Reflect back on the topic you chose for your advocacy project during week 1. Using the information and templates from the ?Advocacy Toolkit: Promoting Quality Early Childhood Educ

Early Childhood Advocacy Toolkit

Early Childhood Advocacy Toolkit Ounce of Prevention Fund

5 the ounce of prevention fund early childhood advocacy toolkit ©2009

Early Childhood Advocacy Toolkit This advocacy toolkit is designed to help parents, student groups, practitioners, and other advocates get involved in the public policy-making process by educating key audiences about, and developing support for, early childhood initiatives.

The Ounce of Prevention Fund gives children and their families the best chance of success in school and in life by advocating for and providing the highest quality care and education from birth to age five. We hope you will use this toolkit to join us as a leader for early childhood issues in Illinois and nationally. The Ounce can be a resource as you engage in advocacy work. Contact us at 312-922-3863 or [email protected] to let us know how we can help you.

Table of Contents Introduction to Advocacy . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Types of Advocacy . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Frame Your Message . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Communicate with Elected Officials . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Unites States Congress . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Illinois General Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . 15

How a Bill Becomes Law . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Lobby During the Legislative Process . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Work with the Media . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Voting and Elections . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Resources . . . . . . . . . . . 21 A) Sample Legislator Phone Call and Letter/E-mail B) Early Childhood Acronyms C) Glossary of Legislative Terms D) Key Illinois Early Childhood Organizations E) Key National Child and Family Organizations F) Illinois Maternal and Child Health Organizations G) Related Government Agencies

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Introduction to Advocacy What comes to mind when you hear the word “advocacy?” A lobbyist in Washington, DC? A political rally with thousands of participants? Or perhaps a state senator speaking on the senate floor about the concerns of her community? These are all examples of advocacy, as are other types of actions that most of us take every day.

You are an advocate if you have ever: • helped a family receive needed services;

• stood up for someone who was being treated unfairly;

• attended a parent/teacher conference at your child’s school;

• participated in a city council meeting.

This toolkit is designed to prepare you to successfully advocate for public policies that benefit young children and their families.

Advocacy is building support for an issue among audiences such as the general public, elected officials, the media, and key opinion leaders. Activities such as educating audiences about a topic, sharing illustrative stories, or working on a solution to a problem are considered advocacy. Individual citizens can always contact their elected officials as constituents. State and federal governments do not regulate the public at large from par-

ticipating in advocacy or lobbying activities. Remember to use your per- sonal e-mail and telephone when contacting policymakers.

Lobbying is communicating with elected officials to influence their actions regarding a specific piece of legislation. Many nonprofits can legally lobby, as long as they do not exceed restrictions on how time and resources are expended based on federal Internal Revenue Service tax laws. Expert legal and tax advice should be sought by an organization before engaging in lobbying activities.

Advocacy activities that are not lobbying • Invite a legislator to visit your program and hear about the work being done.

• Provide a policymaker with information or educational materials on a topic.

• Talk with the media about a specific social issue.

• Track legislative positions and voting records.

Learn more about permissible activities during an election in the Voting and Elections section.

Consult the following resources for additional information on advocacy guidelines for nonprofit organizations: Alliance for Justice (www.afj.org/assets/resources/resour ce1/Electorial-Activities-Checklist.pdf) Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest (www.clpi.org) Donors Forum (www.donorsforum.org) National Head Start Association (www.nhsa.org)

Why Should You Advocate?

The goal of early childhood

advocacy is to improve the

lives of children and families

by influencing legislators’

and policymakers’ opinions

and activities. To carry out

their responsibilities, public

officials require and welcome

the advice that well-informed

people (like you) provide.

Types of Advocacy Case Advocacy: Intervening to address an individual child or family’s problem. By being aware of and documenting service-delivery problems, providers can share important information and collect examples that help identify policy issues.

Strategies • Research the rules or eligibility

requirements of a particular program or policy.

• Document the problem, its history, and whether others have had similar difficulties.

