The links below may help you better understand the needs of the community. In addition, opportunities to get involved in policy and advocacy work are defined.
"It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something." Former US President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Advocacy and public policy links for volunteers
CLASP : The Center for Law and Social Policy.
This site has links to all the areas included on the list below. It also contains the latest publications regarding government policy, covering the last 10 years.
Advocacy Link Categories
Children and Youth
Family
Criminal and Juvenile Justice
Elderly
Special Needs, Disabled, and Handicapped
Refugees and Immigrants
Education
Children and Youth
National Association for Family Child Care
The National Association for Family Child Care is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting quality child care by strengthening the profession of family child care.
Center for the Child Care Workforce
The Centre for the Child Care Workforce's mission is to improve the quality of early care and education for all children by promoting policy, research and organizing that ensure the early care and education workforce is well-educated, receives better compensation and a voice in their workplace.
The National Child Care Information Center
The NCCIC is a service of the Child Care Bureau, a national clearinghouse and technical assistance center that links parents, providers, policy-makers, researchers, and the public to early care and education information.
National Association for the Education of Young Children
The National Association for the Education of Young Children's mission is to serve and act on behalf of the needs, rights and well-being of all young children with primary focus on the provision of educational and developmental services and resources
Children and Youth Advocate
This site provides training and support to individuals, organizations and communities interested in advocating for vulnerable children and families. This site also has an article referencing the "A Day in the Life of an Advocate".
Child Advocacy Groups
This site provide multiple links for organized bar to government officials and policy makers at all levels to address the ongoing problems that face our nation's youth.
Community Renewal Society
This site shows how the Community Renewal Society works to empower community-based organizations and congregations to advocate for social and economic justice. It moves civic and religious leaders to take a moral stand on issues of racism and poverty. It publishes two investigative monthlies that report on education reform and racial and economic injustice.
At The Table
This interactive, user-driven web site allows practitioners from all ages to share resources, strategies, and success stories to support their work in engaging youth in the decision-making process in communities and organizations across the world.
National Network for Youth
The mission of the National Network for Youth is to champion the needs of runaway, homeless, and other disconnected youth through advocacy, innovation and services - one community at a time.
Family
Guide to Careers in Child and Family Policy
This site contains links to all sorts of training and job opportunities in the family welfare sector. These range from academic programs to internships and full time jobs. There are also good information links.
The Institute for Child and Family Policy
The mission of the Institute for Child and Family Policy is to identify and address fundamental and intractable problems in the formulation, analysis, implementation, and evaluation of social policies toward children, youth, and families.
Family Support America
Family Support America's public policy agenda is focused on building public will and effective policies to promote family support principles.
The Center for Family Policy and Practice
The CFPP is a nationally-focused public policy organization conducting policy research, technical assistance, training, litigation and public education in order to focus attention on the barriers faced by never-married, low-income fathers and their families.
The National Center for Family Literacy
The goal of NCFL's Policy and Advocacy efforts is to design, assess, advocate and lobby for federal and state policies that sustain and expand family literacy services.
Criminal and Juvenile Justice
Child Welfare League of America
A link site to the latest Congressional moves in juvenile justice, background information and how to get involved.
Juvenile Justice Initiative
The Juvenile Justice Initiative is a statewide advocacy coalition to transform the juvenile justice system. The J.J.I. advocates to reduce reliance on detention, to enhance fairness for all youth and to develop adequate community based resources throughout the state.
Building Blocks for Youth
The Building Blocks for Youth initiative is an alliance of children and youth advocates, researchers, law enforcement professionals and community organizers that seeks to reduce overrepresentation and disparate treatment of youth of color in the justice system and promote fair, rational and effective juvenile justice policies.
Juvenile Law Center
The Juvenile Law Center ensures that the policies and practices of the juvenile justice system are aligned with and informed by principles of child and adolescent development.
National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges is dedicated to serving the nation's children and families by improving the courts of juvenile and family jurisdictions. Our mission is to better the justice system through education and applied research and improve the standards, practices and effectiveness of the juvenile court system.
National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice
The National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice is dedicated to assisting the field in developing improved policies and programs for youth with mental health disorders in contact with the juvenile justice system.
The Center for Race and Juvenile Justice Policy
The Center for Race and Juvenile Justice Policy co-ordinates the implementation, design and evaluation of policies that promote social justice.
Elderly
Foundation Aiding The Elderly
The objective of Foundation Aiding The Elederly is to serve as a voice for patients and to bring about national reforms and enforcement of the laws governing the nursing home industry
The Coalition to Protect America's Elders
The Coalition to Protect America's Elders works closely with our nation's most prominent elder organizations and other advocacy groups to create public awareness of the conditions that exist in our nation's nursing homes and propose effective solutions for improving the quality of nursing home care.
