Monday, October 26, 2020

The COVID-19 Pandemic and MPA Education: Student Perspectives on Public Service Values and Public Service Motivation


Shifting Perspectives During a Pandemic:
Community Engagement Perspectives from Indianapolis
by Ciana Sorrentino


The threat of the COVID-19 pandemic became imminent to our country during my first semester of graduate school. 

While I did not have much MPA education at the time, my professor offered our class a research position involving state/local government action and individual response. Through this position I was entrusted with the primary knowledge necessary to capture and record these governmental actions by coding Governor’s executive orders. In a way, the COVID-19 pandemic led me to realize my true capabilities as a woman in graduate school; I lost my first full-time job at my sorority's headquarters in April, and since the pandemic, I was granted a position closer to my true goal of being a lifelong learner and catalyst for change. 

A very striking memory of the very first online policy analysis class that spurred from the introduction of the COVID-19 pandemic was some very ominous words from my professor; we are no longer living in a democracy. The face-to-face interactions, such as town hall meetings, on which many governmental actions depended were not possible. 60-70% of states were giving blanket authority to directors of agencies/non-elected officials. State budgets were no longer discretionary as governors  have more authority during times of public crisis. A dilemma for shouldering the responsibility of public health ensued ; some states believed that the pandemic was a local municipal responsibility, while some states believed that the federal government should have more responsibility than what their actions portrayed. 

These were elements of the public sector I had never even considered as possible to change, but the fluidity of political analysis continued to enchant me; as a result, the epidemic of homelessness prevailed as one of the most urgent issues facing communities during the pandemic. I lived down the street from one of the largest homeless communities in Indianapolis and rode my bike past the communities nearly daily, sometimes stopping to have a conversation. With a lack of community resources, these members of society  were seemingly forgotten in the rush of cultural individualism that pervades our country. At this time in mid-March and early April of 2020, it was every individual for themselves – and quickly, I noticed the homeless population growing in size, occupying more length on the side of the White River than I had ever seen in my four years of living in downtown Indianapolis. 

Continual immersion in the depths of this community motivated me to continue pursuing MPA education to the utmost extent. Never has my perspective shifted so abruptly, which I believe is a result of exposure to many different ways of life by virtue of living in a highly diverse urban environment throughout the onslaught of a global pandemic. Typically, the adverse effects experienced by global disaster are exacerbated in urban communities, and Indianapolis is no different. In addition, I have the privilege of graduate education, a resource so often overlooked by community decision-makers. I have been granted opportunities to make a difference in the way communities encounter public health crises. Above all, I have immense amounts of support from my institution to not only be educated about these global situations but to be granted the tools to make a difference.


As a passionate advocate for human rights, I am dedicated to the pursuit of freedom, justice, peace, and the inalienable rights of all human beings.
Chairing committees, leading and participating in cross-functional teams, using technological concepts and relevant computer programs to solve business problems, as well as quantitative analysis, have assisted me in leadership positions within various student organizations throughout my undergraduate career and have prepared me for graduate education with a concentration in Environmental Policy and Sustainability.
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was presented with the opportunity to conduct research with Drs. Peter Federman and Cali Curley capturing, recording, and coding executive orders and state-level responses to COVID-19.
As of August 2020, I have been awarded a Graduate Assistantship position working with Dr. Christian Buerger, whose current studies focus on policy analysis, public finance, and education policy. His work also analyzes the impact of school finance reforms and tax and expenditure limits on school district funding, as well as the effect of recessions on school district revenues.

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

The COVID-19 Pandemic and MPA Education: Student Perspectives on Public Service Values and Public Service Motivation


Racism in Healthcare:

How Communities of Color are Affected by COVID-19

by Madison Byarley

 

With the recent (and ongoing) protests over police brutality and systemic racism toward Black Americans, the talk of equity and inclusion has become a priority for more and more people. Black Americans often have higher rates of various diseases and higher infant mortality rates; this disparity has not stopped with this pandemic. The combination of both the protests and the pandemic has led me to consider how the treatment of Black Americans is not equitable in how the pandemic is handled and how people are treated for COVID-19, and how the things I have learned in my MPA education have led me to notice what considerations are important to this issue--particularly in the areas of collaboration and program evaluation.

 

Throughout the country, Black and Latinx Americans face higher rates of contracting COVID than their white counterparts. The inequality that exists in healthcare in the treatment can affect the likelihood to contract covid in several ways--the discrimination that healthcare workers give their BIPOC patients, healthcare access, education levels and awareness, wealth gaps, and housing differences among other things. All of these factors contribute in many ways to the healthcare inequality that exists in the United States.

 

 Beyond there just being more cases for BIPOC Americans, there are also issues with the vaccination process for COVID. The early phases of the vaccination tests were done almost exclusively on white people, which raised concerns over how well the vaccine would work on the overall population and concerns over healthcare researchers not caring about BIPOC as much as they care for white people. Some healthcare workers are worried that the rush to get the vaccine as fast as possible is leaving BIPOC behind. The first trials only included Black people at 5%, but in the United States they make up roughly 13.5% of the overall population. By leaving out BIPOC from these studies it has the chance to increase healthcare disparity with COVID vaccinations.