• Meet with local agency staff and/or affected family to discuss a problem.

• File an appeal if services are denied.

Administrative Advocacy: Creating new policies, revising guidelines, and resolving program problems through activities directed at administrative and governmental agencies with authority and discretion to change rules and regulations. Many decisions are made informally, so interacting with the managing entity—rather than working through the legislature— can be the most effective way to make a positive change.

Strategies • Develop ongoing relationships

with advocates and agency staff to influence decision making.

• Participate in forums where decisions are made.

• Provide reliable information about the impact of policy decisions in your community, agency, or program to build your credibility.

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Example Tonya, a caseworker, has been working with the Ferguson family for several years. During a routine meeting she noticed that Ms. Ferguson brought along her youngest son, four-year-old Zachary. Ms. Ferguson explained that Zachary was with her, and not at preschool, because his child-care subsidy lapsed recently when his eligibility information was not received in time. In Tonya’s experience, Ms. Ferguson was incredibly diligent and thorough in regards to eligibility paperwork. Knowing how important it was for Zachary to have consistent learning experi- ences at his age, Tonya called the family’s child-care caseworker and learned that Ms. Ferguson’s paperwork had been received but the information hadn’t been communicated to Ms. Ferguson or the preschool director. The child-care case- worker called the preschool director to reinstate the subsidy for Zachary. He went back to preschool the next day.

Example Suzette, the local director of a home-visitation program, is frustrated because the state agency that provides her funding has told her that the program must use the approved developmental screening instrument. She and her staff have found that another comparable instrument that includes a more parent-focused process is extremely useful in helping to engage parents in conversations about their child’s development. Suzette’s staff has been using both screenings to satisfy the funder’s requirement as well as have the desired outcome with families. During a site review, Suzette and her department liaison discuss the issue in-depth, and Suzette shows the liaison evidence of improved parent outcomes that they believe are linked to their preferred screening tool. After the site review, Suzette sends a fol- low-up e-mail to her liaison and his supervisor, asking them to reconsider their policy. After more investigation, the department amends its rule to allow pro- grams greater flexibility in choosing from among a list of approved screening tools so that programs decide which tool better fits their local needs.

Legislative Advocacy: Working with elected officials to educate them about policies or programs and to inform them of the impact of the program in their home district. Advocates can educate decision-makers and suggest policies that would benefit their community. Legislative advocacy activities can also include lobbying on specific bills or requested funding levels.

Strategies • Communicate with legislators

and staff through letters, e-mails, phone calls, or personal visits.

• Testify before relevant legislative committees.

• Work with legislators to compel agency administrators to adopt your proposal.

• Meet with staff of the gover- nor’s office and the legislature to draw attention to your issue.

• Invite legislators to visit your program and see how policies affect people in your community.

Media Advocacy: Using media to increase public awareness and influence broader public debate about early childhood issues. Keeping your issue in the news creates public recognition and support, thereby increasing its practical and political importance.

Strategies • Express your point of view

through letters to the editor and call-in opportunities.

• Contact local reporters when your organization has news to share (i.e. increase/decrease in state funding or human-interest story about a family).

• Contact local radio and televi- sion stations about appearing on local talk shows or public-affairs programs to share your expertise.

• Meet with the editorial board of newspapers.

• Identify families or other impacted organizations and ask them to write letters or make calls as well.

• Share pertinent local media cov- erage with elected officials from your community.

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Example Mary was experiencing severe postpartum depression. She had health insurance and access to great prenatal care, yet none of her doctors ever asked her about how she was feeling. Within weeks of having her baby, she was admitted to a psychiatric unit in the local hospital for treatment for postpartum depression. After recover- ing, Mary wanted to help other women living through the same ordeal. She called her state senator, and together they drafted legislation that would require doctors to screen women for postpartum depression and to provide expectant mothers and their families with information about perinatal mood disorders. Mary testified for a legislative committee and lobbied legislators in Springfield. Over the next several months, Mary and other advocates worked to pass the bill.

