Examples of Well-Written Reports
In an attempt to identify some well-written reports to serve as examples for grand juries and for the Report Writing Workshops, CGJA trainers randomly sampled recent grand jury reports from throughout the state and selected the set included here. Their inclusion here is, therefore, illustrative rather than comprehensive. The intent is to respond to requests to see examples of reports that are well written, based on CGJA training criteria.
You can access copies of these reports by clicking on the links in the list below. The original reports are contained within the respective county website which can be found by clicking here to access any of the county’s grand jury website and find their reports. In some cases the report listed here is only contained in a consolidated final report on the county website.
Nevada - 2021-2022, Nevada Irrigation District: Troubled Waters
Orange - 2021-2022, Orange County Power Authority: Come Clean
San Francisco - 2021-2022, Shovel Ready: Best Practices and Collaboration to Improve San Francisco's Capital Construction Project
Yolo - 2021-2022, A Snapshot in Time: An Overview of the Yolo County Jail
Contra Costa - 2019-2020, Public Safety Power Shutoff
Orange - 2019-2020, Electric Vehicles Are Here - Is Orange County All Charged Up?
Plumas - 2019-2020, Plumas County and Unfunded Pension Liability: Deer in the Headlight?
Sonoma - 2019-2020, Homeless Youth: Sonoma County in Dubious First Place
Marin - 2018-2019, The Status of Career Technical Education
Monterey - 2018-2019, Monterey County's Unenforced Rooster Keeping Ordinance
Napa - 2018-2019, Enforcing Short-term Vacation Rental Codes in the Napa Valley
Nevada - 2018-2019, Request for Proposal and Procurement Practices
Sacramento - 2018-2019, page 41, Levee Maintenance
Sonoma - 2018-2019, - Managing Public Properties in Sonoma County
Stanislaus - 2018-2019, Is Measure L Measuring Up?
Santa Clara - 2017-2018, Affordable Housing Crisis - Density is our Destiny
Sacramento - 2017-2018, Is There a Home for Every Foster Child
Orange - 2017-2018, Orange County Landfills: Talking Trash
Marin - 2017-2018, The Future of Juvenile Detention in Marin, A Follow-up Report
San Francisco - 2017-2018, Crisis Intervention: Bridging Police and Public Health
San Diego - 2017-2018, The Hepatitis A Epidemic: (Mis)Handling a Public Health Crisis
Tuolumne - 2018, Tuolumne County Economic Development Authority
Napa - 2017-2018, The Williamson Act in Napa - Subsidizing a Lifestyle
Compliance Reports
Contra Costa - 2020-2021, Compliance and Continuity Report
Plumas - 2019-2020, Compliance and Continuity Report, 2018-2019 Grand Jury Report
Orange - 2016-2017, Unfinished Business: Responses to 2015-2016 Orange County Grand Jury Reports
In addition, CGJA’s annual Excellence in Reporting Award recognizes the best report of those nominated each year by chapters or associations (or members in counties where there is no chapter or association). These award-winning reports can be found here. The criteria for the awards include the editorial merit, the effectiveness of the report, and its impact on the community. These reports do not necessarily reflect the content, format, and style recommended by CGJA, but they are good reports that have been shown to make a demonstrable difference in local government.