Recorded presentation

Cassandra Ritas, MPP, State Senator Liz Krueger, 211 East 45th Street, Suite 1300, New york, NY 10017, Ann-Gel Palermo, MPH, Center for Multicultural and Community Affairs, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave Levy Place, Box 1257, New York, NY 10029, 212-241-8886, ann-gel.palermo@mssm.edu, and Sister Mary Nerney, CND, STEPS to End Family Violence, 1968 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10029, 212-410-4200, MNerney@EGSC.ORG.

Since 2000 the Harlem Urban Research Center has worked to reduce the policy obstacles to reentry for substance users (and others) returning from jail and prison to our community. In part, because both substance use and incarceration are such highly charged political and moral issues, analyzing the impact of current policies and developing policy recommendations that conform to the current ethos has been particularly challenging. In this work the Urban Research Center has been aided by a participatory research model that builds in stakeholder input and ongoing evaluation of policy proposals and implementation. During four years of collaboration we have both built a citywide advocacy coalition and sustained our community focus. In that time we have seen a dramatic shift in the policy discussion around reentry, as well as some specific policy changes.

In this presentation we will build on our own and other’s experience to provide advocacy strategies that target all three branches of government, while highlighting some of the challenges to partnership inherent in policy work. We will identify a range of decision-makers who impact health policy and make recommendations about the most effective advocacy strategies to influence them. In short, we will guide participants through the process of Participatory Policy Work from issue identification through evaluation.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation participants will be able to

• Describe the process of Participatory Policy Work.
• List three facilitators and three barriers to doing policy work in the context of a community-academic research partnership.
• Develop advocacy strategies suitable to a range of decision-makers who impact health policy.

Keywords: Policy/Policy Development, Participatory Action Research

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Harlem Urban Research Center, New York City Department of Corrections, Department of Health
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation