the academy.
While that plan would allow for seniors and juniors to graduate, a transition would "be carried out gradually and in a developmentally appropriate way that safeguards both academic continuity and emotional well-being," a board letter stated.
The Rev. Shane Harris, a San Diego civil rights activist and academy graduate, urged the board to slow the process down, KPBS reported in May.
"This is about whether decisions impacting vulnerable young people are made with them, or simply made for them," Harris added.
Supervisor Jim Desmond said a long-term plan was needed before the board made any further decisions, KPBS also reported.
“I think there was some confusion. The community felt like we were trying to shut down San Pasqual Academy, which that's absolutely not the case,” Child and Family Well-Being director Alfredo Guardado said.
The county, he said, is looking at ways to reimagine the space for the future and make it a sustainable long-term place for the community.
Joy Singleton, a former foster youth (but did not attend San Pasqual) and now a lawyer, thinks the best use for San Pasqual is to divorce the land from foster youth support.
“Let's look at the land. It's agricultural. It has some housing on it. Wonderful," she said. "Maybe we could use it for substance abuse, youth treatment or some other population. It just doesn't have to be foster youth.”
As for Harris, he thinks it should be a space for grandparents who are raising their grandchildren.
“Those grandparents should not be turned a blind eye to, and I want to ensure that those grandparents have a place to live and continue to have a place to live,” he said.
The second in-person meeting is set for 10 a.m. on Friday at the North Inland Live Well Center, 649 W. Mission Ave., in Escondido.
The two following meetings will be virtual: July 20, starting at 10 a.m., and July 22, starting at 4:30 p.m.
More information, including the Zoom link and passcode, is online.
