Meeting With Your Legislator
- MAKE AN APPOINTMENT by calling your legislator’s district office. Ask to speak with the scheduler.
You may meet at the district office or your program. Identify yourself and your program as one existing in the district. Be clear about the topic you want to discuss, how much time you think it will take and how many people are coming.
- PREPARE YOUR AGENDA and delegate parts of the presentation. Be clear about what you want to achieve. You may prepare a short, clear statement to explain how the issue, bill, or budget affects you and your program. You may address what will happen if the desired outcome is not achieved. Each member of the team will bring a personal perspective to the issue.
- BE PREPARED by bringing printed materials that support your position or issues. Fact sheets that include data, examples or statistics are vital. Information about your program, including number of children/or families served, number of staff employed, weekly tuition costs for child care or significant program budget information personalizes the statistics. If possible, learn about your legislator’s position on the issues before the meeting takes place.
- BE STRAIGHTFORWARD. Anticipate your legislator’s concerns or questions (i.e. “Mothers should be home caring for children.”) and be ready to answer some of them. If you cannot answer a question, let your legislator know that you will get back with an answer. Be sure to follow up after the meeting with the information.
- DON’T BE INTIMIDATED. Meeting your legislator can sometimes be intimidating. Try not to let it be. It is important for them to know what you think and to hear your experiences. Remember, they represent you.
- THANK THE LEGISLATOR. Send a follow-up letter thanking your legislator for his/her time. Include any other materials that you think may be helpful as well as any information that was requested. Make sure to ask to be kept informed about his/her position on the issues or legislation. Make the point that you will be staying in touch to develop and maintain a good working relationship!
DVAEYC, 2005
