THE NEW FACES OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN 2019-2020

The New Faces of Public Administration in 2019-2020: 

Debriefing Post ASPA Washington, DC 

Friday, March 15, 2019

Julie Ann Racino, ASPA

HHSA, SSTIG, 2019

       On Sunday March 10, 2019, I attended the meetings of ASPA Sections on Health and Human Services Administration (HHSA) and Science and Technology in Government (SSTIG). ASPA, celebrating its 80th anniversary, hosts a wide range of sections open to its membership. 

      These choices include:

1. Traditional affirmative action constructions (e.g., Women in Public Administration and Minority Administration) albeit without visible "Disability Administration" (major class in discrimination and human rights, e.g., Consortium of Citizens with Disabilities), 

2. The multiplicity of ethnic or nation-state minorities (e.g., Korean Administration, Chinese Administration) reflecting current thinking on "rights and control" which includes the new LGBT Alliance. "To continue, no the Hispanic Alliance is not a current section". 

3. Traditional "academic content and theory" of public administration, including "formerly the only high authorized access to public budgets" in US, personnel administration and labor relations, health and human services administration (new emphasis on health), public performance "and management", Public Administration and the Law, and intergovernmental administration. 

"Subsets now popular are Nonprofit Policy, Practice and Partnerships, Procurement and Contract Management and Procurement".

4. New emphases of governments in the US and globally, including "Section on Complexity and Network Studies", Democracy and Social Justice (e.g, South America), Emergency and Crisis Management, Public Management Practice, Historical, Artistic and Reflective Expression, and Sound and Effective Government in the Middle East. 

5. Strong "international emphasis" including the original SIAM (Intergovernmental Administration and Management) and SICA (Section on International and Comparative Administration) which "have been closing the US from traditional, comparative studies". In this context, a new "US Ethics and Integrity in Governance" and a strengthening and shift to public administration "Criminal Justice Administration". 

6. The only "academic content by subject area" are Transportation Policy and Administration, Environment and Natural Resources Administration, and Science and Technology in Government. The context is: "Students and New Administration Professionals, Public Administration Research and Education, and Accountability and Performance". 

Meetings in Washington, DC on Science and Technology in Government (SSTIG)

     March is election time in ASPA in which Michael Ahn will be continuing as ASPA, SSTIG Chair for 2019-2020.  The roundtable meeting at the Mayflower Hotel was lively (full of ideas) and participatory boding well for an active membership year of the Section (SSTIG). I was delighted to appreciate the report on Artificial Intelligence, to meet the Section members, to share with our international colleague the Ithaca Science Museum photo (and the MOST, also in large cities to smaller cities, US and globally), and to have two doctoral student awardees at the event who will be working in the coming year with the Section. 

     ASPA, not traditional parliamentary** in style (Sections versus National Council), does not often vote on its section budgets and reports for the year (e.g., motion to accept, second to the motion, discussion, and all in favor-aye, nay, and abstention, decision on motion). And, indeed similar to the "current governments", protests at election are "in the wings" (at District Council instead to National Council). Reporting to the IRS by section is a new requirement which ASPA is implementing with its chapters and sections. And ASPA requires sections to report on their activities (e.g, Lisa Sidletsky, Program Chair, Main Office). 

 Meetings in Washington DC on Health and Human Services Administration (HHSA)

     The Health and Human Services Administration (HHSA) election from over a year ago resulted in "Cassandra Henson as Chair-Elect for 2019-2021" from Towson University in Maryland. Continuing to 2020 from the Executive Committee (posted in 2018) will be Kun Huang, Helisse Levine, and Charles Menifield. Vanessa-Lopez Littleton has won a new term from the posted 2017-2019. Alexander Henderson completed his Chair at this meeting in DC (2017-2019) and Julie Ann Racino served a "honorary term" from 2017-2018 (versus 2017-2020) on the Executive Board (HHSA). 

     In relationship to this meeting in Washington, DC, Alexander Henderson (Section Chair) reported via slides on the amendment to the Section ByLaws with a motion to accept, vote of ayes and nays, and an acceptance of the bylaw amendment as proposed.  [I indicated to the mixed group standing and sitting that there needs to be a place for nos- at Me Too ASPA Panel, 2019, and the Chair may have other nos.]  The Treasurer's report and a report on the budget for the journal were presented to the group; discussion indicated that the journal is separate from the section budget (Julie "tabled"). 

     Julie Ann Racino was pleased to report that two National Council members of ASPA led a panel which included both public health and the prison crisis which included those with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (Racino, Rolandi, Huston, Bergman, 2017). In addition, health units within prisons and practices to viper to illness (at "mental health") were also mentioned in the group. Cassandra Henson was introduced and welcomed ideas for the new year of the HHSA Section. Membership open for 2019-2020 ASPA!

  **traditional Parliamentarians, approved; parliamentarian education groups in US (at toastmasters of ceremonies. 

Julie Ann Racino was pleased to meet public policy practitioners, academics, and leadership in the 1980s and 1990s via Syracuse University School of Education, Center on Human Policy and the US Department of Education, National Institute on Disability Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) at state leadership conferences in the US, public policy institutes, international meetings, and science and public policy meetings in Washington, DC. 

Current Academic Work in the Fields: Sciences and SENRA

     Text messages (Julie Ann Racino, Public Administration and Disability: Community Services Administration in the US) on the Samsung linking to CRC Press (www.crcpress.com) includes a high volume of academic texts related to the Section on the Environment and Natural Resources Administration (SENRA). SENRA met at the same time as the HHSA section in DC; Jill Tao (Chair), Sarmistha Majumdar (Past Chair), and Jonathan Fiske (Treasurer) were expected to be in attendance at the meeting.