Example Anne, the director of a home visitation program at the county health department, reads a story in her local newspaper about the number of children under age one who enter the child welfare system because of abuse or neglect. Anne writes a let- ter to the editor, detailing community resources available through her agency to help coach new parents through the exhausting, overwhelming, and exhilarating first weeks and months of their child’s life. Anne includes outcomes evidence from her program and national statistics on how home-visitation programs reduce the incidence of child abuse and neglect.

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Frame Your Message Many of our key audiences (legislators, legislative aides, agency staff, reporters, business, and civic leaders) often have very little time to discuss complex issues. Given these time constraints, it is imperative to develop a succinct message about early childhood issues that will capture the audience’s interest. Advocates must also be capable of communicating a clear and concise message in a number of different formats: letters, e-mails, speeches, and meetings with public officials.

The message needs to:

Engage the Audience

State the Problem

Inform Others about Potential Solutions

Call to Action

The EPIC format, trademarked by the grassroots advocacy organization RESULTS (www.results.org), is a useful way to create a concise but powerful statement.

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Engage the Audience Identify the audience you are trying to influence. Choose information and language that will resonate with the audience and help it understand the issues.

State theProblem Clearly and concisely define the prob- lem. Choose the most compelling component of the issue for each audi- ence. Think about:

What is the problem? Who is affected by the issue? Why does the issue need to be

addressed at this time? Where is the problem greatest? When is intervention needed before

there are negative consequences? How are children, families, and the

community being affected? What local data can you provide to

emphasize how the problem is affecting the community?

Inform Others about Potential Solutions Be prepared to suggest and discuss practical solutions. Consider your specific recommendations, the evi- dence you have to support them, and how these solutions might be funded.

Call to Action The call to action required will vary according to the audience and the problem at hand, but make sure to clearly define the “ask.” The action requested should be specific and give your audience an immediate way to get involved.

The following chart shows how you can frame your message for different audiences. If, for example, you operate an early childhood program and are trying to develop support for a bill that provides capital funds to build new early child- hood facilities, you would want to tailor your message to lawmakers, practitioners, and the business community. Here is how you would use the EPIC approach.

Lawmakers Early childhood practitioners

Business community

I am your constituent and the director of an early learning program in your district that pro- vides services to more than 100 children and their families in our community.

Our community has grown tremendously in the past several years. We regularly have to turn away many chil- dren who could benefit from our program because we don’t have enough classroom space for them. There is a vacant building next to our business where we could expand and serve many more families. However, our current funding will not cover renovation costs.

The capital bill includes funding for early child- hood facilities. If the bill is approved, it would allow us to apply for at least a portion of the cost of a renovation project, and would go far in helping us reach our goal of serving many more children in our community.

Would you support the capital bill that includes early childhood facilities funding? Would you ask your legislative leaders to also support this ini- tiative?

As a fellow early child- hood professional, you are likely concerned about providing both the best learning environ- ment for children and a stimulating work envi- ronment for your employees.

Our community has grown tremendously in the past several years, and more parents are seeking early childhood programs for their chil- dren. Perhaps your pro- gram has had to turn away children because there is not enough classroom space. Or you may want to expand your facility, but your current funding will not cover the costs.

The state legislature is considering a capital bill that includes funding for early childhood facilities. If the bill is approved, it would allow programs to apply for funding to build or renovate facili- ties and help them serve many more children in the community.

Would you call your legislators and ask them to support the capital bill that includes early childhood facili- ties funding?

Early childhood pro- grams are proven to prepare children for school and help them become productive citi- zens in the future. High- quality early childhood programs are necessary for a strong future workforce.

Our community has grown tremendously in the past several years, and more parents are seeking early childhood programs for their chil- dren. But programs reg- ularly have to turn away children because there is not enough classroom space.

The state legislature is considering a capital bill that includes fund- ing for early childhood facilities. If the bill is approved, it would allow programs to apply for funding to build or renovate facilities and help them serve many more children in the community.

