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The Second Session of Nebraska’s 100th Legislature adjourned sine die on Thursday, April 17, 2008.
The following interim study resolutions related to mental health issues have been identified:
- LR363 (Erdman) Interim study to identify powers and duties of the Dept. of Health and Human Services, to prioritize programs and services, and to examine funding of programs and services.
- LR337 (Johnson) Interim study to examine the needs of the state for development of a plan to provide behavioral health workers support personnel necessary to support community-based behavioral health services and funding of the plan.
- LR338 (Johnson) Interim study to conduct research and develop recommendations relating to the implementation of the Nebraska Behavioral Health Services Act. (w/ Appropriations Committee).
If you are further interested in advocacy opportunities please consider tuning in to the following webinar:
Free Webinar on Systems Advocacy
In a presentation entitled “Systems Advocacy: What It Is and How to Do It,” Joseph Rogers, Executive Director of the National Mental Health Consumers’ Self-Help Clearinghouse, discusses grassroots organizing tactics and provides information about goal-setting, creating an advocacy plan, negotiation skills, and strategy development, including “do’s and don’ts.” The presentation also offers nuts-and-bolts information about effective advocacy letter-writing, phone calls to policy makers and their staffs, and how to handle face-to-face meetings.
Because the basis of systems advocacy is self-advocacy, a co-presenter who has been trained in self-advocacy skills offers information about how she has put these skills into practice in her own work and life.
Click here to access an archived copy of the webinar.
Tips for Advocates
Voices for Children in Nebraska, a nonprofit organization committed to advocating on behalf of Nebraska’s children, shares the following tips for advocates everywhere:
Prepare
- Develop relationships with legislators
- Ideally this happens before you advocate and/or educate on a particular issue
- Decide on your long-term and short-term goals
- What compromises are you willing to make?
- Research the issue and the law
- Has this policy been implemented elsewhere, and to what effect?
- What are your best arguments in support of your position?
- What are your best arguments to address your opponent’s position?
- Identify interested parties
- Expand your network of allies
- Talk to your opponents
- Find out your opponents’ position in order to prepare responses
Use the Process to Your Advantage
- Assess political climate for change
- Assess optimal pressure point
- Legislature, agency, or courts
- Decide legislative/advocacy strategy
- Legislative sponsor
- Key legislative leaders
- Committee referral
- Communications strategy
- You can be proactive or reactive
Communicate
- Develop your communications strategy
- Who are the key legislators?
- Who has good working relationships?
- Develop fact sheets, testimony, talking points
- Educate the media
- Share your position with policy makers
- Use letters, informational fact sheets, telephone calls, direct conversations, testifying, petitions, and written comments
- Personal contact is most effective
- Petitions are generally least effective
- Develop easy-to-read fact sheets that describe the problem and potential solution
- Be concise: Communications with legislators must be short
- Specify what action you want the legislator to take
- State major points in lay language; do not use jargon, acronyms or scientific terms
- Personalize the issue: Why is this important to you?
- Explain how legislation will affect local constituents
- Tailor fact sheets to the legislators’ specific interests (e.g., impact on people, business, economy, environment, rural, urban, etc.)
- Generate positive news stories to help influence the policy process
- Don’t underestimate the influence
- Develop relationships
- Involve the media
- Alert press to possible stories
- Take advantage of slow news days
- Submit letters to the editor
- Call radio and TV talk shows
- Use cable access channels
- Schedule media conferences or other media events
- Tips for Media Coverage
- Controversy
- Proximity (local stories)
- Timely
- Impact (likely to make a big difference in lives of readers/viewers)
- Prominence (involves well-known person or group)
- Audience (affects large number of people)
- Unusual
Remember to be truthful. Your credibility is your most important asset.
Mobilize Others
- Identify the stakeholders
- Who is affected by the issue under consideration?
- Who are the allies and opponents of this issue?
- Use e-mail alerts, public speaking at organizational meetings, advertising, letter writing or petition campaigns, rallies, coalitions
- Expand network of supporters
- Identify common ground and differences
- Who do you know? Who do other supporters know? What is the source of their power or influence?
- Who has the most influence and ability to affect change?
- Think about non-traditional allies
- Negotiate compromise with opponents
- Talk to your opponents to understand their issues
- What is the source of their power and influence?
- Can you neutralize your opponents by addressing some of their concerns?
If not, are there ways to neutralize stakeholders’ influence?
- Redefine their interests
- Compromise
- Fragment constituency
The more people who support an issue, the easier it is to get the desired change or prevent negative changes. |
