FOCUS ON

CHILDREN Wayne County

Action for Children North Carolina

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All children are healthy.

All children are safe in their homes, schools and community.

All children have economic opportunity.

All children are provided the opportunity and resources to succeed in their education.

North Carolina Children Goals for

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Our Strategies Action for Children employs seven main strategies in pursuit of our goals

1. Applied Research & Data 2. Communications & Media

Advocacy 3. Outreach 4. Convening/Facilitating 5. Education 6. Organizing 7. Technology

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Policy at all levels influences how we fare

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Advocacy at Every Level

• Personally meet with Congressional delegation or their key staff at least twice per year. Recent issues included the Affordable Care Act, SNAP legislation, & Asset legislation

• Every member of N.C. Delegation receives

congressional district data cards and all publications yearly.

Federal Level:

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Advocacy at Every Level

• Meet one-on-one with every freshman state legislator following elections

• Meet with as many state legislators as possible regarding

child issues each session

• Every legislator receives legislative district data cards and all publications each year

• Data cards and publications sent to every county

commissioner, county manager, health department and school district in the state.

State Level:

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Advocacy at Every Level

• Partnerships with regional advocacy organizations in Mecklenburg, Buncombe, Forsyth, Halifax, Northampton, Hertford and Bertie counties

• Data cards and publications sent to every county commissioner, county manager, health department and school district in the state.

• Meetings with county managers and county commissioners, depending upon the issue and if we are invited in by local advocates.

Local Level:

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Advocacy at Every Level

• Meet with advocates on various issues across the state, including child health, juvenile justice, safety, economic security and asset building.

• Hold town meetings each year across the state on various issues.

Grassroots Level:

AFC ..coming to a town near you!

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Media Advocacy is Key:

Meets with Editorial Boards

Crafts and places Letters to the Editor and Op-Ed pieces

Issues press releases

Appears on public awareness radio and TV

Appears via interviews

Action for Children:

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AFC’s Research & Data

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Overview: Political Landscape

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National Election Results

PRESIDENT: President Obama won a second term. North Carolina was the only swing state to go in Romney's column. Romney won in North Carolina with about 52% of the vote.

CONGRESS: North Carolina's Congressional Delegation shifted from 7 Democrats and 6 Republicans to 9 Republicans and 4 Democrats.

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State Election Results

GOVERNOR: Republican Pat McCrory defeated Democratic Lt. Governor Walter Dalton for Governor with 54.7% of the vote.

LT. GOVERNOR: Republican Dan Forest narrowly beat

Democrat Linda Coleman by only 11,206 votes out of 4,372,846 votes cast.

COUNCIL OF STATE: All incumbent Council of State

members successfully defended their seats. These include the following 6 Democrats: Attorney General Roy Cooper, Auditor Beth Wood, Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson, and State Treasurer Janet Cowell, as well as 2 Republicans: Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry and Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler.

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N.C. House of Representatives

N.C. HOUSE: It looks as though Republicans extended their lead in the state House by nine seats, from a 68 to 52 majority to a 77 to 43 seat majority. Incumbent Democrats Martha Alexander, Marian McLawhorn, and Ray Rapp, as well as Republican G.L. Pridgen, lost their re-election bids.

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N.C. State Senate

N.C. SENATE: Republicans extended their lead in the state Senate by one seat, claiming a 32 to 18 seat majority (up from a 31-19 seat majority). Incumbent Senator Doug Berger lost to GOP challenger Chad Barefoot in Senate District 18.

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N.C. State Leadership Update

• All 8 Cabinet Members for the McCrory Administration have been named. www.governor.state.nc.us/

• House and Senate Legislative Committees have been

formed. • House and Senate meeting calendars have been set

(deadlines: bill drafting, bill introduction, crossover, etc.)

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2013 Legislative Schedule

Lt Governor Dan Forest: sworn in on Jan. 7th Gov.-elect Pat McCrory: sworn in Jan. 5th Council of State members: sworn in Jan. 12th

The Legislature will convene long session Jan. 9th to:

elect officers, adopt rules, etc. The Legislature will reconvene on Jan. 30th

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2013-2014 Legislative Committee Assignments

2013 House of Representatives Committee Assignments By Committee: http://www.ncleg.net/DocumentSites/HouseDocuments/2013-2014%20Session/2013%20Committees%20by%20Committee.pdf

2013 Senate Committee Assignments By Member: http://www.ncleg.net/DocumentSites/SenateDocuments/2013-2014%20Session/Senate%20Committees%20by%20Member%202013.pdf

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Federal and State Policy Analysis

Major Policy Issues for 2013: Tax reform/modernization: reduce corporate & income tax rates Public Education Reform: more charter schools; more cuts to local

school districts? Juvenile Justice Reform: DJJ system funding; raising the juvenile

age Early Childhood Education: adequate funding N.C. Pre-K & Smart

Start Medicaid: current funding to meet needs; close budget holes;

expansion under Affordable Care Act

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AFC’s 2013 Legislative Agenda for Children

HEALTH Preserve Public Health Insurance Programs for Children. JUVENILE JUSTICE Raise the Age of Juvenile Court Jurisdiction from 16 to 18 --for youth who commit misdemeanor offenses. Adequately Fund the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). EDUCATION Preserve and Expand Funding for ALL Early Childhood Programs. Ban Corporal Punishment in all public schools— (Administrative policy change) ECONOMIC SECURITY Preserve the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and other Tax Credits for working families.

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Our Work Requires A Collective Effort

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Contacting Policymakers & Media

Share your story Writing a Letter Making a Phone Call Sending an Email Visiting their offices

For Samples, visit: http://www.ncchild.org/action/images/stories/FINAL_2008_AFC_Toolkit.pdf http://www.ncchild.org/sites/default/files/raise%20the%20age%20advocacy%20guide.pdf

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Share Your Voice

Here are some actions YOU can take to help raise awareness: Learn more about the issues. Visit www.ncchild.org for more

information. Contact your legislators.

• Visit your legislators. Share your story: Legislators need to hear from YOU!

Write your local newspaper: You can send your letters by mail, fax or

email.

Attend 2013 Child Advocacy Day: April 17th

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Wins for Children Happen Because of Advocacy!

• How can we support your work? • How can community groups support AFC’s

efforts? • Where are opportunities for partnerships? • What story does your data tell? What are your

data needs?