Would you call your legislators and ask them to support the capital bill that includes early childhood facili- ties funding?

General Tips As you are building these strong, per- sonal relationships, it is important to remember that:

• Policymakers care about issues that affect their constituents and they respond to concise, persua- sive arguments that are easily understood and communicated.

• Letters, e-mails, and phone calls are effective ways to communi- cate. Five or six letters or phone calls on a specific issue will encourage the elected official to pay much closer attention to that issue. Personalized letters are always most effective.

• You know much more about chil- dren’s issues than your elected official. Leverage your knowl- edge to educate and build up a relationship with your elected official so that you are seen as a resource for information on chil- dren’s issues and possible legis- lation.

• Sharing stories about children and their families and how they are affected by an issue is very effec- tive at building support for your position.

• Legislators’ staff members are wonderful resource. Developing a good relationship with legisla- tive staff can lead to direct con- tact with a legislator over time.

Phone Calls, Letters, and E-mails Correspondence from constituents reminds elected officials that the public is tracking specific issues, leg- islation, and their voting records. Whenever communicating with legis- lators through a phone call, letter, or e-mail, remember these tips:

• Identify yourself as a constituent. • Make sure you touch on every

point you wish to convey. • If possible, keep written corre-

spondence to one page, and phone calls to five minutes.

• When addressing a specific piece of legislation, refer to the bill number.

• Include factual and, if possible, local information and examples that support your viewpoint.

• Stay on topic—discuss one issue per written communication or conversation.

• Include a call to action, specify- ing what you want the lawmaker to do.

If making a phone call, practice your remarks. The more you rehearse, the more comfortable you will be deliver- ing your message when it counts. Practice with another person to iden- tify any areas where your message isn’t clear or effective.

Written correspondence to U.S. representatives and senators takes an extended period of time to reach them because all mail is carefully screened for safety. It is recom- mended that you fax letters to your representative’s and senators’ dis- trict and Washington, DC, offices.

See the Resources section for sam- ples of a phone-call script, letter, and e-mail.

Communicate with Elected Officials

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Developing personal, ongoing relationships with elected officials is the most effective way to secure lawmakers’ support on children’s issues. You can build these relationships through phone calls, letters, e-mails, in-person meetings, and scheduled program tours.

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In-Person Meeting with Your Elected Official Legislators want to be responsive to their constituentsandtheirneedsandwill spend time with visitors when possible.

Scheduling a Visit • Schedule an appointment with

policymakers in advance of your visit.

• Have several dates and times available for a face-to-face meeting. When calling to make an appointment with a member of Congress, ask for the sched- uler, not the legislator. If the scheduler is not available, leave a message and follow up with another phone call.

• Let the scheduler know what issue you want to discuss with the legislator.

• If the representative won’t be available during your visit, ask to meet with a staff person knowl- edgeable about your issue.

• Find out how much time you will have with the policymaker.

• After making an appointment, leave your name and contact information with the scheduler as well as the names of any rel- evant organizations you are affiliated with.

Meeting with Your Representative • Dress professionally. • Practice your talking points. • Look for common ground and

compliment the official for past support if applicable.

• Allow the elected official time to ask questions and share observa- tions or opinions.

• Anticipate opposing arguments. Be prepared to defend your per- spective and stay focused on suggestions for constructive solutions.

• Ask elected officials what it would take for them to change their minds. Several communica- tions may be necessary to effec- tively persuade a policymaker.

• Be friendly, firm, and positive in your messaging even if your legislator does not share your perspective. A rational, balanced conversation will keep the offi- cial’s door open to future contact.

• Bring informational materials such as fact sheets, articles, or research studies to leave with the legislator and staff. When possi- ble, use local data. For example, cite how many children under five live in their district and how many early childhood slots are available.

• Remember that you are an authority with content knowl- edge and expertise to share.

