Legislative Advocacy Research Articles

Examining the Effectiveness of a Legislative Advocacy Program for Parents of Individuals With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

AbstractGiven the expertise of parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), it is important to include their voices in disability legislation. Although, historically, parents of children with IDD have spearheaded disability policy, in the past few decades, parent legislative advocacy has been minimal. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of a legislative advocacy program for parents of individuals with IDD. Specifically, using an intervention and wait list control group, we sought to determine whether the legislative advocacy program resulted in increases in special education knowledge, empowerment, and civic engagement. We found that intervention (vs. the wait list control) group participants demonstrated significant increases in special education knowledge and empowerment. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed.

Using the Middle-Out Perspective to augment advocacy for smokefree legislation

Abstract Issue Complementing ‘Bottom-up' and ‘Top-down' approaches, the Middle-Out Perspective (MOP) conceptual framework focuses on how middle actors can influence action by enhancing other actors' interest and ability to act. Middle actors exert influence sideways on other middle actors, upwards on policymakers and downwards on individuals. Middle actors can be immediate targets as potential allies or communication channels. Description of the problem Successive governments' longstanding voluntary agreements with industry have not protected children and non-smokers from secondhand smoke. Can the MOP enhance effectiveness of small organisations whose voices are ignored? Results The NGO Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) built a coalition of NGOs, practitioners' organisations, and others to advocate for smokefree legislation. Aggregating these voices made them more visible and their demand more influential. Involvement of trade unions and lawyers threatened legal action by exposed employees. Local government support and threats of local legislation changed the hospitality trade's opposition to support. Middle actors' supporters and members lobbied their MPs. ASH's professional expertise and reputation made them a trustworthy actor with legitimacy. The consortium led to the national government in England passing smokefree legislation in 2006. Lessons Middle actors can be agents of change, promoting desirable public health goals in a middle-out manner. Formal MOP mapping at the start of work can help public health staff identify potential non-traditional ‘allies' to expand the range of who are considered potential middle actors for a particular issue, enlisting powerful additional leverage in improving the public's health. However, middle actors are not neutral. They can contribute to better public health, but they may also be exploited by commercial interests to block healthy policies or promote a health-diminishing agenda. Key messages The Middle-Out Perspective (MOP) provide a lens to examine how actors positioned between government (top) and individuals (bottom) act to promote changes in a middle-out manner. Using MOP as a formal approach can help public health organisations and practitioners consider potential ‘allies’ from outside traditional health-related bodies or professions.

Oral Health Advocacy Education Impacts Future Engagement: Exploration at a Midwestern US Dental School.

Purpose: With the emergence of COVID-19, and the potential inclusion of dental benefits in Medicare, it is critical that dentists are able to engage in legislative advocacy to support public oral health. Dental education has an opportunity to teach advocacy skills to future dentists, although advocacy training in predoctoral dental education has been largely ignored. The purpose of this study was to evaluate fourth-year dental student's attitudes toward advocacy, identify the type and extent of advocacy experiences during dental school, and assess their future intentions to engage in advocacy.Methods: An electronic questionnaire was administered to fourth-year dental students enrolled in their final semester at Ohio State University.Results: Forty-seven students completed the survey (43% response rate). Most (84%) respondents agreed that advocacy training should be a required experience in accreditation standards for predoctoral dental education. Over half (58%) reported seldom or no exposure to legislative and regulatory processes in oral health policy development in the curriculum. Students who participated in grassroots advocacy efforts while in dental school were more likely to contact legislators regarding dental issues (p = 0.005) or public insurance (p = 0.037), and participate in future lobbying efforts (p = 0.019). Students who contributed to PAC while in dental school were more likely to express intentions to contribute in future (p = 0.005).Conclusions: There is limited exposure to legislative advocacy in predoctoral dental education. Dental students with advocacy experience are more likely to report intentions to participate in advocacy as dentists. Dental education has a critical role in preparing future dentist-advocates.

