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Public Policy

The goal of the Disability Policy Collaboration is to impact national public policy for people with developmental disabilities, including those with cerebral palsy and intellectual disability, and their friends, families and loved ones.

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Advocacy Tools: Legislative Advocacy

Key To Successful Meeting Planning

The purpose of a meeting with your Senator or Representative (or their staff) is to persuade him/her to support your issue, bill, cause, etc. Since the opportunity is an infrequent occurrence you will want to make every minute count. The following planning steps have been proven useful. Once you have decided who will attend the meeting with you, include them in a planning session to structure the agenda you will follow during the meeting.

ATTITUDE: Think of you Member of Congress as an honest, intelligent person wanting to do the right thing. Try to understand that he or she has to make decisions about thousands of issues during a legislative session and has limited time to spend on any one issue. Consider yourself an information source about your critical issues. Try to "package" the information in a way that will be remembered; usually an anecdote about one individual will be more powerful than a page of faceless statistics.

ISSUES: The Legislative Priorities and WFW articles provide background information. You will receive fact sheets on each of these issues. Decide how you will briefly introduce each of the issues during the meeting.

WHO WILL SAY WHAT: Since there will be more than one or two representatives from your coalition, decide in advance who will say what. Consider one person being the lead spokesperson to keep the discussion moving. If you plan an article for you local newspaper or affiliate newsletter, try to get a quote from your Senator or Representative.

FACTS: You will not be able to include all your information. Decide in advance which facts/data/statistics you will use to make your points. Always tell at least one personal anecdote.

QUESTIONS: Anticipate questions from the Member of Congress, or the staff member and have the answers ready. If you don't know the answer to any question, say "I don't know that answer, but I'm sure I can get the information for you." Follow-up later with the promised information.

OPPOSITION: Recognize that there are at least two sides to every issue and be open and candid about what "the loyal opposition" might have said. State your views and the reasons for you position.

WRITTEN MATERIAL: Decide what written material to leave with the staff person. Information about your coalition, newspaper clippings about individuals needing services, etc., could be added to your information sheets.