Gavilan focuses on child safety

Gavilan College will host a state-wide video conference Thursday that will deal with the safety of youth, especially during the after-school hours:
Broadcast from the 100th annual Parent Teacher Association Convention in Sacramento, a panel, which will include Sen. Bruce McPherson (R-Santa Cruz), Attorney General Bill Lockyer and California PTA president Rosanne Turnbull, will discuss how to keep kids safe.
The broadcast will be beamed into Gavilan College, one of the only facilities in the area with a satellite downlink, and local law enforcement officials and politicians will be on-hand to participate.
Councilwoman Guadalupe Arellano will attend the conference, and hopes to make a number of concerns known to state-level legislators.
One of these concerns includes obtaining money from the state to provide after-school programs. Currently, the City of Gilroy allots $40,000 to help staff the youth center, but that does not cover the cost of actually running the program, which entails expenses for transportation and other costs.
“If we have youth centers but don’t have the money for programs,
then we
have empty buildings,” she said. “You can’t run a program with just staff and zero budget.”
The conference aims to spark discussions between throughout the to keep children safe, especially after school. One out of five juvenile crimes is committed between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. on school days, according to a 1997 Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention report.
“(McPherson) is very excited about it because it’s such an  important issue,” said Wendy Sarsfield, field director for McPherson’s office. “Ile’s hoping there’s going to be a lot of discussion.’
McPherson is on the Public • Safety Committee and plans to : have a town hall meeting on • crime prevention on May 20: in Gilroy.
“We’re hoping to tie it into this,” Sarsfield said.
The video conference is by invitation only and is scheduled for Thursday morning, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Gavilan College, 5055 Santa Teresa Blvd.