24 Advocacy, Public Issues and Family and Consumer Sciences
Sharon Hoelscher Day
Introduction
Advocacy about public issues is one of the rights that we all have as citizens. The purpose of this chapter is to teach professionals how to educate the public and policymakers and to advocate for public issues facing families and the valuable contributions family and consumer sciences professionals make to individual, family, and community well-being.
Key Terms to Know
Advocacy
Branding
Champion
Deliberation Tool
Elements of Public Issue Framework
Elevator Speech
Lobbying
Policy Organizing Framework
Power of Constituency
Public Issue
Spectrum of Prevention
Storytelling
Thomas.gov
What Is Advocacy? or…
“Things don’t just happen. They are made to happen.” – John F. Kennedy
Our personal and professional lives are affected by public decisions every day. These include things like teacher certification rules and academic standards in addition to other forms of public decision regarding the taxes we pay, local, state, and federal regulations on the safety of our food, and childcare center licensing requirements. Politics is part of the process of how governance and public issues are decided in a democracy. Your local school board, city council, county commissioners, state and federal legislators, state and federal agencies are just some of the public decision-makers with whom you might interact.
Advocacy is the public support of a particular cause or issue. Grassroots or citizen advocacy is speaking up about an issue, sharing information, voting, and educating public decision-makers. Grassroots Advocacy or Citizen Advocacy is not lobbying. Citizens have the right to talk with their legislators about issues that concern them. Lobbying is urging the passage of specific legislation or election of a political candidate and is defined by specific federal, state, and IRS rules. If you work for a school district, public agency, or professional association, check if they have specific guidelines for employees or members about contacting public decision-makers.
Why Learn about Advocacy? or…
Too late to dig a well, when the house is on fire. -Chinese Proverb
Family and Consumer Sciences education is a practical, problem-focused, process-oriented curriculum built around helping individuals prevent negative outcomes through education. Our ultimate goal is to improve the quality of life of individuals. So much of Family and Consumer Sciences focuses on individual health outcomes, behavior, and prevention, but that is only part of the story. Individual behaviors are often influenced or based on family, community, and society norms where people live. Prevention must go beyond educating individuals to organizing communities and creating policies that form the parameters of daily life. Professionals can be key to providing research and information that influence local and state policies.
Childhood obesity is a perfect example where teaching one child or one parent about healthy food choices and exercise habits is not enough to prevent obesity in a whole school, community, or state. Teaching one person is important, but often regulation or policies must change before that one person can actually act on the information. Eating healthy is critical, but if a family does not have transportation or easy access to produce and healthy foods, it is difficult for them to follow through or be successful. Advocacy can influence school lunch policy, location of community parks, youth sports availability, healthy food sources, transportation to grocery stores, and public resources for families and children.
The Spectrum of Prevention
One of the most useful frameworks for understanding the connections between individual and community education, coalitions, and policy is the “Spectrum of Prevention” developed by Larry Cohen at the Prevention Institute in Oakland, California. This spectrum highlights six interrelated levels of intervention and prevention. The Spectrum of Prevention shows that strengthening knowledge and skills can form the base of prevention, but community and policy actions are needed to make prevention truly successful.
Examples of activities at each level of prevention include the following:
6. Influencing Policy and Legislation
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Contacting legislators
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Advocating for a public issue
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Providing information for public forums or legislation
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Attending school board meetings
5. Changing Organizational Practices
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Opening a gym for after-school fitness
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Providing recess before lunch
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Providing hand washing facilities near lunch room
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Providing information or research for or against a possible school policy change
4. Fostering Coalitions and Networks
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Volunteering for a community forum on obesity
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Promoting farmers market for fresh produce
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Attending public forums or fact-finding meetings
3. Educating Providers
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Training for childcare workers
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Providing safe Food Handling training for food service workers
2. Promoting Community Education
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Creating public workshops and media releases
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Teaching parenting classes
1. Strengthening Individual Knowledge and Skills
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Directing classroom teaching
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Providing one on one mentoring
All family and consumer sciences subject areas focus primarily on Level 1: Strengthening Individual Knowledge and Skills and often include Level 2: Promoting Community Education and Level 3: Educating Providers. The Spectrum of Prevention provides a good framework for planning and organizing action on a public issue.
