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Six Steps to Successful Child Advocacy
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Six Steps to Successful Child Advocacy
Changing the World for Children

An interdisciplinary approach to child advocacy, with applied, international examples and six steps to achieving positive change for children



December 2013 | 224 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
Six Steps to Successful Child Advocacy: Changing the World for Children offers an interdisciplinary approach to child advocacy, nurturing key skills through a proven six-step process that has been used to train child advocates and create social change around the world. The approach is applicable for micro-advocacy for one child, mezzo-advocacy for a community or group of children, and macro-advocacy at a regional, national, or international level. This practical text offers skill-building activities and includes timely topics such as how to use social media for advocacy. Case studies of advocacy campaigns highlight applied approaches to advocacy across a range of issues, including child welfare, disability, early childhood, and education.  Words of wisdom from noted child advocates from the U.S. and around the world, including a foreword from Dr. Jane Goodall, illustrate key concepts. Readers are guided through the process of developing a plan and tools for a real-life child advocacy campaign.

 
Foreword
 
Preface
 
Chapter 1: Introduction
 
Chapter 2: Parameters of advocacy
 
Chapter 3: Planning your project with the six steps to successful child advocacy
 
Chapter 4: Step 1--Knowing your issue
 
Chapter 5: Step 2, Research for background and impact
 
Chapter 6: Step 3--Preparing effective materials
 
Chapter 7: Step 4—Making Meetings That Work
 
Chapter 8: Step 5--Conducting strategic follow-up
 
Chapter 9: Step six--Reinforcing successful advocacy outcomes
 
Chapter 10: Where do we go from here?

Six Steps for Successful Child Advocacy is an essential guide for advocates throughout the globe.  The tremendous public support that exists for children needs to be harnessed and strategically employed by advocates, and this book provides the blueprint.  The Children’s Movement of California will certainly benefit from the case studies and lessons learned that are so clearly presented in Six Steps.

Ted Lempert - President, Children Now

This important text provides useful and timely guidance for anyone interested in improving the lives of children and youth through advocacy. From direct practice to policymaking, the authors’ presentation of case examples and tangible step-by-step instructions (from their planning blueprint to the six steps framework) makes advocacy both realistic and doable in a variety of environments and issues. This is a go-to resource for students and practitioners alike!

Ben Anderson-Nathe, PhD - Associate Professor and Program Director, Child & Family Studies, School of Social Work, Portland State University

This book represents a very through understanding of the advocacy process as applied to children's rights and needs. What makes this a particularly important book is that the advocacy process distilled in the book draws on examples from around the world, illustrating that the six steps approach is universal in its application. This book presents a very rich description of ways to engage in advocacy and provides a wide variety of strategies that can be used to successfully advocate on behalf of children and their families.

Judith Evans - Director Emeritus, Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and Development

Six Steps to Successful Child Advocacy is exactly what I need for my policy class on children, youth, and families!  Grounded in theory, research, and practice, the book breaks down advocacy into six manageable steps and provides plenty of case examples, both domestic and global.  The writing is very approachable and I can see the book being adopted for undergraduate and graduate courses, as well as being a resource for practitioners.

Professor Betty Blythe, Boston College Graduate School of Social Work

Six Steps is a book that bridges policy, practice and academics in a practical guide with real-world examples.  It is useful for advocates, professors, students or anyone interested in the plight of children worldwide and wanting to make a difference.   The skills obtained by using the book as a guide will help all of us make the world better for children.

Victor Groza, PhD, LISW-S - Grace F. Brody Professor of Parent-Child Studies, Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University

This remarkable work provides a step-by-step guide to child advocacy with a global focus.  Packed with examples and pragmatic advice, the book serves as both primer and advanced course in successful advocacy and visionary thinking.

Gerald P. Koocher, Ph.D., ABPP - Dean, College of Science and Health, DePaul University, Former president, American Psychological Association

The best work in virtually every profession and key area of work today is informed by events and lessons from around the world. In that vein, Amy Conley Wright and Kenneth Jaffe present an extensive array of practical concepts, tools, and stories of success about child advocacy—drawn from a broad set of countries. What results is an accessible and engaging resource on child advocacy that will inform the work of diverse child advocates -- be they part-time volunteers, human services staff or professions that have specialty areas devoted to children.

Peter J. Pecora - Professor, School of Social Work, University of Washington

This volume is must reading for anyone involved in child advocacy. It is extraordinarily comprehensive and insightful. There is nothing comparable.

Michael S. Wald, LLB, Professor of Law Emeritus, Stanford University
Key features
KEY FEATURES:
  • A six-step approach (knowing your issue, conducting research, preparing materials, creating effective meetings, conducting follow-up, and reinforcing positive outcomes) provides a framework for planning and conducting a real-life child advocacy campaign.
  • Concepts and advocacy strategies are illustrated by both domestic and global case studies covering a range of topics (including the areas of child welfare, early childhood, disability, and education) and contributions from 18 noted advocates representing 11 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America.
  • Suggested activities at the end of each chapter help readers create an advocacy plan and acquire the tools to conduct an advocacy campaign.
  • The role and effective use of social media in child advocacy is discussed, including a case study on how one child advocacy project uses social media.
  • Fundraising methods for advocacy are described, preparing readers to fundraise for their own child advocacy projects.

For instructors

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