Advocacy Focus Statement
Supporting Families Together Association (SFTA) is committed to advancing programs and policies that align with our mission, vision, and purpose through an advocacy effort focused on raising awareness about the critical need for public investments in family support services and the early care and education system.
SFTA Advocacy Priorities
SFTA and its members advocate for public investments in family support services and early care and education. Parenthood’s financial burden stresses low-earning caregivers. Without action, parents leave jobs, couples avoid having kids, and child care remains unaffordable. Investing in our youngest community members has long-term benefits. This one-pager aims to highlight the importance of funding Child Care Resource & Referral agencies (CCR&Rs) and Family Resource Centers (FRCs) to further strengthen the quality of care for children and provide support to families and providers. You can view the one page SFTA priorities here with our detailed policy agenda here.
Share your Stories!
When planning Advocacy Day, we believe it’s essential to hear from people throughout the state of Wisconsin and have the opportunity to share their stories. If you have been affected by child care deserts throughout the state, high cost of care, or anything early childhood or family support related, we invite you to share your story by clicking on the button below. Your story can help us better understand the challenges that families face when it comes to accessing quality child care, family support, and early childhood education, and we can work together to address these issues.
SFTA & Partner Agencies Advocacy
SFTA, the United Way of Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin Alliance for Infant Mental Health are hosting Fall/Winter Advocacy activities in local districts! This is an opportunity for staff from SFTA Member agencies (CCR&Rs and FRCs), local United Way agencies, parent leaders, and community members to meet with state legislators to communicate the importance of supporting the early childhood and family support field. Participants meet one-on-one with their local legislative office to share their agency and services’ impact on families in their community.
Advocacy Day 2024
On April 16th, SFTA and United Way collaborated on another successful Advocacy Day. Our morning session included a presentation with Kevin Moore from United Health Care Community Plan, who is also a Prevent Child Abuse America board member. His informative presentation highlighted effective strategies for making advocacy visits impactful. We then had an Advocacy Q&A session with Representative Joy Goeben and Representative Lee Snodgrass, which helped prepare advocates for their afternoon visits.
We would like to thank all the participants for their dedication and hard work during Advocacy Day. Your efforts to enhance child care and family services throughout Wisconsin are commendable and inspiring. In total, we had over 40 meetings with legislators and their staff!
Advocacy Resources
SFTA Advocacy Toolkits
Advocacy in Wisconsin
| Statewide Group Child Care Capacity Gap Report 2023 | Wisconsin’s Children’s Caucus |
| Child Care Rates Report | WI Joint Committee on Finance Page |
| Governor Evers Webpage | The Wheeler Report |
| Early Childhood Advocacy Toolkit: This toolkit is designed to prepare ordinary people to successfully advocate for public policies that benefit young children and their families. |
| Find your U.S. Congress Members: Enter your address to find your senators and representatives in the United State Congress. |
| Wisconsin State Legislature: Find your representatives, view current issues on the floor, find committee schedules, and more. |
| Lobbying in Wisconsin: Overview and best practices of Wisconsin’s lobbying rules and restrictions. |
| How Bills Become Laws in Wisconsin: Understand Wisconsin’s legislative process and how you as a private citizen can participate in the process of shaping laws. |
Advocacy 101
| Developing and Implementing the Advocacy Plan | Child Care Aware Equity Toolkit |
| Family Planning Advocacy Toolkit | Storytelling Strategies |
| 13 Advocacy Strategies for Running a Successful Campaign | 2023-2025 SFTA State Budgetary Advocacy Guidebook |
| Advocacy 101 | Wisconsin Budget Process: An overview of Wisconsin’s budget and how you can participate. |
Advocacy Organizations & Resources
Voting Resources
| Nonprofit VOTE: Resources for nonprofits to engage the people they serve in voting, elections, and advocacy. |
| MyVote Wisconsin: View upcoming elections, request an absentee ballot, update your voter information, register to vote, and more. |