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Have you ever wondered what it takes to get your issue noticed by your Congressional representatives? Advocacy & Communication Solutions, LLC (ACS) provides advocacy planning and implementation to bring awareness to your issues at the local, state, and federal policy levels. We have several tools on our website to help you get started.

Sometimes, it’s good to get a sneak peak on the inside. Emily Ellsworth (@editoremilye) who served as district staff for two Utah Representatives, posted a series of tweets that were picked up by The New York Times, CNN, and The Huffington Post. As a district staffer, Emily worked in the state offices, not in DC, and she says that communication with the local office and staff is key to getting attention for your issue. So is using the phone.

“But, phone calls! That was a thing that shook up our office from time. One time, a radio host gave out our district office phone number on air. He was against our immigration policy and told our constituents to call. And they did. All. Day. Long. All I did all day was answer phones. It was exhausting and you can bet my bosses heard about it. We had discussions because of that call to action,” Ellsworth said in a triad of tweets.

In addition to calling, Ellsworth also encourages nonprofit or advocacy groups to invite staff on “field trips” to learn more about the work going on in constituent communities. “If you run an advocacy group, invite local staffers to show up to your events. Let them talk to people you work with and set up meetings. I loved getting out of my office and meeting with advocates in immigration, healthcare, education, science, and every type of work,” she says.

You can learn more about how ACS engages policymakers on behalf of The Ohio 8 Coalition, PRE4CLE, National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), and more here.

A new study from Duke University shows that high-quality early childhood programs deliver benefits that increase or hold steady at least through fifth grade. The study followed more than one million children in North Carolina through two state-wide early childhood programs: Smart Start, which provides state dollars to support services for children ages birth to four, and NC Pre-K (formerly More at Four), which specifically funds pre-K programs for 4-year-old who are considered “high risk.” (NC Pre-K defines “high risk” as children from families that are at or below 75% of the state median income, children with low English proficiency, or children who are disabled, chronically ill, or who have developmental needs.)

Furthermore, researchers found that those lasting benefits accrued to children no matter what their race or family income level.

Having a high-quality program is key, said Kenneth Dodge, director of the Duke Center for Child and Family Policy and the lead author of the study, in a November 17 NPR interview. “The long-term impact,” he says, “depends entirely on quality and how well elementary schools build on the foundations set in pre-K.”

This study on the impact of a large-scale, statewide approach is important, because it helps to better understand earlier studies, like the one conducted in Tennessee, that found a “fade out” of the benefits of early education by the time children reached third grade. In that study, the quality component was notably absent.

Duke’s findings can also serve as further evidence of the need to create preschool programs with quality at the forefront. As more states consider creating or expanding early education initiatives, they must remember that quality is key.

Working in partnership with organizations such as PRE4CLE, First Things First Arizona, and the National Association for the Education of Young Children, Advocacy & Communication Solutions, LLC emphasizes high-quality and taking the whole child (and all their developmental needs) into consideration, when designing, improving upon, and advocating for investments in early childhood. To learn more about our work, see the ACS PRE4CLE case study here and these articles from 2016:

• How We’re Bringing Quality Preschool to Scale: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/02/24/how-we-brought-quality-preschool-to-scale.html?qs=marcia+egbert
• A bogus and harmful reform:
• http://www.toledoblade.com/Editorials/2016/08/21/A-bogus-and-harmful-reform- A-rule-change-could-save-the-state-12-million-but-imperil-the-Early-Head-Start-and-Head-Start-programs.html
• PBS NewsHour Hosts Early-Childhood Panel in Cleveland: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/early_years/2016/07/education_week_hosts_early_childhood_panel_in_ cleveland.html?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=earlyyears

ACS has been honored to help the city of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County spread the word about their participation in the 100-Day Challenge to end youth homelessness.

In September 2016, A Place 4 Me launched a 100-Day Challenge to end youth homelessness and set an ambitious goal: to house 100 homeless youth (aged 18-25) in 100 days and strengthen systems to prevent homelessness for youth aging out of the foster care system. ACS is helping A Place 4 Me initiative plan and implement communication for the 100-Day Challenge, including developing materials, coordinating media outreach, and planning a symposium in early 2017.

Cleveland was one of only three cities selected by A Way Home America, and rose to the top in a competitive process because of the work already accomplished through A Place 4 Me, a collaborative initiative of more than 30 partners to prevent and end homelessness among young adults ages 15-24. A Place 4 Me’s 100-Day Challenge addresses the unique needs of youth who experienced foster care

With the help of ACS, the Cleveland/Cuyahoga 100-Day Challenge have received news coverage, including stories in IdeasStream and FreshWater Cleveland. Check out the press release here: http://socfcleveland.org/Story/clevelandcuyahoga-co-to-house-100-homeless-youth-in-100-days/

What does it take to prepare special-needs students to find success in the workforce? According to Erik Carter, special-education professor and researcher at Vanderbilt University, it’s early employment opportunities, involved families and supportive community employers.

