SR-301-004 (27)
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Santa Monica.
City Council Report
City Council Meeting: July 11, 2006
Agenda Item: 8 - A
To:
Mayor and City Council
From:
Barbara Stinchfield, Director, Community and Cultural Services
Subject:
Selection of City Council Members to Participate in Interviews for Santa
Monica's Homeless Continuum of Care System and Program Evaluation
Recommended Action
It is recommended that City Council appoint three Council members to participate in
individual interviews with The Urban Institute, the consultant authorized to conduct a
system and program evaluation of Santa Monica's homeless continuum of care.
Executive Summary
The Urban Institute was selected to conduct a system-wide evaluation of Santa
Monica's homeless continuum of care. The evaluation methodology includes qualitative
data generated by over 40 interviews and focus groups of stakeholders including
community leaders, City staff, homeless service providers and homeless and formerly
homeless persons. Inclusion of Council members will provide a unique understanding of
the City's goals and investment in the homeless continuum of care, public attitudes and
policies among regional partners. Inclusion of a quorum or more of all Council
members would be in violation of the Brown Act, and therefore selection of three
Council members is requested.
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Discussion
The goals of the program and system evaluation of Santa Monica's homeless
continuum of care are to: 1) refine the strategy for homeless service provision and the
effective management of resources; 2) produce results-oriented strategies with
measurable outcomes against which the effectiveness of the programs and the system
can be measured on an' ongoing basis; 3) produce recommendations for specific action
steps to be carried out within the next five years; and 4) produce recommendations for
increasing and/or reallocating resources to carry out the action steps. Research
methodologies will include: document review; an analysis of quantitative data, the
majority of which will be extracted from the City's homeless management information
system, and qualitative data generated in interviews.
The evaluation would benefit by the inclusion of Council members in individual
interviews with the Urban Institute evaluator. One-hour interviews would be scheduled
for July 24 - July 26, at the Council member's convenience. Interviews would be based
on an interview protocol which would be provided prior to the meeting and individual
responses will not be identified in the final report. Such interviews could be construed
as a form of "hub and spoke" meeting, whereby one member (the consultant) is asking
all Council members their opinion on policy issues within their jurisdiction, which would
violate the Brown Act. Staff therefore recommends that Council select three members to
participate in individual interviews. Alternatively, if other Council members would like to
participate, Council could individually or collectively respond to the interview questions
at a Council meeting and forgo selecting three members, or do both. If addressed at a
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public meeting, staff recommends agendizing this for the July 25th Council meeting
when the Urban Institute will be in Santa Monica.
Budqet/Financiallmpact
No costs are associated with selection of Council members to participate In the
evaluation.
Prepared by:
Mona Miyasato, Acting Human Services Manager
Approved:
Forwarded to Council:
I;f;~",-- ~
Barbara Stinchfield
Director, Department of Community and
Cultural Services
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