When I attended the policy events in my community, participating was significant in learning about social policy. I have attended policy events under three categories, policymaking, advocacy, and education. I attended the city council meeting, a panel discussion on social media, and a criminal justice reform in Springfield, Missouri. All three events have helped me learn about social policy and how it applies to my community.
City Council Meeting
I attended the Springfield City Council meeting on October 21, 2019, from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM. This event took place at the Historic City Hall. At the meeting, the agenda listed council bills, resolutions, emergency bills, and grants. The speakers at this event were members of Zone Council Members, and General Councilmembers, Phyllis Ferguson, Abe McGill, Mike Schilling, Mathew Simpson, Jan Fisk, Craig Hosmer, Andre Lear, Richard Ollis, and the mayor Ken McClure. The first bill that was discussed by Schilling, Hosmer, Ollis, and Simpson is, establishing regulations for loan establishments, with permit requirements and a registration fee. The bill was to promote business regulations and loan establishments. The second bill discussed by McGill is to promote Springfield land development. The bill is about a plan to clean and expand the land in living areas. The third bill discussed by Ferguson is an ordinance for improving the Kansas and Kearney District. The fourth bill discussed by Simpson is an ordinance granting condition-use permits to reduce the front yards for buildings. The fifth bill discussed by Ollis is an ordinance for Springfield to have a master equipment lease-purchase agreement and schedules that would help the equipment costs of the city. This sixth bill is an ordinance that is known as the salary ordinance, to have four job titles and add full-time positions to the professional, administrative, and salary schedules. The seventh bill was discussed by McClure, and it was a resolution extending the term of the sexual assault task force until late November of this year. The 8th bill was discussed by Simpson, it was a resolution accepting recommendations of staff regarding the Galloway Redevelopment. At the city council meeting, public improvements were also discussed. These improvements were discussed for Sequoia Park. The improvements included preservation and added restrooms to the park. The ninth bill discussed by Lear was an ordinance, and grant for the city manager to accept funding from the United States Department of Justice. For improving criminal justice responses to domestic violence dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. This ordinance would help prevent violence and stalking. The grant was an amount of $500,00.00 offered to the City manager. The 10th bill was discussed by Schilling. It was an ordinance of a redevelopment plan on Saint Louis Street to promote public peace prosperity, health, safety, and welfare. The 11th bill proposed was discussed by Ollis, an ordinance for the city manager to agree with traffic technology services so there would be information provided to vehicle manufacturers for connected vehicle applications. The 13th bill proposed was discussed by McGill, an ordinance for the city of Springfield to enter into intergovernmental agreements with the city utilities, Greene, and Christian counties for cooperative agreements to improve public transportation. The last bill the 13th bill was discussed by Hosmer, an ordinance for the city manager to enter into an intergovernmental agreement, met with the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the police department of Springfield to participate in Career Criminal Task Force, and amended the budget of the police department. This promotes the funds and criminal task program for the Springfield Police Department. The City of Springfield sponsored this event. My cognitive and behavioral experience toward this event was I thought it was interesting to see how a city council meeting works what and who addresses the social issues and who has the authority to make a policy change. The behavior of the room was calm, and people spoke about the issues that they cared about. I was impressed by the experience of what issues are addressed during a city council meeting, the city council meeting was not disappointing. An NASW Code of Ethics I can apply to this event is service as most of the bills proposed for redevelopment involve service to improve the environment. It is also good for a social worker to be aware of the improvements and social issues of the city so there can be advocacy for social issues as well, this is beneficial for future practice in becoming a social worker. What I can apply from what I learned in class from this event is policy analysis because the bills were discussed analyzed, decided, and voted upon, and the type of policies and how there are different bills such as an ordinance and resolutions. As this event was interesting and a learning experience I would attend more city council events. I feel like it was a good experience to learn about policy-making.