Identifying Public Issues or Decisions, or…
“All politics is local.” -Tip O’Neill
In our everyday life, we are faced with many decisions. Most are personal or family decisions that we use our own criteria or experience to analyze and make a choice. If a decision affects several people, a community, an organization or a whole state, it may require a policy or law to enact. Just because you personally think it is a public issue, does not mean the majority will think so or think that a policy change is needed. In addition, they may not feel that the direction and scope of the policy need to change. Three tools to identify, organize, and present public issues are “Five I’s Policy Organizing Framework,” “AAFCS Deliberation Tool,” and “Framing Public Issues.”
All public issues should be systematically analyzed for impacts and unintended results. One useful tool in organizing and analyzing a public issue is the “Five I’s Policy Organizing Framework” developed by Bonnie Braun, Ph.D., CFCS, University of Maryland.
Five I’s Policy Organizing Framework
Information – Gather the facts about the situation
Issues – Identify the issues involved in the situation
Impacts – Analyze the likely consequences for people
Implications – Consider the possible effects on people and organizations
Imperatives – Ponder the call for action presented by the situation
General “Questions to Guide” for each “I” listed in the chart linked here can help guide the discussion, information gathering, and analysis of many public issues or policies under consideration.
AAFCS Deliberation Tool
Another way to examine an issue is to use the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) Deliberation Tool. It includes three major questions that can help an individual or a group examine a public issue. The questions can be used as part of a workshop, class, public forum, or round table discussion. There are also Deliberation Guides on obesity and personal finance on the AAFCS Advocacy website.
1. What appeals to others, or us, about this approach and why?
a. Allows us to “try on” various perspectives or consider how others might view this issue or approach.
b. Identifies this choice is a good idea or a bad idea.
2. What are the consequences (benefits or costs) associated with this approach?
a. Pushes people beyond the cliché or sound-bite way of thinking.
b. Helps individuals consider the positive outcomes or possible downside to various approaches.
c. Can include impacts on various groups or individuals, like low-income families, elderly or specific group.
3. What are the tensions, or dilemmas, in this issue that we have to work through?
a. Explore tensions or challenges within or between alternative options.
b. Identifies possible conflict in the future if alternatives are chosen. (“Public Policy Deliberation Tool,” 2013)
(“Public Policy Deliberation Tool,” 2013)
Framing Public Issues
People process everything based on their own mental models, cultural background, past experiences, or “pictures in their head.” Often how an issue is described makes a huge difference in how the public or decision-makers react. One of the best recent examples is “estate tax” vs. “death tax.” The choices made in framing or describing your issue will determine HOW and IF the public or decision-makers understand it or take action. You want your issue to “stick” in the minds of decision-makers and become memorable. The Frameworks Institute has researched how communicating about a public issue influences the building of a successful strategy for change. Their Strategic Framework Analysis™ uses communication theory combined with other disciplines in the policy-making process and advocacy. (Frameworks Institute, 2013) They have identified major elements in framing an issue.
Elements of a Framework
- Values
- Know the decision-maker and their priorities and “worldview.”
- All issues are based on underlying values, which provide the “lens” or ideals that shape people’s view of the world.
- On what values does your issue-based?
- Tone
- Use a reasonable, positive solution-focused tone.
- Argumentative or confrontational messages are rarely effective in changing people’s minds.
- Messengers
- Who best can tell your story?
- Who connects with the decision-maker? – scientist vs. teacher or parent vs. student
- Context
- Provide enough background on the problem
- Focuses on a systems approach vs. individual solution 5.
- Numbers
- Select impacts numbers that are concrete, familiar or mean something to the decision-maker
- Impacts should “connect” with the values and priorities of the decision maker
- Instead of lots of “Big” numbers, connect to easy to visual numbers. (Community fluorine protection costs less per person than a single filling. Center for Disease Control)
- Visuals
- Illustrate systems rather than just emotion
- Connect images with your priorities and values to tell your story
- Humanize your issue
- Solutions
- Put good news first!
- Focus on solutions
- Present a positive, “can do” attitude!!
- Metaphors
- Use a simple model, like a heart is a pump, can make your issue understandable
- Ordinary metaphors help us see an issue in a new way
- Metaphors should fit your issue and support your message
(Frameworks Institute, 2002)
The Framework Institute has online resources, learning modules, issue-based toolkits, examples of all the elements of framing an issue, and training on the entire Strategic Frame Analysis™.
Documenting Your Program’s Effectiveness, or…
“One of the greatest mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions, rather than their results.” -Milton Friedman, Nobel Laureate economist
Your Family and Consumer Sciences program can be a public issue when decisions are made about funding or curriculum or outcomes. If you want to be an advocate for your Family and Consumer Sciences program, you will need results to share with decision-makers. You have access to data and information about your local program and students, but there are also state and federal sources to support and reinforce your local results.