APA Kicks Off New MH State Advocacy Forum

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Government & LegalFull AccessAPA Kicks Off New MH State Advocacy ForumLinda M. RichmondLinda M. RichmondSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:7 Sep 2021https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2021.10.6AbstractPsychiatrists from state district branches will come together at monthly meetings to share best practices and lessons learned while advocating for mental health laws in their state.At the inaugural session of the new Legislative Representatives Forum, more than half of APA’s district branches (DBs) gathered virtually in June to share their experiences, tools, and tips for shaping mental health care legislation within their states.Debra Koss, M.D., helped launch APA’s Legislative Representatives Forum so district branches can share best practices for mental health advocacy at the state level.The goal is to create a community of advocates. The forum came about because members noticed an uptick in legislation at the state level that impacted psychiatry, such as access to care measures, explained Debra Koss, M.D., a child and adolescent psychiatrist and clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.“As legislators become more aware and interested in this work, it is critical that we as physicians are joining them at the table, lending our expertise and bringing the science to shape legislation. Without that expertise, the potential for unintended consequences with new legislation is high.”For example, many state lawmakers expanded access to telehealth during the pandemic and are now seeking to rescind those regulations out of concern that wider access could potentially increase costs. “This would put an abrupt halt to treatment for many patients,” Koss said. Ultimately, physicians who are using telehealth to provide treatment are meeting the same standards of care and maintaining patients’ continuity of care, thereby lowering costs by reducing emergency room and hospital utilization. “Yet those are not messages that lawmakers will hear unless we get involved.”The forum is intended for legislative representatives, DB presidents, and DB executive directors. “Certainly it’s very exciting to see the turnout we’ve had, and we hope that all DBs will join us. I really appreciate the diversity of voices that is available to us in the forum,” Koss said.At that first meeting in June, participants found that although their local politics in each state differ, they share many of the same concerns. The most pressing issues among attendees were expanding access to telehealth and ensuring fair payment for it; increasing compliance with mental health parity; halting scope of practice expansion for nonpsychiatrists; and implementing 988, the three-digit hotline for suicide prevention and mental health crisis.Katherine Kennedy, M.D., chair of APA’s Council on Advocacy and Government Relations, said the goal of the forum is for state DBs to collaborate, harness new approaches, and share the tools and resources created by APA staff in the Department of Government Relations, such as model legislation.“Being in a forum with others facing similar challenges helps energize you. We tend to live in our silos, and sometimes we are reinventing the wheel. The forum allows members to share the setbacks they’ve encountered—as well as effective approaches and best practices—so states can help each other succeed.”Kennedy said she sees legislative advocacy as a way to improve patient health outcomes at the population level and reduce the health disparities created by the social and structural determinants of health. For example, DBs that attend the forum might learn from other states how they are tackling opioid overdoses among people who have been recently released from incarceration. “You can save lives,” she said.“Imagine what we could accomplish if we had the collective wisdom of all our legislative representatives and could share with one another the lessons learned within each of our own states. Ultimately, it’s a way to enhance our ability to be effective advocates for mental health care.” ■ ISSUES NewArchived

Toolbox Recommendations for Social Workers to Promote Successful Social Entrepreneurship.

Social entrepreneurship in social work is presented in the literature as an important practice considering its ability to provide long-term, innovative, and creative interventions for social problems. However, many doubt the ability of social workers to act as social entrepreneurs. This study examined action strategies adopted by social workers who established innovative services to address social problems. Data were collected from qualitative in-depth interviews conducted with 23 successful social work entrepreneurs. Research findings revealed seven action strategies that have the potential to promote successful social entrepreneurship in social work: (1) coalition building, (2) legislative advocacy, (3) media use, (4) legislative tools, (5) active use of social network: "street smarts," (6) development of a resource infrastructure, and (7) cultural norms and traditions. The study provides insight into the various ways to succeed in social work entrepreneurship; to identify opportunities in education and practice for entrepreneurship in social work; and to serve as an effective, innovative guide to address the complex social problems facing social workers.

