Q 8.1 Exercise: Will Consensus Work? A light exercise week as want you to concentrate on your paper. 20 points 2.5 pages max Case study: Reaching Consensus on Housing for Homeless Children in Washington State With the recent rise of homelessness in Washington state, advocates for homeless children wanted the state to take a greater role in providing housing for homeless children and their families. They interpreted a 1930s statutory reference to the housing of homeless children to mean that the state social service agency had a mandate to address this need. The agency claimed that the old language applied to orphans and that the legislature had not provided funding for housing of homeless children and their families. A local court ruled in favor of the advocates for children, and the state Supreme Court upheld the decision by one-vote margin. The social services agency and the agency that now has jurisdiction over the housing for families began working on the plan, but a number of difficulties emerged—including disputes over where to locate housing facilities, what kind of housing should be created (short-tem, versus longer term), and which homeless kids to target (i.e. runaways or homeless families with children, or both). Some of the stakeholders care passionately about this issue and discussions have been heated and unproductive. The agency decided to ask a mediator to assist the group. The agency has allotted $50,000 to pay for this process. A decision must be made and implementation must begin within 1 year’s time, as per the court’s decision. Task: Using the “Sponsor’s Assessment Checklist”, assess the appropriateness of using a consensus-based process in this case and assess the sponsor’s objectives. See attached Handout. Objectives: 6g, 7b Attachments: • Handout Actions 8.2 Exercise Identify which public meeting process would be best for the following scenarios and justify WHY. 1/2 page each max. 10 each Town Hall Meeting, Charrette, 21st Century Town Hall Meeting, Open Space Technology, Traditional Public Meeting Format, Visioning Sessions 1. An African-American teenager was mistaken for an intruder as he walked across an apartment complex parking lot. He was shot by a white ‘neighborhood watch’ leader. Protests have started to erupt around town. They began peacefully but conflict is starting to erupt. Which process would be best to bring the community together to share concerns, build relationships, and restores calm? 2. Your agency would like to create a 5-year strategic plan---one that energizes and engages the employees. You have 150 employees at various levels and job descriptions all working at one central location. Which process would you recommend and why?