Public Policy Final Exam 2024

War on Drugs

In the late 70s and 80s, this campaign fought the new levels of poverty, crime, & drug addiction in the inner cities. Led to mass incarceration. Nixon, Reagan, Clinton.

Richard Nixon

President who declared war on crime and drugs in the early 1970s initiated polices that would lead to mass incarceration.

William Clinton

Democratic president who continued the war and drugs and passed the 1994 Crime Bill which significantly increased funding for the war on drugs and increased incarceration rates.

Mandatory minimums

State and federal sentencing laws that impose a minimum length of prison time an offender is required to serve.

Mass incarceration

Extremely high rates of imprisonment, particularly males of color, due to policies adopted as part of the War on Drugs.

Crime Bill of 1994

President Bill Clinton, provisions implemented many things, including a "three strikes" mandatory life sentence for repeat offenders, increased funding for prisons, and an expansion of death penalty-eligible offences.

Elitism

A theory of government and politics contending that an upper-class elite will hold most of the power and thus have the most influence on public policy.

Pluralism

A theory of government that holds that open, multiple, and competing groups hold power, and therefore ordinary people can impact public policy.

Interest groups

Groups of people who work together for similar interests or goal.

Lobbying

A strategy by which organized interests seek to influence the passage of legislation by exerting direct pressure on members of the legislature.

Litigation

Filing a lawsuit; this is a way to get a policy removed, adopted, or enforced. Often used by interest groups to influence public policy.

Effectiveness

Whether a policy meets or fullfills the intended goals.

Acceptability

whether or not a measure has the approval of the public.

Equity

Whether a policy creates inequalities, whether intneded or not intended.

Feasibility

Whether a policy can easily be implemented given the current resources (human and capital).

Cost

The total expense that a policy will incrue, and how the expense will be covered.

Unintended effects

Effects of a policy that are not expected; they can be positive or negative.

Stakeholders

The people who are impacted by a policy.

Institutions

The people who create, adopt and implement policies.

Agenda-setting

The process of getting someone in power to pay attention to a problem and make efforts to addresss it.

Formulation

The process of writing a policy. Invovles ideating, brainstorming, and prototyping.

Adoption

The process of getting a policy passed; usually done by a legislative body.

Implementation

After a policy is passed, this involves putting that policy into action.

Evaluation

Testing a policy after it's been adopted to make sure that it working.

public policy

A system of laws and regulations made by the government in response to specific societal issues or problems on behalf of the public.

Baltimore County Board of Education

The body that creates education policy for Baltimore County Public Schools. 11 members, 7 of which are elected.

Maryland State Department of Education

The body that creates education policy for all public schools in Maryland.

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)

Federal Law that replaced the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) to provide all children significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education, and to close educational achievement gaps. Ranks schools by stars.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

A federal law that governs student confidentiality in schools Rrequires that schools not share any personally identifiable information about a student or his/her family, and gives families access to student records.

Blueprint for Maryland' Future

A Maryland law passed in 2019 with the goal of improving educaiton in MD. Pilars include early childhood edcuation, high quality workforce, college and career readiness, and resources for students with disabilities and English Language Learners.

Kerwin Commission

Studied the problems with education in Maryland and wrote a 150 page report that was used to create the Blueprint for Maryland's Future.

Great depression

Economic crisis in 1929 that set the agenda for social safety net policies including Social Security.

New Deal

A series of reforms enacted by the Franklin Roosevelt administration with the goal of ending the Great Depression. Included Social Security and other safety net programs.

TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families)

Means-tested program, states determine the eligibility of needy families and the benefits and services those families will receive.

SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)

Means-tested program that provides recipients with a debit card for food at most grocery stores; formerly known as food stamps.

Social Security

Guaranteed retirement payments for enrolled workers beginning at age 65. Entitlement program, paid for by taxes.

Medicare

A federal program of health insurance for persons 65 years of age and older. An entitlement program.

Medicaid

A federal and state assistance program that pays for health care services for people who cannot afford them. Means-tested, based on income.

ACA (Affordable Care Act)

in 2010, it was designed to provide more access to affordable health insurance. Individual mandate, parents keep kids on insurance until 26, no lifetime caps, no disqualification based on prior health condition.

FHA (Fair Housing Act)

Passed in 19345, Gave loans with less down payment and lower interest rates. Let to increase in home ownership.