The continuing trials for the vaccine do plan on including a more diverse group of people in the research process. However, because of the long standing disparities in healthcare, some communities of color are having a hard time trusting the vaccine, making them less likely to be willing to participate in these clinical trials. Black scientists, healthcare workers, and churches have been working together to try and get more BIPOC Americans to participate in the COVID-19 vaccine trials so that there can be data on a diverse group of people that better represents America as a whole. 

 

When I consider all of these issues arising due to the pandemic crisis I think of what I have learned about stakeholder engagement, program evaluation, and collaboration during my MPA education. It seems that BIPOC stakeholders are consistently being left out of the conversations that affect them the most. Collaboration efforts like the ones being done for the vaccine need to be insistent on making sure the right stakeholders are at the discussions--it is clear that collaboration is needed for tackling this crisis, but we have to make sure we do not leave valuable voices out and that we do not overlook the importance of trust. The lack of inclusion of BIPOC in the trials also highlights the importance of good program design that has been discussed in my courses and how important it can be to have a diverse group of people behind the planning of these trials. Without trust and good relationships, these vaccines will not be as successful, the collaborations on handling the crisis will not be as productive, and the health care disparities will continue to harm communities of color. 

 

 


Madison Byarley is an Urban and Regional Governance MPA candidate at IUPUI. She graduated in May of 2019 at Purdue University with a BA in Political Science and a Certificate in Public Policy. While at Purdue, Madison was a member of the Purdue Student Government Sustainability Council, Secretary of the Environmental Science Club, and the Secretary of the Political Science Honors Society-Pi Sigma Alpha. Currently, Madison acts in the role of research assistant for Dr. Peter Federman, assisting in investigating collaborative governance efforts to address climate change at the state and local level. She is the primary author of a paper-in-progress, titled: “Collaboration in Climate Action Plans -- The Role of Interagency Collaboration for Developing Robust Plans”. She is also assisting in Dr. Federman's research on COVID-19 state level executive orders. Her interests in environmental justice and urban sustainability continue to propel a committed work ethic and ongoing exploratory nature in coursework, employment, and extracurricular activities.




Tuesday, October 13, 2020

The COVID-19 Pandemic and MPA Education: Student Perspectives on Public Service Values and Public Service Motivation

Promoting Social Equity and Public Service Values During America's Dual Pandemics
by Gwen Saffran

The dual pandemics of the novel coronavirus and ongoing, systemic anti-Black racism has laid bare the deep inequities already present in the United States. As much of America was shocked by the violent and wrongful death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, at the hands of the Minneapolis police, Black Americans were already three to four times more likely to die from COVID-19 than their white counterparts. In New York City, protests in support of Black lives were met with violence from the police. The devaluing of Black lives in New York extends past interactions with police: essential workers, a group heavily impacted by COVID-19, are overwhelmingly Black and brown. Public hospitals in communities of color have worse health outcomes for their patients than private hospitals in wealthier, whiter neighborhoods. Children of color are more likely to experience homelessness or have limited or no access to the internet, which negatively affects their ability to engage in distance learning. People of color and lower-income people are less likely to be able to work from home, either forcing them to go to work and potentially be exposed to COVID-19 or not be able to work at all, with disastrous financial consequences. COVID-19 has been called the great equalizer—and while it is true that the virus does not discriminate in its infection, its consequences only highlight and exacerbate existing inequality. 

As a public servant, the last several months have been troubling, and we as city employees face a particular challenge: how can we use existing structures of government that were built on stolen Indigenous land and the labor of enslaved Africans to support and uplift the most marginalized New Yorkers? How can we make the biggest impact while operating within our limited ascribed powers? In my time pursuing an MPA at John Jay College, we examined the tension between the public sector regime values of equity and justice and the role public agencies play in creating and perpetuating systemic inequality. The critical discussions about hard choices and creative problem-solving have been invaluable to me as a public servant.

As we learn from our past, we also have incredible opportunities to improve the present and shape the future. New York City has suffered tremendous losses during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the tragic deaths of tens of thousands of our community members. We as public servants have a responsibility to rebuild a city that is more just and more equitable, and I am buoyed by recent efforts, including the repeal of 50-a, and the ban on the use of chokeholds by the NYPD. However, it will take far more than a few reforms to gain the trust of a traumatized community. Collaboration among government agencies, community organizations, and constituents is imperative in fostering equity and creating justice, as we all have a responsibility to create a just society. In the Office of the Public Advocate, staff includes community organizers who work with constituents and community organizations on grassroots campaigns, as well as policy and legislation. Reports, research, policy, and legislation is informed by and created in collaboration with constituents, community partners, and advocates. I am grateful for my education’s grounding in public service values—as Bryan Stevenson said, we can't change the world with only ideas in our minds; we need conviction in our hearts.

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Gwen Saffran is a Policy Associate at the Office of the Public Advocate for the City of New York. She holds an MPA from John Jay College in Public Policy and Administration with a specialization in Criminal Justice Policy and a BS in Juvenile Justice/Youth Advocacy from Wheelock College. Previously, Gwen worked with Professor Nicole M. Elias as a Research Assistant in the Public Management Department at John Jay College, studying sex, gender, and issues of social equity in the public sector. 



Gwen's comments are entirely her own and may not reflect the opinions of, or be endorsed by, the Office of the Public Advocate.




The COVID-19 Pandemic and MPA Education: Student Perspectives on Public Service Values and Public Service Motivation

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