Michigan Coalition for Children and Families: The Kidventional Wisdom Newsletter

 

 

Listen: Ask local children’s organizations to brief you on the status of and needs of children in your community or state.

 

Experience: Visit community Head Start programs, schools, places of worship, children’s hospitals, community centers, and other places where children receive services and support to get a hands on view of the needs of children.

 

Analyze: Examine your current proposals to determine how they would affect the lives of children in your community, state and nation.

 

Answer: Frame your platform and position statements on children’s issues to answer candidate questionnaires.

 

Distribute: Submit your children’s platform to info@mcmch.org

 

Challenge: Challenge other candidates in your party and among your opponents to come forward with specific proposals for children.

 

Educate: Use your public exposure to call attention to the needs of children and to educate your supporters about the importance of meeting these needs.

 

Ask: Ask voters at every campaign stop to tell you how children are doing in their community and how you could use your office to improve their well-being.

 

Promise: Keep your promises to the children once you are elected by making sure every legislative proposal is examined to determine its impact on children. Vote with children in mind!

 

Keep Listening: Keep an open door to those who know the needs of children first-hand such as parents, pediatricians, child care providers, volunteers, and civic leaders. Consult with children and youth as well, you will be surprised how wise they are.Try using case studies, success stories, testimonials or examples of how others used your product or service successfully. Inserting a link in your article lets you track which topics attract the most interest.

 

 

 

Annually, MCCF produces a document called the Children’s Agenda to frame the policy and budget priorities that promote the health and well-being of Michigan’s children and families.

 

In recent years, MCCF has used our Children’s Agenda to promote policies that will acknowledge and support the important role that children and families have in driving our economic engine. Investments in early childhood development and care, child health, parenting support, education, and family economic support have lasting economic benefits for families and for Michigan. Economic development does begin at birth!

 

As a future elected official who will balance the issues of jobs, taxes, and health and human services in our state, we strongly urge you to think of the investments in children and families as an investment in economic development. 

 

Please view the Children’s Agenda at http://www.miccf.org/MICCF-08/CA08booklet.pdf