Redlining

A process by which banks draw lines on a map and refuse to lend money to purchase homes within a certain area. Let to racial inequities in housing and long-term wealth accumulation.

Public Housing

Housing owned by the government; in the United States, it is rented to low-income residents, and the rents are set at 30 percent of the families' incomes.

Unemployment Insurance

A government program that partially protects workers' incomes when they become unemployed. Must have lost job due to no fault of your own.

Entitlement program

a program that provides benefits for those who qualify under the law, regardless of income. Medicare and Social Secruity.

Maryland General Assembly

Responsible for passing all laws that impact Maryland residents. This is the institution that adopts MD laws.

Define the problem

The first stage of policy making; research the problem in order to ensure the policy has a positive impact. This involves gaining empathy for stakeholders.

Clery Act (1990)

Requires public and private colleges and universities that participate in federal student aid programs to disclose information about campus crime. Agenda set by the brutal murder of Jane Clery on a college campus. Parents were stakeholders and interests.

"Medicare for all" system

Term used to describe a universal system of health care. Also called "single-payer system." Government provided health care for all, paid for by tax revenue.

Love Canal

A neighborhood in New York which became the subject of national attention following the discovery of 21,000 tons of toxic waste buried beneath the neighborhood. Parent activists got government action to resolve the problem.

Green Peace

Founded in 1971, this activist group first launched a successful "Save the Whales" campaign and now address a wide range of environmental issues using an activist approach.

Sierra Club

An organization founded in 1892 that was dedicated to the enjoyment and preservation of America'swilderness environments. Used activism to prevent damning in National Parks, and contineus to fight for conservation.

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

Alerted the public of the dangers of pesticide poisoning and environmental pollution in this book. Led to the banning of DDT.

Clean Air Act

1970 law that established national standards for states, strict auto emissions guidelines, and regulations, which set air pollution standardds for private industry. Created the EPA to enforce the law.

EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)

Federal agency created in 1970 to oversee environmental monitoring and cleanup programs. Creates rules and regulations to implement environmental laws.

Clean Water Act

(CWA, 1972) set maximum permissible amounts of water pollutants that can be discharged into waterways; aims to make surface waters swimmable and fishable. Enforced by the EPA.

Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

Law that suspended Chinese immigration into America. This was the first significant law that restricted immigration into the United States of an ethnic working group.

Immigration Quota Act

The Emergency Quota Act restricted the number of immigrants admitted from any country annually to 3% of the number of residents from that country living in the United States as of the 1910 Census. This law restricted immigration.

Secure Fences Act

The Secure Fence Act authorizes the construction of 700 miles of double-layered fence along the U.S.-Mexico border. Aimed at preventing undocumented entractance into the US.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

An American immigration policy that allows certain undocumented immigrants who entered the country before their 16th birthday and before June 2007 to receive a renewable two-year work permit and exemption from deportation.

means-tested programs

Government programs available only to individuals below a poverty line, including TANF, SNAP, and WIC.

Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA)

Law ensuring services to children with disabilities throughout the nation. IDEA governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education and related services, including IEPs.

Material incentives

Monetary or physical benefits given to interest group members to entice them to join.

Purpose incentives

A benefit that comes from joining an interest group by serving a value or principle.

Solidarity incentive

The lure of joining an interest group such as friendship, gained by members of an organization.

Electioneering

Direct group involvement in the electoral process, for example, by helping to fund campaigns, getting members to work for candidates, and forming political action committees.

The Bail Project

An organization set up to address the injustice of automatic imprisonment for those who can't afford bail, which typically affects low-income communities, women, and minorities.

Death Penalty Action

An interest group that fights for state and federal laws against the death penalty.

Lobbying

Engaging in activities aimed at influencing public officials, especially legislators, and the policies they enact.

Housing Choice Vouchers

Subsidies allowing low-income families to rent to private landlords at a lower price.

Department of Homeland Security

Cabinet department created after the 9/11 terrorist attacks to coordinate domestic security efforts; oversees implementation of immigration policy.

Immigration policy

Overseen by DHS, implemented by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Control, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Endangered Species Act

(1973) identifies threatened and endangered species in the U.S., and puts their protection ahead of economic considerations.

Immigration Quota Act 1921

First law to resticted immigration by establishing a quota system to limit the number of immigrants from each country.