Abstract

The response to COVID-19 brought rapid policy change to substance-use services in the US and redefined its street-level bureaucrats (SLBs) as essential workers. What effect did policy changes have on SLB discretion and roles? This article examines policies prior to and after the onset of the pandemic and analyzes the implications for practice through interviews with managerial and executive staff in the substance-use field in New York State. In governments’ attempt to balance the risk of competing emergencies, the effects of the simultaneous extension and contraction of different types of discretion on organizations and their frontline workers are shown.

Note: In the interests of space, street-level theory and the pandemic context underpinning the articles for this Special Issue are discussed in detail in the Introduction to the Issue.

抽象的

对COVID-19的回应使美国的物质使用服务政策发生了迅速变化，并将其街道官员（SLBs）重新定义为必不可少的工人。政策变化对SLB的自由裁量权和角色产生了什么影响？本文研究了大流行之前和之后的政策，并通过采访纽约州物质使用领域的管理人员和执行人员来分析其对实践的影响。在政府试图平衡突发事件的风险时，显示了不同自由裁量权同时扩展和收缩对组织及其一线员工的影响。

注意：为了空间的利益，本期特刊的文章详细讨论了街头理论和流行背景。