The central focus of the Perkins IV federal legislation for Career Technical Education was “to assess the effectiveness of the state in achieving statewide progress in career and technical education and to optimize the return of investment of Federal funds” (Browne, Myers, Gentzler, & Hausafus, 2006). Program effectiveness is an even higher priority in Perkins V, and FCS teachers should be working closely with their local stakeholders and partners to document student and program impact. These outcomes should be shared regularly with stakeholders, administrators, and decision-makers to ensure the sustainability and continued success of the local FCS program.
Validated Family and Consumer Sciences standards and external, third party technical skill assessments increase the odds that students will be successful in their employment Standards and increased accountability provide great public relations for Family and Consumer Sciences courses while benefiting students and their future employers. The market value of assessments or credentials links your program results to the local and student needs, state, and federal funding requirements (Laster, J. and Johnson, 2001).
The American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS), Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), Family and Consumer Sciences Division, National Research Center for Career and Technical Education (NRCCTE), National Coalition for Family and Consumer Sciences Education (NCFACSE), Family and Consumer Sciences Education Association (FCSEA) and Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) joined together to develop the “Essential Effectiveness Tools in Support of Family and Consumer Sciences Secondary Education.” This document, available free to download at https://www.aafcs.org/resources/advocacy, has information on advocacy, national standards, Perkins Accountability Requirements, and documenting effectiveness and impacts for secondary Family and Consumer Sciences education. (“Essential Effectiveness Tools in Support of Family and Consumer Sciences Secondary Education,” 2012)
Communicating with Decision Makers, or…
“I didn’t have time to write a short letter so I wrote a long one instead.“ -Mark Twain
Representative democracy reflects and amplifies the power of grassroots advocacy. Elected officials pay attention to the people who elect them, but only if those people know how to use their “power of constituency” and communicate with them. Remember there may be some decision-makers who are “for” you and others “against you.” The majority are probably not “for” or “against” you. These are the people you need to educate or build a relationship with for the future. Make a “friend” of the decision-makers at your school, community, state, and federal levels.
Join your voice with other professionals with similar goals. Professional associations often have legislative agendas, advocacy training, legislative alerts by email or Twitter, and issue materials on a state and national basis. Examples include the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, Association for Career and Technical Education – Family and Consumer Sciences Division, National Research Center for Career and Technical Education, National Coalition for Family and Consumer Sciences Education, and Family and Consumer Sciences Education Association. AAFCS has a detailed public policy toolkit available online for its members. The League of Women’s Voters is also a good source of non-biased information and advocacy training.
Whenever you try to influence how a public decision is made, it is important to have a “champion” who can push your agenda or issue along through the process. A champion can be a decision-maker, or it can be an influential parent or friend of a decision-maker who extremely supportive, delivers positive statements in an official policy setting, and encourages his or her colleagues to support on your issue. The more powerful your champion, the more likely you will succeed (Devlin-Foltz and Molinaro, 2010).
At all levels of policymaking, it is important to do your homework before you contact your public decision-maker. Know your decision-maker, what is important to him or her and where he or she stands on your issue! Three things are important to all public decision-makers:
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Provide for many constituents.
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Be accountable for funding.
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Be re-elected.
Federal Level
Congress.gov is the portal to all federal legislative information from the Library of Congress. It includes specific information on bills that have been introduced, bills that have passed, and information on the Congressional Record. It also includes links to Senators’ and Representatives’ email addresses, office addresses and staff members, congressional committee members contact information, the Supreme Court members information, many resources for teachers, and lastly, information on how laws are made. Thomas.gov is critical if you are planning a visit to Washington DC and want to know committee schedules, the status of bills, and congressional office contacts.
State Level
Congress.gov has a link to all 50 state legislative websites. It is usually much easier to personally contact and get to know your state and local legislators. Always connect within your district, school, or state legislator or federal congressional district. Decision-makers want to know if you are a constituent. They NEED information to understand complex issues, but they are often overwhelmed with conflicting information and conflicting priorities. Most decision-makers want to do what their constituency wants, but if we don’t tell them, HOW will they know? The fact is that decision-makers NEED YOU!
Nuts and Bolts of Contacting Decision Makers
- Get to know your local, state and federal legislators and decision-makers
- They are all just people.
- Know their position or priorities before contacting them.
- Build a relationship early and make a friend.
- Timing is everything.
- Personal contacts do’s and don’t s
- Always be courteous and on time.
