Guillermo Paxton's Blog - Posts Tagged "gil-kerlikowske"
U.S. Drug Policy= Fail
Part One: Start at the top
Gil Kerlikowske- Why is he qualified to be the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy?
Let me start by qualifying this. I am not trying to make a political statement against or for any political party. Looking at all of the six directors since 1988 I do not see any one of them with the qualifications necessary for this job, other than perhaps Lee Brown, and even with his background in having cleaned up crime in several different areas in several major cities it is a stretch. Here is a little background about the position and the ONDCP. I found the best explanation on Wikipedia-
“The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), a former cabinet level[1] component of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, was established in 1989 by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. Its stated goal is to establish policies, priorities, and objectives to eradicate illicit drug use, manufacturing, and trafficking, drug-related crime and violence, and drug-related health consequences in the U.S.
The Director of National Drug Control Policy, colloquially known as the Drug Czar, heads the office. "Drug Czar" was a term first used in the media by then-Senator Joe Biden in October 1982.[2][3] In addition to running the ONDCP, the director evaluates, coordinates, and oversees both the international and domestic anti-drug efforts of executive branch agencies and ensures that such efforts sustain and complement State and local anti-drug activities. The Director advises the President regarding changes in the organization, management, budgeting, and personnel of federal agencies that effect U.S. anti-drug efforts; and regarding federal agency compliance with their obligations under the National Drug Control Strategy, an annual report required by law.”
Now, also according to Wikipedia and various other sources, Kerlikowske was a paper-pusher in the Army and then a police officer. Apparently he had a “stint” in a narcotics unit, but I could not find anything that would lead one to believe that he had a lot of experience and background in narcotics enforcement. He was a police chief in Seattle. Once again, this is quite a jump from city police chief to the man that oversees both the international and domestic anti-drug efforts.
So how were all of these people “qualified” and chosen? I would like to think that there is a list of qualifications to be appointed to this role. If someone has those qualifications, please share them with me, because I could not find any anywhere.
And why in the world would there not be qualifications for such an important position? I mean, let’s look at some qualifications for some other jobs.
Lousiana Day Care Center Director (taken from their site http://text.lsuagcenter.com/en/family...
“For example, the Louisiana Department of Social Services requires that any Class A child-care program serving more than 42 children must have a full-time director whose only duties are administrative.
Other minimum standards set by the state for a Class A program director require:
• The director must be at least 21 years of age.
• The director must participate in 12 hours of training annually. Three hours of that training must include state-approved health and safety topics.
• The director must be certified in infant/child and adult CPR and pediatric first aid.
• The director must have three written references on file with the Department of Social Services.
• The director must undergo a criminal background check and have a copy of that report on file.
• The director must have a statement of good health on file.
• The director must meet at least one of the following qualifications: a diploma from a post-secondary technical college early childhood training program, approved by the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education; three years of experience as a director or staff member in a licensed child-care program or comparable setting plus six credit hours of training in child care, child development or early childhood education; an associate degree in child development or closely related area and one year of experience in a licensed child-care center; a child development associate credential and one year of experience at a licensed child-care center or comparable setting; a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with at least 12 hours of child development or early childhood education and one year of experience in a licensed child care-center or comparable setting; or a national administrator credential as awarded by the National Childcare Association and two years of experience in a licensed child-care center or comparable setting.
In addition to those state requirements for child-care center directors, White says individuals running child-care centers need to possess personal characteristics that help make them effective leaders. She says child-care directors must:
• Make others feel important by emphasizing their strengths and contributions.
• Promote a vision that gives parents and staff members a clear idea of what the child-care providers are doing.
• Treat staff members and parents as they would want to be treated. This includes a willingness to do the jobs staff members are required to do.
• Admit mistakes, take care of them and learn from them.
• Publicly praise people for their accomplishments but criticize them only in private.
• Stay close to the action – be visible, talk to people, ask questions, observe how things are being handled and pitch in. Maintain an open-door policy and be available for anyone who wants or needs to talk.
• Set goals and reward those who help to reach those goals.
• Possess and exhibit a warm, caring, understanding, accepting attitude while not compromising values, policies or procedures.”
Ok, this makes sense to me. How about Nursing Director as per the Oklahoma Department of Corrections:
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
Knowledge of the principles and practices of professional nursing; of professional nursing theory and ethics; of health concerns specific to correctional institutional settings; of correctional rules, regulations, policies, and procedures; and of supervisory principles and practices. Ability to design and conduct training programs for nursing staff.
