Advocacy Messages

My job involves a lot of driving and so the radio is how I learn about the happenings in the world. At least twice a day I hear the ad for adoption. "You don't have to be perfect to be a perfect parent". The ad goes on to say that there are many children who would love you and your faults. I think this ad is effective because it eliminates the fear that people have of adopting. Many adults may not feel worthy of adopting a child.  The ad is trying to promote adoption of young teens making the point that they need a parent, not a parent that is perfect. I also think the phrase is catchy because the ad is short but is played repeatedly throughout the day. People listening to radios in their cars or at work will hear the message a few times a day, everyday.

Another ad that I have found to be effective is a radio ad on stroke awareness. Two people are together and one of the people keeps saying "I'm having a stroke". However that person is not really saying anything. The other person makes observations such as you are not moving your arm, and your face looks weird. After every observation, you hear the phrase repeated "I'm having a stroke". I think the use of repetition is very effective while at the same time giving the listener examples of how people act when they are having a stroke. Because the ad is short and simple, the listener can remember the basic signs of a stroke.

Ads are very effective if the information is short, to the point, and includes a catchy phrase that people will remember and repeat throughout the day.

My Own Capacity

          I am passionate about getting parents to make more informed choices in regards to their children's early care and education. Many times parents are not aware of the benefits of high-quality care, and other times they are aware, but do not have the funding to send their children to high-quality programs. Research has proven the benefits of high-quality care and education especially for the most vulnerable low-income children. If the government truly wants to increase school readiness of these children, they need to provide more funding to parents so their children can receive better care and education in a center that is licensed and quality rated.

          I am in a good and a bad position in terms of resources. I work for the government so I am involved in the conversations. However, my position in not very high up so I have to be careful in what I say. Because I work with programs in 15 parishes, I am asked for feedback or how I think something should work. I am able to be heard on weekly conference calls, I am also able to keep up with the government's thinking. I am in close contact with the director of an advocacy group that is keeping up with the many changes in early childhood in Louisiana. The director has spoken to me and asked if she could call me for feedback on their ideas. I have the experience of owning a licensed child care center for 18 years. I have experience, knowledge, and now the position to be heard.

          I need to grow in many areas, but mostly I think I need to grow in confidence. Although I have knowledge, and experience, I hold myself back thinking that I do not know enough. There are times when listening to others' perspectives is effective in advocacy, but there are also times when I know I should speak up and I do not. The director of the advocacy group I just made contact with seems to be the kind of person that will pull me out of that place.

My Role as an Advocate

I have spent my entire adult career life in early childhood. However, those were not all years of pride. When I opened my child care center, my parents did not speak to me because I was a college graduate and I was going to "babysit". Most of the parents looked at you as their nanny and you worked for them. Thank goodness over the years, the image of early childhood providers has gotten better but it was not until I started this Master's program with Walden that I felt supported in my passion for early childhood education.

Each element of early childhood (which I am considering micro) is connected to something bigger (macro). Each service or program somehow interacts or overlaps to another program. Getting to know the bigger picture of early childhood systems allows you to figure out what is best for each smaller segment.

To be a leader at the community level you must first have passion and perseverance in the work you are beginning. You must develop relationships and be able to communicate effectively. You must able to address the needs of your community, and include the work of other agencies to meet those needs.

Whenever I think of resources in early childhood I always think of money. In order to educate, inform, or improve the field, we need money. In Louisiana we have tax credits for businesses who donate to early learning programs. However I do not feel that the state has publicized this enough. I do not know of any program in my local area that has received any donations.

Electronic newsletters are a great way to get information to a large group of people. Also meeting face to face is very productive. Many times others in the field need to know their value. So many providers are tired and feel defeated. Motivational speakers that speak to their worth and the worth of their work will get providers joining the movement.

Taking on a leadership role in early childhood advocacy is a large task. You must stay focused on what is happening on the state level while not losing focus of what local communities need. Somehow you must keep the connection between the two to make advocacy work. You can keep that connection by including as many stakeholders as possible. There are many people whose work touches the lives of children and families. Make sure that all perspectives are included.

Personal Advocacy Reflection

I worked with someone named Katie a few years back. She worked for my regional Resource & Referral Agency. She understood my passion for the early childhood years but also understood that I could rarely speak about my opinions. I work in state government and there are strict rules about giving an opinion on a topic because I would be speaking on behalf of state government. When she and I would get together, we could talk for hours about early childhood education, and private child care specifically. I knew how busy she was, but she always took time out to listen to my suggestions. We talked about the latest research and how we wished we could get our communities to understand that research. She was not only advocating for early childhood education, but by giving me her time and attention, she was advocating for me. She was giving me an outlet to talk about issues that I was passionate about. She listened to me talk about all those things that I wished I could talk in public about. Her compassion and time truly impacted my work, and still does today.

