scholarly journals Politicians’ involvement in street-level policy implementation: Implications for social equity

2021 ◽  
pp. 095207672110240
Author(s):  
Maayan Davidovitz ◽  
Nissim Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Policy Implementation ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Equity ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Elected Officials ◽  
Street Level ◽  
Provision Of Services ◽  
Street Level Bureaucrats

The study explores whether elected officials’ involvement in the way street-level bureaucrats implement policy affects social equity. This question is addressed empirically through interviews and focus groups with 84 Israeli educators and social workers. Findings indicate that elected officials involve themselves directly and indirectly in street-level bureaucrats’ policy implementation and their involvement reduces social equity in the provision of services. The study contributes to the literature on policy implementation by enabling a deeper understanding of the factors that shape the decision-making process of street-level bureaucrats when providing services and their ultimate impact on policy outcomes.

Poll Worker Decision Making at the American Ballot Box

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 714-718
Author(s):  
Mara Suttmann-Lea
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Policy Implementation ◽  
Matching Law ◽  
Election Law ◽  
Street Level ◽  
Signature Matching ◽  
American Elections ◽  
Street Level Bureaucrats ◽  
The City ◽  
Depth Interviews

Street-level bureaucrats set the terms for policy implementation and often operate under limited oversight. In American elections, poll workers are the street-level bureaucrats tasked with implementing a jurisdiction’s laws for verifying voter eligibility. Using in-depth interviews with 24 poll workers from the city of Chicago, this article assesses how poll workers make decisions about voter eligibility under Illinois’ signature-matching law. Respondents discussed a range of considerations used when they examine voter eligibility. The evidence I present suggests they rely on personal perspectives and experiences in their evaluations. Respondents also offered a range of responses for how they would proceed in the instance of a mismatching signature—including requesting voters provide identification even though it is not a requirement in Illinois unless a voter is challenged. Broadly, these results illustrate how poll workers’ subjective interpretations of election law shape their decisions and can lead to idiosyncratic applications of election law.

scholarly journals Policymaking Opportunities for Direct Practice Social Workers in Mental Health and Addiction Services

10.18060/2227 ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 367-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Powell ◽  
Eve Garrow ◽  
Michael R. Woodford ◽  
Brian Perron
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Direct Practice ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Street Level ◽  
Addiction Services ◽  
Street Level Bureaucrats

Direct practice social workers have potentially significant policymaking opportunities as mediators of top-down policy and as creators of policy where none exists. The power they possess stems from their ‘on the ground’ expertise and the discretion available to them in making practice decisions. By understanding their power as “street-level bureaucrats” they can significantly improve policy. Drawing on policy issues in mental health and addictions services, this article illustrates how social workers can use their power in an ethically sensitive manner to enhance policy outcomes for clients.

The Legislative Decision-Making Process

1982 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 7-8
Author(s):  
Richard DeGraw ◽  
Bette F. DeGraw
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
American Indians ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Community Organization ◽  
Role Play ◽  
The Political ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
List Type ◽  
Provision Of Services ◽  
Legislative Decision

The Legislative Decision Making Process is an educational role play for graduate or undergraduate students concerning the political and pressure relationships involved in the political decision-making process. The role play reviews the implications of the decision-making processes upon the provision of services by governmental agencies.The role play engages from twenty to sixty students in a simulated budget-making and lobbying experience and utilizes this experience to teach students:1.The values and pressures considered by bureaucracies and the Legislature in decision-making;2.The relationships which exist between clients, community groups, administrators and politicians;3.The various techniques of Community Organization for lobbying and Legislative influence.The role play consists of various groups of students in roles which include legislators, administrators of three major state departments, two minor state departments, parent groups, Concerned Citizen groups, American Indians disabled individuals and ex-clients.

Support for Compromise in Principle and in Practice

2020 ◽  
pp. 176-203
Author(s):  
Jennifer Wolak
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Health Care Policy ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Care Policy ◽  
Specific Policy ◽  
Domestic Violence Legislation

This chapter reports a set of experiments that consider people’s appraisals of specific policy compromises in Congress, focusing on whether people like compromises less once they understand what types of policy concessions they entail. Drawing on recent congressional compromises on domestic violence legislation, education reform, and health-care policy, the experiments test whether people evaluate Congress and its policy outcomes differently when bills are represented as compromises where both sides made concessions in order to achieve policy gains. The results show that people are disappointed when they learn that a bill failed to pass due to members of Congress refusing to compromise. Members of Congress do not seem to be penalized for their support of compromise legislation. Policy compromises serve to boost the perceived legitimacy of the decision-making process, particularly among those who are ideologically opposed to the outcome.

Risk Classification Systems and the Provision of Juvenile Aftercare

1993 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
James R. Maupin
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Random Sample ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Risk Classification ◽  
Classification Systems ◽  
Street Level ◽  
Parole Officers ◽  
Classification Score ◽  
Street Level Bureaucrats ◽  
Juvenile Parole

Juvenile aftercare decision-making systems that classify parolees according to perceived risk and needs are designed to render uniform the treatment of these individuals by juvenile parole officials. This article analyzes a system implemented by Arizona to determine if the intensity of supervision received by parolees differs as a function of classification score. Supervision of a random sample of 280 parolees was tracked for 90 days. The analysis indicates that intensity of supervision does not differ based on the classification score, suggesting that the instrument does not control the decision making of the street-level bureaucrats, the parole officers.

scholarly journals What motivates street-level bureaucrats to implement the reforms of elected politicians?

2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-160
Author(s):  
Don S. Lee ◽  
Soonae Park
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Policy Implementation ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
Policy Positions ◽  
Street Level ◽  
Implementing Change ◽  
Local Politicians ◽  
Street Level Bureaucrats ◽  
Insight Into

The aim of this article is to explore the motivations of street-level bureaucrats when implementing change initiated by elected politicians. We analyse experimental data on more than 1,800 local civil servants from all 243 local governments in South Korea and find that street-level bureaucrats are more likely to implement change instigated by local elected politicians when their own policy positions are reflected in the reforms. Moreover, the degree to which street-level bureaucrats are likely to execute reforms instigated by local politicians is greater when bureaucrats perceive themselves as having more freedom to exercise discretion. These findings reveal a behavioural insight into the conditions in which bureaucrats are more likely to respond to change championed by elected politicians versus conditions where they are more likely to follow existing rules in the policy implementation process.

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