Monthly Updates
January 2008 Contents:
- McGuireWoods Provides Support to NAC
- NAC Central: A Renewed and Refreshed Campaign in 2008
McGuireWoods Provides Support to NAC
McGuireWoods Consulting (MWC) came on board in December to provide federal government relations and grassroots services for the National Advocacy Campaign. The MWC team consists of Jeff Stauter, Barnaby Harkins and Jeff Britt, all of whom bring considerable knowledge and experience to the NAC effort.
 Mr. Stauter will provide daily oversight of services and carries with him considerable knowledge of our industry, serving previously as legislative liaison to the Illinois Department of Human Services and for eight years as the legislative director for the Illinois Association of Rehabilitation Facilities. Currently, Mr. Stauter and his family are active in the Springfield ARC, Lincoln Land Down Syndrome Society, and he is the secretary/treasurer of the Charleston Transitional Facility board, a community residential and employment program provider.
 Mr. Harkins will provide federal government relations services for NAC, assisting with legislative targeting, outreach and member advocacy, which is particularly important as we look to increase the co-sponsor benchmark for HR 1279 and make headway in the Senate. Prior to joining MWC as a lobbyist, Harkins served four years as legislative aide to Rep. Tom Davis (VA-11) with concentration on the appropriations process.
 Mr. Britt will coordinate grassroots issue advocacy services for NAC to include membership mobilization, e-advocacy strategy and implementation, public relations support and assistance with federal grassroots contact by NAC stakeholders. Mr. Britt brings with him considerable experience in grassroots organization and management, having coordinated several political and issue campaigns.
The MWC team offers a unique combination of staff and skills to build upon the accomplishments of the National Advocacy Campaign.
NAC Central: A Renewed and Refreshed Campaign in 2008
 With an eye toward refreshing and refocusing our National Advocacy Workforce Campaign, the NAC Steering Committee participated in an intensive two-day retreat session in early December 2007 to guide our direction and map out strategies for 2008.
Launched in late 2001, the campaign has made great progress over the past six years and has positioned ANCOR as the national leader on the workforce issue. We ended 2007 with a recordnumber one-hundred eight cosponsors of HR 1279 and are still reaping the benefits of our hugely successful DSPs to DC Event and Capitol Hill rally in September. Understanding that 2008 is gearing up to be one of the most politically charged in recent electoral history, the Steering Committee felt the NAC Central: A Renewed and Refreshed Campaign in 2008 National Advocacy imperative to reassess and then carefully hone and implement our strategies moving forward.
The retreat concluded with a new mission statement and refreshed objectives—
The mission of the National Advocacy Campaign moving ahead is to enhance the lives of people with disabilities by obtaining the resources to recruit, train and retain a sustainable direct support workforce.
Our strategic objectives include
- Obtaining adequate public funding to provide competitive wages and benefits for direct support professionals (DSPs).
- Securing incentives for training and career development for DSPs.
- Creating a national policy to address the workforce shortage and financing issues.
- Promoting the value that people with disabilities and the people who support them bring to their communities.
- Assuring that private service providers are partners in developing solutions to workforce and funding policy issues.
- Advancing and promoting the uses of technology to maximize human resources and assuage workforce demands; and to promulgate the use of assistive technology.
It’s clear to see we’ve broadened and refocused our commitment and support of the NAC. To that end, ANCOR has contracted with the McGuireWoods Consulting (MWC) firm to continue the successful efforts of Field Goals Consulting, headed by Daryn Demeritt, who has gone on to pursue other career goals.
The MWC team of Jeff Stauter, Barnaby Harkins and Jeff Britt brings considerable knowledge and expertise, depth of experience and multiple resources in the areas of legislative advocacy on Capitol Hill, grassroots mobilization, and public/media relations and communications. Click here for more details on MWC and our impressive team.
Workforce Development
Central to the overall goal of creating a qualified and stable DSP workforce is education and training. We plan to reinvigorate our collaboration with the Department of Labor, Workforce Investment Boards, One Stop Centers and CMS to advance career path development and workforce education and training strategies.
Public Relations, Communications and Awareness
In a recent poll of ANCOR members, the National Advocacy Campaign ranked number one in top-of-mind member awareness. With the NAC firmly branded among the member- NAC, from page 17 ship, the next goal is to broaden our outreach to other stakeholders and redouble our efforts to interest the media in our issues. A top priority is to reach out to DSPs and tap into their energy and motivation to move our objectives forward.
Your Agency’s Action and Support Are Vital!
Our renewed and refocused efforts will be ineffectual without your agency’s engagement. You can set the benchmark for that engagement by signing on today to our DSP TV Online. Tell the world what you do and be a part of this novel, fun and important new program. Developed in partnership with Therap Services and located on the NAC website www.youNeedToKnowMe.org, this contest is designed to educate the public about the valuable role DSPs play in enhancing the lives of people with disabilities.
The contest is open to anyone with the stipulation that the video must be about the DSP workforce. We encourage people served, family members, providers and advocates to submit a video showing why DSPs are so important and how they are making a difference in the lives of people with disabilities. Visit www.YouNeedto KnowMe.org for an online tutorial; and click here to learn more about the contest. ■
|
