Week 12: News Article - Dorothy

Context for the Debate on ‘Religious Freedom’ Measures in Indiana and Arkansas

New York Times March 31, 2015

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/01/us/politics/context-for-the-debate-on-religious-freedom-measures-in-indiana-and-arkansas.html?action=click&contentCollection=U.S.&module=RelatedCoverage&region=Marginalia&pgtype=article

Last week Governor Mike Pence signed a new provision of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act was adapted to protect members of vulnerable religious minorities from punishment for the exercise of their beliefs. Mr. Clinton signed the federal law in 1993 at a time when the concept had strong support, and was perceived as a way to prevent unjustified oppression of religious minorities. The federal legislation was set off by a case in which two followers of the Native American church were fired and denied unemployment benefits because they took part in ceremonies with peyote, an illegal drug. The United States Supreme Court upheld Oregon’s decision not to pay benefits, provoking a bipartisan drive in Congress to pass a law that would deter government actions that impinge upon religious beliefs. Twenty states, including Indiana last week, have since passed their own versions of religious freedom laws. These laws were designed to protect individuals from harm by preventing the government from forcing people to violate their beliefs unless there was a sound reason and no good alternative. For example, this year, the Supreme Court said that federal officials could not prevent a Muslim prisoner from wearing a short beard, since the ban did not serve any overriding governmental interest. However, Indiana law includes new provisions that could broaden its reach, possibly enabling corporations to deflect antidiscrimination rules and providing religious believers with a possible weapon in private suits.

Religious conservatives say that if same-sex marriage must exist, those who find it sinful should not be forced to participate in any way. Under laws like the one in Indiana, they say, vendors such as florists, bakers and photographers should be able to refuse to sell their services for same-sex wedding celebrations. Many of those who pushed for Indiana’s law have explicitly said that they hope it will protect vendors who refuse to participate in same-sex wedding ceremonies, helping them avoid actions that according to their beliefs are onerous and sinful. Less clear is how often that might occur, and how often those vendors might win in court.

Civil rights advocates argue that many of these laws are increasingly used not to protect vulnerable religious minorities but to allow some religious groups to impose their views on others. Supporters have argued that reliance on these laws is not an imposition, but rather a form of protection so that religious individuals are not forced to act in ways that violate their beliefs. According to civil rights advocates, “religious freedom,” is code for simple discrimination and would not only inconvenience gay and lesbian couples, but also would relegate them to a form of second-class status. Those selling to the public should not be able to turn away customers because of their own private beliefs, these advocates say; the vendor is, after all, selling flowers, and is not required to embrace the beliefs of the customers. 

In respond to all the controversy and protest, Indian Governor promise to “fix” the law. Below is a link about Governor Pence plans to fix the law. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/01/us/politics/indiana-governor-mike-pence-feeling-backlash-from-religious-laws-opponents-promises-a-fix.html?action=click&contentCollection=Politics&module=RelatedCoverage&region=Marginalia&pgtype=article

What are your thought? Is the Religious Freedom Restoration Act allowing individual and business to discriminate against LGBT community or is it protecting members of minority religious groups from punishment for the exercise of their beliefs?

Please note that this is a developing story, therefore the story is constantly being updated.  Some of the information in this might be outdated by the time you read this blog. The Washington Post and New York Times is reporting updates daily. If you find any updated information please link it to the blog to provide addition conversation. Thank you in advance.

References

Eckholm, E., (2015, March 31) Context for the Debate on ‘Religious Freedom’ Measures in Indiana and Arkansas. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/

Week 11: Class Reading - Chasity

Ch. 11: Planning, Implementing, Monitoring, and Evaluating the Intervention

This chapter begins by discussing macro level intervention. The author advises that, “Selecting an intervention is not a simple matter of brain storming or choosing the most popular suggestion.” (364). All participants must understand and agree to the intervention and its design.

As the text states, “A brief written document may be prepared at this point which includes (1) a statement that clearly explains the problem or need (2), a description of the proposed change and its results and (3) a description of strategies and tactics to get the change accepted.” Simply because people are participating throughout this process should not be taken as a sign that they agree with the final outcome. It is important to finalize any disagreements or concerns before developing the details of the intervention.

There is a seven task planning process which will come about as well. The tasks will include setting a goal, developing outcome objectives for the intervention, developing process objectives, listing activities for each process objective, initiating the action plan, monitoring the intervention and evaluating the effectiveness of the intervention.

It is easy to assume that nothing can go wrong due to all of the planning and consensus building, nothing can fail or go wrong. This is on the contrary, however, because even lack of careful attention to detail can cause a planned intervention to go wrong.

The text gives the example of Cedar City, which was on the rise of growing at a fairly rapid rate. The population had increased by 58% from 2000-2008. Cedar City’s elected officials include a mayor and town council. Also included are a town manager, budget director, town attorney, water and sewer department, police and fire departments, parks and recreation department, and a planning and community development department. Their school system has nine elementary schools, three middle schools and three high schools.