“I’m most excited about programs that provide real-life, hands-on work experiences for students at some point throughout their high school that’s not simulated, that’s not ‘pre-vocational,’ that’s not [simply] preparatory but that puts them in a real place where they’re doing real work that matches their interests,” Carter said recently in The Atlantic Monthly article, “Escaping the Disability Trap.”

The article explores the pros and cons of workforce academies, such as the new River Terrace Special Education Center in Washington, DC. The challenge, the article points out, is that many academic and job training programs for people with disabilities tend to keep students separated, and often destined for jobs that are primarily held by people with disabilities. Instead, says Carter, whether through inclusion in mainstream programs or through sparate systems, students with disabilities should be prepared for jobs in more inclusive settings.

“If we can show that whatever experiences we’re doing actually lead students to attain the kinds of jobs they want and not the kind of jobs we think they ought to fit into then I get much less worried about what the path was,” Carter added. “The problem is that most of the things we do under the auspices of being vocational training [don’t] actually lead to integrated community jobs.”

There’s also the prospect of college, that is often overlooked for many special-needs students who could actually thrive there with the right supports.

Although researchers have shown that special-needs children in workforce prep programs tend to finish high school sooner than those who are not, the jury is still out on how those program impact longer-term economic outcomes.

Advocacy and Communication Solutions, LLC (ACS) is proud to partner with Towards Employment, which has helped more than 122,000 people prepare for a job, get a job, keep a job, and move up the career ladder through job readiness training, placement, retention and supportive services provided in a comprehensive and responsive manner. Learn more about ACS workforce clients here.

A recent story on NPR’s All Things Considered caught our attention for two reasons. First, it opened with a report from a coffee bar in Willamette High School in Eugene, Oregon.  (Seriously, a coffee bar inside a high school? How cool is that?) Second – and much more importantly – it made the point that whether college is in the cards for students or not, schools can and should do a better job at preparing high school graduates for the world of work.

At the Willamette coffee bar, students learn how to work a cash register, handle money, juggle multiple orders, adhere to food safety and quality standards, and provide quality customer service. These are all the “soft skills” that more and more employers expect, according to the report.

“Roughly seven out of 10 high school grads are headed to college every year — but that leaves hundreds of thousands who aren’t. And survey after survey shows that employers are demanding — even of college-bound students — some level of job skills and professionalism: punctuality, customer service, managing people and teamwork,” says reporter Claudio Sanchez.

The story highlights the school alliance with DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) a program that has exposed high schoolers to real-world work skills since the 1940s. It covers multiple industries, from manufacturing to etail sales to entrepreneurship to graphic design – all of which supply skills students can eventually apply to careers, whether they attend college or not.

Given the rising cost of higher education and the blossoming number of careers that rely on more technical skills, wouldn’t it make sense to prepare students for college and career instead of one of the other?

Advocacy and Communication Solutions, LLC (ACS) is proud to partner with Corporation for a Skilled Workforce (CSW), which catalyzes nationwide transformative change in education, economic, and workforce development through research and action. Learn more about ACS workforce clients here.

“I have not time to mince words nor to sugarcoat the truth.  Truth is truth and the truth is that many Americans do not see value in investing in boys of color.” 

These words from Nikkia Rowe, principal of Renaissance Academy High School in Baltimore, were published by The Washington Post on June 25^th, and they reflect what we see as a building sense of awareness and frustration among those who do indeed care – and care deeply – about the plight of boys and young men of color in our nation.

Rowe, who obviously does not mince words, points directly to antiquated systems as key factors in keeping boys and young men of color from achieving their potential.

“There are schools all over the country fighting, just like Renaissance, to save the lives of children that society has consistently undervalued, hidden, and avoided…” she writes. “[This] devastating hardship and struggle is the creation of those who control systems. Outcomes for young men of color will only truly change when we all have the courage to make radical change to challenge and restructure the current systems.”

The potential of every newborn black male is shaped by compounding factors of societal complacency, antiquated systems, and lack of investment, Rowe explains. She calls upon city and state leaders to make key changes, starting with deep and intentional investment in the population she serves:

“We have a choice. We can invest on the front end in quality educational experiences, college access, and employment and career pathways, or we shall certainly pay on the back end with our children’s loss of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

At Advocacy & Communication Solutions, LLC (ACS), we couldn’t agree more. We encourage everyone to read the full post, and consider how your work can support boys and young men of color in your community. For our part, we pledge to continue to make this a key area of focus and help build knowledge about needs and solutions. Visit our website to see other news posts about boys and young men of color, a case study about how ACS helped five communities strategically communicate and organize for action, and research about the 10 key elements for successful efforts to raise the bar for boys and young men of color.

