Suggested Talking Points on Promise Neighborhoods 

The purpose of meeting with your Congressional delegation is to express to policymakers that there is a strong demand for and a great need to fully fund Promise Neighborhoods at $150 million in the FY 2012 budget to break the cycle of generational poverty by improving school achievement and community conditions in poor neighborhoods. All children deserve a Promise Neighborhood.

By bringing your local voice and information to policymakers, we can impact their understanding of what Promise Neighborhoods is and what it would mean for low-income children and families across the country. Your role is to not only provide this information but give a face to the hundreds of communities that are passionate about this program. 

General Tips

• If you cannot meet with the legislator, meet with the staffer. Staffers are highly influential in decision making.
• Use data and statistics from your local area, state, and the country to help make your case.
• Your own personal or professional story can be very powerful in communicating to your Congressional representatives and their staffers about the importance of full funding for Promise Neighborhoods. Give examples from your community to illustrate the importance of the program, including local data and specific outcomes.
• Keep it simple and clear. 

Introductions

Begin your visit with a brief introduction from each person:

I’m [your name] and I am one of your constituents from [place and/or your organization/ department/ affiliation]. I wanted to share with you the work that we have been doing to increase academic achievement and improve poor communities …

Following introductions, the designated team member(s) should share the two core messages:

1. Communicate the strong support that exists for Promise Neighborhoods and the importance of the program to your community.
2. Urge them to fully fund the Promise Neighborhoods program at $150 million in the FY 2012 budget.

Helpful Talking Points

1. There is strong interest in the Promise Neighborhoods program.
   • The Department of Education received 941 Intents to Apply, [xx] from [your state].
   • 339 applications were submitted, representing 48 states, [xx] from [your state, including my organization/neighborhood/school]. For information on the highest scoring applicants, visit PromiseNeighborhoodsInstitute.org/meet-the-grantees/.
   • This large number of applications shows the real interest and excitement surrounding the program. [Insert personal anecdote about your community’s experience].
   • 21 Promise Neighborhood 2010 grantees and 17 additional high scoring applicants have already seen great success in their place-based, comprehensive efforts to improve their neighborhoods. See Promiseneighborhoodsinstitute.org/meet-the-grantees/ for details.
2. We want you to know more about the experiences of poor children and communities in our area, and how Promise Neighborhoods can address these issues.
   • Describe some of the innovative local programs that could be supported by Promise Neighborhoods funding.
   • Briefly share pieces of data, statistics or information that show the challenges poor children face. Some examples from national data:
     • 1 in 6 children in America live in poverty
     • The U.S. spends approximately 500 billion dollars yearly to support these children (nearly 4% of GDP)
     • The average middle-class child enters 1st grade with 1,000-1,700 hours of one-on-one picture-book reading; a child from a low-income family averages 25 hours.
     • By 4th grade only 17% of poor children score at or above proficient in reading and 22% on math on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). You can insert local or state test scores here as available.
     • Following years of frustration and failure, students drop out of school at alarming rates: more than 500,000 dropped out of grades 9-12 in 2005.
     • Health: Compared to high-income children, low-income children are more than 1.5 times as likely to miss 10 or more school days a year due to illness or injury; are more than twice as likely not to have seen a doctor for two years or to have delayed medical care due to cost; and are almost three times as likely to be uninsured and to have no regular site for health care. They also have higher rates of asthma, hospital admissions, disabilities, and fatalities.
     • Systemic inequities in disadvantaged neighborhoods have led to what the Children’s Defense Fund terms The Cradle to Prison Pipeline®, where "about 580,000 black males are serving sentences in state or federal prison, while fewer than 40,000 black males earn a bachelor’s degree each year. One in 3 black men between 20-29 years old is under correctional supervision or control."
3. The Promise Neighborhoods program is crucial to improving outcomes for poor children because it:
   • Wraps children in health, social, and educational support from cradle to college to break the cycle of generational poverty;
   • Requires that a nonprofit or university with deep ties to the community lead the project, and that at least one school be a main partner;
   • Targets all types of communities—urban, suburban, rural, and tribal—with high levels of academic and neighborhood distress;
   • Leverages federal, local and philanthropic dollars.
4. We urge you to fully fund the Promise Neighborhoods program at the $150 million level in the FY 2012 budget.
   • Due to the incredible interest and success shown by different types of communities throughout the district [restate the number of district applicants] and the nation, and the need to address the issues of academic achievement and community supports in low-income communities, I urge you to fully fund Promise Neighborhoods.

Ending the Meeting

• Ask if they have any questions. It’s okay if you don’t know the answer; tell them you don’t have the information at this time but will find out and get back to them. This will give you the opportunity to follow up at a later point—make sure you do! 
• Give them the fact sheet, letter of support, and other materials you may have.
• Let them know you will be in touch about the briefing and with any updates. 
• Thank them for their time.
• Following your visit, be sure to send them a thank you note, and the response to any lingering questions. 

Please contact Kisasi Brooks at PolicyLink and let us know how the meeting went: kbrooks@policylink.org
510-663-4340.