ADVOCACY AS A CORE AGENCY PROGRAM - PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS FOR VOLUNTARY HUMAN-SERVICE AGENCIES

The current mood of the country, manifest in a distrust of government, an interest in balancing the budget and reducing federal al deficit, and a pervasive anti-social welfare sentiment, bode poorly for volunta ry social welfare organizations. Advocacy, often a peripheral agency f unction, needs to be institutionalized and strengthened as a program o f service. The authors discuss the rationale for and an approach to, o rganizing and/or strengthening an agency advocacy program. Suggestions are offered for planning and organizing volunteer, staff, and client support to increase agency impact on state and local policy and regula tory processes. Unless and until advocacy is incorporated as an ongoin g program and service of the agency, non-profits will remain vulnerabl e and reactive to decisions made elsewhere about them and those they s erve.