CFAN e-news Aug 27

CFAN One Voice for Children and Families in Southwest Louisiana

Children & Families Action Network Aug. 27, 2007

In case you missed the
CFAN Members Meeting…

Suzy Sonnier, from Tulane University School of Medicine, provided members with a training session on Mission-Based Advocacy, where attendees learned how to effectively communicate with Legislators. Suzy also provided members with a complete overview of the School Readiness Tax Credit and the LaChip expansion, both of which were signed into law on July 10, 2007.

Representatives Chuck Kleckley and Brett Geymann attended the meeting as well to give members updates on important bills affecting children and families. In addition, Legislators talked about how to effectively communicate with policy makers, how to become more effective advocates, and how to be more successful at getting your voice heard.

Below you will find a brief summary of the training that Suzy provided on Mission-Based Advocacy. Training materials are available at: http://www.fyca.org/CFAN/advocacyr3.pdf

Representatives Geymann and Kleckley give members important tips and updates.

Members enjoying Suzy Sonnier’s Mission-Based Advocacy Training.

L-R: Representative Kleckley, Representative Geymann, Thomas Morris, Suzy Sonnier and Sheri Hogg.

What is Mission-Based Advocacy?

Empowerment
Involve those directly affected, offering advocacy with those we serve
Community-Building
Build bridges between those in need, those with energy and resources, and those in decision-making roles
Community education
Educate the broader community about societal problems

Three-legged Stool

Community Leg – everything that goes on in the community

Telephone trees, email lists, cards and letters
Where grassroots campaigns take root
Community education, community forums and site visits to agencies

Capitol Leg – everything we do to spread the word to more people

Full or part-time (paid or volunteer) lobbyists
Lobby days or go to testify, regular ALERTS, where citizens go to meet with legislators during the Legislative Session, staff of the Governor’s office or executive agencies

Media Leg – everything we do to spread the word to more people

Traditional media – radio, T.V., or newspapers
Informal media – professional newsletters, congregation newsletters, apartment house bulletin boards, and email chat rooms
Elected officials pay attention to the media, need to reach more people than those already informed, have to counter the bad, inaccurate, or misleading media

Tracking and Monitoring Issues

Communicate with legislators early and often
Subscribe to email alerts
Build relationships
Develop “side by side” charts
One message, many messengers
Maximize technology- view La Legislature on the Internet

Lessons

Relationships are extremely important

Get to know the legislative staff, keep the administration informed, and work closely with the author

Have a daily presence – watch every step of the process

Mark your calendars…

November is not far away, which means it is getting close to our next training session. Last year, members attended a mission-based advocacy training presented by Suzy Sonnier where they learned how to communicate with policy makers. This year, the training will focus on the Media Leg of Mission-Based Advocacy. The training session will be offered on Tuesday, November 20, 2007 at L’auberge du Lac. Specific details will be provided at a later time, so keep watching your emails!

KIDS COUNT

KIDS COUNT, a project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, is a national and state-by-state effort to track the status of children in the U.S. By providing policymakers and citizens with benchmarks of child well-being, KIDS COUNT seeks to enrich local, state, and national discussions concerning ways to secure better futures for all children. Data from the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2007 KIDS COUNT Data Book are now available in the easy-to-use, powerful online database, “State Level Data Online,” that allows you to generate custom graphs, maps, ranked lists, and state-by-state profiles.

Did you know that in the state of Louisiana there were 125,000 children under the age of 18 that were without health insurance in 2004? In 2006, there were 25,000 teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 not enrolled in school and not employed in Louisiana. In 2005, there were 49,000 children under the age 6 who were living in households with no parent in the labor force. With KIDS COUNT, you can gather data on health insurance, education, poverty, youth risk factors and much more!