Reflection On Policy And Values

There are many take-aways I have learned from attending this course. The first take away that stood out to me from this course would be responded to my fellow classmates during group discussions. Not only did this serve as an opinion-based discussion, but I gained vast knowledge on different topics pertaining to policy advocacy. The second take away that stood out to me would have to the online skills advocacy assignment. This assignment helped me to explore several ideas and perform research on how to advocate for a population that was in need. This information would be considered as an aid to guide me during the near future to improve my skills as a social worker. The last take away that I have learned from this course would be being apart

Graff states that, “In the dark, all intellectual disagreements are gray”(7). This displays that what people say and what people hear is vastly different. When there is a disagreement between two intellectuals in the same field, they “share a public language of ideas and arguments that transcends their ideological differences and separates them from many students and other Americans” (7). Therefore, when students hear these, they clearly experience a misunderstanding that can, and will not be understood unless these students experience the same intellectual thinking that these intellectuals

In a survey conducted in 2003, it highlighted that the recurrent problem is the reimbursement rate from Medicaid to the physician (O’Shea, 2007). The Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) show that 21% of physicians that state they accept Medicaid have reported they will not accept a new Medicaid patient in 2004-2005(O’Shea, 2007). This number would only logically be assumed to have risen in 2013 A survey conducted by the U.S. National Health reported that researchers have found two standout trends among Medicaid beneficiaries: they have more difficulty getting primary care and specialty care and they visit hospital emergency departments more often than those with private insurance (Seaberg, 2012). The lack of primary and specialty care access is mostly contributed to the following barriers; unable to reach the MD by phone, not having a timely appointment with the MD and lastly unable to find a specialty MD that will accept Medicaid. In a recent report released by the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, it stated that about 30% of Medicaid patients experience “extreme uncoordinated care”, there is a strong correlation between this situation and higher Medicaid spending and less quality of care given (Bush, 2012). After January 1st 2013, healthcare providers have experienced a 2% reduction in payments for Medicaid beneficiary, this will only create more of a problem for these patients to seek the

Patient access to affordable health care is an ongoing issue in the United States. The first portion of the policy process involves three different stages, the formulation stage, legislative stage, and the implementation stage. Three main stages exist in the process to transform a topic into a policy (Morone, J. A., Litman, T. J., & Robins, L.S., 2008). Coupled with the implementation stage is an evaluation of all the stages to determine effectiveness and gather information for use in future public health care policy making. In the formulation stage, the ideas, concepts, and information steam from this process of policy making. The

In recent years our newspapers, televisions, and radios have been inundated with news stories about sexual offenders and sexual predators. Stories such as the kidnapping and murder of Polly Klass, Carlie Brucia, Amber Hagerman, and Jessica Lunsford have shocked the nation. Sex offenders and predators commit despicable acts; however, their acts seem more despicable when they are committed upon the most venerable members of our society, our children. Even with the new Jessica Lunsford legislation in Florida some citizens feel that it is not enough to keep their communities safe. Many cities are now looking at limiting the areas in which sex offenders and predators can live in hopes of protecting children. Many

In the United States, Veteran’s health care at an economical rate is a continuous debate. It is warranted that the health care should improve at a constant rate to uphold the health needs of veterans, new and old. Government has the veterans association (VA) and with all the help it has available for veterans there are still times when that care is not enough. There are so many individuals that are without health care because of one reason for another and it leaves many injured and hurt veterans without the care they need and deserve. Better access to health for veterans, men and women is important since many new problems such as PTSD have become better understood and need more focus and to be better

In this paper I will be discussing how our class came to a consensus on our policy analysis framework. To understand what we are attempting to accomplish, you need to understand the denotation of policy analysis. Policy analysis is a technique used in public administration so individuals can evaluate and scrutinize policies. Policy analysis is not only limited to policy’s that are already enacted, policy analysis can be used to analyze perspective policy’s. There are already a handful of policy analysis frameworks available for use. These include: Chambers 2009, Gilbert and Terrell 2009, Popple and Leighninger 2004, and Dobelstein 2003. Many of the frameworks are heavily influenced by the work of Eveline Burns, who was prevalent in the 1940’s and 1950’s. While these frameworks would have been suitable to use for our analysis our class chose to create our own framework to help with analysis. In these next few paragraphs I will explain how and why we chose what we did.