The Efficacy and Impact of a Special Education Legislative Advocacy Program Among Parents of Children with Disabilities.

With the looming reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), it is important for parent input to inform legislative changes. Unfortunately, parent input has been limited in past IDEA reauthorizations. Thus, it is critical to develop and test interventions to improve parent legislative advocacy. With 37 parents of children with disabilities, we conducted a randomized controlled trial to determine the efficacy and impact of an advocacy program. Results indicate significant increases in special education knowledge and special education legislative advocacy activities for the intervention (versus waitlist-control) group. However, there were no significant changes in civic engagement. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

APF Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the Practice of Psychology: Samuel Knapp.

This award recognizes a distinguished career and enduring contribution to the practice of psychology. Samuel Knapp's long, distinguished career has resulted in demonstrable effects and significant contributions to best practices in professionalism, ethics education, positive ethics, and legislative advocacy as Director of Professional Affairs for the Pennsylvania Psychological Association and as an ethics educator extraordinaire. Dr. Knapp's work has modified the way psychologists think about professional ethics through education, from avoiding disciplinary consequences to promoting overarching ethical principles to achieve the highest standards of ethical behavior. His focus on respectful collaboration among psychologists promotes honesty through nonjudgmental conversations. His Ethics Educators Workshop and other continuing education programs have brought together psychology practitioners and faculty to focus deeply on ethics and resulted in the development of the APA Ethics Educators Award. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Barriers and Solutions to Passing State Legislation to Protect the Rights of Parents With Disabilities: Lessons From Interviews With Advocates, Attorneys, and Legislators.

Parents with disabilities experience discrimination within the child welfare, family law, and adoption and foster care systems. In response, there have been increasing calls for states to pass legislation prohibiting discrimination against parents with disabilities, and as of 2020, 28 states have passed or are considering such legislation. This qualitative study explored the perspectives of 19 advocates, attorneys, and legislators on barriers and solutions for passing legislation to protect the rights of parents with disabilities. Participants identified three barriers: (a) legislators' pejorative attitudes toward parents with disabilities, (b) external opposition, and (c) legislative barriers. Participants also identified eight solutions: (a) cross-disability advocacy, (b) education, (c) relationship-building, (d) bipartisanship, (e) support from state and national organizations, (f) strong sponsors, (g) incrementalism, and (h) model legislation. Study findings should help to inform ongoing legislative advocacy to protect the rights of parents with disabilities.

Call to Freedom: A Promising Approach to Supporting Recovery among Survivors of Sex Trafficking

ABSTRACT Researchers and practitioners have expressed an urgency to identify effective strategies for treating the complex needs of sex trafficking survivors. However, to date, we know very little about what types of services are most effective in promoting recovery among this population. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of Call to Freedom, a highly promising program based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota (SD) that provides comprehensive, ongoing, and coordinated service to sex trafficking survivors. Grounded in survivor-centered and trauma-informed principles, Call to Freedom provides survivors with various on-site services such as case management, occupational therapy, and transitional housing in addition to connecting survivors to community-based agencies that provide various services (e.g., mental health care, medical/dental services, legal services). Call to Freedom also ensures that community partners are trained in trauma-informed practices to enhance the effectiveness of their work with survivors of sex trafficking. Moreover, Call to Freedom engages in legislative advocacy to decriminalize illegal activities in which survivors may have engaged while being trafficked and mandate tougher penalties for perpetrators of trafficking. Call to Freedom’s work is survivor-centered; all services are voluntary and individualized based on survivors’ needs with the ultimate goal of navigating their journey to freedom. Plans for conducting a rigorous evaluation of the Call to Freedom service model are discussed as well as suggestions for other communities wishing to provide comprehensive, ongoing, and coordinated service to sex trafficking survivors.