The town began to notice a decline when a serious recession hit. In the first year of recession, “the town froze all hiring, swept all funds for training and travel and cut back on some of the benefits that had been granted to town staff.” By the second year of the recession, officials realized that there must now be reduction in staff. When every other budget expense was reduced as much as it could be, the town decided that it must cut back on police and fire personnel.

The town called a meeting to determine what would be done during this time. It was decided that volunteers and part-time staff would be used to carry out the certain functions that were once necessary by full time staff.

The higher ups decided that “if a policy including the following town components was accepted by the town council: current entry level job descriptions will be examined to determine which tasks can be distributed to volunteers. Job descriptions to volunteers will be drafted, spelling out limits and liabilities. Training sessions and certification requirements will be prepared and a Volunteer Coordinator will be appointed.”

In order to get Cedar City back on track, they needed to establish some objectives. There are outcome objectives and process objectives. “An outcome objective specifies the result or outcome to be achieved with and for the target population.” Process objectives specify “the procedures to be followed in order to achieve the result.”

“A complete objective, whether outcome or process, has four parts. (1) a time frame (2) a target (3) a result and (4) a criteria for measuring or documenting.

Another integral concept is a strategy for dealing with interpersonal problems among members of the team. Not only should it be established, but it should be communicated to all participants.

Week 11: News Article - Katie

http://www.kmov.com/story/28606668/ferguson-names-new-city-manager-public-hopes-for-transparency

*Additional work history of Pam Hylton accessed from https://www.linkedin.com/pub/pam-crake-hylton/7/b78/65a

The Ferguson City Council appointed an interim city manager on Tuesday night (March 24, 2015). The New interim city manager will be Pam Hylton. Ms. Hylton will take the place of former city manager John Shaw until elections are held on April 7^th. At the city council meeting, members of the community were clear that they want Ms. Hylton to show much more transparency than the former city manager, John Shaw. While filling the role of City Manager, Ms. Hylton will be making $100,000 annually. She was asked about an interview, but a city spokesperson said she is not yet ready to speak to the media. Ms. Hylton was the Assistant to the City Manager from April of 2011 to January of 2013. She then became the Assistant City Manager of Ferguson in January 2013 until taking the seat as an interim city manager on Tuesday night. The hope for the community is that Pam Hylton will offer more transparency and that she will be an effective leader for the city of Ferguson until a permanent replacement is found.

What are your thoughts on previous Assistant City Manager Pam Hylton taking the seat of John Shaw until elections on April 7th?

Week 9: News Article - Kerry

Meet 3 Ferguson employees cited by DOJ for racism & corruption now in charge of cleaning up the city

(with information supplied by the New York Times - http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/06/us/in-ferguson-some-who-are-part-of-problem-are-asked-to-be-part-of-solution.html?_r=0)

This news article was posted only 6 days ago, but so much has happened since then. The four main Ferguson officials who are the subject of the article have all resigned (or been fired) from their positions. This is a step in the right direction, but some say that there needs to be many more resignations.

The main focus of the article is how systemic racism in the Ferguson police department and the local court system had a devastating impact on minorities and particularly African Americans. The author, Shaun King, describes how Ferguson police were first in this discriminatory chain, stopping motorists with little cause and pedestrians for petty infractions and issuing them tickets. King claims that Chief Thomas Jackson oversaw a force that routinely violated the civil rights of Black citizens in Ferguson.

Mary Ann Twitty, clerk of the Ferguson court, was another cog in the crooked machine. The article notes how Twitty routinely “fixed” tickets for White co-workers and friends, while “sticking it” to Black defendants. She also sent out racist emails to colleagues through her official government account.

Another piece of the corrupt puzzle was Judge Ronald Brockmeyer. Author King lays out the case for courthouse corruption by claiming that Brockmeyer added fees and fines to Black defendants cases. He also was able to make his own traffic ticket disappear. He is also the prosecutor in Vinita Park and Florissant, towns that have also been accused of judicial injustice.

The final (as of yet) provocateur in this situation is City Manager John Shaw, who King says is the architect of the corrupt system. Ferguson revenue has increased yearly since Shaw was hired, mainly due to police tickets and citations. The article claims all the aforementioned work in concert with one another, and Manager Shaw is the one running the show.

This article illustrates how African American residents have been subsidizing the White governed community of Ferguson by paying unfair, trumped up and inflated fines and fees. This is akin to the days when slaves propped up the economy of the antebellum South with their free, forced labor. Southern plantation owners enjoyed great prosperity by not having to pay workers the going rate for labor.

Since Mr. King wrote the article, many things have been happening, including Judge Brockmeyer resigning his other offices in surrounding communities. Two police officers were also hit by bullets in an attack, the perpetrators are at this moment unknown.

Week 9: Class Reading - Dorothy

Ch 9: Building Support for Proposed Change

According to the text, macro practice in social work can be viewed as having four major parts: (1) understanding the important components to be affected by the change— problem, population, and arena; (2) preparing an overall plan designed to get the change accepted; (3) preparing a detailed plan for intervention; and (4) implementing the intervention and following up to assess its effectiveness.

