Policy Agendas
Social Science homework help
Policy Agendas
There are challenges to agenda building that if not dealt with carefully and skillfully can adversely affect an issue or a proposal that you are trying to place in front of a decision maker. On the other hand, no matter how expertly you build an agenda for your issue or proposal, some issues are going to simply be avoided or not selected for consideration. Why is this so?
In this Discussion, you explore challenges surrounding policy agendas and the reasons why some proposals never make it to the decision maker.
Post your responses to the following questions presented for Small Group Discussion:
Many social issues do not receive the necessary attention from decision makers. Why might these issues be cast aside?
Some issues lack sufficient support to ensure that they are added to decision-makers’ agendas. Why might this be?
Some issues receive significant attention from decision makers. Why might these issues easily find their way onto decision makers’ agendas?
Be sure to support your post with specific references to this week’s resources. If you are using additional articles, be sure to provide full APA-formatted citations for your references.
Reference
Jansson, B. S. (2018). Becoming an effective policy advocate: From policy practice to social justice. (8th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning Series.
Chapter 6, “Committing to an Issue: Building Agendas” (pp. 176-203)
Running Head: SOCIAL PROBLEM 1
SOCIAL PROBLEM 2
SOCIAL PROBLEM
Institution Affiliation
Student Name
Date
Introduction
A social problem is an issue within the community that makes it difficult for individuals to achieve their full potential. The social problem that is of interest to me is a disability. For many years the community has treated people with disability as an object of fear and pity. Some people believe that people living with disabilities are incapable of participating in or contributing to society and that they mostly rely on charitable organizations as well as welfare. The public views people with disabilities differently from fully human people. They are seen as partial or limited people. The burden of disability is seen as unending. Life with a disabled person is considered as a life with constant sorrows. In addition, the able bodies stand under a continual responsibility to assist them (Arneson, 2018).
Some people believe that disability is an illness that can sometimes be fixed, cured, or an abnormality to be corrected. Tragic disability is those with no possible cure or where attempts to cure fail. People with disabilities are viewed as a burden to others, society, and themselves. This is true, especially with people with mental disabilities. The political perspective has been reflected in the majority of the legislative changes. Numerous bills have been passed in order to expand the rights of the disabled people in social services, transportation, and other areas of public policy. However, the laws have not been effectively implemented. There has been relatively little compliance with the affirmative action requirement of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, (Benokraitis, 2019). The attempt to assure the civil rights of disabled individuals has remained an unfulfilled promise.
Conclusion
The policy advocacy that can be used to address the problem of political leaders includes enabling access to all mainstream programs, services, and systems. Individuals with disabilities have the usual essentials for well-being, economic, and social security. These needs can be meet through mainstream services and programs. Mainstream is the process by which the government ensures that people with disabilities participate equally with others. The social justice implication of this approach is to decrease discrimination.
Reference
Arneson, R. (2018). Four conceptions of equal opportunity.The Economic Journal,128(612), F152-F173.
Benokraitis, N. V. (2019).Affirmative action and equal opportunity: Action, inaction, reaction. Routledge. Policy Agendas:
There are many social issues that do not receive the necessary attention from decision makers. These issues are being cast aside due to legislators needing to limit the number of issues they consider and prioritize these issues. Thousands of pieces of legislation are introduced and a great amount of time and attention is required. With many different perspectives and constituencies involved, it takes great effort even for simple pieces of legislation. Many legislators have to spend endless hours with lobbyists and citizens, which means time constraint is a reason that most measures are not placed on the legislative agenda. (Jansson, 2018).
There are some issues that lack sufficient support to ensure that they are added to decision makers agendas. Policy advocates must develop a strategy that convinces their issues merit attention. Issues tend to be avoided by legislators that seem to provide little or no political advantage in reelection. Issues that assist in helping legislators obtain or retain the support of constituents’ receive significant attention. Certain issues may be too controversial or provoke an essential interest group. There are politicians that do desire addressing issues associated with conflict if it is known that they can gain support from their constituents’. In an opportunist fashion, legislators may choose issues that will provide them with media exposure which creates an advantage over their opponents in an upcoming election battle. (Jansson, 2018).
References:
Jansson, B.S. (2018). Becoming an effective policy advocate: From policy practice to social justice. (8th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning Series.
