Determining who should be involved, as well who will serve as leader, is a key component to any policy initiative. In some cases, a single person from one organization will carry out the work to receive a proclamation. In others, the proclamation will result from a united effort among multiple parties.
Establishing Leadership
Proclamations are typically initiated and led by a person, group, or organization with a passion for an issue and a desire to raise awareness among a designated population about that issue. This person should be able to bring together various partners and constituents to support an effective campaign to establish the proclamation.
Important considerations when selecting the appropriate leader include:
- Does the proposed leader have a pre-existing relationship with the office of the executive official who will sign the proclamation? If so, is it positive?
- Is the proposed leader in a position of authority and a credible expert on the issue? Can the leader draft an effective proclamation?
Resources
The Center for Community Leadership
The Community Toolbox
University of Kansas, Work Group for Community Health and Development
See Part E for information about leadership, management, and group facilitation.
Leadership in the Improving Child Welfare Outcomes through Systems of Care Initiative (PDF - 573 KB)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children's Bureau
Developing and Sustaining Leadership
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Systems of Care Infrastructure Toolkit: Governance
National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center for Systems of Care
Identifying Partners
The effort and support of various stakeholders, including staff, the children and families you serve, and other community members, may be required to bring your issue to the attention of the executive office and make a case for establishing a proclamation. As you identify the partners to be involved in the development of the proclamation and any accompanying events, you should keep in mind the resources that will be required to do the work and make it credible.
The selection of potential partners for a proclamation initiative may be shaped by:
- The topical focus or issue addressed by the proclamation (e.g., child abuse prevention month, children's mental health awareness day, adoption of systems of care principles)
- The audience (e.g., every citizen, potential adoptive parents)
- The objective (e.g., raise awareness of a problem, commemorate an event or group, gain media attention for an initiative, create support for policy change)
- The geographic scope (e.g., Nation, State, county, city, town, Tribe)
Some important considerations for identifying partners include:
- Who are the appropriate contacts and potential partners in the executive's office (e.g., the mayor, press secretary, a public relations staff member)?
- What groups or organizations have an interest in the issue and might be interested in being a part of the development of the proclamation? How can each of these groups contribute (e.g., support the request to the executive's office, develop draft language, publicize the proclamation)?
- Who are the key stakeholders addressed by the proclamation (e.g., children with special needs, foster parents, social workers)? How will stakeholders be given a voice in the development of the proclamation?
Resources
Building and Sustaining Child Welfare Partnerships (PDF - 595 KB)
National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center for Systems of Care
Collaboration
National Child Welfare Resource Center for Organizational Improvement
Community Partnerships: Improving the Response to Child Maltreatment
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Bureau, Office on Child Abuse and Neglect
Chapter 3 describes how to build and sustain community partnerships, including selecting partners.
The Community Toolbox
University of Kansas, Work Group for Community Health and Development
See Chapter 9 for information about establishing a team to create and run your initiative.
Interagency and Cross System Collaboration
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Interagency Collaboration
National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center for Systems of Care
Promising Practices: Building Collaboration in Systems of Care (PDF - 372 KB)
University of South Florida, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, Research and Training Center for Children's Mental Health
2007 CFSR Toolkit for Youth Involvement: Engaging Youth in the Child and Family Services Review (PDF - 3,119 KB)
National Child Welfare Resource Center for Organizational Improvement and the National Child Welfare Resource Center for Youth Development