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Organizational Structure & Policies
Organizational Structure and Policies
Community centers can be the heartbeat of a neighborhood -- a vibrant, energetic space where people are guaranteed a warm welcome, find needed support, and explore options for improving their lives. Yet many community centers are located in areas of few economic supports and substantive need. This means that during the nighttime hours the community center may be a pinpoint light in a hazardous or bleak milieu. Staff and volunteers give generously and happily of their time at Brightwood Community Center. Safety for Brightwood staff, neighborhood members, and program participants is uppermost on the minds of the Executive Director, the Assistant Director, and the Board of Directors. Accordingly, a recommendation has been forwarded to establish a policy requiring staff and others who are engaged in program activities during the evening hours to leave the community center in groups, never going solo into the parking area or down the street. To that end, this brief introduction to the Brightwood Community Center and its policymaking decisions provides an interview with C.L. Day and Izera Day, and mini-policy analysis regarding the safety policy.
II. Description of Agency
a. Brightwood Community Center is a faith-based non-profit organization located in the Brightwood neighborhood of Indianapolis, Indiana. The agency mission is "To love God and our neighbor without bounds through justice, love and reconciliation" (Mark 12:30-31). The community center has been providing programs and services in the community for nearly 45 years. Examples of programs and services offered at Brightwood include Survival Skills for Women, the SPARK Summer Program, and the SPARK After-School Program, which operates from 4:00 to 7:00 P.M. A core components of the Brightwood Community Center offerings include the food and clothing services. Brightwood refers to the food and clothing pantries as The Sharing Space. Each month, over 200 families receive food or clothing items from the Brightwood ministry. A new partnership is being established with Gleaners, and Brightwood will soon be a Client Choice ministry. Brightwood's community partnerships include: Girls, Inc.; Wings of Elegance; National Council on Educating Black Children; the Martindale-Brightwood...
Funding is through solicited and unsolicited donations from individuals and enterprises and faith-based organizations, as well as through competitive grants offered at the regional and state levels.
b. Decision making at Brightwood Community Center occurs in much the same way that it does within any non-profit organization governed by a board of directors. The executive director and administrative staff regularly consider various issues that emerge during the course of doing business and review organizational needs. As problems are discussed and ideas flow, an agenda is eventually established that will be presented to the board of directors. This agenda will have been developed to the point where potential solutions to problems have been identified: the overarching goal, then, is twofold. The decision-making processes conducted at Brightwood Community Center are common to non-profit organizations; often, as an agency grows, more people will be engaged in decision-making and the procedures will become more formalized. Staff will present some completely developed ideas for which they only desire approval and funding, and staff will present other ideas for which they truly desire input or guidance from the board of directors. The proposed policy requiring that staff walk out of the building as a group at the end of the day or when night has fallen.
III. Policy Overview
a. External -- Indianapolis, Indiana, has a curfew for children and youth with different hours designated during the week and over the weekend. Under the current city code, youth ages 14 years and under have a curfew of 11 p.m. On Friday and Saturdays. For ages 15-17 years, that curfew is 1 a.m. Under Indiana state law, for any child or youth under age 15 years, curfew is between 11 p.m. -- 5 a.m. any day of the week. And for ages 15-17 years, the curfew is after 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 1 a.m. On the weekends. Some exceptions to the curfew law exist, such as when a minor is working, is married, is participating in a religious activity, or is with a guardian. Concerned community members and parents lobbied the mayor to change the 1:00 A.M. weekend curfew, making it the same as the weeknight curfew…
references in order to increase the probability that adaptive behaviors are fostered. By practicing safe behaviors such as the one addressed in the policy, the staff of Brightwood Community Center can be confident that they are not presenting any temptation to individuals who might choose to rob or harass them should the be in a vulnerable situation. The policy doesn't really establish winners and losers, nor does it cost anything to enact. Basically, the consequences of the policy are that the probability of safety for staff is enhanced. Diversity in human behavior, cultural values, and socio-economic variables are reflected in the safety policy; and the policy speaks to the human right of safety in the community. The overall strengths of the policy are that it is simple and easy to implement, and the policy is realistically grounded in the actual attributes of the Brightwood neighborhood. The only apparent weakness in the policy is that some occasions may present exceptions that make it difficult for all staff members to comply, however, exceptions are expected to be rare -- and generally could be worked around. A potential recommendation for a policy modification could be to ensure that a sturdy male is present each evening when the staff leaves the facility: this could either be a security guard or a volunteer, such as one of the members of the Ten Point Coalition.
V. Conclusion
This exercise illustrated the importance of writing policy with due consideration of the context. For instance, knowing what external policies exist can be a fundamental assistance to creating a policy that is supported by community values and the weight of several years of curfew policy to verify the decision of the agency to adopt and implement the policy. The hierarchical structure of the agency ensures that important issues receive due consideration and that authority is coupled with responsibility -- a factor that can have substantive influence over compliance to policy. Methodically considering the various factors that influence policymaking and policy implementation can result in stronger policy with fewer unanticipated side effects.
I am currently writing a handbook of policies and procedures for my practicum, so there is nothing in writing yet, so your answers will come from interviewing CL Day and Izera Day (obviously you won't really be interviewing them).
The policy I would like the paper to discuss is how at the end of the night, everyone walks out in a group. Brightwood is not a safe area, so at nighttime it is important to walk out as a group.
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