39 4.1 – UNDERSTANDING AND IDENTIFYING PROBLEMS
- UNDERSTANDING AND IDENTIFYING PROBLEMS
Understanding the origins of public policy requires thorough exploration of the stage of policymaking that American government texts often omit: problem identification. In screenwriter Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom, the character Will McAvoy famously states, “The first step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one.” This step in the policy process, that is, in which problems are identified, is critical for policymakers whose responsibility is to design strategies to solve those problems.
What is a policy problem? Policy problems arise from situations or circumstances that cause dissatisfaction for individuals or groups, who then call on the government to find a solution (Anderson, 2015). Governments take action on a vast array of problems, from relief for drought-stricken farmers to nuclear nonproliferation treaties, tax reform, and even safety on school buses. The key to problem identification is what Nelson (1984) describes as issue recognition. This stage in the policy process occurs when the problem is first noticed and then perceived to have the potential for government action. Perhaps deep-sea divers notice an excess of plastic items at the bottom of the ocean, or coastal residents experience the oxygen depleting phenomenon known as the red tide. Maybe a college student dies due to hazing, or the number of babies born to drug-addicted mothers increases. These issues, and thousands more, establish a foundation from which future public policy begins.
Issue recognition, therefore, involves identifying and describing the problem and often begins with the questions, “What are the concerns? And what are the causes of my concern?” Let’s say that you learn that elementary school students in your neighborhood have lunches withheld when they accumulate a certain amount of unpaid school lunch debt. You are outraged and take the position that lunch should never be withheld from students who, through no fault of their own, are being punished for their parents’ misdeeds. In this situation, you have recognized that a problem exists and that it has an identifiable cause: students are not receiving lunch, and the cause is unpaid lunch debt.
The next logical questions are, “Can the situation be improved? And if so, who can improve it?” Certainly, if you are a wealthy individual, you could write a large check to the school district and pay off the debt, if the school accepts that type of donation. You could solicit funds from the community to pay off the debt, but this is a short-term solution since students may accumulate debt again. You could contact the school district and voice your displeasure over the policy or attend a school board meeting. Contacting authority figures is not an uncommon reaction and does, at times, lead to pressure that alleviates a problem. However, you would like to ensure that children never have to worry about missing lunch again, and you believe that government intervention effecting a change in public policy is the only solution to this problem.
Ensuring that a public issue is met with practical solutions requires identifying the level of government that has the responsibility for enacting and implementing specific policies. If you are not sure whether an issue is more suitable for local, state, or federal government intervention, a good rule of thumb is to start at the local level and move to the state or federal arena once other options have been explored. If car break-ins are increasing in your neighborhood, for example, you would not appeal to the U.S. President to solve the local crime problem. If you are having trouble obtaining a fishing permit at a national park, you would not appeal to the Secretary of the Interior. Returning to the school lunch example, each level of government has different levels of authority. School districts have many strategies for dealing with school lunch debt; additionally, what may be possible in one district may not be possible in another. Citizens can always reach out to their local school district and ask to make their meal debt policies public. If the school district’s policies result in “food shaming”—students who receive no lunch when debts are unpaid—or other adverse outcomes, then citizens could develop a campaign and hold a rally in the community in an attempt to persuade the school district to change lunch debt policies. If you are satisfied and your campaign is successful, then you may choose not to take the issue to the next government level. Although, circumstances and public outcry could be enough to encourage state or federal action. After the media begins reporting on actual incidences of school “lunch shaming,” for example, states could enact legislation to clarify school procedures if students cannot pay for meals.
The likelihood that any given problem will be solved through government action varies. Some policy problems are easy to identify and solve, while others are more complex, difficult to recognize, and have limited solutions. Nevertheless, the problem identification step in the policy process is unavoidable; problems cannot be solved without identifying their underlying cause. Unsurprisingly, identifying the root cause of a problem is often quite tricky. Problem identification is full of controversy, and policymakers often make decisions based on incomplete knowledge of the problem’s origins. For example, many communities across the country are grappling with failing schools, low test scores, low attendance rates, and even a shortage of teachers. Decision makers know the problems, but they may be unclear on what exactly causes these problems in the first place. Are failing schools merely a result of poor test-taking skills or ineffective teachers, or do they result from some deeper problem, like low parental involvement, poverty in the school district, or some combination of each?
