Inviting Legislators to Visit Your Program

How to Plan a Site Visit:
Inviting Legislators to See Your Work
With Young Children and Their Families

A legislative recess is a perfect chance for you to bring the message of early education and child care to policymakers. Some say, seeing is believing. A site visit allows legislators to experience your work with young children firsthand and gives them an opportunity to make a connection with the decisions they make to the faces of the young children in their community.

Inviting Your Policymakers
Whether your policymakers work in Washington, D.C. or Harrisburg, they make decisions that impact the young children you serve. When you invite them to your program, you are providing a valuable opportunity for your policymakers to get to know your work with young children.

Here are some suggestions to help you invite your policymaker to visit your site:

• Find out when your policymaker will be in your district. You can access that information for your state legislators, at www.legis.state.pa.us/. Visit www.house.gov or www.senate.gov for the federal lawmakers’ calendar.
• Schedule the visit. Call your policymaker’s office at least 4 – 6 weeks in advance and ask to set up a time for the visit.
• Be specific, yet flexible. When you call, identify yourself as a constituent, and be specific about the dates and times you would like to schedule a visit. Be as flexible as you can. If possible, suggest multiple dates.
• Invite staff. If you cannot arrange a visit with your policymaker, consider hosting their staff. They serve as advisors to policymakers, therefore, it is as important that they understand your work with young children in the communities they represent.
• Confirm. Call your policymaker’s office one week before the scheduled visit to confirm. Verify who will be attending with the policymaker, so you know how many to expect. Fax a copy of the schedule for their visit.

Planning and Preparation
Planning a site visit should not create a huge amount of extra work for you and your staff. So, plan the visit with scheduling constraints of the legislator in mind but to maximize attendance and attention.

• Prepare a brief introduction or welcome for your policymaker. Let the policymaker know the important issues of the young children in his/her community.
• It is critical to develop a uniform message so your policymaker walks away with a deeper understanding of the issues that impact the young children in your community. Keep the message clear and concise.
• Plan an activity. Use this activity as the basis for your site visit and strategize about how a visitor could participate.
• Prepare your staff and families. Give advance notice to anyone who will be involved in the site visit.
• Give the policymaker something to take home. To ensure that they learn something about your program, give them materials that reinforce your message.
• Invite Program supporters. Consider inviting your supporters, such as your Board of Directors, local funders and parents to participate in the day’s activities.
• Consider inviting the media. A visit from a policymaker is a great opportunity to gain media attention.

Ways to Make the Site Visit a Memorable Experience

• Make it interactive. Encourage your policymaker to join in the day’s activity and interact with the children and families. Allow time for questions or an informal “meet and greet”.
• Take photos. Photos of the visit will be a great addition to a press release or your program’s newsletter.
• Follow-Up. Send a thank you note to your policymaker immediately after the visit. Highlight your message in the note with specific ways the policymaker can support the young children in your community and share photographs from the visit.
• Add the policymaker to your mailing list so he/she can begin to receive regular updates from your program. You have now established a relationship with your policymaker that you can build on throughout the year.

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Sample Invitation to State Legislator For Site Visit

The Honorable [Representative’s Full Name]
House P.O. Box [Insert P.O. Box Number]
Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg, PA 17120

Dear Representative [Representative’s Last Name],

I am a constituent living in [Name of City/Town] and am the Director of [Name of your program], a child care center in your community. We provide early education to [number of children or families that you serve]. I am writing to invite you to visit our program on [month and day] or [month and day] to learn more about our work and its positive impact on the families that we serve in your district. [Be specific about the dates you would like your representative to visit. If possible, suggest multiple dates].

As you know, experiences in the earliest years of life play a critical role in a child’s ability to grow up healthy and ready to learn. At [Name of program], we work to provide quality care and positive learning experiences that help our young children realize success in school and later in life. [Include a brief description of your work, including the impact].

We understand that you maintain a busy schedule, but would be honored if you would consider visiting our program to learn more about the services being offered by [Name of program]. We will contact your scheduler to arrange a visit on [month and day] or [month and day]. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]
Director, [Name of Program]
[City, State]