This chapter does a great job outlining the steps needed to propose change. Planned change requires careful study and analysis before taking action. Chapter 9 outlines four tasks that will provide the foundation for moving toward the strategies and tactics one may choose in order to effect change.

According to the text, the first task is to develop the intervention hypothesis. In this task we reexamine all relevant finding from analyses of problem, population, and arena. The relevant quantitative data and other types of information should be distilled into a clear working hypothesis of etiology. Etiology refers to the underlying cause of a problem. Therefore the hypothesis establish an understanding about cause and effect relationship. Based on the working hypothesis of etiology, creative ideas should be generated about interventions that appear to be relevant to the need as it is currently understood. Using the proposed interventions, a working intervention hypothesis should be developed. The intervention hypothesis is a series of statements that lay out a clear set of understandings about the nature of the interventions and the expected results or outcomes.

The second task is to define the participants. Building support beings with understanding the major participants or stakeholders. In order for effective macro change to occur, it is necessary to have allies. Change agents need to understand all of the systems involved. The text apply the system theory to identify who should be involved and why. According to the text the systems to be considered includes the initiator system, change agent system, client system, support system, controlling system, host and implementing systems, target system, and action system. In translation, the system will include agency, office holder, position, committee, and task force.

The third task is to examine the capacity for change. An assessment of readiness should include consideration of their openness, commitments, and abilities to pursue the proposed change; availability of resources to implement the proposed change; and the degree of outside resistance likely to be encountered. Openness to change involves an informal assessment, based on experience, of how people in decision-making positions have dealt with earlier proposals. The social worker must recognizing who are the leaders within the action system and what they bring to the change effort. Assessing the capacity of the groups that form each system to follow through with what needs to be done may make the difference in whether the proposal can successfully move forward.

In the final task, the change agent must select a change approach. Our book suggest choosing a policy, program, project, personnel, or practice approach, or some combination, based on what is known about what is likely to successfully work with the population and the problem. Table 9.5 on page 327 defines each of these approaches to change. When these tasks have been accomplished, the change effort is ready to move toward selection of strategy and tactics. These tasks will help the intervention logically flow from an understanding of all the known factors that contribute to the problem, need, issue, or opportunity.

Week 9: Class Reading - Daniel

Green & Haines: “The Role of Community Based Organizations”

Community Development Corporations have become the principle organizations for carrying out local development activities in many urban neighborhoods and rural communities.  Over the years these corporations have taken on many different names identified with development activities. First, Corporate organizations represent power because they are seen as representing large number of people. Secondly, organizations represent continuity because membership may change but an organization can continue to sustain an activity. Thirdly, an organization helps to develop expertise over the long haul with the ability to get better with the passing of time. Finally, organizations improves the ability of residents to respond to problem solving more quickly. And corporations have perpetuity.

Corporate organizations struggle with some downsides as to how to remain relevant in the changing of time. How to maintain participation in the organization. How to avoid becoming too bureaucratic with the passing of time. How to obtain external resources without losing control of the process of bringing in new resources.

In conclusions, community based organizations in poor communities do not have the spread of internal leadership to give a broad base representation. Because formally educated people choose not to live in those communities. The resources in poor communities are limited and no community can have all the resources it needs. Education and the involvement of young people is the key to people developing a strong community based organization

Week 9: News Article - Chatonia

“Ferguson chief, judge, manager resign”

St. Louis American

http://www.stlamerican.com/news/local_news/article_2ac2d2dc-c846-11e4-bc47-d7a9dc50be79.html

On March 4, 2015, the Department of Justice (DOJ) released a report regarding the policing and court practices in the City of Ferguson. Since, the Ferguson Police Chief Jackson, Ronald Brockmeyer, the municipal judge, and John Shaw, the city manager have resigned. In the article, Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal (D) suggested that Mayor James Knowles III would be the next to resign.

Ferguson municipal court cases were transferred to Judge Roy L. Richter of the Court of Appeals for the Eastern District of Missouri. Also, the court has assigned staff from its state courts office to assess Ferguson municipal court practices and to help Richter in making necessary reforms. Richter will be an asset to Ferguson because he will offer a fresh perspective to the court practices, and he is able to implement necessary changes.  

Richter is also the chair of the Municipal Judge Education Committee and supports the work being done by the St. Louis County Municipal Court Improvement Committee. The following are some of the reforms proposed by the St. Louis County Municipal Court Improvement Committee: making volunteer lawyers available on municipal court dates to offer legal advice to defendants who are not facing jail time for their offenses and do not qualify for a public defender, encouraging the use of community service for indigent offenders, setting uniform fines across all municipal courts for identical offenses, and establishing uniform procedures for payment plans for indigent defendants.

The article ended with a statement from Dellwood’s Mayor Reggie Jones, who announced that Dellwood’s municipal court will be granting “full amnesty” for all traffic tickets issued prior to April 11, 2012 (the last day the city had its own police department).

What do you think is the future of the Ferguson Police Department? Do you think the St. Louis County Municipal Court Improvement Committee is headed in the right direction?