Capitol Hill Visits

One of the highlights of the Fall Institute is Capitol Hill Visit Day, on Wednesday, October 2. This is a critical period in the history of Head Start and our interactions with Members of Congress on October 2nd may chart the course of change for the future of Head Start! It is an important day and this checklist can help you prepare to make it positive and meaningful.

If you have questions, please contact Kati Jackson (kjackson@nhsa.org).

Before the meeting

Find your Members of Congress and the appropriate staff

Email a formal request for a meeting

Call the legislator’s office to follow-up on the invitation

Create a plan for the visit based on the particular highlights you want to share about the program and how the investment of funds makes a difference (Conversation guide)

Determine who should speak (briefly) during the meeting

Compile information about your program that you can leave behind

What to bring to the meeting

An overview of your program (number of kids, teachers, families, etc.)

Recent local press about your program

Last year’s annual report

An overview of facts and figures showing the impact of the program

A list of your business partners

A fact sheet showing the impact of sequestration (Yours or NHSA’s, found here)

A fact sheet about the President’s Pre-K plan (Head Start’s perspective on what is important)

A status report on the FY14 Appropriations Process and our position (NHSA will provide)

A written invitation to visit the program (To the Member)

After the meeting:

Make sure you get a business card from the people you met with

Use social media to thank your Member for the visit (List of House (PDF) and Senate (PDF) accounts)

Send a thank you letter to staff via email, and a handwritten note by mail

Send an LTE to your local media about your visit

Let us know how the visit went!