Harvard economist Ron Ferguson says, if you want to understand why black male students lag behind white ones in our nation’s schools, you should ask them. A recent NPR story, “What Young Men of Color Can Teach Us About The Achievement Gap,” contains an interview with Ferguson in which he explains the findings of his latest report, Aiming Higher Together: Strategizing Better Outcomes for Boys and Young Men of Color.

Boys and young men of color often enter an education system where the deck is stacked against them. They come into kindergarten behind their peers, and gradually learn from peers that they are expected to behave and achieve differently from other students. Even teachers can reinforce lower expectations in terms of achievement and behavior. There are also conditions in homes and communities that attribute to both the preparedness level of boys entering school and the expectations for them as they grow.

Instead, says Ferguson, we should work to create a better person-environment fit between boys and young men of color and the schools they attend, and work to foster conditions in homes and communities that help enable rather than stifle boys and young men of color.

Advocacy & Communication Solutions, LLC (ACS) continues to highlight issues that boys and young men of color face on a daily basis. Visit our website to see other news posts about boys and young men of color, a case study about how ACS helped five communities strategically communicate and organize for action, and research about the 10 key elements for successful efforts to raise the bar for boys and young men of color.

The third edition of “The 50 State Project” by Congressional Quarterly/Roll Call was issued in April. This report reviews the tens of thousands of bills passed by state lawmakers during each session and examines trends across the country and what drives a bill to receive the most attention.

The report found trends in these 10 areas:

1. Budget
2. Education
3. Healthcare
4. Energy/Environment
5. Transportation
6. Economy
7. Elections
8. Prisons
9. Taxes
10. Drugs

As the most recent sessions of state legislatures came to a close, budget and tax issues continued to remain the top priority in 13 states. California, Minnesota and Tennessee are focused on spending budget surpluses; while other states, including Alabama and Louisiana, are recording large deficits and looking for ways to turn their state budgets around.

Other notable budget highlights include:

• While Alaska will close the year at a $3.8 Billion deficit, its large cash reserve means it is likely not to see any negative backlash.
• Arizona was able to lower the tax rate as was promised by the state’s newest governor, Doug Ducey.
• In lieu of a tax hike, Connecticut is reviewing the approval of a $500 million reduction in state spending that includes workforce reduction and cuts to the state’s social safety net.
• With no agreement between parties, Illinois still stands without a budget for 2016.
• The best case scenario for Kansas’ fiscal year, ending June 30, is a $50 million deficit. The state is looking to make cuts to agency spending including highway projects and delaying payments to the state’s pension program.
• North Dakota experienced a $1 billion shortfall in the budget cycle ending this February. The Governor made a 4.05% cut to all agencies receiving state funding.
• Oklahoma’s $1.3 billion deficit has forced two sets of spending cuts across all agencies, three percent in December 2015 and four percent in March 2016.
• After an 8-month budget impasse, it still remains unknown whether or not Pennsylvania will raise or lower their tax rates.
• Falling energy prices mean a $145 million budget deficit for West Virginia.

Education remains an important topic of discussion in many states. Of all important issues identified in the 50 states, 10 percent were centered around education. Colorado has some of the lowest per student funding in the country, dropping well below the line legally allowed by the federal government. Massachusetts has some of the best schools in the nation, but there is a continued disparity between wealthy and low-income areas.

Other notable education highlights include:

