Making the Case:

1
Making the Case

• Marshaling Evidence for Persuasive Advocacy
• Presentation for the
• National Assembly of Health and Human Service
  Organizations
• September 9, 2004

2
To Persuade Policy Makers, demonstrate one or
more

• The service is effective in meeting need.
• There is unmet need.
• There is a cost for failing to provide the
  service
• People and/or communities are hurt
• Officials get publicly embarrassed and/or lose
  support.

3
The Service Meets a Need aka, it Works

• Self-evident usefulness
• Food and nutrition providers (emergency food,
  Food Stamps, WIC, school meals, etc.) because
  preventing hunger and poor nutrition is a
  generally shared goal, just showing who and how
  many the program serves (children, families,
  working people, elderly) is persuasive. Know the
  unit costs!
• Other example child care so parents can work

4
First and Second Lines of Evidence

• Example WIC
• Provides nutrition supplements to 7.8 million
  low-income infants, young children, and pregnant
  women. (Needy below 185 of FPL, certified at
  nutritional risk.)
• Good health outcomes more prenatal care,
  reduces low birthweight, fetal mortality, anemia.
  Does not lead to overweight children.
• Cost effective for every 1 spent, 1.77 -
  3.13 in Medicaid savings.

5
Not So Self-Evident

• Example Job Training
• Not enough to show how many low-income people get
  job training. Need to show how many get jobs as
  a result of the program. Helpful to show
  earnings and job retention, advancement.
• CA Community College training for women receiving
  TANF before enrollment, median annual earnings
  of 4,000-6,000. Afterwards, 16,000-20,000.

6
More Persuasive Job Training Evidence

• Project QUEST, San Antonio, TX
• Links with business good hiring record,
  employer satisfaction.
• Wages 10/hour after 17 months of training.
• Access to supports child care, transportation,
  housing.

7
Other Examples of Tougher Sells

• Rent vouchers not enough to say they help
  low-income families maintain rents at 30 of
  income.
• Cite evidence that children in subsidized housing
  do better in school that welfare-to-work
  programs succeed best for families in subsidized
  housing.
• Youth programs not enough to say how many
  served. Do they help youths stay in school? Get
  a better job later? Stay out of trouble?

8
Gold Standards in Outcome MeasuresOkay
Alternatives

• Random Assignment comparable program group and
  control group (see MDRC evaluations,
  http//www.mdrc.org). But if no controls, still
  cite good outcomes like job placements, earnings,
  and benefits.
• Cost Effectiveness see WIC example. But even
  without specific cost/benefit ratios, can cite
  good outcomes like more prenatal care, and
  contrast with high cost of caring for preemies.

9
The Importance of Unit Costs

• Section 8 Housing Vouchers Presidents FY05
  budget proposed cut of more than 1b from
  previous years level of 14.23b. So?
• If cut made by eliminating vouchers 250,000
  families would lose vouchers (out of 2.1m
  families). If cut made by raising rents, each
  family would pay 800 more in FY05. -Center on
  Budget and Policy Priorities

10
Unmet Need

• How many eligible people/families do not receive
  the service?
• Waiting lists? (child care, housing authorities)
• Use Census data (decennial Census, American
  Community Survey, Current Population Survey) for
  state and sub-state breakdowns poor and
  near-poor, uninsured, families with children
  under 6, education levels of parents, single
  moms, use of public benefits, etc.

11
Using the Evidence Effectively

• Tell Policy Makers
• Create brief, clearly-worded fact sheets that
  make the case for your program by describing
• What it does, who it helps, and how they and the
  broader community benefit
• How many are served, and how many more need the
  service
• How the number served or the quality of the
  service would change under budget/appropriations
  proposals translate dollars into human needs!
• What level of funding or program rules are needed

12
Deliver the Message

• Use your strengths! Create a network of agencies
  in states with spokespeople who meet with members
  of Congress and their staffs at home and in DC
• Work with others who can amplify your message
  national and local business, religious leaders,
  etc. Dont forget the Coalition on Human Needs
  and other coalitions!

13
Effective Messengers

• You!
• Local agency heads
• Your agencys direct service providers
• Other community service providers (physicians,
  teachers, police, who cope with unmet need or see
  the good your program does)
• People who use or want to use the service
• Community leaders (business, religious, etc.) who
  understand the need for the service

14
Make Your Case to the Public

• Use your networks to talk to the press
• Meet with editorial boards
• Connect reporters to your messengers to
  demonstrate the need for your program and the
  impact of proposals
• Recruit letters-to-the-editor writers who write
  their own letters in response to articles,
  opinion pieces

15
See the Big Picture

• Tax and budget cuts threaten your program and
  many others be part of coalitions that educate
  about such choices and oppose inequitable and
  excessive tax and budget cuts.
• Join the Opportunity for All Campaign
• Coalition on Human Needs, www.chn.org