ADVOCACY ACTION TOOLKIT

Be a CHAMPION for intellectual and developmental disabilities issues!

You can make a difference.

Advocacy from those directly impacted by an issue is a critical part of advocacy success and raising the visibility of an issue. Legislators want to hear from those directly impacted by legislation, an issue, or a legislative request, not just professional lobbyists. NJACP members, individuals, and families make a difference. We hope this toolkit, which will be updated as necessary, encourages you to reach out to your legislators and become effective advocates. We want to make it easy for you to take action, build relationships with your representative’s office, and highlight the important work you do to serve individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the community.

Resources

Ways to take action as an advocate for intellectual and developmental disabilities

1. Identify your legislators/representatives

  • Congress has a website to help determine your representative by using your address/zip code.
  • Congressional “Find Your Representatives”
  • NJ State Legislators have a “Find Your Legislator” website to find your legislator in the following ways:
    • District Map
    • District List – list of towns in each district
    • Current Roster – learn the background, committee appointments and education status of your legislator here.
    • NJ Legislature HELP page: Any questions about abbreviations (lots of acronyms in the legislative arena), where to find information on the NJ Legislature, bills, etc. can be found here.

2. Meeting with your legislator/representative

Via phone: What to say when scheduling a meeting.

Hi! I’m a constituent of Senator (Last Name) and I’m calling to ask the (legislators name) for a meeting to discuss (insert a quick description of your issue, if a bill, include the bill number. Thanks so much and have a great day!

Click here for step-by-step instructions to speak to legislators.

Visit NJACP’s Take Action page for the latest issues and talking points.

3. Say thank you!

Write/email/call whenever the legislator votes for a bill/issue you support. It is important that legislators hear from you. To say thank you and draw attention to the positive impact they are having.

4. Utilize social media

Legislators notice your social media posts. In NJ Twitter may be the most popular but aim to post there and wherever their website indicates they have an account. Remember to tag lawmakers for example, Senate President Nick Scutari, is on Twitter @SenPresScutari.

Click here for known Twitter addresses of the 220th NJ Legislature

NJACP Can Help You Plan

NJACP is here to help. We can tell you about recent developments or votes and give you an insider look at the best approach to take.

Reach out to Maureen Shea, Director of Government Affairs at mshea@njacp.org

State

Federal

The NJ Legislative website has a “Find Your Legislator” function at the following link https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/#findLegislator

To make it even easier, NJACP has combined all the district information in THIS attached document. Just find the town you live in and/or the towns where you do business. This will allow you to identify relevant legislators and contains their contact information.

If you don’t know who represents your organization and the individuals you support, you can look up your members of Congress using your address.