Inviting Legislators to Visit Your Program

As a child care professional, you are an advocate for young children in your state. One way to “take action” is to contact your state or federal legislators and let them know how you feel about issues related to children. If you have called, you may have felt that the legislator didn’t understand how the issue could affect children.

If you’ve never contacted your Senator or Representative before, the Advocacy section of our website has information about how to find and contact your legislators.

“One of the best ways to help state and federal elected officials understand child care and early education in this country is to show them.” (Exchange 2009) Inviting legislators to visit your program can help them understand what you do, and how important it is to have quality child care facilities.

When legislators come to visit, they learn more than they would if you simply went to their office or talked with them via email or phone. Votes have changed because a legislator actually saw what was needed to maintain quality child care.

Mary Beth Salomone, Policy Director at the Early Care and Education Consortium (ECEC) says, “This is more than just a tour. This is an opportunity to show our elected officials what is really going on out there and what they need to do to create and support good policies. This is a chance for program providers to show that they really know best about what parents, children, and their staff need.” (Exchange 2009).

These visits can be used to share a message about the importance of high quality child care, and about what it takes to provide high levels of quality. The visits can be used to ask for help in areas such the Child and Adult Care Food Program, child care subsidies, how to make quality child care available to more families.

You follow the state rules and regulations in your program every day. You have to educate your staff, provide materials, select curriculum, cover your costs, and manage the program. You know what it takes to make your program a high quality child care facility.

Show the legislators examples of this in your classrooms. Make sure the visits include interactions such as:

Using circle time as a way to involve the visiting legislator. Suggest that he or she pull up a chair and join in the activity.

Invite the legislator at snack time or lunch time, and show him or her that this is an important part of learning and development.

Ask the legislator if he or she would like to read a story to the children.

Use this as a photo opportunity. Snap pictures of the children with the legislator.

The purpose of these visits is to gain support for issues that are important to you. You have invited the legislator to your program because there is something that you want or need him or her to do. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want. This person was elected to serve you and your community!

Check out the ECEC website for a Site Visit Toolbox that can help you get started. It contains a guide to a successful visit, template invitation letters, and ideas for activities. You can get this information at: www.ececonsortium.org

Tips:

Remember that legislators may not be able to give more than 30 minutes to an hour for this visit.

Make sure to pick a day and time that will allow the legislator to see the program in action (when children are awake).

Involve the legislator in activities with the children.

By inviting legislators to visit your early childhood program, you can help members of Congress to see that:

High quality early care and learning programs exist.

The whole childhood from birth through school-age is important.

Play is learning, and child care is more than simply babysitting.

Child care is an important economic activity. Each center is a small business that supports lots of workers – both your own staff and local parents and families. Teachers, staff, and caregivers need and benefit from training and education.
Contact your legislators today about issues that are important to you, and consider inviting them to visit your program and see quality care in action.

Source:
Karolak, E; (2009). Getting legislators out of the statehouse and into your program: Another way to take action! Exchange Magazine, November/December 2009 pp36-38.

Written by: Jacki Turner, Referral and Data Specialist