Child Advocacy Project
A child advocate must use data to build their case. An advocate also uses a number of strategies to gain support for their position. In this project you will read various reports, review data, analyze it, articulate your findings then then use a key strategy for outreach — letter writing — to advocate to a person of power. Each student will present their findings and area for advocacy to the class.
Click the link to the Advocates of New Jersey (ACNJ) website and read the Annie E. Casey’s Foundation 2022 National Data Report and the New Jersey
https://assets.aecf.org/m/resourcedoc/aecf-2022kidscountdatabook-2022.pdfhttps://assets.aecf.org/m/resourcedoc/aecf-2022kidscountdatabook-2022.pdf
https://acnj.org/nj-children-struggling-with-mental-health/https://acnj.org/nj-children-struggling-with-mental-health/
This report will provide you an understanding of the well-being of children in this country with a spotlight on New Jersey children.
Click on the link to the Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) provided and find the 2020 Kids Count profile for New Jersey and read about your home county
https://acnj.org/kids-count/https://acnj.org/kids-count/ (external site)
and
https://www.aecf.org/resources/2020-kids-count-data-bookhttps://www.aecf.org/resources/2020-kids-count-data-book
https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/acnj/viz/NewJerseyKidsCountDashboard/CountyIndicatorTrendshttps://public.tableau.com/app/profile/acnj/viz/NewJerseyKidsCountDashboard/CountyIndicatorTrends
Review the Reports on the Trends for Children in the US, NJ and your county. Provide a 2-3 page
overview of what you learned about the state of the children in the United States, how the children in NJ fare in comparison and what you learned about the children in your home county in relation to NJ and the US as a whole. Discuss the specific findings reviewed and cite the statistics in the report to support your assessment. From there you must identify ONE key priority area that is meaningful to you after looking at the national, state and county perspective. This is the area that you will advocate for to your appropriate elected official.
For this piece of the project, you will be drafting a letter on your one key focus area. You must research
the appropriate person to receive your letter based on the issue and who represents you where you live — Assemblyperson, Congressperson or Senator. You then draft a formal business letter to the contact on your issues. Your emotions and/or personal experiences should not be the focus of your letter. It will
contain your area of interest and fact-based information to persuade the reader.
For your paper and letter, you can cite additional resources that you feel will support your position. The
APA format should be used for your paper. Citations and references must be included.
The following piece should be reviewed for the letter piece
Legislative & Social Advocacy.pdf Download Legislative & Social Advocacy.pdf
The letter should be no more than 1 page. It should be single spaced within the paragraphs and double-spaced between each one. The links below will give you forms of business letters and clear instructions for writing them. Despite what the links state, include your name & address at the heading of your letter, and again after the closing.
http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/BusinessLetter.htmlLinks to an external site.
Purdue OWL: Basic Business Letters.pdf
THIS SHOULD BE UPLOADED AS ONE DOCUMENT INCLUDING A COVER PAGE, YOUR PAPER, YOUR LETTER AND YOUR REFERENCE PAGE. YOU WILL LOSE POINTS FOR ANY PIECES THAT ARE MISSING.
The following steps are suggested for thinking through this assignment:
Use the issue that you identified as the key area of concern for you after reviewing the various Kidscount Reports.
Think about the subject(s) (a child or children) and a specific problem facing them;
Consider ONE practical step that you believe would prove effective in working towards resolving this problem.
Describe this action precisely;
Explain how and why it will help resolve the problem you have described;
Consider the arguments against your suggestion and try to forestall them.
Don’t forget that this is a short letter. Do not attempt to solve all of the world’s problems
Determine your target. In other words, who has the power to put into action the step that you are recommending? Research who the official is who can impact your cause and who represents your county;
Carefully consider the tone of your letter.
