Policy
Policy provides a set of rules to guide the activities of government
or organizations. By mandating what is expected or required, policies
can foster behavior change that can impact social norms. While policy is
usually advanced at the state and federal levels, effective local level
policy is integral to the success of prevention initiatives.
This video illustrates how important policy work is in comprehensive
prevention strategy.
Prevention Institute's Executive Director Larry Cohen discusses the
history of anti-smoking efforts, and how he helped guide a new approach
that has resulted in policy and legislative changes. Mr. Cohen
demonstrates how banning smoking in public places, promoting healthy
eating and preventing violence, can result in healthier, happier
communities.
Examples of Successful Statewide Education Policy Change
North Dakota
In 2011, North Dakota passed legislation (HB 1465) mandating that every school district in the state develop and implement a bullying policy to establish reporting and documentation of alleged bullying, reprisal and retaliation acts. The procedures must allow for anonymous reporting, and also establish procedures and timelines for action by school district staff, notification of law enforcement (in case of a suspected crime) and for document retention. Strategies to protect victims, guidelines for disciplining responsible individuals, and for those generating false reports, are also required.
In implementation the policy must:
- Be explained and discussed with students.
- Be filed with the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction to be reviewed and revised.
- Be included in student and employee handbooks.
Example of Successful County Level Work
In Winona County, Minnesota a “Clean Hotels” policy was adapted. The
policy dictates that whenever possible, any County paid lodging,
meeting rooms and conferences will be held at hotels that do not offer
in-room adult pay-per-view pornography. Model policies, recommendations
and related documents are available for download and can be tailored for
an organization, county, or statewide level proposal. For more
information see the
Men as Peacemakers website.
As you are considering a Clean Hotels initiative, a good first step would be to complete a community readiness assessment. A protocol tailored to this initiative was can be found here.
The Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence developed a fact sheet on Clean Hotels covering the basics that may be helpful in developing your own campaign. It can be found here.