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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