When I began as a grass-roots volunteer, I wasn't too concerned about communicating strategically. I thought the simple facts -- like high poverty rates -- would speak for themselves and spur people to get involved. But I grossly underestimated the public's skepticism about government programs, especially those targeting disadvantaged families. I had no idea that my facts held little power in Washington, DC, where tens of thousands of lobbyists work daily to make the case for policies that benefit their deep-pocket clients.
I think we've all come a long way from those days! But for better or worse, so has everyone else. Now we have social networking, marketing and strategic communications ideas and policies -- and we understand that we have to be smart, persistent and competitive to get things done for kids and families.
Ripe fruit may seem easy to gather, as the saying goes -- but there's a lot of hard work that goes into preparing the soil, planting, weeding, and keeping the pests at bay before that fruit appears.
It just so happens that for the past year, a number of very smart experts have done some research and analysis on how the public views children, youth and public policies. Many of their findings, like the importance of sharing successes, haven't changed much. But some findings -- like a greater public interest in government policies to address the challenges of hard times -- represent a shift in public perception. In this
Update, we're summarizing some key recent work that you won't want to miss.
We can all use an update on how to be persuasive with the public and with policymakers. Better yet, we can surely work together better to spread good news about good work so local programs and policymakers alike get the word. As Karen Pittman says in a recent column, the youth field could have a much bigger impact on local programs and policymakers alike if we made
better-coordinated use of our information.
In fact, in this
Update, we include a very important response to an earlier call for greater collaboration in our field. Shortly after launching, First Focus asked leaders in the field to identify key areas that their organization should focus on. One answer was to resurrect the Children's Budget project, which tracks federal investments in children over time and in comparison to other domestic areas, a project first started by the Urban Institute. First Focus took up the challenge -- the
latest Children's Budget data is now available.
Meanwhile we have been posting new reports and research on the SparkAction website -- some, like the
report on what effective teachers do in the classroom, point the way to improving teaching and learning. Others assess progress on boosting graduation rates in school districts in the South.
Others provide information on
improving children's oral healthand others highlight how immigrant parents are promoting better health as
"promotores" in their communities.
Time is short in DC -- Congress is getting close to its August recess and the mid-term election season begins soon after. If you want to weigh in on getting child nutrition programs reauthorized, better funding for early learning programs, or providing a pathway to legal status for undocumented high school graduates in America from childhood, now's the time. See the DC section below. Also, check out the
SparkAction action alerts and let your elected officials hear from you!
Finally, as always, local communities and programs can use more money to keep up their good work. Applications for
federal smaller learning communities grants are due in August. The Finance Project has tips on stretching scarce
summer job dollars to reach more youth. You'll find information about these and other funding opportunities in SparkAction's updated
Funding section.
Keep up the good work, everyone!
Jan
Jan Richter, editor emeritus, and the SparkAction team
SparkAction gives visitors stories, information and tools to learn about a range of issues and to take action to improve policies and programs, and, ultimately, the fabric of our nation as a whole. To suggest content, email info@sparkaction.org.
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