- Plan on 15 minutes or less
- Let them know you are a constituent and you vote.
- Get to know the staff.
- Benefits of various channels, like email, phone, fax or mail
- Email, calls, and fax are fast.
- Personalize your letter, email, or fax.
- Telephone to show your support of an issue
- Connect with social media like Facebook and Twitter
- Stories of Family and Consumer Sciences Successes
- Think about powerful examples of how “your program” helped one student or family.
- Be careful not to fall into stereotypes.
- Review the “Family and Consumer Sciences Storytelling Tips” online.
- Provide local successes and outcome data.
- Carefully frame your issue
- Review the elements of your message.
- How will your message be received?
- Avoid mixed messages or too much information
- Use consistent branding.
- Only one page letter plus one page of bulleted support information.
- Shorter is better than longer.
- Be ready with your 30 second, “elevator” speech.
- What do you want the decision-maker to do?
- Examples of letters, how to address legislators can be found at various online locations. (Anderson, 2004) (Advocacy and Public Policy Resources, 2013) (Congress.gov, 2013)
Involve decision-makers in your program and link to their priorities. Build a relationship with local, state, and federal decision-makers over time. Invite them to present student awards, attend public forums, and share newsletters with them. Write a thank-you note when they support your issues and offer to be a resource for them. One free, useful advocacy tool is a “letter to the editor” for your local newspaper.
Another useful advocacy tool for all professionals is a “30-second elevator speech.” It is a brief, concise, and memorable description of your program or what you do and why it is important. Start by writing down all the ideas that come to you and then cut out the jargon and unnecessary words. Make short and powerful sentences. Memorize key points and practice, so you will be ready. Of course, the “30-second elevator speech” is not just for elevators, but whenever you introduce yourself or your program to decision-makers, parents, or other teachers at your school.
Social media, like Facebook and Twitter, can be powerful advocacy tools to share information and build support. You can follow decision-makers on their social media to learn more about their stance on issues and Tweet directly to members of Congress with the action you want them to take. You can add your comments and links to videos, websites, blogs, and additional information to on-line newspapers, school webpages, and community/school social media. The American Association of University Women has identified several strategies to use Social Media for Advocacy, such as using a common hashtag #FCSeducation, #LifeSkills or #education related to what you are trying to promote or share content or tweets with other organizations that can help spread your message or have similar goals. Popular blogs or online media can also be powerful advocacy partners.
Marketing or Branding Family and Consumer Sciences, or…
Tell me a fact and I will learn. Tell me a truth and I will believe. Tell me a story and it will stay in my heart forever. -Indian Proverb
All of the issue-framing experiences, communications skills, social media tools, program evaluation, and advocacy tools you learned about in this chapter so far will help you market your Family and Consumer Sciences program. Marketing is about building a brand or key message for your target audience, whether school decision-makers, potential students, and their parents, legislators, or your community. Your message will be slightly different for each target audience. The advocacy tools and guidelines are useful with other types of marketing.
Be consistent in branding family and consumer sciences. In 2006, the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences joined with 9 Family and Consumer Sciences related organizations to form a Family and Consumer Sciences Branding Initiative. The free, online Family and Consumer Sciences Branding Toolkit includes logo, key messages, sample materials, and ideas to consistently communicate to the public, legislators, and decision-makers. (Family & Consumer Sciences Brand, 2011) Work with other local and state Family and Consumer Sciences teachers and professional Family and Consumer Sciences associations to coordinate any advocacy or education with decision-makers across the state to build stronger visibility and consistency.
Part of your marketing efforts will include your local advisory committee and community partners. These individuals can be your best spokespeople if you provide them with your marketing tools like one-page factsheet, Family and Consumer Sciences stories, and successes. Your students can also be marketing experts in their own way. Just be sure your marketing efforts are consistent with your overall goals of your Family and Consumer Sciences program.
Send regular news articles or press releases about your program, students, and their successes to the school and community newspapers, online media, and radio stations.
Exercises
Check for Understanding
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Identify an issue and analyze it using the SIX I’s ANALYSIS ORGANIZING TOOL answering the “General Questions to Guide” for each “I.” Ask yourself, “Is it a public issue?”
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Select an existing public campaign or news story related to a family and consumer issue and analyze how it used the eight elements to frame the public issue.
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Identify one impact and classroom result that could be shared with public decision-makers based on resources in the “Essential Effectiveness Tools in Support of Family and Consumer Sciences Secondary Education.”
