Week 4 Discussion: Enactment and Implementation of Policies

This week we will hold one discussion with two elements. The first elements relates to enactment and the second relates to implementation. You will utilize the social policy you’ve selected for your Policy Brief as the substance of these discussions. This will help you to think ahead to these sections of the paper and will also help you get some feedback from your colleagues in to advance your own thinking about these matters. This forum post is an opportunity to think through enactment and implementation of proposed policies. Enactment means whether or not a law is enacted – that is does a bill become a law? You may want to watch the iconic Schoolhouse Rock video “I’m Just a Bill” to remind yourself of how this process operates. Many factors generally pertain to whether or not a bill becomes a law. As an example think about a policy meant to impose term limits on U.S. legislators (term limits would mean that a legislator could only serve a certain number of terms not as many terms as they can get elected to). Who would like term limits? Well perhaps someone who wants to serve as a legislator would like this because there would be less competition from incumbents. Who would not like it? Probably the existing legislators would not like this very much. Try applying the Prince Policy Appraisal (page 67) to help yourself think through this. Who has more power in this determination – the would-be legislators or the actual legislators? Most likely the existing legislators are in positions of greater power and this issue is also likely a very high priority for them. This would suggest the proposed change would be unlikely to be enacted. Implementation means the way in which the policy is put into practice. I’m sure many of you have worked in agencies where the policies or administrative rules “on the books” are different from day-to-day practice in some regards. Post topics: 1) Enactment – discuss the prospects for enactment of the policy you selected for your paper. If your policy actually was enacted discuss the factors that weighed in favor of its enactment. If it has not yet been enacted discuss that factors that are likely to impact the policy’s potential for enactment. Make a determination the likelihood of enactment of the policy and defend your assertions. a. Identify at least one and up to three factors (see table below for factors and some examples) that might impact your policy’s potential for enactment. Only one factor is required for the discussion but at least three factors are required for the final paper. If you want feedback from peers on more than one factor you can feel free to write about up to three factors b. Explain how the factor(s) might increase or decrease your policy’s potential for enactment 2) Implementation – discuss how at least one and up to three factors (see table below) would impact implementation of your policy were it to be enacted. Factor Enactment Implementation Historical 1) Policies that are enacted may be amended but are very seldom repealed 2) The historical pattern of economic behavior in the U.S. is primarily capitalist resulting in moderate regulation of businesses. Attempts at greater regulation would be met with resistance (this relates to both historical and economic factors) Administrative rules are developed after policies are passed. The U.S. has historically relied upon a “residual” system of provision of benefits. This means welfare is only extended in circumstances of extreme need. This pattern has contributed to a system of rules for administration of welfare programs that are strict and can be viewed as punitive Social If an issue has been the focus of a great deal of media attention and people have strong feelings about the issue this will impact the likelihood of a policy designed to address this issue being enacted If a social service program serves a group of people who experience systematic stigmatization then implementation of the program may be more difficult. For instance an effort to establish group homes for persons with disabilities may encounter the “NIMB” phenomenon (not in my backyard) Cultural Cultural values that are sometimes expressed in the U.S. include values of individualism and hard work. These values have the potential to mitigate against implementation of policy designed to assist those who are in need The policy basis for de-segregation of schools was established in 1954 and 1955. However the actual implementation of the decisions of the Supreme Court particularly in the South did not really begin until the last 1960s. The delays were due to many issues including cultural and social factors Economic Economic factors weigh on every policy decision where funding / finances are involved. For instance a policy proposal to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes in to reduce their appeal to children will be met with opposition by the lobby representing those who manufacture and sell e-cigarettes Economics impact implementation in significant ways as well. Often the amount of funding authorized for implementation of a policy is not actually appropriated (that is less money is made available than was planned). This has happened for instance in early childhood special education resulting in decreased program capacity Organizational Organizational factors can occur at a macro level (for instance U.S. Congress) or a more mezzo level (for instance social service organizations) as policy is created and implemented in all these contexts. At the level of the U.S. Congress whether or not a policy will be enacted has much to do with how it might impact the likelihood of a political incumbent (someone who’s already in office) retaining their seat in the Senate or House. Campaign funding has much to do with who is elected and thus campaign funding has an impact on the composition of the organization that is the U.S. Congress. Organizational factors also affect implementation of policy at many levels. At the federal level implementation of policy depends heavily on the administrative rule-making process. Congress grants rulemaking authority to federal agencies. The specific nature of the proposed rules rests heavily upon the specific organizational characteristics of an individual agency promulgating the proposed rules. At the level of a local social service agency whether or not a policy is implemented as it was written has to do with funding training of staff supervision of staff and the extent to which the staff members support the policy Environmental When we talk about environmental factors that impact policy enactment we really mean the physical environment. For instance in 1973 oil exporting countries create an oil embargo against the U.S. and other countries for support of Israel. This affected prices and availability. This embargo therefore directly affected creation of a policy designed to promote U.S. energy independence and therefore affected U.S. behavior with regard to oil and gas for years to come Environmental factors also impact implementation of policies. After Hurricane Maria the already-fragile power grid in Puerto Rico was devastated. Despite efforts to the contrary the grid was essentially rebuilt according to its original configuration. A subsequent earthquake disrupted power again in part due to the vulnerability of long-distance power transmission lines. Efforts to create energy access to all have been affected by these and other environmental considerations Global In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis U.S. federal agencies executed a Presidential to both terminate funding to and to initiate withdrawal from the World Health Organization. This is in response to allegations that other world leaders are not fairly funding WHO and that the organization is aiding China. These dynamics are global in nature and have led to the creation of policy at the federal level. During the COVID-19 crisis consideration was made of employing the Defense Production Act to require US automakers to produce medical ventilators. However globalization dynamics would have made actual implementation of such an very difficult. https://hbr.org/2020/04/bringing-manufacturing-back-to-the-u-s-is-easier-said-than-done Text of H.R. 1139: Feeding Homeless Youth During COVID–19 Act (Introduced version) – GovTrack.us ^ that is the policy chosen.