• Do not forget a call to action. Let the legislators know what you want them to do: vote for a bill, talk with colleagues, sponsor legislation, etc.

• Offer to provide relevant follow- up contact or materials after the meeting.

• Take notes, particularly if further contact is expected.

• Thank your legislators or their staff members for the time they’ve spent and any supportive actions they will take.

After the Meeting • Follow up with an e-mail thanking

the legislators or staff persons for their time and reminding them of any action commitments they made.

• Let them know what follow-up action they can expect from you if you offered to provide their office with further information.

• Talk with other advocates about the meeting and strategize next steps.

• Do not send photocopied letters to legislators. It is better to send brief personalized letters than to send letters that have clearly been duplicated.

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Invite Elected Officials to Visit Your Program The visual impact of showing policy- makers firsthand where children play and learn is worth a thousand words. Site visits give elected officials the opportunity to connect the policies they make with real children and providers in their districts. Site visits are a great strategy for building lasting relationships and impressions.

• Find out when your state or feder- al legislators will be in your area. Congressional calendars can be found at www.house.gov or www.senate.gov. In addition to recesses, members of Congress may also be home on weekends or holidays. Session calendars for the Illinois General Assembly can be found at www.ilga.gov.

• Invite your legislators. Remember to give sufficient advance notice if there is a specific occasion when you would like them to visit.

• Confirm the date and time of the visit one week in advance. Ask if others will be accompanying the legislator, and let them know if the local media will be present.

• Inform parents and staff that the legislator will be visiting and assure them that they and the children do not need to do any- thing different or special. Invite them to participate if they wish.

• Invite the local media to attend, making sure to get parental per- mission for children’s photo- graphs or names to be used in stories.

On the Day of the Visit • Be available to welcome and

introduce your legislator to chil- dren, staff, parents, and other guests.

• Use the opportunity to inform your official about important issues affecting young children and their families in the district.

• Showcase an activity that demon- strates a strong age-appropriate learning environment as a way of informing the official about the importance of your work with young children.

• Encourage your official to partici- pate in an activity.

• Take photos to use for your pro- gram’s newsletter and to send to the legislator with follow-up cor- respondence.

• Maintain the relationship with a follow-up thank-you note and further communication when you have specific information about early childhood issues to share.

• Add the official’s name and address to your mailing list to maintain contact and provide updates.

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The United States Congress is the nation’s bicameral legislative body in Washington, D.C. The Senate is made up of 100 senators, two from each state who are elected for six-year terms. Elections occur on a rotating basis; about one-third of the Senate is up for re-election every two years. The 435 members of the House of Representatives are each elected for two years from districts within each state determined by population. Each chamber of Congress is divided into committees that focus on specific leg- islative areas. Committee members are generally the first to hear and work on bills.

Contacting Your Federal Elected Officials Look up your elected officials by address at advocacy.ounceofprevention.org. The U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 can transfer calls to the appropriate legislator’s office.

It can be difficult to contact federal representatives directly. When you call their offices, you will most likely speak to a staff member. You can ask for the legislative aide who handles the issue you are calling about or leave a message about your opinions on legislation with the person who answers the phone. Federal legislators have staff members who generally take care of the day-to-day policy issues, briefing them before impor- tant debates and votes.

Senators and representatives are usu- ally available in their district offices

during congressional breaks. You can schedule meetings with them or invite them to local programs or events by contacting the district office and speaking to the scheduler. They may also hold town hall meet- ings or appear at public events where you can communicate directly with them.

If you are in Washington, DC, you can visit your elected officials in their offices. This can be a great way to build relationships and to advocate for issues directly. Most legislators offer weekly constituent events, open to all visitors from their home district. Also, staff members are usually avail- able to give tours and answer ques- tions whenever the office is open. Call the office before your visit for- more details. For further tips on visit- ing your representative, see page 12.

For more information about bills being considered by either chamber of Congress, voting records, or com- mittees, go to www.house.gov, www.senate.gov,

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