Citation URL: http://www.urban.org/OmolaraFatiregun

Conducting child advocacy involves more than generating good ideas. Nonprofits that engage in advocacy need organizational structures, financial resources, good leadership, and active constituencies to carry out their work. This report examines organizational factors such as mission statements, leadership, and internal communication tools that contribute to policy advocacy. Based on extensive interviews and focus groups with child advocates in three states (Georgia, Massachusetts, and Washington), the study found six types of child advocacy organizations working to change state-level policies. These organizations had different structures, different perspectives on the policy process, and different ways to define "success" in the policy arena. Given this diversity, the report offers a series of lessons for child policy advocates, foundations, and the research community.

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