Pharmacists need to participate and pay closer attention to the Medicare for All discussion

It has been a decade since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law. The ACA’s reception remains mixed, despite its moderate success in increasing insurance coverage, and discussions of health care reform have not abated. Among ongoing efforts to reform or repeal the ACA, “Medicare for All” appears in several prominent policy proposals. Public opinion polls from across the United States have demonstrated the growing popularity of reform proposals, which has encouraged legislators to be stronger advocates for such changes. Between 2017 and 2020, the 115th and 116th U.S. Congress introduced more than a dozen legislative proposals aimed at health care reform. Unfortunately, the variety and nuance of these legislative proposals have resulted in considerable confusion and division across the nation among health care providers and patients regarding definitions and implications of Medicare for All. This commentary aims to improve pharmacists’ understanding of Medicare for All, discuss the possible impact of Medicare for All on pharmacy practice, and serve as a call for U.S. pharmacists to participate in advocacy and reform of the health care system in which they practice. We argue that only through proactive participation in legislative advocacy will the pharmacists’ role in patient care continue to evolve. This brief commentary is divided into 5 major sections: (1) support for Medicare for All, (2) definitions of existing Medicare for All policy proposals, (3) estimation of the impact of Medicare for All proposals on the health care system, (4) the pharmacist perspective on the impact of Medicare for All, and (5) recommendations for pharmacy practice and advocacy.

The Failed Attempt to Enact Benefit Company Legislation in Australia and the Rise of B Corps

A majority of states in the United States (US) have enacted benefit corporation legislation, as have the Canadian province of British Columbia, the US territory of Puerto Rico, and Columbia, Ecuador and Italy. Over 5,000 US corporations have incorporated or re-incorporated as benefit corporations under the US legislation. Under the ‘model’ US legislation, benefit corporations are required to pursue a ‘general public benefit’ purpose, defined as ‘a material positive impact on society and the environment’ and may also pursue a more specific public benefit purpose. In addition, directors of a benefit corporation must consider the effects of any action or inaction on a wide range of stakeholders of the corporation. Benefit corporations incorporated under the benefit corporation legislation are different to Certified B Corporations, or B Corps. A benefit corporation is a specific type of company whereas a B Corp is a corporation that has been certified by B Lab as achieving a minimum verified score on the B Impact Assessment – an assessment of the company’s impact on its workers, customers, community and environment. Certified B Corps amend their legal governing documents (for example, their articles of association or constitution) to require the board of directors to balance profit and purpose. There are over 3,500 certified B Corps in more than 70 countries. Given this history, there is understandable interest in countries that are or have considered enacting benefit corporation legislation. One of these countries is Australia. The Australian subsidiary of B Lab prepared draft legislation and lobbied for this to be enacted. However, the attempt to introduce legislation in Australia was unsuccessful and B Lab ceased its advocacy for the draft legislation in 2020. The authors explore the reasons for the unsuccessful attempt to introduce benefit corporation legislation in Australia. They also explore the parallel increase in the number of B Corps in Australia - in 2019 the Australian subsidiary of B Lab reported that Australia and New Zealand was the fastest-growing region per capita for B Corps in the world and corporations from a broad range of industries are now certified Australian B Corps. However, the authors argue that while B Lab certification achieves, in some important respects, some of what was contained in the draft benefit corporation legislation, had it been enacted, the draft legislation would have ensured greater transparency and accountability for those corporations electing to become benefit corporations than is currently the case for B Corps.

ADVOCATE: A Legislative Advocacy Model for Counseling Students

In the classroom, master’s students learn that advocacy is a central component of the counseling profession and counselor identity, whereas doctoral students train to be advocacy leaders. While counselor educators often infuse advocacy into the classroom through assignments and use current advocacy models present in the literature, we found a need for a practical model specifically for legislative advocacy to implement with counseling graduate students outside of the classroom. The authors pulled from their collective experience of meeting with state legislators at the state Capitol to create the ADVOCATE Model, a practical, step-by-step guide to legislative advocacy. The authors share the details of their model and discuss implications and recommendations for counselor educators and students.

