How to Conduct a Site Visit:
The nature of the meeting with legislators will look differently depending on if it’s a site visit or if it’s a meeting at the elected officials office. A visit in which the legislator actually sees the center is the best way to convey what you’re all about. It gives the decision maker the opportunity to get a sense of how the center operates, the impact it has on the school, and to be able to meet these who provide and receive services there. *It’s important to start planning early! 1.) Be prepared a. Once the date is set. Inform the sponsoring agency, school, Advisory Board members, and your SHC staff. b. Do your homework! Research your elected officials voting record @ votesmart.org to verify if they have been supportive of children’s and adolescents’ healthcare issues in the past. Please go to the following website: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/default.asp, click on Senate bills 0701-0800 and look up SB 715 to see if they voted in support the bill to increase funding for school health centers. If they were supportive, you can thank them and ask for their continued support. If they were not supportive, you can ask them to reconsider supporting school health centers in the future. c. Inform local media, and your school’s and sponsoring agency’s public relations department of the event. Don’t forget to inform your elected official that you invited the media, so they don’t feel ambushed! 2.) Materials: a. ICSHC School Health Center Fact Sheet b. Brochures from your school health center c. The Key (ICSHC will mail back to you in time for the visit) d. Essays from students (ICSHC will mail back to you in time for the visit) e. ICSHC Marketing Tool (Contact Megan Erskine at merskine@ilmaternal.org for a copy) f. Copies of your Talking Points 3.) Who should Attend? a. Invite a broad but limited spectrum of people to demonstrate wide support for the center. Think about school board members, school administration, students, parents, and any other community supporters. 4.) Determine your message: a. Think of an individual issue you would like to share about your own SHC (Building Renovation and Staffing Shortage) and how you will ask for increased funding for school health centers in the state budget. b. Who will deliver these messages? Keep it short and concise!
c. Select a students and parents to share personal stories about the SHC that reflect the need to support your message. d. PRACTICE! Make sure that the speakers (especially the students) are prepared and “on message.” It is important that the visit remain brief and focused. 5.) During the Site Visit: (PLEASE SEE TESTIMONY PROVIDED BY URBANA SCHOOL HEALTH CENTER and SAMPLE AGENDA). a. Stay on message b. Make connection between increased funding for SHCs and what the elected officials and their staff are seeing c. Stay on the agenda d. Take pictures! e. Make sure there is time left over for the elected official to ask questions f. Make the specific ASK (increased funding for school health centers) at the beginning and the end g. Ask for the contact information of who to follow-up with. If you plan on attending Advocacy Day, tell them you look forward to seeing them on April 9th, in Springfield. 6.) Follow-Up: a. Send a thank-you note (see example) reminding them to take action. Include a picture from the visit. b. Send along any additional information that they requested. c. Contact Megan at merskine@ilmaternal.org to share the details of your success. d. Continue to follow-up with letters, calls, and emails to ask for increase funding for the SHC program. 7.) Be prepared to answer these questions: a. What population does your SHC serve? b. How are students referred to your center? c. How is your center funded? d. What services do you provide? What are the most common services students seek? e. What other organizations and agencies do you collaborate with to provide services? f. How do you work with the school? How do you work with the community? g. What outcomes has the center achieved? h. What challenges does your center face? i. Does community demand exceed the capacity?