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?

Week 8: Class Reading - Jenn

Chapter 6: Assessing Communities

Communities are made up of small microsystems – without these microsystems a community would never be able to function.  Understanding these microsystems is key if you want to understand or facilitate a change in a community.  As social workers we need to know how microsystems impact each other and how they work together to form the community as a whole.  It is best to fully immerse yourself into a community so that you can experience the community first-hand.  This gives you a chance to experience what it is like to be a community member in the community you are studying. You will also need to understand the historical events and milestones of the community and you need to keep in mind that communities are living organisms that continually change.

Chapter 6 outlines three tasks that will help social workers gather the information needed to evaluate a community. 

First, the book says you need to focus on the people in the community; these are the people you, as a social worker, are trying to help.  You may want to ask yourself “What population is the most oppressed?” or “Which population is most in need?” These questions can help you identify your target population.  After identifying the target population, you then need to gather information to determine this group’s demographics and their resources.  You should also identify their needs –how the community views those needs (are they seen as important or unimportant) and how these needs can be addressed.  A social worker can gather this information by attending community meetings, interviewing community members, and reviewing the data that is already available.  One thing that I think is of particular importance is that when identifying the needs of your target population, a social worker should be careful to talk to community members.  Ask them how they view themselves and how they see their community.  That’s a piece that is often overlooked, but that is extremely important.

Our text states that a social worker should determine the community characteristics.  These characteristics include boundaries, strengths, issues, social problems, and values.  You’ll want to ask about the size of the area included (a neighborhood, a city block, or a larger piece of a community).  Social workers also need to be sure to ask about the community’s strengths, issues, values, traditions, and social problems. It’s also important to figure out where the discrimination and oppression are taking place.

Finally, as a social worker you need to identify the community stakeholders. This means figuring out who runs the community, who controls the money and other resources, and how easy it is for community members to access those resources.  You’ll also want to know what type of resources are available – this means things like schooling, TANF, and other funding sources.

Our job as social workers is to fit these three pieces of the puzzle together so that we can understand how a community’s various microsystems work together within a community.

Week 8: Class Reading - Trisha

“The Community Development Process,” Green and Haines

In the chapter titled "The Community Development Process", Green and Haines discuss the various types of community development, the process and the goals. The process of and outcomes of community development are important. They focus on three areas: community organizing, community visioning and planning, and evaluation and monitoring. 

One main questions community developers face is the questions of how to get the community engaged in the issue. How do people become engage, maintain momentum, and continue to work towards a common goal? Who should be involved in development and community organizing? And how do you identify key players in a community? 

The article examines various theories and views on community-based organizations (CBOs). Various types of public participation exist and the article highlights Sherry Arnstein's "ladder of public participation" as frame work to understanding how communities can become more involved in making decisions. When the community has more power and control over decisions, they are more likely to become engaged. 

Green and Haines discuss challenges that community-based organizations face, including sustaining a ideal level of public input. This can be due to the fact that developing programs that fit within funding guidelines can alienate the community members and organizing communities can be a slow process. 

The article also discusses why people choose to get involved. Sometimes it is because the issues directly affect them or because of social relationships. If someone they know and respects is involved, they are more likely to jump in too. 

Some barriers people face when trying to get involved in CBOs are the lack of child care, transportation, accessibility for the disabled, lack of advanced information, time restraints, lack of communication, and residents not being able to see a direct benefit of their actions having a impact on the issue. 

Green and Haines present various forms organizing can take; unions, constituency, issue, and neighborhood/community. Community organizing is different from the others because it involves people in a specific geographic area. 

To organize residents, CBOs use social action campaigns and the development model. Social action campaigns include picketing, strikes, and sit-ins. The development model helps residents work towards development goals. Examples of community organizing models are The Alinsky model (involving a professional organizer), the Boston model (contacts welfare clients), and the Association of Community Organization for Reform Now (ACORN). The ACORN model combines the previous two and is more politically focused. 

Community visioning is key in community development. A common vision is needed for the community to organize around and beings a common desired end state. What do they want their community to look like? If your community was a perfect place, what would it look like to you? Visioning focused on the strengths of the community and the strength needed to be developed in order to reach the desired end product. 

Green and Haines review different planning tools there are used to guide development and growth: Comprehensive - Rational Planning, Advocacy Planning, and Strategic Planning. 

One common corporate-style strategic planning approach is the SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It can be used to build agreement within an organization and help identify areas of growth. 

Towards the end of the chapter, Green and Haines give a quick over view of Monitoring, Evaluate, and Revise, all of which are key in community development. Monitoring and evaluating reveal where corrections revision are needed. They can focus on specific accomplishments and determine outputs and outcomes. 

Questions for the class:

Have you engaged in community development or organizing? What was your experience? Do you have examples of when the visioning stage was missed? 

Has your place of employment used a Strategic Planning tool, such as SWOT? What has been your experience?