The scope and nature of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression change efforts: a systematic review protocol

BackgroundSexual orientation and gender identity and expression change efforts (SOGIECE) are a set of scientifically discredited practices that aim to deny and suppress the sexual orientations, gender identities, and/or gender expressions of sexual and gender minorities (SGM). SOGIECE are associated with significant adverse health and social outcomes. SOGIECE continue to be practiced around the world, despite denouncements from professional bodies and survivors, as well as calls for legislative advocacy to prohibit SOGIECE and protect SGM. There are substantial gaps in the availability of consolidated international research to support and refine legislative proposals related to SOGIECE, including those currently underway to enforce bans in Canada and elsewhere.We therefore propose the first systematic review of international data on SOGIECE that will outline the scope and nature of these practices worldwide. Specifically, we aim to estimate how many SGM have been exposed to SOGIECE, which sub-groups of SGM experience higher rates of SOGIECE, and how estimates of SOGIECE vary over time and place. In addition, we aim to describe when, where, how, and under what circumstances SGM are exposed to SOGIECE.MethodsTo locate an interdisciplinary swath of papers, nine (9) bibliographic databases will be searched: Medline (OVID), Embase (OVID), PsycInfo and Social Work s via EBSCO, CINAHL, Web of Science Core Collection, LGBTQ+ Source, and Proquest Dissertations & Theses Global and Sociology Collection (ProQuest). A gold standard search will be developed for Medline and adapted to the other databases. Grey literature will be searched at relevant websites, and reference harvesting will be performed in relevant SOGIECE scientific consensus statements. Two authors will independently screen abstracts/titles, screen full texts, abstract data, and apply risk of bias assessments. A narrative synthesis will be implemented to summarize findings.DiscussionThis review will address the gap in synthesized data regarding the prevalence of SOGIECE, social correlates of SOGIECE, variations of SOGIECE over time and place, and the circumstances, settings, and time-points of SOGIECE exposure. Findings from this review will directly inform ongoing and new legislative efforts to ban SOGIECE and other interventions that aim to stem SOGIECE practices and support SOGIECE survivors.Systematic review registrationRegistration with PROSPERO can be found under the registration number: CRD42020196393.

Gender Equality and Educational System in Nigeria

The aim of this paper is to consider approaches to understanding and evaluating gender equality in Nigeria educational system from the perspective of concerns for gender discrimination. This task has a number of facets and complexities, because ‘gender’ is not one simple set of relationships, and the notion of gender equality in education can be read in a number of different ways. The study reviewed extant literature and deductively explored distinctively the issues in gender equality in Nigeria educational system. This paper adopted the radical feminist theory and secondary source of data collection. It sought to place in proper perspective the Nigerian national gender policy as it affects women. The study revealed that literacy rate among young women and men age 15-24 years was 59.3 per cent and 70.9 per cent in 2016 respectively. Female enrolment in Nigerian Colleges of Education was 46.1, 47.3 and 46.4 per cent (2014/2015, 2015/2016, 2016/2017 academic session). The paper also found that enrolment in Nigerian universities was 43.1 and 56.9 per cent for Female and Male (2017). The percentage of women lecturers in federal Colleges of education was 33.8 per cent for 2016/2017 academic sessions. The percentage of Female professors in Nigerian Universities was 15.43 per cent in 2017. It posited that a clear understanding of the issues raised may open new vistas for an enhanced role of the female gender in the socio-economic and educational development of Nigeria. It must be ensured that women who dropped out of school because of family responsibilities are provided with opportunity to complete their education. The integration of gender issues into all aspects of policy and planning and a mix of legislative change, advocacy and community mobilization is needed.

Sounding the Alarm: Six Strategies for Medical Students to Champion Anti-Racism Advocacy.