Marijuana legalization has been a controversial topic requiring a public policy solution in the political realm. There have been various arguments made for and against the legalization of marijuana. There are several states that have legalized marijuana use for medicinal purposes while others have let their guards down completely allowing citizens to use it not only medicinally, but recreationally as well. While the use of marijuana is still illegal at the federal level, there is much discussion by other states regarding policies to support marijuana legalization and many policy makers proactively planning for the possibility

Childhood obesity is a global pandemic requiring prioritization in policy and health care reform. It has many effects on acute and long term health, including increasing the risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, and certain types of cancer. This paper addresses my personal interest in childhood obesity, the relevance to nursing, problem sources, empirical evidence critique, evidence-based practice options, sites to keep current, and prioritizing the level of action to best accomplish the goal of

The complete goals of pensions reform in New Jersey focus primarily on three key areas: (1) funding, (2) benefit levels, and (3) collective bargaining rights. The first completely failed and last two were accomplished.

Congress has responded to the public outcry for action in the face of unacceptable suicide rates and has passed multiple pieces of legislation aimed at correcting the problem. The 2007 Joshua Omvig Bill directed the VA to develop “data systems to increase understanding of suicide among Veterans and inform both the VA and other suicide prevention programs” (Veterans Affairs, 2012, p. 7). In 2015, President Obama signed the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act into Law, requiring the VA to “make it easier for veterans to find mental health resources, do more to recruit and retain professionals” and to increase “accountability for the government programs serving them” (Baker, 2015, para. 2). This recent legislation tends to be

DC’s Mayor Muriel Bowser is calling upon us as a policy analysis team to evaluate the Homeward DC plan. This plan is a living document that is to be continually updated with informed and comprehensive analytical feedback to bridge the gaps within the strategic plan. Through the provision of our annual policy analysis Muriel Bowser is confident that resolving homelessness in the nation’s capital within the next four years is an achievable end.

Ideologies refer to a set of ideas and values that provides a base for organised political action. They justify and influence the different theories of society and human nature. Ideologies have a big impact on policy making, as the government of the day will base their policies around these political ideologies. The two major political parties in New Zealand, National and Labour, each have different beliefs and values which lead to different ideologies. Looking at both parties previous and current policies, we can observe the impact of the ideologies they have adopted on their policy making. The National party in the last 20 years has driven policies from a

This has been in my thoughts as I’ve been drafting my way into my own dissertation ideas. My background in critical social studies means I am very familiar with building arguments, so some of this uncertainty is expected. AT the moment, I know enough to say I am on the right track with my research ideas and know that public administration, and public policy in particular, is the right field for me.. However, I also feel rather critical of the policy process literature. It has been claimed, “public administration exists to realize the governance of society” (Raadschelders, 1999, p. 288). Yet, what society believes policy to be, and for whom, changes over time and across place. I feel at this moment public policy in the United States will change dramatically and I worry that our field is ill equipped to deal with these changing views of policy. Consequently, most of my underlying thoughts and reflections have been on understanding how can we adapt to this changing atmosphere.

When it comes to following school policies every teacher should be aware of what is in the student handbook. This tool is used to shed light on the different policies that the district holds parents, students and teachers accountable to. I am going to be honest and say before this essay I had not looked at the Round Lake Area School District 116 School Handbook. The reason why I have not looked at the handbook is the fact that almost all handbooks spell out the same policies. In this essay I will discuss the different policies and how I think my school district could improve on their policies.