PACEs Policy and Advocacy

Guides and Toolkits

• The Alliance for Strong Families and Communities
  This organization has additional tools and tips to help you build your advocacy work, including the following:

  • Policy, Advocacy, and Communications Toolkit

  • Change in Mind: Transformation through Systems and Policy Change
     

• Building Community Resilience (BCR) at The George Washington University
  • Policy and Advocacy Guide: This guide is intended to assist individuals and organizations in becoming effective policy advocates and educators. It provides guidance to help identify and act on policy opportunities that will ultimately prevent and mitigate the Pair of ACEs – adverse childhood experiences that occur in the context of adverse community environments – and build community resilience to help children, families and communities thrive. The Guide is an outgrowth of local and national learning by the BCR team and the states and localities that have participated in the collaborative.
  • Webinar (May 2018): This webinar reviews and expands on the material contained in the Guide. This webinar covers how to use the free tools and tips in the guide to harness your own expertise about your community and develop policy strategy. Speakers discuss how to engage local and federal governments, how to convey community voice, and how to use data to tell stories.
  • Policy and Advocacy Guide: Building Community Resilience’s Policy Recommendations to States (2017): This brief, which was submitted to the National Governors Association (NGA), also includes these resources as well as recommendations for states.
     
• Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice (CTIPP)
  A Guide to Trauma-Informed Advocacy (December 2017) is designed to provide basic information to help educate elected officials and advocate for legislation to bring federal and state programs into line with the science of trauma and resilience. It provides background on how Congress operates, describes ways to organize for effective advocacy, and sets out a structured approach to educate and influence your congressional delegation. While the focus of this paper is the U.S. Congress, the basic approaches it describes can also be used to impact education and advocacy at the tribal, state, county, and municipal levels.
   
• The Center for Health and Health Care in Schools at The George Washington University
  This organization has tools and tips for improving the sustainability of school-connected approaches that promote students’ cognitive, social, and emotional health and educational success. Visit their Partner Build Grow Action Guide for practical tools, including guidance on Connecting to the Policy Environment and Mapping Assets.
   
• Futures Without Violence
  Changing Minds: Preventing and Healing Childhood Trauma State Policy Guide (January 2018) was developed to address how health, education, child welfare, justice, and child development organizations can further the prevention and healing of childhood trauma at the state level. It outlines approaches that can be adapted based on a state’s circumstances and community needs, and addresses the reality that children grow up and develop in the context of their families, communities, and cultures.
   
• Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities (MARC)
  Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities through Policy and Advocacy: A Toolkit for Trauma-Informed, Cross-Sector Networks (June 2019) supports network engagement in policy and advocacy efforts. Examples from networks across the country bring the work to life and companion infographics make it easy to incorporate content in your own presentations.
   
• National Council for Mental Wellbeing
  This Advocacy Handbook (February 2021) includes tips for virtual meetings and site visits. While the handbook is specific to National Council advocacy, it includes information and strategies that can be used by many organizations and initiatives.
   
• Prevent Child Abuse New York (PCANY)
  The New York State Trauma-Informed Legislature Initiative Toolkit includes a useful meeting script with legislative offices that starts with asking the level of familiarity with ACEs and tips on how to use statistics, research, and stories to sharpen messages, and more. Much of the content of the document can be used in other states, including a brief framework for issues already familiar to legislators extracted from the National Conference of State Legislature (NCSL) “Strong Beginnings, Successful Lives: A Prenatal-to-Three Policy Guidebook for Legislators.” The toolkit includes a one-pager on the ACE Study, a description of Five Protective Factors, and Definitions of Terms.
   
• Strategic Advocacy: Winning Policy Change without Crossing the Lobbying Line (March 2019) 
  This webinar was co-hosted by PACEs Connection and the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice (CTIPP). Featured speakers share how to drive public policy change without violating the restrictions on non-profits organizations or the requirements of funders. Click here for a summary of the webinar. For a recording of the webinar, click HERE. An accompanying 2-page fact sheet on Lobbying Basics by Allen Mattison of Trister, Ross, Schadler & Gold, PLLC,provides information about direct and grassroots lobbying.