Advocacy Overview

"The goal of early childhood advocacy is to improve the lives of children and families." (http://www.ounceofprevention.org/advocacy/pdfs/t-intro.pdf) This is the main purpose that early childhood professionals need to keep in mind when deciding where and when to fight for changes. This must come from ideas and issues that we believe in passionately in order for our fight to be justified. We must also continually reasearch and learn in order to stay abreast of current issues and trends. Finally, in order to become effective advocaters we must be willing to take some risks and stay the course when we find a cause that we want to affect.

My goal:
I will be using the information I have learned to help me begin programs in my community that address every aspect of needs for the familiies in my community. I will be using my center as a means to reach the community by implementing support groups. I will be recruiting community leaders and professionals to help these groups be successful and address all needs.
Three Consequences:
Participating in collaborative learning has given me a guideline of all the areas that need to be addressed in early learning. I will be using the categories that are described in the Build Initiative to guide support topics and programs that my community needs implemented and/or expanded.

I was reminded of the importance that health and family support play in early learning and development. This will help me design programs that best serve my community.

Seeing the "ovals" gave me a visual of the interconnectedness of healthy development. Collaborating with colleagues has given me a deeper understanding of each aspect and has given me ideas on how to ensure that my children are being serviced in all areas.

Hypothetical Family

I designed my hypothetical family to mimic a possible family that I may need to provide services for based on my community.

Family dynamics:
Two parents
English as a second language
Children ages seven, five and a toddler with autism.
Socioeconomic status: poverty level although father works full time at a local mechanic shop and mother works part time at a local fast food restaurant
Mother leaving full time work to stay home with the toddler, along with increasing medical bills has created a strain on the economics of the family
The only available family member is an elderly grandmother who can only handle caring for the child for only two hours at a time
The local school district is limited in its knowledge and resources for this type of special need
The parents have stopped much of their social life because of alternating work schedules.

This family needs all aspects of the three sectors of a comprehensive system:

They need the Health section to help them meet the demanding needs of a child with autism as well as keep their other children healthy. They need health education to help them deal with the circumstances that they may not understand.

They need early learning and development to start their toddler on a path that helps him reach educational success.

They need family support and leadership to help all family members deal with the added stress that they feel. A support group and counseling will be helpful for both parents and siblings.

The first step for this family is to find a support group that will help them by providing counseling sessions and information about services and what to expect at each step with their children. An ideal group would have an educated leader along with parents that are dealing with the same issue.

The Political Will to Improve Early Childhood Systems

The Children's Defense Fund advocates for young children by educating the nation and lobbying for policies that help all children be successful. I agree with their mission to educate others about the importance of early learning programs.

Resource:
http://www.childrensdefense.org/about-us/