Education and Experience:
Statutorily Required: N/A
Minimum Qualifications: Master’s degree in nursing or related field with at least five (5) year’s experience as a director of nursing or equivalent position; possession of a valid, current license as approved by the Oklahoma State Board of Nursing.
Preferred Qualifications: Preference will be given to applicants with experience as a director of nursing or equivalent position within a correctional setting or similar environment.
Ok, an easier one, Manager of a Burger King Restaurant (from BK career site)
Show us that you can bring all of these to the table, day-in, day-out, and we’ll throw our considerable weight behind you. In the shape of the following exceptional training programme:
Weeks 1-3
• Gaining product knowledge
• Learning the job of a crew member
• Counter service
• How to make a WHOPPER®!
• Equipment knowledge
• Supervisory skills
Weeks 4-5
• Basic food hygiene
• Supervisory skills course
• Supervisor evaluation (observation on the job)
Weeks 6 - 8
• Shift control skills
• Loss Control
• Shadowing manager
• Daily administration
• People Management
Week 9
• Food safety & product quality
• Basic Management Training Course
• Roles & Responsibilities
• Teamwork
• Customer Service
Weeks 10 - 12
• Shift running (under supervision)
• Feedback on management skills
If you have at least six months’ supervisory experience in a customer service environment, click on the button below to apply:
The common theme here is at the very least experience in the general field. If I was to list the qualifications needed to be director of major companies or law firms or hospitals, they would be staggering. And yet, one of the most important positions law enforcement related in the country has NO SET QUALIFICATIONS. Considering the fact that the drug policy in the United States also directly affects those of Latin America, I would think that someone should have experience in Latin America policy. Maybe even is a Spanish speaker, even as a second language. I would also think that the director should have experience in narcotics enforcement; maybe time spent as a coordinator of some major military program, DEA, FBI, something on a national level. I would also want them to have at the very least an educational background, if not actual work experience, in drug rehabilitation programs and policy. This is just off the top of my head; I’m sure one could come up with a number of reasonable qualifications. Then maybe we could find the person that most closely fits.
Whether you believe in legalization or not, I would think that anyone who is interested in something positive coming from drug policy would at least want a person that has some qualifications for this important job to be in it, and that there would be at least some reasonably defined qualifications for the position. Drug policy boss= FAIL.
Gil Kerlikowske- Why is he qualified to be the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy?
Let me start by qualifying this. I am not trying to make a political statement against or for any political party. Looking at all of the six directors since 1988 I do not see any one of them with the qualifications necessary for this job, other than perhaps Lee Brown, and even with his background in having cleaned up crime in several different areas in several major cities it is a stretch. Here is a little background about the position and the ONDCP. I found the best explanation on Wikipedia-
“The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), a former cabinet level[1] component of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, was established in 1989 by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. Its stated goal is to establish policies, priorities, and objectives to eradicate illicit drug use, manufacturing, and trafficking, drug-related crime and violence, and drug-related health consequences in the U.S.
The Director of National Drug Control Policy, colloquially known as the Drug Czar, heads the office. "Drug Czar" was a term first used in the media by then-Senator Joe Biden in October 1982.[2][3] In addition to running the ONDCP, the director evaluates, coordinates, and oversees both the international and domestic anti-drug efforts of executive branch agencies and ensures that such efforts sustain and complement State and local anti-drug activities. The Director advises the President regarding changes in the organization, management, budgeting, and personnel of federal agencies that effect U.S. anti-drug efforts; and regarding federal agency compliance with their obligations under the National Drug Control Strategy, an annual report required by law.”
Now, also according to Wikipedia and various other sources, Kerlikowske was a paper-pusher in the Army and then a police officer. Apparently he had a “stint” in a narcotics unit, but I could not find anything that would lead one to believe that he had a lot of experience and background in narcotics enforcement. He was a police chief in Seattle. Once again, this is quite a jump from city police chief to the man that oversees both the international and domestic anti-drug efforts.
So how were all of these people “qualified” and chosen? I would like to think that there is a list of qualifications to be appointed to this role. If someone has those qualifications, please share them with me, because I could not find any anywhere.
And why in the world would there not be qualifications for such an important position? I mean, let’s look at some qualifications for some other jobs.
Lousiana Day Care Center Director (taken from their site http://text.lsuagcenter.com/en/family...
“For example, the Louisiana Department of Social Services requires that any Class A child-care program serving more than 42 children must have a full-time director whose only duties are administrative.
