Thank you to everyone who tuned into the June Policy Forum; it was a jam-packed hour full of useful information for advocates. Attendees were guided through a mock call with a Legislative Staffer, led by Rachel Sing as host, Sid Gardner as a subject matter expert, Susan Shepard Carlson as herself (FASD United Board and Policy Chair), Mike Keawe Anderson as a Legislative Staffer, and Jenn Wisdahl as a constituent and parent.
As always, Susan Shepard Carlson walked us through the process of getting this bill passed and was pleased to share that bill text for the FASD Respect Act in the House has been posted to congress.gov. She also reminded us about the documents that can be used when communicating with Legislators and their staff, which can be found here. To see what organizations have recently endorsed the FASD Respect Act click here.
Participant Questions We May Have Missed
Question: Are Indigenous communities specifically mentioned in the 2021 HHS Study on Prenatal Alcohol and Other Drug Exposures in Child Welfare?
Answer: Yes, Indigenous communities are mentioned on pages iv, 20, 21, and 146. Click here for the full report.
Question: What are the toughest questions a Legislator or their Aides might ask during a meeting?
Answer: Mike Keawe Anderson did a tremendous job acting as a Legislative Aide in the mock call and made sure to ask these questions. He asked the team about the preventability of FASD and what advocates are doing in that realm.
Question: Is the script used in the mock call available?
Answer: Yes! FASD Now! has graciously provided the script they created, which can be found here. Thank you to Annette Kunzman and Rachel Sing for providing this.
The next Policy Forum is Wednesday, July 26th, at 2:00 pm EST.
