States as Policy Labs: Virginia Policy - Essay Example

The paper "States as Policy Labs: Virginia Policy" is a great example of an essay on social science. The United States of America is a unique country in the sense that all of its s are responsible for their own policies and the rules and regulations they decide to impose upon their population (Cropf, 2008). During the post-Katrina era, many policy changes in the emergency management response of Virginia have been implemented. The older notion of involving the related federal agencies in a passive manner has been replaced by a new and active style of management. Local bodies have been empowered to achieve the same purpose. 

The Virginia Emergency services and Disaster Law (VESD) was amended to form the State Department of Emergency Management which empowered the local Governor to take actions that were beyond his control previously. Many additional powers were bestowed to Governor which included mandatory evacuations, emergency declaration, and conduction of an annual drill that may include the people of the whole state. An additional positive aspect is a reality of empowering the state to such an extent where it is capable of helping the neighboring states as well. VDEM has been given the responsibility of providing resources to the local bodies in the form of trained individuals, modern equipment and water supplies (Commonwealth of Virginia, 2012).
Consequently, the state’s preparedness for disasters like Katrina has improved and it is hoped that this model will serve as the pilot model for other states and may someday be implemented at the national level. In my opinion, these are the early manifestations of improvement that we have yet to observe in the coming times; since other states are in the process of learning from the laboratory of Virginia and may implement similar policies in the coming future.  Read More