Advocacy
Case Study in Coalition Building: Massachusetts Citizens for Children
In 2002, Massachusetts faced a severe budget deficit with large cuts to social services looming ahead. A proposed cut to the Department of Social Services would mean fewer child protection workers for growing caseloads. To mobilize against this action, The Committee to Save DSS and Our Children was formed and included a broad range of agencies serving children and the labor union representing DSS caseworkers. Op-ed pieces in local papers that were co-written by a community member, radio ads by local celebrities and action alerts were all critical pieces of the coalition's shared media strategy. A Remembrance Vigil in tribute to children who lost their lives to abuse and neglect was held outside the State House. Ultimately the state legislature restored a significant portion of the funding and secured funding for fiscal year 2003. The success of this coalition is attributable to a comprehensive strategy that convinced state legislators there was public support for well-staffed child welfare services.
Georgia: United Against Child Abuse Coalition
In Georgia, the United Against Child Abuse Coalition was formed to better educate legislators about the continuum of services available for child abuse and neglect in Georgia. This diverse representative body - including pediatricians, child law experts, court advocates, members of the fatality review panel, and HFA staff - created a one-page document visually depicting the stages of prevention, intervention, treatment, care and oversight. This tool was laminated and placed on the chairs of each legislator as part of a lobbying day held by the coalition.
Case Example in Relationship Building: Healthy Families Virginia (HFVA)
The Healthy Families Virginia program has been extremely successful in this area. Through collaborative efforts, they have garnered the support of their state department of children and family services, county officials, their state's first lady and several members of the House of Representatives. Through the National Association of Counties (NACo), the Deputy County Manager of Henrico County was put in contact with HFVA. He joined their advisory advocacy group and continues to be influential in helping the program garner additional supporters. Virginia was also successful in developing a Legislative Advisory Board. Staff from the state system went to the state Capitol to hand out flyers inviting legislators to be on an advisory board to help them better advocate for the Healthy Families program. A group ten interested members was formed. As a result, Healthy Families Virginia has greater visibility (the first lady made a promise - which she kept - to visit every site in Virginia) and stature. During FY 2003 budget cuts, HFVA was at grave risk, yet their established contacts were able to minimize damage that could have greatly reduced home visitation resources.
Healthy Families Arizona
Healthy Families Arizona (HFAz) participates in a group of service providers and advocacy groups to advise a newly formed Children's Caucus within the Arizona state legislature. In January 2003, a bi-partisan group of Arizona House and Senate members announced the formation of the caucus, the primary aim of which is to protect state funding for children and families. The Chairman's original budget proposal called for the elimination of HFAz. By working closely with those state representatives on the caucus, Prevent Child Abuse Inc. and the HFAz state system, their agenda included prevention as a priority. They further informed the caucus as they wrote letters and op-ed pieces to advocate that the appropriations process be opened up to allow members of the House and Senate to be involved in the broader policy debate that determines budget priorities. Their consistent contact with representatives and willingness to collaborate gave Healthy Families Arizona the opportunity to impact advocacy for the broader needs of children throughout the state. This largely impacted the new Governor's strong support for Healthy Families and inclusion in the revised budget.
Healthy Families Illinois
Healthy Families Illinois sets a strong example for the sites in their state through their Advocacy and Policy Committee, which meets monthly. Representatives from sites, the state's child advocacy group, state employees, and policy analysts help the sites mobilize around predicted budget cuts, identify gaps in service provision and link the work of Healthy Families with larger statewide services. As a result, one county has successfully integrated over seven service organizations through a coordinated referral and intake process. Sites in Illinois have also gained particular strength in organizing their own advocacy committees with staff, parent and local official representation. The Healthy Families Peoria site has developed a mentoring system, pairing all new staff with a more experienced advocate. Recently, the strength of Peoria's advocacy mobilization enabled national staff to garner the support of their Congressman, Representative Ray LaHood.
Voter Registration in Indiana
An idea sparked for Phyllis Kikendall during the 2003 Prevent Child Abuse America Leadership Conference when she heard a colleague talk about how staff at her program worked with families to help them register to vote. As the Healthy Families Program Coordinator for the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) in Indianapolis, IN, Phyllis recognized the incredible opportunity to develop a strategy to encourage participating families to play a part in the democratic process by registering to vote.
Approval from both FSSA's administrative and legal departments was secured. Their only caveat was that the programs could not provide transportation for families to vote, nor influence families voting choices in any way. Phyllis presented this idea to site program managers supervisors and at their next regional meeting and walked staff through the process. By June of 2003, the initiative was launched!
To implement this initiative, voter registration forms and a listing of all the places that accept registrations are provided to families with their initial assessment packets. On a subsequent home visit, the Family Support Worker follows up with the family to see if they need any assistance completing or submitting the forms. The FSWs are also provided with the list of where applications are accepted as well as given the website address where additional forms can be downloaded (applicants cannot submit registration forms on-line - they require an original signature).
Phyllis plans to send out reminders to all staff and will encourage all sites to participate during an upcoming electronic conference scheduled for the end of October. She recommends issuing regular reminders to staff as a way to keep this issue top-of-mind. This will be particularly important next year with the Presidential elections. This type of initiative can be a catalyst for all kinds of other advocacy activities designed to help families feel engaged and empowered by the political process. Phyllis also hopes to conduct a survey to determine the impact of this initiative on both staff and families.
For more information, please contact Phyllis Kikendall at (317) 232-4770 or
pkikendall@fssa.state.in.us