Week 1 - EDUC 6766

Well, I would have never thought that I would be this far into the program when I started about a year and a half ago but here I am. These classes move so fast that as soon as you think, I will never keep up, you are finished one class. One class moves into another and before you know it, here we are, almost at the end. I am so happy to share this final stretch of the journey with such knowledgeable, compassionate colleagues as all of you have been to me. I met all of you in the last class for the first time but because of the class size we soon bonded and I feel like I have known all of you for a long time. Everyone take a deep breath because here we go!!!

Early Childhood Systems - Week 8

          There was not as much discussion in this course as I have had in others, but the discussions that took place helped in my learning about early childhood systems. I was glad to have a colleague in Head Start and learned more about the challenges they are facing through funding cuts. Katy being from Minnesota definitely brought new insights to the class through her own professional work and through Minnesota's efforts in helping families and children.

Three consequences of collaborative learning

1. Listening to different perspectives - All colleagues have a different perspective on issues. Even those of us from Louisiana worked in different sectors of early childhood so our challenges and issues were different.

2. You are not alone - It doesn't seem to matter what sector of early childhood you are working in, some of the challenges are the same. This does not make the situation better but it did help me to see the bigger picture of early childhood education.

3. Suggestions and/or ideas - Throughout all my courses as well as this one, hearing ideas or suggestions from others in a related job, brought a fresh approach to my work. One colleague from another course worked for QRS in another state. She and I shared many ideas. Learning through Katy's experiences was quite informative and gave me insight to how Minnesota has chosen to make early childhood a priority.

Goal

I will use the knowledge and insights gained in this class to advocate for an increased demand in quality services for children and families.

Thanks to all of you who were there for me every week. I hope the New Year brings you all the things in life that are important and special to you. May we all keep our chins up and forge ahead in our work for children and families.

Hypothetical Family Situation

          I am a married white woman in my early thirties. I have two children ages four and two, and I am pregnant for my third child. I recently found out that my unborn baby has a brain abnormality and will be born with cerebral palsy. My husband and I are immediately devastated about how we will be able to care for a child with a disability. Our other two children were typical developing children and we feel unequipped to care for this child. My husband begins to worry about finances. He works at a job making about eleven dollars an hour and I work as an administrative assistant making about nine dollars an hour. We are considered to be lower middle class. We fall into that financial category of making too much money to receive resources, but yet struggle to keep up with expenses and needs of our family. We wonder how we will pay for medical bills, and other expenses related to a child with disabilities. I am also concerned about the emotional well-being of my two other children and how this will affect their development. I feel overwhelmed and lost. My husband and I do not have much emotional or hands on support from either of our families. His parents are very ill and cannot physically help with the children. My parents are elderly and also cannot help with the children. Our siblings all work outside the home and feel that they have too much to do just taking care of their own children. They do not ever offer to swap babysitting services so we can each have some time away. In light of the new developments, I do not think our families will be much help.

          After doing research, we find out that our baby will need health services in the form of possible surgeries, and medicine. After our baby is born there will be a need for various services such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy. High quality early care and education will be essential in our baby’s development. Child care becomes an added concern due to the fact that we were recently denied subsidies to child care. Louisiana’s child care assistance program has lowered its gross income limits to $3030 per month (DCFS, 2013).  My husband and I bring in $200 above that limit. We are struggling with the challenge of paying for two children in child care. My four year old did not qualify for public preschool because of income limits and because he has no developmental delays. Because he scored too high on the assessment, he was denied enrollment in the public preschool program.

          Family leadership and support will be very important to my baby as well as the whole family. We will benefit from home visitations that help us care for a baby with a disability. Also, these families support services will be able to access our needs and be able to find resources for us. We will need education on policies and rights of families with children with disabilities. We will also need to network with other families. Cerebral Palsy of Louisiana will be helpful in making those connections with families and for providing necessary education.

References:

Cerebral Palsy of Louisiana (2013). Retrieved from http://www.cerebralpalsyla.com/

Department of Children and Family Services (2013). Retrieved from  http://www.dcfs.louisiana.gov/index.cfm?md=pagebuilder&tmp=home&nid=119&pnid=7&pid=136&catid=0