Policy Process
NASPAA Core Competency 2:
To participate in and contribute to the policy process by demonstrating skills in participatory policy-making, multi-actor governance, and ongoing policy impact assessment, including negotiation, consensus-building, and implementation in diverse cultural and institutional contexts.
Affirmative Action - A Readiness for Change
This thorough paper examines the steady yet slower-than-expected progress of Affirmative Action over 60 years, emphasizing its significant impact on equality and justice. It weaves together political, legal, and social facets of Affirmative Action, spotlighting current opportunities for change, despite recent political and policy setbacks. It argues that policymakers must grasp the policy's historical evolution to enhance its potential. Highlighting the societal influence of such policies, the paper stresses the public's critical role in implementing real change. It includes an analysis of the recent Supreme Court case, STUDENTS FOR FAIR ADMISSIONS, INC. v. PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE, and its context in Affirmative Action's development. Showcasing the NASPAA Core Competency of understanding the public policy process, the paper contributes to the dialogue on Affirmative Action's role in health justice.
How Public Service Values have been diminished by the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000
This work analyzes the Drug Addiction Treatment Act (DATA 2000) and its paradoxical effects on Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) access, highlighting how legislation, regulations, and policies, even after revisions, can have unintentional and opposite effects. It provides a thorough review of Public Service Values (PSV) and contrasts them with DATA 2000 outcomes, emphasizing the act's undermining of PSVs like responsiveness, effectiveness, and impartiality, thereby hindering health justice. Incorporating the recent repeal of the DATA X Waiver by the Biden Administration, the paper underscores the necessity of careful, equitable public health policy-making. It reaffirms the urgency of health justice in public administration, reflecting core public policy process competencies as defined by the NASPAA.
Opioid Settlement Fund Spending Plan Public Feedback
The RWJBarnabas Institute for Prevention and Recovery (IFPR) submitted a robust response to the Governor's request for public advice on New Jersey's opioid settlement fund distribution. As an identified subject matter expert, along with the team at IFPR, Michael led the process of preparing and submitting this proposal which incorporated evidence-based approaches currently not implemented to scale here in NJ. This artifact, reflecting the NASPAA Core Competency of public policy, showcases the role of community involvement in policy-making. This submission highlights the impact of informed, collaborative decision-making on future health outcomes, serving as an example of stakeholder engagement to ensure an equitable, health justice-focused policy response to a current public health crisis.