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Identify your federal congressional district and congressman/congresswomen and write a letter to him/her about your Family and Consumer Sciences program or a current public issue.
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Identify your state legislative district and representative and write a letter to him/her about your Family and Consumer Sciences program or a current public issue.
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Identify three ways you might keep your local school board informed about your Family and Consumer Sciences program.
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Write a “30-second elevator speech” about your Family and Consumer Sciences program using the Family and Consumer Sciences Storytelling Tips.
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Write a “Tweet” about your Family and Consumer Sciences program. Interview a school board member or state legislator and ask about their perceptions of Family and Consumer Sciences in the schools. Ask what appeals to them about Family and Consumer Sciences, what costs and benefits they see, and what challenges to offering Family and Consumer Sciences in the schools.
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Review the Policy & Advocacy sections of ACTE, AAFCS, NCTCSE, or League of Women Voters websites and participate in one of their free webinars, review an issue paper/PowerPoint, case study, deliberation guides or resolutions or sign up for public policy alerts.
The fact is that decision-makers NEED YOU!! They want to know what their constituency wants and if public funding is making a difference. You can provide that information. Advocacy is speaking up about an issue, sharing information, voting, and educating public decision-makers. It is not a spectator sport.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world, indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” -Margaret Mead
References
Advocacy and Public Policy Resources. (2013) American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Public Policy Resources. Retrieved from http://www.aafcs.org/Advocacy/Resources.asp
Anderson, C. (ed.) (2004) Family and Community Policy: Strategies for Civic Engagement. American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences. Alexandria, Virginia.
Browne, L.B., Myers, L., Gentzler, Y.S. and Hausafus, C.O.. Effectiveness of Secondary Family and Consumer Sciences Programs (1985-2004). (2006) Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences. (Vol. 98, No. 1) American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences, Alexandria, Virginia.
Cohen L, Swift S. (1999) The spectrum of prevention: developing a comprehensive approach to injury prevention. Injury Prevention. (Vol. 5:203-207) Retrieved from http://www.preventioninstitute.org/component/jlibrary/article/id-105/127.html
Devlin-Foltaz, D and Molinaro, L. (2010) Champions and “Champion-ness.” Center for Evaluation Innovation, Aspen Institute. Retrieved from http://www.aspeninstitute.org/sites/default/files/content/docs/pubs/Champions_and_Championness_Aug2010.pdf
Essentials Effectiveness Tools in Support of Family and Consumer Sciences Education. (2012) American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences, Association for Career and Technical Education, FCS Division, et al. Retrieved from http://www.aafcs.org/Advocacy/Resources.asp
Family & Consumer Sciences Brand. (2011) American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences. Retrieved from http://www.aafcs.org/AboutUs/FCSbrand.asp
Frameworks Institute. (2013) http://www.frameworksinstitute.org/ Washington,DC 267
FrameWorks Institute, (2002) “Framing Public Issues Toolkit,” FrameWorks Institute. Washington, DC, Retrieved from http://www.frameworksinstitute.org/assets/files/PDF/FramingPublicIssuesfinal.pdf
Laster, J. and Johnson, J. (2001) Major Trends in Family and Consumer Sciences. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/curriculum-handbook/394/chapters/Major-Trends-in-Family-and-Consumer-Sciences.aspx Alexandria, Virginia.
Prevention Institute. http://www.preventioninstitute.org/ Oakland, CA.
Public Policy Deliberation Tool, (2013) American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Public Policy Resources, Retrieved from http://www.aafcs.org/Advocacy/Resources.asp
www.thomas.gov – federal congressional committees, bills, resolutions, links to your congressmen/women
About the Author
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SHARON HOELSCHER DAY, MA, CFCS, is Emerita Extension Faculty, University of Arizona Cooperative Extension where she developed Bone Builders, an osteoporosis prevention program, Safe Food 2010 collaboration, and other healthy lifestyle outreach programs. Sharon was the primary investigator or co-PI in more than $3.4 million grants. Ms. Day received the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences’ Leader Award, the 2008 Extension Educator of the Year by the National Extension Association of Family & Consumer Sciences (NEAFCS) and 2004 Extension Faculty of the Year by the University of Arizona. She is past President and Vice President of Public Policy for the National Extension Assoc. of Family & Consumer and past national president of the Joint Council of Extension Professionals. Sharon was the 2010-11 AAFCS Chalkley-Fenn Public Policy Scholar. Ms. Day is President & Owner of SHDay Consultants. Sharon@shday.com