Every year, incoming medical students take the Hippocratic Oath and pledge that they: “will be an advocate for patients in need and strive for justice in the care of the sick,” yet guidance on how to engage in community and public health advocacy is not a mandatory component of medical education. Therefore, students often feel insufficiently qualified to engage in advocacy efforts. As the nation has struggled with a viral pandemic (COVID-19) and witnessed an uprising against anti-Black racism and police brutality, it became immediately apparent that activism that marries medicine to anti-racism advocacy was needed. Further, we deduced that anti-racism activism at medical institutions would need to position medical students, often low in the medical hierarchy, as essential to the response. With the support of our leaders and mentors, we created a concerted series of strategies for medical students to become front and center in advocacy efforts. In this paper, we outline six strategies for medical students across the nation to champion anti-racism advocacy, based on our successful experiences in Central Ohio. This approach may have utility for other medical schools across the nation. These strategies include: embracing a common agenda; establishing formal structures; engaging affinity groups and allies; endorsing legislative advocacy; encouraging curricular reform; and enriching the pipeline. It is our hope that medical students will feel empowered and activated to lead and organize “good trouble” efforts that will ultimately improve the lives and health of the communities and patients they are being trained to serve.

A Pilot Study of Adult Disability Services and Legislative Advocacy Among Parents of Youth with Multiple Disabilities

Although parents of individuals with multiple disabilities have spearheaded legislation for students with disabilities, little is known about their legislative advocacy experiences with respect to adult disability policy and, relatedly, adult disability services. In this pilot study, we examined the perspectives and experiences of nine parents of youth with multiple disabilities with respect to legislative advocacy via two focus groups. Most participants had negative perceptions of their: legislators, adult disability policies, and, relatedly, adult disability services. Many participants suggested changes to increase the flexibility of Medicaid Home and Community Based Services. Directions for future research and practice are discussed.

An Administrators’ Association Partnership Translates to Gifted Education Advocacy

A formal partnership between a state-level umbrella association of educational administrators and one of its constituent associations, the association of gifted education administrators, has resulted in successful legislative and policy advocacy for gifted education. The formal partnership encouraged leaders of the gifted education professional community to identify as administrators and to collaborate with superintendents, principals, and other central office administrators. For the past three decades, this unique partnership has flourished and provides a model that other states can adapt to their context. In addition to the formal administrative association partnership, an informal partnership operates between two state gifted education associations (one focused on gifted education coordinators and administrators; the other focused on teachers and parents) and the umbrella organization of central office and building level educational administrators in the state. A key feature of the formal partnership is shared governance between the umbrella association and its 12 member associations, one of which comprises gifted education administrators. The informal partnership is linked by advocacy and policy development initiated by the salaried Legislative Advocate and a standing Legislative committee that includes the presidents of the state association for gifted education administrators and the president of the teacher and parent association. The benefits of the formal partnership and suggestions for initiating such a partnership in other states are discussed. The complexities of the informal partnership are explored.

Fisher, K. and Miller, K.M. (2020). Legislative Advocacy for Special Educators

Fisher, K. and Miller, K.M. (2020). Legislative Advocacy for Special Educators

Legislative Advocacy for Special Educators

Legislative Advocacy for Special Educators

Why PACs Are an Essential Part of Advocacy

Advocacy is a broad term which encompasses a range of activities, from direct advocacy of patients, their parents and their community, to population-based federal and state legislative advocacy through statutory policy and program changes.1 It has been suggested “that advocacy occurs on a spectrum that includes legislative, administrative, clinical and patient-centered endeavors.”2 As child and adolescent psychiatrists, we are well suited to be advocates for children’s mental health at all of these levels, because we are “immersed in the communities directly affected by these policies and can more quickly synthesize personal experience and scientific research to inform the debate.”1 The American Medical Association declaration of professional responsibility states that physicians commit ourselves to, “advocate for social, economic, educational, and political changes that ameliorate suffering and contribute to human well-being.”3 In order to be effective advocates for our patients and our profession there are multiple ways to get involved, for example direct lobbying from AACAP’s Government Affairs Department, grassroots lobbying by our members individually or in coordination with the Association, and AACAP-PAC contributions by our Association members. In this article we will be focusing on Political Action Committees’ (PACs) basis for advocacy and education, and more specifically the AACAP-PAC.