Instruction: please use the information paper along with the topic I provided below to construct this staff report. There is a guidance format at the bottom so please check it out.
Topic: The City of San Jose has been coping with a homeless problem for many years. Regardless of the development of many shelters and programs, there are those who do not wish to live in the existing facilities. Instead, they continue to live outdoors in parks, river banks, and other inappropriate places. After having The Jungle develop into a national disgrace and a pollution/public health problem the city has considered opening a city facility that would allow outdoor living but provide sanitation and trash collection. The mayor is opposed to a tent city but other council members see it as a short-term solution until the motel program for creating SROs can be implemented. The City of San Jose City Council has hired you to evaluate the cost and benefits of establishing an outdoor living space for homeless people who refuse existing shelter offerings. What other cities use tent cities? How are other Bay Area cities coping with people living in tents and other outdoor shelters? What problems does this outdoor living create? What non-profits would partner with the city to run the program? What would it cost the city to run the program? If social services are a county responsibility, why would the city spend its funds for homeless issues?
Papers must be 8-11 pages of double-spaced, word processed or typewritten text in Times New Roman 12 point font, and emphasize practical information. While public agency staff reports do not have in-text citations because this paper is being written as an academic project you will follow the APA citation format, including in-text citations in the staff report. Even in a real staff report, the careful writer will keep a list of sources consulted. A separate page(s) at the end of the staff report will contain the list of a Sources Consulted in APA format. Papers should be based on at least 10 references (in addition to the textbooks). Since the topics relate to local government decisions, access any relevant agenda and meeting minutes at the government website. You must include at least one peer-reviewed article related to the topic. Newspaper articles from major newspapers (NY Times, LA Times, Mercury News, Washington Post and such), articles from reputable magazines (New Yorker, Economist, Atlantic and such) and books are also acceptable sources.
You may not use any wiki, Answers.com, or similar encyclopedia-type websites!
Staff Report Format:
8-11 page (double spaced) report using 12 point Times New Roman font, standard margins writing complete yet succinct information is required!
List of Sources Consulted in APA format.
Pages will be numbered, and each section will have the heading in bold print. Be sure that all the points in each section listed below are covered in your paper.
Recommended books and sources:
Rainey, H. G. (2014). Understanding and Managing Public Organizations (5th ed.), San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. ISBN: 9781118583715
Emerson, Menkus and Van Ness. (2011). The Public Administrator’s Companion. Washington, DC: CQ Press. ISBN:978-0-87289-909-4.
Swain, John W., Kathleen Dolan Swain, and Kathleen Dolan Swain. 2015. Effective
Writing in the Public Sector. Routledge.
Staff Analysis Report Guidance
Staff Report format (in memo format, following Letourneau’s format (Letourneau, Tamara Sue. Mastering the Art: A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing a Quality Staff Report. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017):
- Recommendation
- What your agency should do, adopt, continue, change or eliminate about the program/policy
- Background
- Problem statement & description of issue or program. This must include all the facts on which you will base your analysis.
- Analysis
- The impacts of this issue in the context of the political situation, community situation, societal concerns, preceding/ existing policies or programs; who were the stakeholders involved in the policy making and how was the balance of power represented in the final policy development outcomes? Demonstrate thorough and mature critical thinking. Be sure to acknowledge the pros and cons of your position and the existence of opposition, if any.
- Alternatives
- It is necessary to thoroughly analyze all alternatives and state the consequences of such actions as objectively as possible.
- Budget/Fiscal
Review
- Costs and benefits to the agency of this policy, and how these are reflected in the community’s/ organization’s budget (1-1 1/2 pages- need not have specific dollar amounts if they are difficult to calculate.)
- Public
Outreach
- Was the public involved in the original decision? If so, how? If not, who made the decision and how was the public informed? Was there a Council presentation or discussion? Was there a vote taken in public? If so, was the voting body split or unanimous? Much of the voting information will be in the official minutes of the public meeting, usually available at the City Clerk or Clerk of the Board’s web page. How should the public be involved and informed this time?
- Legal
Review
- A Determination if a legal review is necessary. Why or why not?
- Conclusion
Summation of analysis in support of recommendation regarding the city/county’s future policy/program: enlarge, stay the same, down size, eliminate/stop? DO NOT INTRODUCE NEW INFORMATION. (1 paragraph)