Other minimum standards set by the state for a Class A program director require:
• The director must be at least 21 years of age.
• The director must participate in 12 hours of training annually. Three hours of that training must include state-approved health and safety topics.
• The director must be certified in infant/child and adult CPR and pediatric first aid.
• The director must have three written references on file with the Department of Social Services.
• The director must undergo a criminal background check and have a copy of that report on file.
• The director must have a statement of good health on file.
• The director must meet at least one of the following qualifications: a diploma from a post-secondary technical college early childhood training program, approved by the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education; three years of experience as a director or staff member in a licensed child-care program or comparable setting plus six credit hours of training in child care, child development or early childhood education; an associate degree in child development or closely related area and one year of experience in a licensed child-care center; a child development associate credential and one year of experience at a licensed child-care center or comparable setting; a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with at least 12 hours of child development or early childhood education and one year of experience in a licensed child care-center or comparable setting; or a national administrator credential as awarded by the National Childcare Association and two years of experience in a licensed child-care center or comparable setting.
In addition to those state requirements for child-care center directors, White says individuals running child-care centers need to possess personal characteristics that help make them effective leaders. She says child-care directors must:
• Make others feel important by emphasizing their strengths and contributions.
• Promote a vision that gives parents and staff members a clear idea of what the child-care providers are doing.
• Treat staff members and parents as they would want to be treated. This includes a willingness to do the jobs staff members are required to do.
• Admit mistakes, take care of them and learn from them.
• Publicly praise people for their accomplishments but criticize them only in private.
• Stay close to the action – be visible, talk to people, ask questions, observe how things are being handled and pitch in. Maintain an open-door policy and be available for anyone who wants or needs to talk.
• Set goals and reward those who help to reach those goals.
• Possess and exhibit a warm, caring, understanding, accepting attitude while not compromising values, policies or procedures.”
Ok, this makes sense to me. How about Nursing Director as per the Oklahoma Department of Corrections:
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
Knowledge of the principles and practices of professional nursing; of professional nursing theory and ethics; of health concerns specific to correctional institutional settings; of correctional rules, regulations, policies, and procedures; and of supervisory principles and practices. Ability to design and conduct training programs for nursing staff.
Education and Experience:
Statutorily Required: N/A
Minimum Qualifications: Master’s degree in nursing or related field with at least five (5) year’s experience as a director of nursing or equivalent position; possession of a valid, current license as approved by the Oklahoma State Board of Nursing.
Preferred Qualifications: Preference will be given to applicants with experience as a director of nursing or equivalent position within a correctional setting or similar environment.
Ok, an easier one, Manager of a Burger King Restaurant (from BK career site)
Show us that you can bring all of these to the table, day-in, day-out, and we’ll throw our considerable weight behind you. In the shape of the following exceptional training programme:
Weeks 1-3
• Gaining product knowledge
• Learning the job of a crew member
• Counter service
• How to make a WHOPPER®!
• Equipment knowledge
• Supervisory skills
Weeks 4-5
• Basic food hygiene
• Supervisory skills course
• Supervisor evaluation (observation on the job)
Weeks 6 - 8
• Shift control skills
• Loss Control
• Shadowing manager
• Daily administration
• People Management
Week 9
• Food safety & product quality
• Basic Management Training Course
• Roles & Responsibilities
• Teamwork
• Customer Service
Weeks 10 - 12
• Shift running (under supervision)
• Feedback on management skills
If you have at least six months’ supervisory experience in a customer service environment, click on the button below to apply:
The common theme here is at the very least experience in the general field. If I was to list the qualifications needed to be director of major companies or law firms or hospitals, they would be staggering. And yet, one of the most important positions law enforcement related in the country has NO SET QUALIFICATIONS. Considering the fact that the drug policy in the United States also directly affects those of Latin America, I would think that someone should have experience in Latin America policy. Maybe even is a Spanish speaker, even as a second language. I would also think that the director should have experience in narcotics enforcement; maybe time spent as a coordinator of some major military program, DEA, FBI, something on a national level. I would also want them to have at the very least an educational background, if not actual work experience, in drug rehabilitation programs and policy. This is just off the top of my head; I’m sure one could come up with a number of reasonable qualifications. Then maybe we could find the person that most closely fits.
Whether you believe in legalization or not, I would think that anyone who is interested in something positive coming from drug policy would at least want a person that has some qualifications for this important job to be in it, and that there would be at least some reasonably defined qualifications for the position. Drug policy boss= FAIL.