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Impact of Social Media on Activism
I attended the Impact of Social Media on Activism panel on October 2, 2019, at Missouri State University from 3:00 PM to 4:15 PM. This event was for the public affairs conference held at Missouri State University. The presenters were Courtney Durham, director of development and PR, Narissa Punyanunt- Carter Assistance Deab of International Affairs Texas Tech University, Sharmini Rogers, Bureau Chief of Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, and Fernando Sustaita, social studies teacher of Nixa Junior Highschool. The topic of this event was how social media impacted activism. The main points of that are social media created a larger networking world and a smaller world, which is wonderful for awareness, being informed of social issues, being responsible for what people are communicating to the world, not being an influencer to matter, and making a change get out there. Activism is known for making a difference. People can make a change by using social media and advocating for social issues on social media. People are also more likely to read things on social media rather than posters or billboards. Social media can also provide education about social issues. While people live in poverty. It is important also on how you use social media for activism like before talking about a social issue educating yourself informing people on proper information and looking at the right information on what is true rather than biased. The emotional climate and mood were everyone in the room was engaged and asked a lot of questions to the panelists. My experience during this event was that I was engaged and interested in what was being discussed. I liked how they promoted social media and how that can be used for advocating and making a change. What I learned is what activism means and how activism and social media can make a change. This impacts social media because there are benefits to what people can do on social media. I can use this experience as I continue my education to talk about social issues on social media. An NASW Code of Ethics this event relates to can be social justice because of the many social issues including social justice issues people can advocate and talk about and competence by effectively using social media and activism. I was impressed by how well I was educated by this event and how it helped me look at social media and activism in a way I did not think about before. Two links I can link this to learn from a class are poverty and public assistance issues were brought up as examples in the presentations. I would attend events like this again to educate myself more, to attend this event I felt like I was learning something.
Changing Hearts Criminal Justice Reform
On November 11, 2019, I attended the Changing Heart Criminal Justice Reform at free-way Ministries in Springfield Missouri. The speaker of this event was Mathew Charles. This event is part of the empowerment of criminal justice and the social issues that arise in the criminal justice system. Part of what they advocate for is life after prison and how to improve the social justice system. Mathew Charles was a criminal and spent time in prison. He went to prison for selling cocaine. He was sentenced longer than his term was supposed to be. What I have learned in class is that African Americans typically have longer sentences than other people who commit the same crime. During his prison term, he wanted to be better. He worked very hard to improve himself and eventually, he was released from prison while gaining a shorter sentence, after a while he was sent back. Part of what was changing in Mathew Charles during his prison term was growing close to God by holding bible studies and studying the word of God. He continues to advocate and help people who are coming out of prison and released back into the community. The social issue in this event is the diversity in the criminal justice system and how people aren't treated equally such as longer sentences. Freeway Ministries is a sponsor of this event. The emotional and climate mood was people were engaged on this topic. Former people who were released from jail and prison were also there to support and ask questions to Mathew Charles. The behavior of this environment was a passion for change and criminal justice reform. My experience was I enjoyed the event and learning more about the criminal justice system What I learned is being aware of the social issues in the criminal justice system. Two things I can link to what I have learned in class are the documentary we watched about an African American boy who was involved in a robbery, and the second would be the Union criminal justice and that statistic shared in class. A NASW code of ethics I can apply to this event is social justice, I can use this event in further social work practice as working with clients knowing what fair and equal treatment looks like, or helping them find resources. I was impressed by what I learned by attending this event. This misaligned with my beliefs because I did not know that because of the ethnicity or culture, someone has there are higher prison term rates. I think it is completely wrong. I would attend this event again to continue my education. It felt like a learning experience to attend this event.
Conclusion
While I have attended all three events for social policy it has helped me learn more about the social issues in my community. Attending these events has also helped me understand social policy and how policy affects the community. It has been a good learning experience. All three things that affect policy education policy making, and advocacy help shape policy in making changes and resolving issues. This has had a significant impact on my learning.
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