• In Arizona the state’s school system was illegally underfunded for several years.  After a lengthy legal battle, the state has been ordered to pay $3.5 billion in restitution.
• Georgia is looking to cut –back its state sponsored HOPE scholarship program as demand continues to exceed the dollars designated.
• Idaho’s legislature has approved a 7.4 percent increase in funding for the state’s education system.
• A tough sell to Iowa’s legislature, Governor Terry Branstad reallocated tax dollars allocated for school infrastructure project to water quality control projects.
• In Kentucky¸ Democratic leaders continue to clash with the Governor over a proposal to provide scholarships to students attending community and technical colleges.
• Louisiana continues to rank one of the worst states for K-12 public education in the country. A 40 percent cut to all higher education budget since 2008 does not help and students are being expected to pay 65 percent more than the 2008 tuition rate.  As a result, many students are leaving the state, causing an inability to meet workforce demands in many high-demand fields.
• Now the ninth largest state, North Carolina continues to struggle with education issues because state spending lags greatly behind the state’s growth, and re-segregation of school continues to cause disparity issues.
• Pennsylvania continues to see a need for more money to be put into public schools. Much of the public school costs are put on the individual districts; thus wealthier areas are still succeeding academically but poorer areas have seen class sizes balloon and cuts to staff such as nurses and guidance counselors.
• In Ohio, the pendulum continues to swing on the use of state testing to track results and accountability. Ohio’s one-year experiment with the PARCC tests ended after complaints across the state. Meanwhile, officials are waiting to see if new charter school oversight laws improve performance. More recently, questions have arisen about attendance at online schools.
• South Dakota lawmakers approved a half-cent raise to boost teacher pay, which is currently the lowest in the nation.
• Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam has included education improvements in his school agenda. These include pay raises for teachers, additional dollars toward school maintenance projects, and additional dollars toward getting students to obtain a college degree.
• Washington’s underfunding of schools was reviewed by the Supreme Court, and the state must come up with a plan to fully fund schools by 2018 lest they be given a $100,000 per day fine.
• Michigan’s unemployment rate is now below 5 percent, which is considered a solid number by The 50 State project. Despite that number, the economy is still under scrutiny because of the state’s heavy reliance on manufacturing.
• The state Supreme Court in South Carolina ruled in November 2014 that the General Assembly had not done its job to ensure all students received a basic education, and gave policymakers until the end of their session to address the issue.  Bills were working their way through the legislature but reforms had yet to become law.
• In New York, Governor Cuomo proposed a program that would grant 12 weeks of paid family leave, which would be the most generous leave policy in the country.  Senate Republicans are resisting this proposal.
• Wisconsin’s roads are the fourth worst in the nation, and lawmakers have been lacking in a long-term solution to fix the problem.  Options currently under consideration include raising the gas tax, upping vehicle registration fees, and implementing a toll system.

A final major trend uncovered in this report is the rising opioid abuse in at least seven states. Pennsylvania has made prevention of abuse a top priority, and Maryland, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Massachusetts and Maine are all working to develop public awareness campaigns to empower law enforcement to combat the issue. West Virginia is being hit the hardest by the opioid crisis and continues to face high death rates, stiff hospital costs, and increased crime.

Advocacy & Communication Solutions, LLC is proud to partner with organizations committed to improving outcomes for our early childhood education, workforce development, K-12 education, health and human services system, and Medicaid.  Learn more about ACS’ clients here.

The Center for Community Solutions, a non-profit and non-partisan think tank based in Cleveland Ohio, released Human Services 101: A Straightforward Guide to the Social Services in Ohio in June 2016.  This guide provides comprehensive and easy to understand information on social service systems (such as employment and literacy, health care, food assistance, children’s services, and others) that support Ohioans, and details the impact of social services on many communities in Ohio.

Income support services that provide cash assistance to families in need, such as Temporary Assistance for Need Families (TANF), is just one of the several social services available to children and families across the country. The impact of social services often goes unnoticed or misunderstood. The services explored in this guide support children, women, job seekers, the disabled, the elderly and many more.  By describing the wide impact of social services on Ohio’s communities, this guide illustrates how social services affect all Ohioans by proving that they are a critical component to the stability and success of Ohio’s families.

Advocacy & Communication Solutions, LLC (ACS) is a proud partner to organizations that support social services, such as A Place 4 Me, a initiative to end youth homelessness in Cuyahoga County Ohio; the City of Little Rock Arkansas, which is now implementing their Master Plan for Children, Youth, and Families; and the Wisconsin Alliance for Infant Mental Health, which builds professional capacity and partnerships that support policies which are in the best interest of infants, young children and their families. We understand how social services impact our communities and families, and work to strengthen that impact through our clients and partners.

In a multi-pronged effort designed and deployed by Advocacy & Communication Solutions, LLC (ACS), PRE4CLE and partners throughout the state have urged Ohio Governor John Kasich, to reverse a decision that prevents the strategic use of child care funding streams. This effort in building awareness around this issue has resulted in a Cleveland Plain Dealer editorial calling on the Governor to reverse the decision. Saturday’s Plain Dealer editorial states, “Combined state and federal funding ensures that poor children can attend facilities with high ratings, places where they can learn more and grow. It’s a model that wasn’t broken until the state intervened.”

You can read the rest of the editorial here:

http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2016/08/ohio_officials_ought_to_change.html

PRE4CLE is a comprehensive plan to ensure all 3- and 4-year old children in Cleveland have access to high-quality preschool by increasing the number of quality preschools in Cleveland; helping preschool providers improve their quality ratings; and connecting families to quality preschool programs.