     The CRC books, in addition to Jonathan Fiske's Routledge book on Fracking, include:

Air Quality, Fifth Edition; Climate Change Mitigation; Air Pollution Control Technology; Hazardous Air Pollutants; Environmental Chemicals; Dictionary of 21st Century Energy Technology; Local Exhaust Ventilation, among others (soil remediation, environmentally sustainable agribusiness, irrigation systems). 

     The categories of sciences range from environmental sciences and engineering, environ-mental chemistry, ergonomics and human factors (e.g., sitting, standing and carpal tunnel), water science and engineering, agriculture and life sciences ("agroecology"), biomedical sciences, and geological sciences, marine and acquatic sciences, neurosciences and neurology, pharmacology, biomedical imaging, among others (See, Science and Technology in Government -e.g., what is funded, valued, approved, negated, created or inspired, designed, manufactured, regulated, taught, licensed, patented, "our futures"). 

     Now, it should not be surprising that "scientific management" (e.g., very few inter-disciplinary science management groups) has been considered not successful in public policy and public administration (e.g., ASPA articles). In fact, it is highly unlikely that such management has ever entered any of the major positions in the government other than as suboffices or subfields (e.g., NIDRR, NIDILRR). Certainly, the Nation's health departments, science departments, and innovations firms disagree with any "non-scientific" approaches to public policy. An approach similar to President Obama's appointment of a technology office at high Executive gates is warranted.

     These areas with "behavioral public administration" indicates a lack of knowledge of the breadth, depth and scope of the workforces (e.g., "elimination of" community and clinical psychology in the US), knowledge bases (e.g, social work which is only academically 50 plus years young, almost replaced by human performance), and futures for American and global citizens. Academic workforces in America and their roles in leading and managing in government warrant further discussion at the highest levels. We appreciate Vice President Joe Biden's efforts to reshape public administration and its workforces through his new Institute at the University of Delaware in the decades yet to come. 

Health and Human Services Administration at ASPA in 2019

     Alexander Henderson indicated that 15 panels were endorsed by HHSA for the Annual Conference in Washington, DC.  In relationship to panels "not health or human services per se",  the taxes of Americans are one of the payor source for HHSA, the panel studies included "police studies" which require central (university) authorization under human subject protections, and the content of the studies ranged from  housing and housing authorities (city of Oakland), poverty and neighborhoods (reports of increasing and unabated poverty), opiods and "sober homes" (in Florida, retirement communities, at Attorney General), among others. 

     In addition, studies which snowball to top state officials are valued (e.g., education in state of Kentucky); however, the public administration groups have in the past been sought for their work with major US national databases (now available online), international comparisons on databases (e.g.,  Kammerman and Kahn), and for the creation of new databases when other data collection sources are "not available" (access via "Associate Professor")  or pertinent to the matters at hand. Policy Link was mentioned as a new private group which mapped the US on demographics longitudinally and offers a new database for studies and webinars. 

    We remain concerned about the directions that drive a "low ended behavioral and crime approach" to the "underworld" which appears daily on our national news. And indeed "emotional labor" screamed off a "chosen presentation" (yes, a prior association or society job "of my own") regarding "client verbal abuse" -unheard of in the history of the public administration profession. For the public, the words torture***, and illness reflected from prolonged abuse or repeated "vipering" have resulted in "untenable public positions and programs" in the US. 

     When subterfuge and punishment predominate over rehabilitation and sustainability (Racino, Rolandi, Huston, & Bergman, 2017), the current professions and their leadership continue to be in a state resembling more the Nation of Venezuela than the Nation of the Free (the "land of the free") and a nation for the oppressed ("and the home of the brave"), the United States of America. Regretfully, the latter is now at least half of the American population (e.g., "the middle class"or "inequality in America"). 

    We also thank ASPA (and its conference sponsors; full conference schedule available with photos and bios) for the Welcome reception on Saturday in the Mayflower Hotel, and the opportunities to meet and network with colleagues from US and around the world. 

***Remember that civil societies are also involved in horrendous acts in the world, involving civil society members based in part on forms of "classism, racism, ableism, ethnicism, sexism, and in today's terms other forms of bigotry and misogyny". Today, these are "raised" to forms of "hate crimes" indicating the depth of the feelings, the lack of civility and dialogue, and the precedence of "hate over charity and love". 

     In addition, "Gina Haspel" who recommended waterboarding in a recent US Congressional hearing is a long-time civil servant and was approved by "our electives" in that body and the "choice" of our new Republican President (seeking re-election in 2020). Even worse, in this world, was President Carter's position on no death penalty "with a response of " an immediate execution against the law of an individual with intellectual and developmental disabilities ("state laws"). 

ASPA (American Society for Public Administration) in 2019-2020

    ASPA offers a host of webinars, newly presented and designed throughout the membership year, and archives are available for past viewing in addition to the live events. ASPA also initiated Book Talks (new via Karen Garrett, replacing Melissa Williams) and authors can contact the Main Office personnel regarding live, interactive events for professional development. ASPA weekly news updates keeps members informed of developments in the public, professional and governmental sectors. Associational life (the societies) and journal listings (all fields) are available on the web, and more information is forthcoming. 

American Society for Public Administration

1730 Rhode Island Ave., NW, Suite 500

Washington, DC 20036

202-393-7878    www.aspanet.org

Author: Julie Ann Racino, Community and Policy Studies, 208 Henry Street, Rome, NY 13440-6506 USA (315533-6592)   
ASPA - HHSA, SSTIG, SENRA, International Chapter, Budget and Finance  2018-2019