You do not want to insult or alienate your target with your tone
You should not assume that your reader is ignorant or unintelligent, however, you should assume that you are educating him or her on the issue
You want your target to respond positively to your idea so share your thoughts in a way that is not alienating
Your project will be graded based on the following criteria:
Data analysis
Advocacy issue:
Appropriateness of issue chosen
Specific, concrete suggestion for action
Writing and format of paper and letter
Appropriate target identified
Advocacy Project
A child advocate must use data to build their case. An advocate also uses a number of strategies to gain support for their position. In this project you will read various reports, review data, analyze it, articulate your findings then then use a key strategy for outreach — letter writing — to advocate to a person of power. Each student will present their findings and area for advocacy to the class.
Click the link to the Advocates of New Jersey (ACNJ) website and read the Annie E. Casey’s Foundation 2022 National Data Report and the New Jersey 2022 Kidscount Data Book ReportLinks to an external site. Profile : https://acnj.org/nj-children-struggling-with-mental-health/Links to an external site. This report will provide you an understanding of the well-being of children in this country with a spotlight on New Jersey children.
Click on the link to the Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) provided and find the 2020 Kids Count profile for New Jersey and read about your home county
https://acnj.org/kids-count/ Links to an external site.
and
https://www.aecf.org/resources/2020-kids-count-data-book/Links to an external site.
https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/acnj/viz/NewJerseyKidsCountDashboard/CountyIndicatorTrendsLinks to an external site.
Review the Reports on the Trends for Children in the US, NJ and your county. Provide a 2-3 page overview of what you learned about the state of the children in the United States, how the children in NJ fare in comparison and what you learned about the children in your home county in relation to NJ and the US as a whole. Discuss the specific findings reviewed and cite the statistics in the report to support your assessment. From there you must identify ONE key priority area that is meaningful to you after looking at the national, state and county perspective. This is the area that you will advocate for to your appropriate elected official.
For this piece of the project, you will be drafting a letter on your one key focus area. You must research the appropriate person to receive your letter based on the issue and who represents you where you live — Assemblyperson, Congressperson or Senator. You then draft a formal business letter to the contact on your issues. Your emotions and/or personal experiences should not be the focus of your letter. It will contain your area of interest and fact-based information to persuade the reader.
For your paper and letter, you can cite additional resources that you feel will support your position. The APA format should be used for your paper. Citations and references must be included.
The following piece should be reviewed for the letter piece
Legislative & Social Advocacy.pdf (FOUND BELOW IN FILES)
The letter should be no more than 1 page. It should be single spaced within the paragraphs and
double-spaced between each one. The links below will give you forms of business letters and clear
instructions for writing them. Despite what the links state, include your name & address at the heading of your letter, and again after the closing.
https://writing.wisc.edu/handbook/assignments/businessletter/https://writing.wisc.edu/handbook/assignments/businessletter/
Purdue OWL: Basic Business Letters.pdf
THIS SHOULD BE UPLOADED AS ONE DOCUMENT INCLUDING A COVER PAGE (1 page), YOUR PAPER (2-3 pages) , YOUR LETTER (1 page) AND YOUR REFERENCE PAGE (1 page). Total of 4-5 pages. YOU WILL
LOSE POINTS FOR ANY PIECES THAT ARE MISSING.
MOST REFERENCES NEEDED ARE ALREADY IN THE INSTRUCTIONS
The following steps are suggested for thinking through this assignment:
Use the issue that you identified as the key area of concern for you after reviewing the various Kidscount Reports.
Think about the subject(s) (a child or children) and a specific problem facing them;
Consider ONE practical step that you believe would prove effective in working towards resolving this problem.
Describe this action precisely;
Explain how and why it will help resolve the problem you have described;
Consider the arguments against your suggestion and try to forestall them.
Don’t forget that this is a short letter. Do not attempt to solve all of the world’s problems
Determine your target. In other words, who has the power to put into action the step that you are recommending? Research who the official is who can impact your cause and who represents your county;
Carefully consider the tone of your letter.
You do not want to insult or alienate your target with your tone
You should not assume that your reader is ignorant or unintelligent, however, you should assume that you are educating him or her on the issue
You want your target to respond positively to your idea so share your thoughts in a way that is not alienating
Your project will be graded based on the following criteria:
Data analysis
Advocacy issue:
Appropriateness of issue chosen
Specific, concrete suggestion for action
Writing and format of paper and letter
Appropriate target identified
