December 16, 2020
This fall, close to 1000 stakeholders participated in four virtual regional Advocacy Institutes. The Institutes were free opportunities for youth, family members and advocates to hone their skills in impacting legislation and policy. The i2i Center was a co-sponsor and presenter at these events and was joined by the NC Collaborative for Children, Youth and Families, Prevent Child Abuse NC, NC Child, MomsRising and the Foster Family Alliance of NC. Recordings of each institute are available on the NCCCYF website.
i2i incoming Executive Director Ann Rodriguez provided the Advocacy 101 training for the eastern regional Advocacy Institute and moderated two of the legislative panels. Rodriguez said, “We were so pleased to be a part of this opportunity! i2i is committed to meaningful inclusion of consumers and families in the policy and legislative processes. There is no question that we achieve more success when consumers and families have been involved early in developing new laws and policies.”
Each regional institute had different speakers so participants could attend all four and receive new information at each event. Governor Cooper provided a welcome for each of the institutes. The institutes offered a policy maker presenting on timely topics, a government relations professional discussing Advocacy 101, a parent advocate and a legislative panel, including key health and human service leaders like Senator Krawiec, Representative Stevens, Representative White and Representative Insko.