The National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform
The NCCNHR provides information and leadership on federal and state regulatory and legislative policy development and models and strategies to improve care and life for residents of nursing homes and other long term care facilities.
Nursing Home Advocates
A state by state list of nursing home advocate groups, along with full contact details for each group.
Leadership Council of Aging Organizations
The Leadership Council of Aging Organizations is a coalition of national nonprofit organizations concerned with the well-being of America's older population and committed to representing their interests in the policy-making arena.
The National Council on the Aging
NCOA is a national voice and powerful advocate for public policies, societal attitudes, and business practices that promote vital aging.
The Gerontological Society of America
The Gerontological Society of America is a non-profit professional organization with more than 5000 members in the field of aging. It provides researchers, educators, practitioners, and policy makers with opportunities to understand, advance, integrate, and use basic and applied research on aging to improve the quality of life as one ages
Special Needs, Disabled, and Handicapped
The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps
TASH is an organization of members concerned with human dignity, civil rights, education, and independence for all individuals with disabilities. We have over thirty Chapters and members from thirty-four different countries and territories.
The World Institute on Disability
WID is a nonprofit research, public policy and advocacy center dedicated to promoting the civil rights and full societal inclusion of people with disabilities.
National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems
The National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems has a vision of a society where people with disabilities exercise self-determination and choice and have equality of opportunity and full participation. NAPAS believes this vision will be realized through the enactment and vigorous enforcement of laws protecting civil and human rights. The site has links to each state's Protection and Advocacy Systems.
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
We collaborate with local, regional and national advocacy and consumer organizations to reform public systems and promote consumer participation in the design and operation of service programs.
Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities
The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities is a coalition of approximately 100 national disability organizations working together to advocate for national public policy that ensures the self determination, independence, empowerment, integration and inclusion of children and adults with disabilities in all aspects of society.
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
The Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund is the nationally recognized leader in designing and carrying out the strategies by which Congress was educated about the need for the laws and regulations establishing the civil rights of people with disabilities.
Refugees and Immigrants
National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
The National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights works to promote a just immigration and refugee policy in the United States and to defend and expand the rights of all immigrants and refugees, regardless of immigration status.
National Immigration Forum
Within the limits of relevant legal and funding restrictions, the National Immigration Forum works closely with elected and appointed policy makers at the federal, state, and local level to press for fair and generous immigration-related policies.
Refugee Council USA
The Refugee Council USA is a coalition of U.S. non-governmental organizations focused on refugee protection. The Refugee Council USA provides focused advocacy on issues affecting the protection and rights of refugees, asylum seekers, displaced persons, victims of trafficking and victims of torture in the United States and across the world.
Federation for American Immigration Reform
The Federation for American Immigration Reform believes America can and must have an immigration policy that is nondiscriminatory and is designed to serve the social, economic and environmental needs of our country.
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund was founded by a group of lawyers, law students and community activists who believed that the law should be used as a tool to achieve social and economic justice for Asian Americans and all Americans.
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union works in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
The Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service works to make sure that policies and practices on refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants are fair and humane.
Education
The National Rural Education Association
The purpose of the National Rural Education Advocacy Coalition is to advocate for the highest quality education for the children of rural America's public schools. The coalition will represent the interests of rural public schools in the national forums in which such issues are decided and in a state when an issue affecting rural schools could have national impact.
National Association for Bilingual Education
The National Association for Bilingual Education is the only professional organization at the national level wholly devoted to representing both English language learners and bilingual education professionals.
Americans for the Arts
Americans for the Arts advocates for policy developments that increase the visibility and stability of the arts. Advocating for arts education involves successful networking and lobbying at the federal, state, and local levels.
National Education Association
On Capitol Hill, National Education Association lobbyists work effectively for increased financial support for higher education, including reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, the mainstay of higher education funding, and for increased funding for research.
National Council of Teachers of English
The National Council of Teachers of English provides its members with calls to action as well as with information about current key issues, proposed government regulations, and legislation that may affect literacy education, educators, or students.
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association site provides information on the key issues that the Association is keeping an eye on and also has numerous ways about how to get involved as an advocate at a grassroots level.
The Center for Education Reform
The Center for Education Reform provides reform-minded citizens and legislators with the tools necessary to implement change and are the most highly respected and vocal advocate for reform in the fast-growing national dialogue that is reshaping the landscape of American education.