What is Advocacy?

Advocacy is about helping others. An advocate is a champion, a proponent, a supporter, a promoter of a cause - not a thing or a product, but an idea, an issue. Child advocates are motivated by the fierce belief that society can do better for its children.

Advocacy is about change: change in personal behavior and attitude; change in political and public debate; institutional change; and legal change. Advocacy requires courage: the courage to stand up, speak out, and generate and stir debate and controversy to influence the policies of government and bring about change.

The process of advocacy is a science and an art: the science is knowledge and principle; the art is creativity and intuition. Advocacy presumes all people have rights and those rights must be enforced. Advocates must not only point out problems but also suggest realistic solutions, and this can make advocacy a challenging, intriguing, absorbing and frustrating process.

Child advocacy is about speaking out, speaking up and speaking the truth. It is about lifting up, reaching out and embracing others. It is about using facts, using faces and using every tool possible to improve the lives of children and their families. It is about joining neighborhoods together, building connections among institutions and strengthening families within homes.

Child advocacy gives a voice to children in the public-policy arena. Because children do not vote and because children do not make campaign contributions, they need advocates constantly speaking out for them in credible, persuasive ways. Child advocates work to ensure the powers-that-be understand what children need.

Child advocacy includes the collection of meaningful, varied data on the status of children then using this information to educate the public and lawmakers about the needs to invest state dollars in children's services. Child advocates are armed with data advocating for legislative changes, challenging unjust policies harming children, and informing voters about children's needs. Child advocates work to improve the whole child, from education to hunger to health care to poverty to child care. Child advocates can offer creative, vital, dynamic solutions to the complex problems facing today's children and families.

A child's first advocate is a parent, and it is critical that parents see themselves as advocates. Parents automatically have an interest in the well-being of their children because they know more about their children than anyone else - including the pediatrician - ever will. Empowered parents bring about empowered children, and that's what child advocacy is about.

Sources:
"Child Advocacy 101" by the National Association of Child Advocates
"Child Advocacy Primer: Tips and Tools for Improving Your Child Advocacy Skills" by the National Association of Child Advocates
"How and Why to Influence Public Policy: An Action Guide for Community Organizations" by the Center for Community Change
"How to be an Effective Advocate" by the National Association of State Boards of Education
"Advocacy for children and families" by Don Crary and published in Educational Horizons
"Stepping Stones: Successful Advocacy for Children" by Sheryl Dicker
"What is Advocacy?" by DC Action for Childrenv "Dealing with Advocacy: A Practical Guide" by the European Commission/UNFPA Initiative for Reproductive Health in Asia