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En español: Pregúntele
al
Defensor: Temas infantiles
en campañas políticas |
This article originally appeared in the September-October 2002 issue
of the Children's Advocate, published by Action Alliance for Children.
Ask the Advocate
Kids's issues in political campaigns
By Erica Williams
Q: How can advocates promote children's issues during political campaigns?
A: Advocates use a variety of strategies to highlight
children's issues in campaigns "whether they are local, statewide,
or national," says Laura Cunningham, public policy chair for the
California Association for the Education of Young Children.
Make political campaigns a priority
- Overcome your own hesitation. Many nonprofit organizations
have the "misguided" idea that they aren't allowed to participate
in politics, says Joe Wilson, associate director of Coleman Advocates
for Children and Youth in San Francisco. It's true that nonprofits are
not allowed to endorse candidates, but they are allowed to support legislation.
"Non-profits have a significant capacity to bring political pressure
to decision-makers," Wilson adds. In fact, "It's our responsibility."
- Register voters. At Kidango, formerly know as Tri Cities Children's
Centers, "we provide mail-in voter-registration forms to parents
when they register for child care, and we collect and mail in the forms,"
says Executive Director Paul Miller. Since Kidango has been doing this
for six years, a "large percentage" of parents and staff have
registered.
- Inform your community. Send advocacy alerts. Coleman Advocates
sends a weekly fax and email alert to more than 1,000 people and organizations
in the Bay Area. "That keeps the children's community informed
and encourages [advocates] to communicate with elected officials,"
says Wilson.
- Create report cards. The Children's Advocacy Institute (CAI)
puts out an annual legislative report card. "It's a great way for
the general public to know how people are ranking on children's issues,"
says Lupe Alonzo-Diaz, senior policy advocate. Every year CAI scores
state legislators' votes on 25 bills that are "key to children
that year, such as child care, health care, foster care, etc."
- Conduct workshops. Los Angeles-based Parents for Unity gives
parents a 14-week course about community organizing for school reform
and educational equity. The workshops, says Director Gabriel Medel,
"push parents to understand the political system and their role
in it," through discussions on school issues and proposed legislation
affecting children.
Take action
- Form advocacy committees. Parents and staff at Kidango participate
in an advocacy committee that chooses issues and plans strategy. Their
current effort is to recruit and support candidates from the child care
community for elective office.
- Hold candidates' forums. Can-didates' forums allow parents
to "hold politicians accountable and educate people about how to
get involved in the political system," says Kim Kruckel, organizer
for Parent Voices in Alameda County. Forums also allow parents to "educate
politicians about what day-to-day issues are." For six years her
organization has held candidates' forums during state and local elections.
Beforehand, parents review candidates' voting records and come up with
questions. If your organization can't sponsor a forum, suggests Cunningham,
"work with the League of Women Voters" and bring your questions
to their forums.
- Conduct campaigns. Over the past four years, Parents for Unity
has worked with parents in the Los Nietos community in Los Angeles to
get community members elected to the school board. In this neighborhood
with a large Latino population, residents used to feel the schools had
"no programs that fit the needs of minority language students"
and "closed doors to parents," says Medel. Now, with three
of the five school-board members from Parents for Unity, he says, the
schools have new reading programs, a parent center, and students who
leave "highly prepared."
Resources
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