Advocacy & Action Now

Presentation by

Kay Johnson

CityMatCH Expedition

September, 2004

Another day, another world

If you’re not outraged,

you have not been

paying attention.

Particular reasons MCH leaders should feel outrage

Moments in America for Children

Twice a minute child abuse/neglect is confirmed.

Every minute a baby is born to a teen mother.

Every 2 minutes a low-birthweight baby is born.

Every 4 minutes a baby is born to a mother who received

late or no prenatal care.

Every 20 minutes (the length of my talk) a baby dies

before her first birthday. Source: Children’s Defense Fund, Copyright 2004.

Each day in America

1 mother dies in childbirth.

5 youth commit suicide.

8 children or teens are killed by firearms.

75 babies die before their first birthdays.

Nearly 1,200 babies are born to teen mothers.

More than 2,000 are born into poverty.

Source: Children’s Defense Fund, Copyright 2004.

More Reasons for Outrage

Half of the recent tax cuts went to the top 1%,

with average income of $1.4 million

The Budget Office has plans to cut FY2006

funding for WIC, education, Head Start, and

other programs for poor families.

12 million children in poverty today will cost

us (US) $137 billion in public welfare and lost

productivity over the next 20 years.

Source: The New Yorker, used with permission

Monitor Problems

Work for Change

Protect theVote

Promote Civil Society

Turn Outrage into

Action

5 Things to Do

1. Turn your outrage into action.

2. Protect the vote.

3. Monitor what’s happening.

4. Work for change.

5. Promote a civil society.

1. Turn outrage into action

You need to become catalysts for change.

We need to somehow get the attention of

this nation, grab it by the collar and say:

‘ Look here, something is very wrong! I see it

every day. I try to manage this incredible

degree of pathology with such meager,

insufficient and insulting resources.’

Something is very wrong.”

Dr. Reed V. Tuckson, Region V MCH Conference, Chicago, 1991

2. Protect the vote.

1. Register to vote

2. Recruit others to register

3. Volunteer to monitor at the polls

4. Know your rights

5. Report voter intimidation

1-866-OUR-VOTE

3. Monitor what’s happening

Document and witness

Turn data into action

Fight rhetorical battles

Be a Witness: Document what is happening

Children’s Bureau

Studied MCH in the nation’s cities

Select Committee on Children

Rep. George Miller (D-CA) saw the need to

monitor and document Reagan Era cuts.

Children’s Defense Fund

Using only public, government data

Use your data to tell their stories

Mobilize with data to help

urban families

improve their well-

being and health

outcomes.

Fight Rhetorical Battles

"Health care reform must begin with a

discussion of individual responsibility… in

the case of parents, their responsibility for

the health of their children…

In this context, individual responsibility,

rather than government programs, must be

emphasized…"

Source: Minority Report on the Health Chapter of Report of the Commission on Children, 1991

4. Work for Change

Incremental changeand

Major reforms

Work for Incremental Change

Push for Major Reforms“As crises go, medical insurance is not a very

sexy one. Every politician has a stump speech

and a plan--usually a rather complicated one…

The simple solution would be a single-payer

system like Canada's, a mantra the left has been

humming for decades, but where's the big, irate,

energetic movement for it?...

While wonks debate, the crisis deepens.”

Source: Katha Pollitt, The Nation, June 3, 2004.

5. Promote a civil societyWork in partnership and fellowship

Develop citizens ready and able to be part of a democracy.

Engage in public life.

Work in PartnershipCore elements of good relationships

Shared purpose Mutual benefit Communication Trust

BusinessSector

Civic OrganizationsIn Voluntary

Sector

Government /Public Sector

Grow Citizens for a Civil Society…to exercise these privileges takes much more than just

legal right. It requires a trained mind and a healthy

body. It requires a decent home, and the chance to find a

job, and the opportunity to escape from the clutches of

poverty.

Of course, people cannot contribute to the Nation if they

are never taught to read or write, if their bodies are

stunted from hunger, if their sickness goes untended, if

their life is spent in hopeless poverty… LBJ

Limiting myths and empowering insights about public service and civic engagement

Public Engagement in a Civil Society

We each have a public life. Every day behavior affects the shape of the world.

Public engagement serves a deep human need: to know that one’s life counts and can make a difference.

Frances Moore Lappe and Paul DuBois. The Quickening of America: Rebuilding our Nation, Remaking our Lives. 1994

Work for Change

Protect theVote

Promote Civil Society

Turn Outrage into

Action

Monitor Problems