Advocacy

MEDC Public Policy Principles
(Adopted November 2006)

Background
These are the Public Policy Principles for the Minority Executive Directors Coalition (MEDC) adopted on November 15, 2006.

Purpose
These Public Policy Principles will be used as a framework for MEDC’s current and future advocacy efforts.

Public Policy Framework
MEDC has identified four categories or areas for Public Policy advocacy.

1. Legislation, Regulations, Policies and Procedures
Influencing the following:

  1. Legislation – laws enacted by elected officials and citizen approved initiatives and referendums, levies and bonds.
  2. Regulations – developed by staff to provide more specific guidance in the implementation of legislation.
  3. Policies – framework developed by elected officials and administrators within their legislative mandates.
  4. Procedures – implementation of laws and regulations.

All four of these are crucial to communities of color. They spell out what activities are allowed, required or prohibited and may or may not create roadblocks for communities of color or even lead to further marginalization of communities of color. Well-intended legislation can be hampered by bad regulations and burdensome procedures. It can be enhanced with thoughtful regulations and procedures.

2. Resources
This includes financial resources for programs, services, capital, staffing, etc. MEDC’s interest is in tracking the overall impact of resources on the issues affecting communities of color as well as where those resources end up (where does funding go?). For example, if funding is let out to community-base service providers, are they culturally competent?

Resource Equity – Public policy must ensure equity in the access and distribution of resources to communities of color including access to information, services and benefits.

Cultural Competency – Public policy should integrate the principles of cultural competency and ensure the delivery of culturally competent education, health and human services and other public goods and services.

Institutional Racism and Other Biases – Public policy must be free of institutionalized racism and other biases.

Public Policy Development – The process by which public policy is developed should include the voices and perspectives of communities of color (and not as an afterthought).

Disproportionality – Public policy must address and eliminate disproportionality in all its forms.

Procurement – Public policy regarding procurement should be free of bias against communities of color, and minority community based organizations.

Accountability – Public policy makers and implementers of public policy are accountable for their decisions and actions as they affect communities of color.

Membership Agency Impact – Public policy impact on individual member agencies will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the Public Policy Committee.