When the United States first established the federal government with the Constitution, the fledgling country had many issues. The founding fathers faced opposition and were trying to figure out a way to alleviate some of the problems they had faced with the Articles of Confederation. The citizens of the young country did not want to give up their hard earned rights and live under a similar form of government that they just escaped from and Articles had left the country too weak. This is why the founding fathers created the Constitution: to protect their new country and all of the citizens within.
The Constitution outlined how the government would be set up, including the different branches, and levels. There were powers that were reserved for the states and each state has their own constitution that outlines how their state and local governments are organized. Of course, over time, the United States as well as the rest of the world have undergone a lot of changes. The country has grown considerably and so has the government. With such an ever changing country and world, one can see the necessity for the government to keep up with the changing needs of the people it serves. In some ways, the government has become more transparent and the elected officials easier to contact, but as the government has grown and become more complex and interconnected, so the challenges have grown as well (Kincaid 201). With all of the levels, branches, and different departments within the government, one can see where the necessity for intergovernmental relationships has arisen. To better serve their citizens, the actors within the different levels must work together to meet common goals and to make sure that each voice is heard. There are some that would say separating the many overlapping levels of the government would be impossible due to the very nature of our government, but others reply that working together between the many different levels is smarter and leads to better results (Kincaid 198). Health and Safety The importance of partnerships and communication between levels of government can be seen easiest in the health and safety arena. “One case study found considerable evidence in health policy that there is the sharing of roles between federal, state, and local government along with private sector and local community” (Baracksay 261). These partnerships have been vital in guaranteeing appropriate responses to threats to public health. The most common theme is that federal agencies will pass guidelines down to state and local levels, and the state and local levels will fine tune the regulations based on the data collected. “Each level depends upon the execution of specific roles and functions by the other in order for policy implementation to be successful” (Baracksay 259). Baracksay also points out that when looking at pandemic preparedness, one might see an intricate network of people working together. “[At] the federal level, the US Department of Health and Human Services has provided broad policy guidelines for monitoring and containing…outbreaks, which agencies at the subnational levels have used to establish their own response strategies” (254). This can also be extended to the Department of Homeland Security’s National Response Plan and how it is changed at the state and local levels to accommodate the different geographics, cultures, and economics within each area. Another example of intergovernmental relations would be how the Food and Drug Administration works closely with the Environmental Protection Agency to make sure that consumers are informed. The case that …show more content…
There is a lot of overlapping between jurisdictions and division of authority due to our government’s very nature. This can lead to interesting advantages and disadvantages. Of course, it is up to the federal government to create the general guidelines while they leave it to state and local governments to carry out the policies (Baracksay 258). State and local levels are probably the most important part of policy implementation because of this (Simon 50). This is a common theme in the government, where policies and guidelines are passed down, while information and feedback is passed up. Baracksay describes this as a “mutual dependency” where the communication between the actors within different levels is paramount
The Constitution outlined how the government would be set up, including the different branches, and levels. There were powers that were reserved for the states and each state has their own constitution that outlines how their state and local governments are organized. Of course, over time, the United States as well as the rest of the world have undergone a lot of changes. The country has grown considerably and so has the government. With such an ever changing country and world, one can see the necessity for the government to keep up with the changing needs of the people it serves. In some ways, the government has become more transparent and the elected officials easier to contact, but as the government has grown and become more complex and interconnected, so the challenges have grown as well (Kincaid 201). With all of the levels, branches, and different departments within the government, one can see where the necessity for intergovernmental relationships has arisen. To better serve their citizens, the actors within the different levels must work together to meet common goals and to make sure that each voice is heard. There are some that would say separating the many overlapping levels of the government would be impossible due to the very nature of our government, but others reply that working together between the many different levels is smarter and leads to better results (Kincaid 198). Health and Safety The importance of partnerships and communication between levels of government can be seen easiest in the health and safety arena. “One case study found considerable evidence in health policy that there is the sharing of roles between federal, state, and local government along with private sector and local community” (Baracksay 261). These partnerships have been vital in guaranteeing appropriate responses to threats to public health. The most common theme is that federal agencies will pass guidelines down to state and local levels, and the state and local levels will fine tune the regulations based on the data collected. “Each level depends upon the execution of specific roles and functions by the other in order for policy implementation to be successful” (Baracksay 259). Baracksay also points out that when looking at pandemic preparedness, one might see an intricate network of people working together. “[At] the federal level, the US Department of Health and Human Services has provided broad policy guidelines for monitoring and containing…outbreaks, which agencies at the subnational levels have used to establish their own response strategies” (254). This can also be extended to the Department of Homeland Security’s National Response Plan and how it is changed at the state and local levels to accommodate the different geographics, cultures, and economics within each area. Another example of intergovernmental relations would be how the Food and Drug Administration works closely with the Environmental Protection Agency to make sure that consumers are informed. The case that …show more content…
There is a lot of overlapping between jurisdictions and division of authority due to our government’s very nature. This can lead to interesting advantages and disadvantages. Of course, it is up to the federal government to create the general guidelines while they leave it to state and local governments to carry out the policies (Baracksay 258). State and local levels are probably the most important part of policy implementation because of this (Simon 50). This is a common theme in the government, where policies and guidelines are passed down, while information and feedback is passed up. Baracksay describes this as a “mutual dependency” where the communication between the actors within different levels is paramount